Wow, this is awkward...

kabes

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Hey people of AW,

I'm new to forums in general and to this forum in particular after having felt too voyeuristic to have done any meaningful lurking. I'm a would-be YA Fantasy author from Alberta, Canada, though I currently live in Phoenix with my ridiculously awesome husband. I work as a director of student services at a private university, and I realized a few years ago that if I cared as much about my job as I do about writing/editing department emails and newsletters, I'd have the best job ever. Hence my desire to get my write on.

I'm a huge proponent of the serial comma and of two spaces following periods, so, you know, I apologize if that weighty gauntlet hit anyone on the way down. I mean, I really lobbed that sucker.

I've completed my first novel and have had it critiqued by several friends and teenage girls (best feedback EVER), but I'm hoping to get more feedback through these forums before I start querying agents. I'm really excited to get to know and learn from all of you. :)

But for now, there's a brownie with my name on it...
 

alleycat

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Welcome.

Oh, don't worry about the one space or two debate, or serial commas; if you really want to start a fistfight, ask about prologues, outlines, or self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. ;-)
 

kabes

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Ha! Thanks, Alleycat. I'm sure I'm going to see lots of knock-down battles about the intricacies of the publishing world...I look forward to all of them!
 

pandora1983

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IWelcome aboard. When I am writing writing I use the two spaces and commas ans semicolons all over the place...however on here I use my kindle to post...so the grammar is lacking. Try not to judge the author by the posts lol. Whats your novel about?
 

kabes

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Hey Pandora - definitely no judgment on grammar or anything else! I'm from Canada, so it's everything I can do to avoid adding extra l's and u's to every word my fingers can type. ;) I majored in Philosophy, so I love grammar dearly. But in the process of editing, I've realized that correct grammar can come off...clunky. Work in progress, right?

My novel is a little Narnian. It's about a teenage girl who, a few years after her parents pass away, stumbles into a famine-stricken with a prophecy she wants nothing more than to get away from.

Do you have a WIP or novel in the wings? :)
 

pandora1983

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Hey Pandora - definitely no judgment on grammar or anything else! I'm from Canada, so it's everything I can do to avoid adding extra l's and u's to every word my fingers can type. ;) I majored in Philosophy, so I love grammar dearly. But in the process of editing, I've realized that correct grammar can come off...clunky. Work in progress, right?

My novel is a little Narnian. It's about a teenage girl who, a few years after her parents pass away, stumbles into a famine-stricken with a prophecy she wants nothing more than to get away from.



That sounds like a really interesting premise! Love to hear more.
I am 20k words into my first urban fantasy. The general premise is on my first post Newbie from Wilmington NC if you want to check it out. Im new but learning a ton and so far everyone says they like my voice...so Im jumping in with both feet.
 

benbradley

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:welcome:!
Welcome.

Oh, don't worry about the one space or two debate, or serial commas; if you really want to start a fistfight, ask about prologues, outlines, or self-publishing vs. traditional commercial publishing. ;-)
Yeah. What alleycat said. :D
 

CACTUSWENDY

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Welcome to AW. Hope you enjoy your stay with us.
How do you like your popcorn?
Hi neighbor.....grins.
If you go to the bottom of the page to the ‘forum jump’ you can scroll down and find all the areas of this place. Most of the SYW areas require the password of ….vista. A word to the wise, (50 posts), it would be a good idea to participate first in helping others before you think about posting your own work. After you have been around here for awhile, then post something of your own for help. Good luck.
 

KitJohnson

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Hi Kabes, welcome to the AW Water Cooler. If you haven't lurked here much then don't worry, it's a very friendly place.

With you on the double space, not so much with the serial comma (but that's a British English thing). And how do you feel about starting sentences with conjunctions? :)
 

regdog

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Don't forget to read the Newbie's Guide and enjoy AW


Members who want to start a thread in Share Your Work to have work critiqued need
50 posts. So take some time to read the stickies, greet fellow newbies, critique other members’
works, or join a discussion.






I have passes for the pool on the roof, only $10
 

poetinahat

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I'm a huge proponent of the serial comma and of two spaces following periods

Definitely my kind of people! Welcome, kabes!
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Welcome to the forums.

Okay, I realize I'm probably causing trouble (particularly since I am not a writer at all, but an artist), but is there really controversy about the serial comma? I used to use them all the time, and still mostly do, but I was shown other possibilities by Robert Frost's "The woods are lovely, dark and deep" and concluded that sometimes writing just sounds better without them.
 

stranger_friction

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Hey people of AW,

I'm new to forums in general and to this forum in particular after having felt too voyeuristic to have done any meaningful lurking. I'm a would-be YA Fantasy author from Alberta, Canada, though I currently live in Phoenix with my ridiculously awesome husband. I work as a director of student services at a private university, and I realized a few years ago that if I cared as much about my job as I do about writing/editing department emails and newsletters, I'd have the best job ever. Hence my desire to get my write on.

I'm a huge proponent of the serial comma and of two spaces following periods, so, you know, I apologize if that weighty gauntlet hit anyone on the way down. I mean, I really lobbed that sucker.

I've completed my first novel and have had it critiqued by several friends and teenage girls (best feedback EVER), but I'm hoping to get more feedback through these forums before I start querying agents. I'm really excited to get to know and learn from all of you. :)

But for now, there's a brownie with my name on it...

hello, and welcome!(space, space) I lurked here a while before joining because i was able to glean so much insight without being involved. this is a great place to exchange ideas and learn if you can ignore the snarky comments of folks with over nine million posts and no published work. not helpful at all and a little discouraging. but ignore them and have fun. good luck with your queries!
 

mckenna0726

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Hi Kabes, that was such a welcoming looking post title, wow this is awkward indeed. I just joined today too, I've been skulking aroung this awesome site for years, checking agent recs, reading stuff etc but somehow I never felt like (to quote Wayne's World that I was worthy).

This is a real writers site and since up until recently I couldnt get anyone who I couldnt emotionally blackmail to read what I wrote I wasnt sure if I was a writer or not. Its like if a tree fallls...if you write 8 damn books and they are only on your laptop and no one reads them are you really a writer? But what the hell now I have an agent and my first book is coming out in September and worse thats what I TELL people I do, so I guess I'm a writer now lol. Of course saying I'm a writer sounds better than saying I'm trying to start a condo development in dumpsters...Anyway have you finished the awful horrible ghastly miserable soul killing journey the first book yet? Write me I need friends on this site dammit
Kathleen