John Curtis - perhaps this time it will work

[grubester]

Over several decades, I have started to write a novel more times than I want to admit. I think it is because I edit as I write, and the start must be pure gold. Like "It was the best of times..."
I accepted writerly advice that you start a novel by writing a compelling first sentence.

Then I was diverted by passions and vocations that left no time for anything else, let alone writing.

Things are finally livable again and I'm ready to give it another go. I have been reading studying and I think my brain and my novel are in a good starting place.

I like what I see here and look forward to sharing and learning on absolutewrite.com.

 

[mccardey]

Welcome, grubester! Hope you really enjoy it here.

 

[Helix]

Over several decades, I have started to write a novel more times than I want to admit. I think it is because I edit as I write, and the start must be pure gold. Like "It was the best of times..."
I accepted writerly advice that you start a novel by writing a compelling first sentence.

Then I was diverted by passions and vocations that left no time for anything else, let alone writing.

Things are finally livable again and I'm ready to give it another go. I have been reading studying and I think my brain and my novel are in a good starting place.

I like what I see here and look forward to sharing and learning on absolutewrite.com.

Oh, yeah, that first line. Trying to get it right before you do anything else will absolutely kill a story. So my advice -- which no one asked for -- is to write it last.

But more importantly,

 

[Nether]

Welcome.

I accepted writerly advice that you start a novel by writing a compelling first sentence.

People get really hung up on that first sentence, forgetting how much every sentence after it matters and you can always change the first sentence after those other sentences are out of the way.

Beyond that, perfectionism is a trap. Writing is generally going to be a little messy, like any other art form. If you were sculpting with clay or using paint, you wouldn't expect for things to be entirely clean, and the same at least somewhat applies to writing.

 

[Unimportant]

Over several decades, I have started to write a novel more times than I want to admit. I think it is because I edit as I write, and the start must be pure gold. Like "It was the best of times..."
I accepted writerly advice that you start a novel by writing a compelling first sentence.

Then I was diverted by passions and vocations that left no time for anything else, let alone writing.

Things are finally livable again and I'm ready to give it another go. I have been reading studying and I think my brain and my novel are in a good starting place.

I like what I see here and look forward to sharing and learning on absolutewrite.com.

Welcome!

As someone who has been writing, and hanging out at Absolute Write, for decades, I shall take advantage of my status as a Golden Oldie and give you official permission to write shit.

Seriously. Go for it. Vomit out a totally craptastic first draft. It's okay! Even the worst first draft can be rewritten and revised and edited and polished to pure gold. But that can't happen unless you finish the first draft.

 

[regdog]

Welcome to AW


Take some time and read the Newbie Guide and the Stickies found
at the top of Forum pages. They are your best guide to learning about
Absolute Write.

Stop by the Weekend Progress Report each week to brag about your weekly writing accomplishments.
Awesome smilies and awards are given out.

Please read the FAQ about posting photos.


In fact we have lots of brilliant FAQs check them out.


Members who want to start a thread in Share Your Work to have work critiqued need
50 posts. Don’t make a mad dash to reach your 50 posts. That is frowned upon and can lead to your posts being deleted.
Take some time to greet fellow newbies, critique other members’ works, or join a discussion.

 

[Maryn]

Unimportantsaid it fist and probably better, but yeah, give yourself blanket permission to write utter crap. Get words on the page/screen until the whole story is told. It can be a bloated dead whale or stringy and lean as jerky past its use-by date.

It will suck. Doesn't matter. Congratulate yourself for having raw material to rewrite, revise, edit, scrap and redo, reconsider, rethink, whatever each scene takes to get better.

Oh, before I forget, welcome to you.

Maryn, urging you to read the Newbies Guide

 

[Izz]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

You'll love it here, I'm sure. AW is, in my opinion, the internet's premier writing place, with all the info you'll ever need on all things writing and publishing, and home to an amazing community, to boot.

Please carefully read the Newbies Guide you were linked to when you registered as well as the stickied/pinned threads at the top of each forum page. These will help you quickly understand not only the forum rules, but also the culture and etiquette of the various spaces within, and will also help make the forums less overwhelming.

There's a lot to discover, so please take your time exploring, lurk if you like, join in conversations you find fun or interesting if you like, make friends, enjoy yourself!

And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

See you around the boards
Izz

 

[Norsebard]

Hello and to Absolute Write, grubester!


See you around the board!


Norsebard

 

[Honzo]

Hi, Grubester, glad to meet you.
I'm pretty good with first lines and hooks, it's about 20 to 40kw that I tend to bog down. This time, though- full steam ahead! Damn the torpedoes! Right? Right?

 

[littleniece]

I'll sneak in a Welcome Grubester! all the way down here.

There are plenty of my sentences that look like this:

the lines/wrinkles on his face/his expression/are indelible/stonecutter/pinched eyebrows one never knows if he's showing anger or pain/a formation of geese descended, but it's impossible to know--

And sooner or later look more like this:

The creases in his forehead form a tiered chevron that descends to an indelible pucker between his eyebrows. It results in a permanent expression that, without additional information, makes it impossible to read whether he's feeling consternation or pain.

Then I wonder if I even want the stupid description in my novel anyway. Then the cycle repeats itself. (I'm sort of kidding about halfway serious) Lisa