new writer new to B&N

[catmews]

Just wanted to introduce myself--and my new nookbook.

I recently published "Mewsings: My Life as a Jewish Cat." Here, a cat called Ketzel pontificates, in rhyme, on what it takes to be a devout calico in a modern Jewish household. Whether chasing after latkes--and spinning tops--at Hanukkah, or taste-testing gefilte fish at Passover, etc.

I discovered the B&N Community a few minutes ago and am slowly reading the posts. One immediate question: Are there any boards regarding cats?

Greta

[Brandi_R]

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catmews wrote:

Just wanted to introduce myself--and my new nookbook.

I recently published "Mewsings: My Life as a Jewish Cat." Here, a cat called Ketzel pontificates, in rhyme, on what it takes to be a devout calico in a modern Jewish household. Whether chasing after latkes--and spinning tops--at Hanukkah, or taste-testing gefilte fish at Passover, etc.

I discovered the B&N Community a few minutes ago and am slowly reading the posts. One immediate question: Are there any boards regarding cats?

Greta

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Welcome to the Writing Room, Greta!

I'm sure a quick look at the "Browse Book Clubs" link will give you a good idea of all the board topics.

[veronicajoy]

Hi everyone, I'm Veronica Kriegl. I normally never post my full name anywhere on the web lol so I guess you could say this feels safe. I am 20 years old and I've been writing for as long as I can remember; probably since I learned how to spell my name. I wrote short stories non-stop until I reached about seventh grade. I always found poetry extremely difficult up until that point in my life. I guess you could say that poetry found me rather than the other way around. I have had dreams of becoming a published author practically since birth. I remember adults would ask me that ever so cliche question, "What would you like to be when you grow up?" and I would always answer an author. Usually, I recieved questionable responses that often presented themselves in the form of silence or a twitch of the eye. Oh well, it has always been my thing. I am currently attending a county college where I am studying English and Psychology. I hope to achieve a masters at least in both. I have this unexplained need to help others, I consider it a curse as much as a gift. It is what drives me as a person and my dreams. I write primarily for myself because without writing I, in my own mind, disappear. I cease to exist. Without writing I am simply not a person or rather, simply not myself. But I also write with hopes that one day what I write will impact a reader. I dream of inspiring millions and my words being the first step of inertia , the catalyst, for something good. However, If I can impact one person to make a difference or inspirethem to reach their fullest potential, well I will have reached my goals. All in all, I am an aspiring writer who is trying to find her place in a crazy world. I have dogmatic opinios, coquettist ways, and high expectations. I cannot wait to read, participate, and discuss writing with you all. Finally, thank you for welcoming me into your group.

P.S. So far I have posted twice on the message board. The Dream Chaser, and another little ditty. =) Thank you and sorry for the rant. I get carried away.

[KathyS]

Welcome, Veronica, to the writing board. Nice to know you. No need to apologize for the rant, just remember to give us a place to breathe while reading your posts..., like a paragraph, or two.   

Enjoy!

Kathy S.

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veronicajoy wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm Veronica Kriegl. I normally never post my full name anywhere on the web lol so I guess you could say this feels safe. I am 20 years old and I've been writing for as long as I can remember; probably since I learned how to spell my name. I wrote short stories non-stop until I reached about seventh grade. I always found poetry extremely difficult up until that point in my life. I guess you could say that poetry found me rather than the other way around. I have had dreams of becoming a published author practically since birth. I remember adults would ask me that ever so cliche question, "What would you like to be when you grow up?" and I would always answer an author. Usually, I received questionable responses that often presented themselves in the form of silence or a twitch of the eye. Oh well, it has always been my thing. I am currently attending a county college where I am studying English and Psychology. I hope to achieve a masters at least in both. I have this unexplained need to help others, I consider it a curse as much as a gift. It is what drives me as a person and my dreams. I write primarily for myself because without writing I, in my own mind, disappear. I cease to exist. Without writing I am simply not a person or rather, simply not myself. But I also write with hopes that one day what I write will impact a reader. I dream of inspiring millions and my words being the first step of inertia , the catalyst, for something good. However, If I can impact one person to make a difference or inspirethem to reach their fullest potential, well I will have reached my goals. All in all, I am an aspiring writer who is trying to find her place in a crazy world. I have dogmatic opinios, coquettist ways, and high expectations. I cannot wait to read, participate, and discuss writing with you all. Finally, thank you for welcoming me into your group.

P.S. So far I have posted twice on the message board. The Dream Chaser, and another little ditty. =) Thank you and sorry for the rant. I get carried away.

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[Brandi_R]

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veronicajoy wrote:

Hi everyone. . . .

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Welcome, Veronica. I look forward to reading your work here at the Writing Room. Great quote from Peter Pan in your signature!

[Rei_Uzimaki]

Hi. My name is Meaghan Conyers (Meaghan is pronounced May-gan) and i am a junior in high schol. My family roots are in Europe, but im a 100% American. I'm new to this, so i dont really know what to write about. I supose ill just give you some background info and be done with it.

When I was younger I adored writing. I thought it was the most amazing thing. I felt that with writing, I could go anywhere; into my imagination, to China, to Ireland, basically anywhere my little heart desired. Well, anywhere that I knew of with my limited knowledge. However, as I grew older I came to realize one thing. I sucked at writing. I never completed any of my short stories, I couldnt make poems that other people could relate to. So i did what I am best at doing. I simply gave up the art of writing.

Know I turn to books to feed my hunger for finding out the unknown, to fuel my ever over excited imagination. I read everything I can get my hands on. Im currently reading a book called "Stolen Magic" my M.J. Putney.

[Brandi_R]

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Rei_Uzimaki wrote:

Hi. My name is Meaghan Conyers (Meaghan is pronounced May-gan) and i am a junior in high schol. My family roots are in Europe, but im a 100% American. I'm new to this, so i dont really know what to write about. I supose ill just give you some background info and be done with it.

When I was younger I adored writing. I thought it was the most amazing thing. I felt that with writing, I could go anywhere; into my imagination, to China, to Ireland, basically anywhere my little heart desired. Well, anywhere that I knew of with my limited knowledge. However, as I grew older I came to realize one thing. I sucked at writing. I never completed any of my short stories, I couldnt make poems that other people could relate to. So i did what I am best at doing. I simply gave up the art of writing.

Know I turn to books to feed my hunger for finding out the unknown, to fuel my ever over excited imagination. I read everything I can get my hands on. Im currently reading a book called "Stolen Magic" my M.J. Putney.

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I'm glad you found us here at the Writing Room. I hope this means you're thinking about finding your way back to writing.

[island_time]

Kelly- I think it is fabulous (and very creative) to write stories about your paintings! It sounds like you are a multi-talented girl. One day, if you chose to publish, you can add your drawings to your books, which is not very common. It will definitely set you apart. Hope to read your stories some day  

[MartiTalbott]

Greetings,

I am Marti Talbott, age 65 and finally retired so I have time to write. I can not believe how happy I am. I live in Seattle, have two daughters, five grand children and one great-grand child.

[Brandi_R]

A big welcome to our newest members. I'm glad you found the Writing Room!

[ilazria]

Maybe I'm chicken, but I'd rather just stick with ilazria for the name (pronounced i-LAZ-ree-ah. My husband says it's hard to figure out how to pronounce it ) It's the me I like better anyway. I'm 27, and a mom of 2 young girls. I'm a book-a-holic. I read for hours every day, and have re-read some books so many times I've had to buy new copies of the book. Thank gods I got a nook for Yule!

I wrote a lot of poetry in high school, and a few short stories. I'd even written a rather lengthy Hanson fan-fic, though I never finished it. My fickle teenage heart moved on before I reached the end.

Stuggles with bipolar and raising my kids have made writing more of a challenge. I'm hoping I can take advantage of the "good mood swings" more, once both of my children are in school. I've got this book in my head, and I really want to write it. It's more of a series of books, actually. The characters are there, and what I think is a pretty solid system of magic for their world. The story itself has morphed a few times over the years, but the more I tweak the more solid it becomes.

I'm trying to take my time before really writing the actual stories. I want people to really see my story in their mind when they read it, like LoTR or David Eddings books. At the same time, my story seems to have the potential to be an expanding set, like Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. I've alread got 3 characters who, the more I think about them, the more they seem to have their own role to play, their own story to tell. It makes it difficult to write sometimes. Some days the other characters seem to take over my imagination, but I can't finish their stories until I finish the first character's story. His lays the path for all that follows.

Anyway, I'm here mostly to get advice on story construction, and to maybe have some impartial opinions to bounce ideas off of.

[ekwilli98198]

Hi Marti, I too live in the Seattle Area.  I am a Grandmother of 6 and hope to live my lifelong dream of being a writer.  Perhaps someday we will both meet at some book club awards banquet where we receive awards for our latest best selling novels.

[greengirl09]

Hi, my name's Alana. I'm currently a student in middle school with straight As. I really really love to write, and most of the things I write are romance, paranormal, adventure, and tragedy novels. I also write whimsical quotes, songs, and poems. I haven't published anything, but I plan to send some of my work out to publishers in a year or two, when I'm a bit older. I have two brothers. Infact, I'm a triplet, believe it or not. I love music, dancing, acting, etc. I've been dancing for almost 10 years, and this is my second year in my school's drama club. My favorite color is purple, but I really love orange, lime green, and tropical blues. I have a Nook Color, and I love it. I have a lot of ethnic backgrounds from both my mom and dad's side, so I'll just say the major ones:

Russian

Irish

German

English

Israeli

Scottish

Polish

There's a lot more, but that's just a few. I currently live in America. I had two cats, Mika and Patches, but sadly Mika died of intestinal cancer this past summer. I don't really know what else to say except I'm glad to be here, and hopefully I'll be sharing some of my writing shortly.

[drdln]

I am a non-fiction author. I like to know your interest and invite you to be in my circle of friends.  I have recently published some of my titles on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble too:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sukhraj+dhillon&x=18&y=... 

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=book&ATH=Dr+Sukhraj+S+Dhillon 

[greengirl09]

My age, I forgot lol.... I'm 12.

[DG0527]

My name is Dominick G IM a writer with great interest in horror and fiction.

I wanted to say hello to everyone and and to share my literature to you fellow writers I would greatly appreciate your honest opinion on works. - Dominick

[DG0527]

My age is 17 i am a senior in high school

[AlmH]

The Prince & The Toad 

The Garbage Collector Hi I'm Alm Hlgh.  

I enjoy writing about unusual love relationships between men and women. I have been writing for several years with many of my stories winning writing competitions and placement. I write a prose column in a local Chicago area newspaper for many years.

If you've found yourself bored with the conventional romance stories that are predicable and lacking in sensuality between men and women; then these eBooks have been specially written for you. Join a host of interesting and lovable characters in their quest for discovering and experiencing true love.  You will believe in love again.

[shadowcat80]

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Brandi_R wrote:

Awhile back, our introduction thread disappeared. I think it’s about time we had another one.

New to the Writer’s Room? Introduce yourself here. A long time contributor? Reintroduce yourself or share something about yourself that we don’t already know. Interested in learning more about everyone in the Writing Room? Post your questions here. Any "getting to know you" business can happen here.

I’ll kick things off . . .

I’m Brandi Reissenweber, the Writing Room moderator. I’ve been moderating the Writing Room for several years, all the way back to the days when this space was Barnes & Noble University. I’m a writer and a teacher. My short fiction has appeared in or is forthcoming from Willow Springs, The Briar Cliff Review, Phoebe, and other literary journals. I was a James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Writer-in-Residence for The Jack Kerouac Project of Orlando, where I lived and worked in the house where Jack Kerouac wrote The Dharma Bums. I'm currently at work on a novel.   

I’ve written quite a bit about the craft of creative writing. I authored the chapter on Characterization in Writing Fiction. I’ve also published articles on writing in Poets & Writers and The Writer Magazine and I write a bi-weekly question and answer column for The Writer Magazine’s website. I’ve taught creative writing extensively in the classroom setting—at New York University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, the Graham School at the University of Chicago, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Gotham Writers’ Workshop—and in other settings like hospitals and homeless centers.

I’m thrilled to be moderating the Writing Room. Welcome to everyone in our group—both new and seasoned members! I look forward to learning more about each one of you, continuing our lively discussions about writing, publishing, and the writers’ life, and, of course, reading your work.

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Hello I'm Stephanie, I just turned 18 and, am college student at University of Arkansas.  My major is journalism, I want to write for a big newspaper like the New York Times for example.  I usually post under teen section but, I recently posted here because I dealing with a writer's block and, it can effect my grades.  I'm stressed out about that I was a straight A student in high school, now I'm not and, I am also homesick.  It's the first time I am away from my family. 

I like teen genre, mystery genre, and adventure thrillers.

[KathyS]

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shadowcat80 wrote:

Hello I'm Stephanie, I just turned 18 and, am college student at University of Arkansas.  My major is journalism, I want to write for a big newspaper like the New York Times for example.  I usually post under teen section but, I recently posted here because I dealing with a writer's block and, it can effect my grades.  I'm stressed out about that I was a straight A student in high school, now I'm not and, I am also homesick.  It's the first time I am away from my family. 

I like teen genre, mystery genre, and adventure thrillers.

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Good morning, Stephanie! 

I'm sorry to hear that you are homesick.  I'm glad you came to this board, maybe we can help you get settled a bit. Being homesick, and away from your family, can certainly affect your writing, your grades, and your personal life.  It's distracting, emotionally.  I know the feelings, as I have been there a time or two in my life.

I don't know what your writing assignments are, either personal, or for the school paper, but you do need to work through what it is that is stopping you from writing. 

You might take a cue from your emotions, and write about them.  Put them into a character, or situation, or poem, anything that will use those feelings to your advantage.  It might be hard to start, at first, but try.  Also, give these exercises that Brandi offers this board a try.  It will channel some of that focus back to positive thought in writing. 

Don't start comparing your grades in high school to your grades in college, college is not high school....it is tuff, and requres much more work.  Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore!  (that's a joke)  I don't mean to make light of your situation, I know it's hard on you, but it will pass, just express yourself in the best way you know how, in writing about it.  Use this board to do it, as often as you like. 

Chat is fine, talk about yourself, but also focus your thoughts on the subject of writing your stories.  You can do it here if you like.  We'll critique what you write, if you wish.  Or we can leave you alone.  Whatever works best for you.  Look at the subject threads, and find a place to jump in, or start a new one.  Join in the readings, challenges, find what makes you happy.  Just have fun.  Look around at all of the boards and blogs in the B&N community.  Make yourself at home.  All ages live here!  It's a big community of nice people, and we're all here to enjoy ourselves, and I hope you can take advantage of that.

If you need any help, just ask away.

Kathy