Another newbie

3Dynamic · 12-01-2012, 01:49 PM

Well hello...

I am new to all of this and just wanted to now formally say hello.

As a technical writer, I have never had a problem. We (my collaborator and I) have just signed with a major textbook publisher for a fairly large advance on a new textbook.

But I have a hobby in writing fiction. A few of my essays have appeared in newspapers - family humor kind of stuff.

At the late age of 42 I became a father. And I wrote a novel for my young daughter. It was kind of like Harry Potter, but it used science, not magic to drive the fantasy. And it was for girls. And it failed. But it failed an ugly death with me in denial for about five years. Finally I realized the plot was deficient. And I really wrote it for my daughter.

Then my son was born. And for a few years I worried that I did not have a story for him. But I did. Oh boy, did I.

I am one of the very unfortunate men who did not realize how good a man his own father was until it was too late. (When my father was dying, he called me from NY to California, and apologized. But I was too arrogant to return the apology, too. It is my scar.)

So, I began to sketch a story for my son. It was modeled on my relationship with my own father. The sketch has been in my head for years.

I am now on sabbatical in Norway. And in between my many jobs (teaching on line from here to US, research project, textbook), I spent two hours a day, for six months, to knock off this fiction.

It has been extremely painful for me to revisit things. This has not been easy. The most difficult part is to make sure the novel is not so personal that it does not have appeal. But it is done. (I suppose that is what one agent meant when he said the discussions between the father and son in my story is so real and vivid. It is based on an extremely personal and painful memory.)

Anyway, now I wait to hear what the agents say. I sort of expect they will reject it to. I sense a few more flaws in the story.

Anyway... this is who I am... Just wanted to say hello and set the records straight.

(These last few months have been very painful for me as I see my relationship with a man who I never knew I loved so much until it was too late, so I am sorry if things came out the wrong way.)

So I know there are typos in what I just typed but I am just going to submit it.

Hi...

WillSauger · 12-01-2012, 02:12 PM

Welcome.

regdog · 12-01-2012, 03:00 PM

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.

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. Take some time to greet fellow newbies,
critique other members’ works, or join a discussion.

Announcements, Events and Self Promotion is for active members only. All obvious spam will be deleted on sight!

KellyAssauer · 12-01-2012, 03:39 PM

Hi 3Dynamic!

Welcome to AW!

Don't forget to read about AW basics in the Newbie Guide!

Questions about this software can be found in the FAQ's menu in the handy blue bar at the 'top' of this page.

This common acronym list helps identify our mystifying abbreviations.

Before you ask that Newbie question!!
See if Katiemac has the answer here.

Check out: Sara's 10 Basic Writing Tips.

If you're looking for critiques please read the 50 Post rule.

Questions about posting writing to the Share Your Work (SYW) area
and explained here. This link covers the most common problems found in the Share Your Work *Worth reading no matter how long you have been here!*

AW is a community built on the foundations of respecting your fellow writer and helping each other, it's the basic building blocks of how and why AW works.

Welcome to our community! =)

-kelly-

Tepelus · 12-01-2012, 06:44 PM

Hello, and welcome!

IAMWRITER · 12-01-2012, 08:07 PM

Hi and welcome to AW!

thehairymob · 12-01-2012, 08:16 PM

Nickie · 12-01-2012, 09:55 PM

Hello, and welcome to the Cooler.

Myrealana · 12-01-2012, 10:05 PM

Hellooo!

drzimo · 12-01-2012, 10:17 PM

Welcome to the Forum!

L. Y. · 12-02-2012, 07:06 AM

Hello.

to the Water Cooler!

rwm4768 · 12-02-2012, 08:18 AM

Welcome.

Griffin Hayes · 12-02-2012, 11:25 PM

Welcome!

hannahward07 · 12-03-2012, 04:51 PM

captain_ryan · 12-04-2012, 12:56 AM

What a great story.

I wish you the best on the novel(s), and I hope you hear some good things.

If you DO get rejection, there are a lot of places here to hone your craft and sharpen that sword. No is just a stepping stone on the way to victory. Get your post count up, and post in the Share Your Work sections. Be welcome to criticisms, because they'll help the story (and maybe even you) get stronger. I know they've helped me.

Welcome, friend.

12-01-2012, 01:49 PM	#1
3Dynamic New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 24	Another newbie Well hello... I am new to all of this and just wanted to now formally say hello. As a technical writer, I have never had a problem. We (my collaborator and I) have just signed with a major textbook publisher for a fairly large advance on a new textbook. But I have a hobby in writing fiction. A few of my essays have appeared in newspapers - family humor kind of stuff. At the late age of 42 I became a father. And I wrote a novel for my young daughter. It was kind of like Harry Potter, but it used science, not magic to drive the fantasy. And it was for girls. And it failed. But it failed an ugly death with me in denial for about five years. Finally I realized the plot was deficient. And I really wrote it for my daughter. Then my son was born. And for a few years I worried that I did not have a story for him. But I did. Oh boy, did I. I am one of the very unfortunate men who did not realize how good a man his own father was until it was too late. (When my father was dying, he called me from NY to California, and apologized. But I was too arrogant to return the apology, too. It is my scar.) So, I began to sketch a story for my son. It was modeled on my relationship with my own father. The sketch has been in my head for years. I am now on sabbatical in Norway. And in between my many jobs (teaching on line from here to US, research project, textbook), I spent two hours a day, for six months, to knock off this fiction. It has been extremely painful for me to revisit things. This has not been easy. The most difficult part is to make sure the novel is not so personal that it does not have appeal. But it is done. (I suppose that is what one agent meant when he said the discussions between the father and son in my story is so real and vivid. It is based on an extremely personal and painful memory.) Anyway, now I wait to hear what the agents say. I sort of expect they will reject it to. I sense a few more flaws in the story. Anyway... this is who I am... Just wanted to say hello and set the records straight. (These last few months have been very painful for me as I see my relationship with a man who I never knew I loved so much until it was too late, so I am sorry if things came out the wrong way.) So I know there are typos in what I just typed but I am just going to submit it. Hi...

12-01-2012, 02:12 PM	#2
WillSauger (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Posts: 3,887	Welcome. __________________ Don't Fear Failure. "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" -- Alvin Toffler.

12-01-2012, 03:00 PM	#3
regdog Starscream AW Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Admit it, you'd go Decepticon for him too Posts: 34,693	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. 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. Take some time to greet fellow newbies, critique other members’ works, or join a discussion. Announcements, Events and Self Promotion is for active members only. All obvious spam will be deleted on sight! __________________ A DOG OF WAR Click the cover, it's a link Loyal Tierza struggles through the heartache and despair of WW2 to find her boy. My First Blog-Marriage My Second Blog-The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Help find Tracey Cooeedownunder's sister is missing No Rest For the Wicked Click to buy. Haggis has a story in it.

12-01-2012, 03:39 PM	#4
KellyAssauer The Anti-Magdalene Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: The The Nutcracker Suite Posts: 33,680	Hi 3Dynamic! Welcome to AW! Don't forget to read about AW basics in the Newbie Guide! Questions about this software can be found in the FAQ's menu in the handy blue bar at the 'top' of this page. This common acronym list helps identify our mystifying abbreviations. Before you ask that Newbie question!! See if Katiemac has the answer here. Check out: Sara's 10 Basic Writing Tips. If you're looking for critiques please read the 50 Post rule. Questions about posting writing to the Share Your Work (SYW) area and explained here. This link covers the most common problems found in the Share Your Work Worth reading no matter how long you have been here! AW is a community built on the foundations of respecting your fellow writer and helping each other, it's the basic building blocks of how and why AW works. Welcome to our community! =) -kelly- __________________ [LEFT] What Genre is my writing? Literary & Misfit Writers Group Kelly's Soft Asylum* *social fun thread - title suspect to change Tears are peanut & helplessness.

12-01-2012, 06:44 PM	#5
Tepelus Order of the Dragon Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 4,952	Hello, and welcome! __________________ Cast Your Eyes On The Ocean, Cast Your Soul To The Sea. When The Dark Night Seems Endless, Please Remember Me. My Blog. You know you want to. My deviantART page. I draw and photograph, too.

12-01-2012, 08:07 PM	#6
IAMWRITER QWERTY!!! Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: In My Own Little World... Posts: 899	Hi and welcome to AW! __________________ "Rejection isn't failure. Failure is giving up." - Richard Castle

12-01-2012, 08:16 PM	#7
thehairymob If I had a brain I'd still be dumb Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Scotland Posts: 8,961	__________________ http://www.billyyoungsbooks.co.uk

12-01-2012, 09:55 PM	#8
Nickie Not too old to learn Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dendermonde, Belgium Posts: 10,803	Hello, and welcome to the Cooler. __________________ My website: www.nickiefleming.com My page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Nic...22668744458949 My blog: http://nickiesviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com

12-01-2012, 10:05 PM	#9
Myrealana I aim to misbehave Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 829	Hellooo! __________________ -- Myrea "You don't fix faith. Faith fixes you." - Shepherd Book "It's not enough to bash in heads, You've got to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer

12-01-2012, 10:17 PM	#10
drzimo practical experience, FTW Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 433	Welcome to the Forum! __________________ http://www.nationsmith.com Facebook Twitter

12-02-2012, 07:06 AM	#11
L. Y. shaka Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: The 5-0 Posts: 3,845	Hello. to the Water Cooler! __________________ Write. Edit. Rinse, repeat.

12-02-2012, 08:18 AM	#12
rwm4768 practical experience, FTW Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Missouri Posts: 5,861	Welcome. __________________ My writing blog: http://ryanmuellerwriting.blogspot.com/ WIP: The Man in the Crystal Prison (Upper MG Contemporary Fantasy): 66K Revising and Editing White Fire (Epic Fantasy): 114K Revising and Editing.

12-02-2012, 11:25 PM	#13
Griffin Hayes One evil little baby step at a time Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 2,924	Welcome! __________________

12-03-2012, 04:51 PM	#14
hannahward07 practical experience, FTW Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Dreaming of somewhere else Posts: 154	__________________ Hannah ~Pessimistic and proud of it.

12-04-2012, 12:56 AM	#15
captain_ryan Cold-Faced Wonder Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wrestling Out of Parts Unknown Posts: 845	What a great story. I wish you the best on the novel(s), and I hope you hear some good things. If you DO get rejection, there are a lot of places here to hone your craft and sharpen that sword. No is just a stepping stone on the way to victory. Get your post count up, and post in the Share Your Work sections. Be welcome to criticisms, because they'll help the story (and maybe even you) get stronger. I know they've helped me. Welcome, friend. __________________ "It was a dark and stormy night. I had just taken a creative writing course." - Crow T. Robot "Dying while writing has got to be

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