Lurker/Noob

Hi all,

I'm Arlen James. Well, actually, I'm not - but I find pen names useful. If it's more convenient, you can call me "AJ."

I've been lurking at Absolute Write for a while. I recently made my posting debut in the "Share Your Work" forum. I slapped up a sci-fi piece and received some valuable feedback, for which I am very grateful.

Professionally speaking, I'm a freelance writer/editor, with the emphasis currently falling toward the editing side. I have a long-term contract as a copyeditor and community manager for a high-traffic internet content site. Although I am chiefly a copyeditor, the fact that editing is a spectrum rather than a strict set of rigidly-defined tasks means that I often do more substantive editing as well - albeit on short non-fiction pieces which cannot be fairly compared to full-length books. So, in the editing world, I'm still small potatoes, but at least I'm paying the bills.

My opportunities to write for pay are somewhat limited in my current contract, but I have been able to make some contributions here and there. I've also written a very unusual book, at the insistent behest of an acquaintance. In my opinion, it isn't something remotely marketable, but he has the faith of a lion. I'm a realist, but I'll admit to holding out a sliver of hope that he is right and I am wrong. Call it "willing suspension of disbelief."

I am also an amateur philosopher (in the sense that, like most philosophers, I don't get paid for it). The majority of my free time in the past 7 years has been spent pursuing philosophical thought. It would be difficult to summarize the position I've arrived at, but it's something like a synthesis of Western Hegelian idealism and the quasi-mystical monism of the more intellectual traditions in Zen, Taoism, and Advaita Vedanta. If that sounds like gibberish, it might be easier to say that I believe "Reality is one and undivided, but no matter how we try to think about it, it always appears to us in terms of divisions and opposites." The solution, of course, is to stop thinking about it and let it be - a tall order for a analytical sort such as myself (with the emphasis on "anal").

Writing-wise, my strength is in non-fiction, although I'm tentatively testing the waters with fiction as well. I'm a fan of classic sci-fi, as well as the horror of King, Koontz, et al. I like anything that is both realistic and fantastic simultaneously - such an approach resonates with my dialectical philosophy.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the community and participating actively (as time permits). If I can be of assistance to anyone here, feel free to let me know.

Best,

AJ

By the way, I just realized that (as is my habit), I gave you pretty much nothing substantive in terms of who I am. I'm in my early 30's, male, and a (reluctant) resident of the American South. I'm an economic leftie and a social moderate, and opinionated enough to tell you exactly what I mean by that. I like pizza, Yuengling beer, and cheese-flavored snack crackers, and I dislike hypocrites, fleas, and Fear Factor.

Thanks, everyone!

Jenna said:

Fear Factor is creepy, especially when they put fleas on cheese-flavored crackers.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a travesty. Cheese crackers are practically sacrosanct. For the record, I prefer genuine Cheez-Its. Most of the other brands give me heartburn (especially Cheese Nips, which should be called "Grease Nips").

I like both, actually, although I usually choose the lager. I don't always necessarily want beer to taste like "beer," you see. When I'm in the mood for "beer-tasting beer," it's the black and tan, but when I just want to be refreshed and relax a bit, it's the lager.