Um, Hello.
It's hard to know where to start these things. I'll start at the beginning. Here goes:
Second grade: I banged out a story where I explored made up planets with a girl who lived next door. It was about two typewritten pages, single spaced. Every line ended with the word "said." It has since been lost to time.
Fourth grade: I wrote a story where I was king of an imaginary kingdom and my friends were my loyal knights. We battled evil knights who were the kids who didn't like me at school. It couldn't have been more than ten pages. I read it to my parents and grandparents. All my mom said was that she didn't like the spells in it. (hardcore evangelical christian) My grandmother later told me that she enjoyed it. On the whole, it was a negative experience that certainly didn't encourage me to keep writing.
Seventh grade: While arguing with my brother about the quality of a popular series of fantasy novels he liked, I blurted out that I could write a better fantasy novel. He told me to do it if it's so easy. I start writing a novel. I get about twelve pages in and show it to him. He is extremely critical of my work. I decide not to continue because I don't know where the plot is going and it's going to be too much work. More importantly, I feel as though getting published is impossible so why even try?
Eighth grade: I get voted "future author" in the yearbook. I'm completely surprised by this. It was probably because of the notebook I wouldn't let anyone see that was full of video game ideas and Magic card designs. I was always scribbling in it.
Freshman year of college: I write a short Twilight Zone-esque story. I show it to my English teacher who gives me mixed feedback.
2007: I show the story to a friend at the library where we work. She seemed to enjoy it.
October 2007: The friend asks me to do NaNoWriMo with her in November. I really like her, but I'm too busy with school to write 50,000 words in a month. I tell her that I like the idea, but that I won't have time to try it until January. She understands and goes ahead with it in November.
January 2008: I start NaNoWriMo. The words fly from my fingers at a rate that surprises me. I'm driven by a desire to impress her. The story isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I share it with her as I write it. The evening of January 31st I reach 50,000 words, but the story isn't finished. I immediately call my friend. She comes right over and we read the rest of it together. I feel like I've really accomplished something.
On and off over the next couple of years I finished my novel by adding about 30,000 words to it. Like all first novels, the final result was pretty rough. From about 2011 to 2013 I gave it a good once over and cleaned it up. Ultimately, I decided that draft couldn't be saved. Reading it today makes me cringe.
2014: I have a job working as an analyst in a mid-sized bank. The pay is excellent and I have a short commute, but I hate my job. The hours are long and I start to realize that my education was a serious mistake. I have zero passion for what I do and I'm dreading every day at work. I feel like I'm stuck in a field that I hate for thirty long years until retirement. In June, I start seeing a counselor to help deal with the anxiety at my job. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with my life. Pretty quickly I decide that I want to be a writer, but I can't get over the low odds of success one must face. In August 2014, I decided to begin re-writing the novel. The stress from my job keeps me from writing except on weekends. Even then, I get precious little done due to my fatalism over the publishing world. I completely lack confidence in my ability to promote my work. Things get slightly better at the end of the year when my boss quits. The new guy and I get along much better and the pressure lets up considerably.
2015: I marry my friend from the library in May. ;) In June, my counselor diagnoses me with dysthymia and I start medication. Things start looking up for me almost immediately. I start to feel like a person again and I pour myself into my novel all days of the week. I still find my chances of success unlikely, but it doesn't paralyze me like it used to.
I'm not sure where to begin. I really need someone to show me the ropes. Reading all the different forums here has been overwhelming. Right now, I'm over halfway through the re-write and it's much better this time around. That said, I know I have a long way to go as a writer.
I think what I'm looking for is a critique partner or a critique group, but I'm not sure which. Ultimately, I want to become a professional author and publish my NaNoWriMo novel. It's a near future sci-fi in which a young man is undergoing a radical new form of psychotherapy designed to rebuild his psyche from the ground up. To do so, he must go on a journey of discovery through a world made of his hopes, fears and darkest desires.
If you made it this far, thank you for your time. I look forward to talking with all of you and hopefully working with some of you too.
Hello, all
It's hard to know where to start these things. I'll start at the beginning. Here goes:
Second grade: I banged out a story where I explored made up planets with a girl who lived next door. It was about two typewritten pages, single spaced. Every line ended with the word "said." It has since been lost to time.
Fourth grade: I wrote a story where I was king of an imaginary kingdom and my friends were my loyal knights. We battled evil knights who were the kids who didn't like me at school. It couldn't have been more than ten pages. I read it to my parents and grandparents. All my mom said was that she didn't like the spells in it. (hardcore evangelical christian) My grandmother later told me that she enjoyed it. On the whole, it was a negative experience that certainly didn't encourage me to keep writing.
Seventh grade: While arguing with my brother about the quality of a popular series of fantasy novels he liked, I blurted out that I could write a better fantasy novel. He told me to do it if it's so easy. I start writing a novel. I get about twelve pages in and show it to him. He is extremely critical of my work. I decide not to continue because I don't know where the plot is going and it's going to be too much work. More importantly, I feel as though getting published is impossible so why even try?
Eighth grade: I get voted "future author" in the yearbook. I'm completely surprised by this. It was probably because of the notebook I wouldn't let anyone see that was full of video game ideas and Magic card designs. I was always scribbling in it.
Freshman year of college: I write a short Twilight Zone-esque story. I show it to my English teacher who gives me mixed feedback.
2007: I show the story to a friend at the library where we work. She seemed to enjoy it.
October 2007: The friend asks me to do NaNoWriMo with her in November. I really like her, but I'm too busy with school to write 50,000 words in a month. I tell her that I like the idea, but that I won't have time to try it until January. She understands and goes ahead with it in November.
January 2008: I start NaNoWriMo. The words fly from my fingers at a rate that surprises me. I'm driven by a desire to impress her. The story isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I share it with her as I write it. The evening of January 31st I reach 50,000 words, but the story isn't finished. I immediately call my friend. She comes right over and we read the rest of it together. I feel like I've really accomplished something.
On and off over the next couple of years I finished my novel by adding about 30,000 words to it. Like all first novels, the final result was pretty rough. From about 2011 to 2013 I gave it a good once over and cleaned it up. Ultimately, I decided that draft couldn't be saved. Reading it today makes me cringe.
2014: I have a job working as an analyst in a mid-sized bank. The pay is excellent and I have a short commute, but I hate my job. The hours are long and I start to realize that my education was a serious mistake. I have zero passion for what I do and I'm dreading every day at work. I feel like I'm stuck in a field that I hate for thirty long years until retirement. In June, I start seeing a counselor to help deal with the anxiety at my job. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with my life. Pretty quickly I decide that I want to be a writer, but I can't get over the low odds of success one must face. In August 2014, I decided to begin re-writing the novel. The stress from my job keeps me from writing except on weekends. Even then, I get precious little done due to my fatalism over the publishing world. I completely lack confidence in my ability to promote my work. Things get slightly better at the end of the year when my boss quits. The new guy and I get along much better and the pressure lets up considerably.
2015: I marry my friend from the library in May. ;) In June, my counselor diagnoses me with dysthymia and I start medication. Things start looking up for me almost immediately. I start to feel like a person again and I pour myself into my novel all days of the week. I still find my chances of success unlikely, but it doesn't paralyze me like it used to.
I'm not sure where to begin. I really need someone to show me the ropes. Reading all the different forums here has been overwhelming. Right now, I'm over halfway through the re-write and it's much better this time around. That said, I know I have a long way to go as a writer.
I think what I'm looking for is a critique partner or a critique group, but I'm not sure which. Ultimately, I want to become a professional author and publish my NaNoWriMo novel. It's a near future sci-fi in which a young man is undergoing a radical new form of psychotherapy designed to rebuild his psyche from the ground up. To do so, he must go on a journey of discovery through a world made of his hopes, fears and darkest desires.
If you made it this far, thank you for your time. I look forward to talking with all of you and hopefully working with some of you too.
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