Introduce Yourselves

[bjbrewster]

I need some thirteen-year-old vernacular---the way kids say things today---for my TIMEMEISTERS. [Some girl and boy characters who need to know how to utter their lines as real thirteen-year-olds speak.] I'm 65 years old and use way too many words . . . and probably not the right ones---the one I need in order to successfully communicate with this younger crowd of characters and, hopefully, readers.

[Talon_Radden]

I don't think it matters what they say. The thing you need to understand is that our minds are bigger then you could ever know. Just as long they don't sound like they are waiting on line for prune dip everything should be fine. Oh, and what does vinatricle or whatever you said mean?

[book_worm]

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Talon_Radden wrote:
I don't think it matters what they say. The thing you need to understand is that our minds are bigger then you could ever know. Just as long they don't sound like they are waiting on line for prune dip everything should be fine. Oh, and what does vinatricle or whatever you said mean?

---

Vernacular means - the plain variety of language in everyday use by ordinary people.

I didn't know what it meant either so I looked it up. www.dictionary.com is a life saver hehe

[AHB_628]

Hi - I'm Alice. I live in Westchester County about 40 miles north of NYC. I love reading and I believe that the writing is usually what drives interest in the text, be it fiction or non fiction. I have a few science fiction and fantasy stories that are half written that I would like to finish and polish.

[Rintrah]

Hi, my introduction to fantasy and science fiction began with Edgar Rice Burrough's Venus series and I know I'm dating myself. I graduated to the masters from Heinlein to Asimov and so on up to the present with Robert Jordan. Although I don't seem to read as much scifi. and fantasy as I use to.
Looking forward to the exchange of ideas. It certainly looks like a great group of people.

[cathylada]

Hi, I"m writing from the northern Virginia area, and am enjoying reading a little bit about everyone's backgrounds and writing interests. I've been toying with writing a SF novel or short story for awhile and my journal is full of ideas and ramblings, so I thought I'd take the plunge with this online group and try to write something coherent. By trade I'm in communications and marketing for a non-profit.

[alifepostponed]

My bio is as thrilling and mundane as the next. I am no one and everyone; just another of the unwashed nameless masses rising and falling, living and dying throughout time with little to no consequence. I’m also a bit melodramatic.

I’m here to try my hand at writing. I’ve always wanted to write and I have a couple of stories kicking around in my head that require exorcising. I’d also like to build a world. Heaven knows I don’t live in reality. I might as well try to organize the chaos in my head.

I hope to get some feedback on my submissions and to read works from other authors in this online club. I’m also looking forward to reading the books chosen by the moderator and discussing the seletions with other participants.

Let the games begin.

[marta_randall]

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Talon_Radden wrote:
hi my name is Claire, and I, unlike most 13 year olds am trying to write a fantasy novel. Oh! and uh, i'm dislexic which kinda makes it a little harder. Sorry if I a made any grammaticle errors!

Claire, one of the most artful and articulate s.f. writers, Samuel R. Delaney, is dyslexic, so don't let it slow you down!

Message Edited by marta_randall on 02-05-200704:13 PM

[patterner]

Hello from sunny southern CA!

I actually started late as a reader (they were worried when I hadn't started by grade 2) but once they got the books in my hand, they started wondering how to get them out again. I've mainly read fantasy with the odd bit of hard SF in there. Recently my interests have shifted to urban fantasy, and this is what I'd really like to write.

I've not written anything of any length since school, though I've written a few couple hundred word "vignettes" that were well received by friends. I've also been told that I should be a writer by some people (including my wife) who know me well. That said, I still don't feel like I've got anything inside me that other people would like to read (and would pay money for the privilege of reading), so I guess maybe my biggest issue is one of self confidence. Hopefully this group can help there.

Thanks for listening, see you all in prose soon!

crr

[Muse_of_Ire]

Hi, I'm Meredith. I'm 46 and like a couple of others here I'm also from Philadelphia. I discovered science fiction as a kid reading my dad's paperbacks. These days I mostly prefer fantasy; I guess I feel more drawn to magic emotionally. Some of my favorites include Marta Randall (no, this is NOT just sucking up; learning that she was the moderator was one of the things that convinced me to sign up for this forum), Barbara Hambly, Sheri S. Tepper, Patricia A. McKillip, Teresa Edgerton, and Sharon Shinn.

I am a professional writer for a major corporation, some business, some technical, some marketing. My fiction writing has always been in the fantasy genre. I've never been published although I've received some encouraging rejections. Unfortunately my output is very sporadic and I'm in the middle of a major creative slump. I've been stuck on chapter 2 of a novel for more years than I care to confess and I've started but not finished a couple of stories. My most prolific periods have always been when I'm in contact with other writers, so I'm hoping for some fresh inspiration, feedback, and community.

[thunder7]

Hi,
I'm chuck. I also am from near philly. I am 44 and have always wanted to write Science Fiction. I actually started writing a novel back in 1991, but never finished it. Flash forward 16 years and 2 wonderful children later. I stumbled upon a manuscript stowed away in a box in our cubby hole in the attic. When I dusted it off (I was plesently surprised at how well the paper held up) I began reading through it with a much more wise and critical eye.
I found a few paragraphs which were good and a few good ideas in the story, but that was about it.
I want to get back into writing, I have not written any kind of fiction lately. It has mostly been business writing for work butI'm glad to be along for the adventure
Chuck

[Blazingnoob]

Hi,

When I was in college I had one of those stereotypical moments where I was taken over by a story I HAD to write. It started off with an image that I wanted to play with and put on paper and that kind of just took over and kept flowing into a story. I would write chapter after chapter and I like to think that it was pretty good stuff as my friends kept bugging me for the next chapter to read. I went away for the weekend and while I was away someone broke into my apartment and stole (among other things)my Mac Plus that had the story on it. I got another computer, knew the exact story line I was meaning to follow and I had some of the printed text but I was never able to recapture that thread or feeling. Everything I was writing just seemed contrived and without depth. Just flat. I stopped writing but have missed it ever since. I am now 41 with a wife and daughter and I want that feeling back. The feeling of the story just being there and flowing out of me. So I am joining this book club in the hopes of re-kindling my inspiration.

-- Cort

[ARC-General]

Hi all,

To sum myself I live in New York, have loved reading science fiction as far back as I can remember, and I am addicted to computer games(mostly the deep-strategy combat games of land, air, sea, and space). Yep, I also work at a library. A few of my favorite science fiction writers are Orson Scott Card, Timothy Zahn, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Aaron Allston. I'd say that's a solid introduction.

[roomtowrite]

My name is Cynthia. I love science fiction and have always wanted to try my hand at it, but never made the time to try. Recently my husband died. This made me aware that if I want to do something in this life, I had better get started. None of us has unlimited time. So, move over Star Wars, Stargate, Harry Potter et al - here I come. And for those other joys in life - soon there will be a lot more camping, quilting, rug hooking and geneological research done too!

I make my living as a teacher and to this point, all of my writing has been academic. Time to seize life with a passion and try something new!

Message Edited by roomtowrite on 02-08-200705:34 PM

Message Edited by roomtowrite on 02-08-200705:34 PM

[Vicky42]

Hi,
My name is Vicky. I am 38 and live in southern California. I've loved reading fantasy and sci-fi since I was a child.
I've written a couple of fantasy short stories and poetry. I've had poetry published in high school and college literary magazines. I've haven't written anything recently except for essays and sociology and pychology papers. I have a couple of ideas in my head for a story. I'm hoping taking this course will get me in the writing mode again.
The authors I enjoy reading are Charles deLint, Tanya Huff, Jasper Fforde, Laurel K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Hienlien, J.K. Rowling and John Scalzi.

[KristenS]

Hi, I guess I'm coming in a little late to this group. I'm Kristen, and I'm a homeschooling mom who really wants to write in her so-called spare time. :-)I thought I wrote fantasy but it seems to be creeping towards sci-fi, which is fine with me. I'm a big fan of National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org) and its corollary National Novel Editing Month (www.nanoedmo.net).

[Ackriah]

Hello, i have been interesting in writing for years. Its good to know my favorite book store has a book club.

[mae-V]

Hello,
I'm melanie, near the end of training for electronics technician here in Sacramento, and a two-year Nano-er. I signed up for this group believing it would help me focus on my latest novel draft despite its being fantasy. Evidently I was wrong. Not about the group! About the novel being fantasy. I am gratefully in exactly the right place. So much so, in fact, that the suggested exercise example could have been taken from my world!
While the novels started life in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, I realized (from my years of reading science fiction) that the genre might be used to explain technology and science concepts. You know, the show rather than tell function. I know that I understand things better when I have a narrative context for them, and the act of trying to transpose things like capacitors and transistors into a world without electronics has helped me understand electronics better.

I like SF because it represents the universe from a perspective closer to a shamanic view than I get even in fantasy. Learning to write SF brings me closer to shaping my own sf, or shamanic fiction.

ok, i've mentioned ET, Sac, D&D... did I miss anything? Oh, and I started reading in Philly. Probably from my Mom's Analog collection.

[angelfly72]

Hello, Mae! Glad to see someone else from the Sacramento area has joined this club!



Angela

[luckyme]

hi my name is shirley brown I love science fiction books
I'm a writer I just writen a book called shirley brown
book of poetry
fine me on barnes& noble.com