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Seeking a Writing Partner for a Historical Fiction Novel

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Huffzone

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum, but have been lurking for a while. I see that there are many knowledgeable and talented people here to meet and learn from.

I am posting this in hopes of possibly finding someone who may want to join me in writing this book....<Funny how something can sound so simple when you can boil it down to a few words.>

A little about me...Currently a thirty-something single guy living in NYC. I've had a passion for writing since my early teens, which probably coincided with my passion for reading that began about the same time. I read and enjoyed many sci-fi and fantasy books that were well ahead of my age. Later in my adult years, when I re-read some of these, such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Orwell's 1984, heck, even Lord of the Rings, I couldn't understand or remember why I liked or how I could have understood these books the first time I had read them.

Anyway, I guess I was attracted to the prose, the writing, even if I couldn't fully understand what was being said. Kind of like how I can enjoy a particular song, even though I can't understand what the lyrics are saying. I always enjoyed writing as a hobby, a secret solitary hobby that I would not tell anyone else about. After all, I knew many people who enjoyed reading good works, but I didn't know anyone who dared imply that they could do so themselves. I rote my stories when I was alone, shared them with no one, and hide them away.

In the eighties, I used role playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons to rekindle and now actually sharing the writing, in some way, with others. In the nineties, with the internet, I was anonymously able to actually share my passion of writing with others, in writing groups and online role playing sites, which at least helped me to open up.

Through the years I learned many things, and have come to a time when I can openly write this request to find someone to maybe partner up with, and I'll explain why below.

One of the most important things I learned through the years was that, while I had a passion and desire for writing, I really did not have the natural talent of a 'real writer'. I am great at brainstorming, plotting and outlining a finished vision, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty, I was never satisfied with what I wrote. Perhaps it's a case of me being my worst critique, but I honestly believe now that I don't have all that is necessary to complete a novel that is worth being published.

Now this wouldn't be a problem, if two years back, I didn' finally came upon a story that I became obsessed with telling. For the last two years I have compiled and organized historical research, read and watched anything related with the time period and have outlined down to chapter and scene and all the characters of the entire book. I have written small pieces of some chapters and important conversations and scenes as well, but I realized that what I was really doing was procrastinating; doing everything else I could about the project accept the most important part, getting the words down. But I'm at the point now that there is not much else to do but begin writing the book!

Whew, didn't realize how much I had just blabbed. Anyway, if anyone has actually gotten this far, and is interested in what the project is, here's a little about that...

The story is about the life of a king of a small kingdom, surrounded by three large and more powerful empires, and how he briefly fought these others, and grew an empire of his own. Based on a true king and true events, this historical novel takes place through the years 112-55 B.C. and involves ancient Parthia/Persia, Greece, Rome, and Pontus and Armenia.

The theme is about the struggle for independence and freedom, the struggle of a great King stuck with a small, struggling vassal kingdom. We learn of the three different cultures the growing prince/king is exposed to, and how the King uses his position of being in the middle to his advantage. There is political intrigue, a queen who plots and pits her sons to rebel against their king, betrayal of friendships and trust, and the ultimate realization that his empire wouldn't last, but at least his people and heartlands were still going to continue on.

Well, now that you know a little about me and the project, now, finally, on to the main reason for this post...

If there is anyone out there that has some interest in this time period, and would be interested in partnering up on this project of mine to complete this historical fiction novel, I'd love to hear from you. <You don't have to feel like you need to be an expert of the time period, I actually got over this particular hump in the process...but you do at least have to have an interest in it, or learning/understanding things about it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have, share what I have done so far, take a look at samples of your writings, and then proceed to see if this would be something we could actually do together.




Thanks for your time!

-Huff
 

T.L. Newberry

As Bronwyn Blacke
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Sounds like a Kingdom of Heaven and King Arthur kind of story. If you haven't found anyone, I'm interested. Ancient Civ is a strong point.
 

Patricia_Lynndail

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Well, Huff, sounds interesting and something I would read, but I don’t think I could help. For now, my genre is historical romance and I am afraid I could use some help myself. lol.

I started with poems when I was around nine years old. Give or take a year. Been writing on and off most of my life. I’ve been working on romance novels for the last eight years. Before that, I tried my hand at horror.

I finished my first book in 1999, but found I needed a lot of help. I’ve taken a few writing classes since then and i’ve reworked my novel more times than I care to count. You could say I have a few problems of my own. One of them is getting past and present right and another is spelling and punctuation. Thank God for spellchecker.

After all this time, I think my book is close to being ready…at least I hope so. I also have two more on the way. I turned my first novel into a series.

I wish you the best of luck with your work:)
 

Huffzone

Thanks Critpal, I'll check out that group!

And thanks Patricia, and good luck to you too!



 
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