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Jocko

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Hi all,
I am new here (dah). I'm a former journalist and I am putting the finishing touches on a manuscript, Ground Under Repair. It's a novel.
I really love the idea of an online community of writers and am looking forward to learning and exchanging with others here. I am based in Ottawa, Canada. While writing is my passion and has been since I was a teen (that would be a very years ago), I currently work for the glory of government communications, teach journalism part-time and write when I can. But as someone once said: writers are people who write.
Think that will do for now.
 

Wisdom Tooth

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Welcome to the forum. I'm new here, too. Congrats on finishing your novel. I finished my first a few months ago and it's a great feeling. I'm diving into the formatting stuff now and my head hurts. It's got me wanting to throw my computer across the room!
 
regdog

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Shrykespeare

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Welcome, Jocko!

I just put the finishing touches on my first novel just this week, so I can relate. It is an AWESOME feeling, especially having done almost all of the editing and proofreading myself.

Congrats on Ground Under Repair. Can you give a brief synopsis? I assume it has nothing to do with golf...
 

Jocko

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Wisdom: I hear you on the formatting. I keep finding new problems!
Regdog: Yes, thank you I have read the newbie guide.
Shrykespeare: Thanks. Yes, golf is the backdrop for the story and the underpinning metaphor, hence the title. The brief version is: it is a story about three generations of men who meet on a golf course and reveal their secrets to and work out their issues with each other. The patriarch is a ghost. So it's really a story about relationships but their stories are told through golf, if that makes any sense.
 
Shrykespeare

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Jocko said:
Shrykespeare: Thanks. Yes, golf is the backdrop for the story and the underpinning metaphor, hence the title. The brief version is: it is a story about three generations of men who meet on a golf course and reveal their secrets to and work out their issues with each other. The patriarch is a ghost. So it's really a story about relationships but their stories are told through golf, if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...


Interesting. I love golf, even though I suck at it. I'd be interested to read it when it comes out!
 
Lizzie7800

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I have a friend that does formatting, I think for my 65,000 word) novel it'll be $150. I think it'll be worth every penny. If you get to a point where you want a professional I can give her contact info.

Welcome to the forum!
 

Jocko

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Yeah I suck at too! But I kind of figure that when you struggle with something, it makes you a bit of an expert. I love that it is a constant challenge, you can always improve (or get worse!)
 

holy heidi

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Another new person here offering congratulations on your novel. Why did you leave journalism? If I may ask. I'm envisioning you being too grizzled and ground down by constantly chasing down stories. I guess for some reason I'm imagining journos as similar to noir detectives.
 

Jocko

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holy heidi said:
Another new person here offering congratulations on your novel. Why did you leave journalism? If I may ask. I'm envisioning you being too grizzled and ground down by constantly chasing down stories. I guess for some reason I'm imagining journos as similar to noir detectives.
Click to expand...

Hey Heidi,
Thanks!
The short version of the answer is simply this life: I'm not sure if I left journalism or journalism left me. I still teach it part-time, but I had done it for 25 years, and it felt like I had done everything I was going to do. No one is paying for content anymore, and with the constant cutbacks, it became impossible to do the kind of journalism I wanted to do. Also, I was moving towards wanting to write the stories that I wanted to and those were longer than 600 words!
 

lily-abstraction

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Welcome and good to meet you!

You are a brave soul, yes? Which I bet translates to good fiction writer. Plus I'm guessing journalism skills might transfer easily into your new endeavors. (John Sanford comes to mind!)
 

holy heidi

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Jocko said:
No one is paying for content anymore, and with the constant cutbacks, it became impossible to do the kind of journalism I wanted to do. Also, I was moving towards wanting to write the stories that I wanted to and those were longer than 600 words!
Click to expand...

I've heard that about lack of pay! I'm not a journalist but I have some friends who are and it seems like they've had the squeeze put on them (as have most.). Photographers too!

But way to take those lemons and squeeze back. Lemonade, etc. Writing what you want to write is definitely the way to go :)
 

Jocko

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I like to think I am hearty, yes! The journalism background does help in that I can write quickly. I wrote a first draft of a novella I am just sending off to an editor in a week on vacation. It's different, of course, in that unlike journalism, or at least what it is supposed to be..., I'm making up my stories for fiction!
 
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