Oh, another newbie? Yes, hello.

[xandraxian]

Hello, call me Xan. I am a current university student majoring in Fine Arts with a minor in Creative Writing. My focuses are drawing, illustration, painting, and poetry. My hobbies include my focuses, of course, as well as reading, cooking, and catching up on all the movies and shows I have come across in my past or have been given to me. Two shows I am currently watching are Lucifer and Breaking Bad. I am really enjoying the former.

Short stories and poetry are my writing categories, fiction being the genre. The subgenres I have ideas for are usually fantasy, but other genres do pop in: sci-fi, romance, political, suspense, adventure, and mystery. My goal is to write a novel-in-verse. A current idea I have involves two girls separated by a clear boarder. They are able to interact, but want to be even closer. They go on individual missions to retrieve and cause a reaction that both breaks the barrier and creates an area where they can thrive together. One of the short stories I am working on involves recording dreams and seeing a recurring being first in the recordings and then in reality.

When it comes to reading, I'm not picky with the context. I have superficial taste--if there is a nice cover, I'll buy and read it. This is why I am a big fan of book subscriptions. Unfortunately, I don't have money to throw at subscriptions, so all I can do is sigh and long. My want for pretty books might come from being a new book buyer. I have only gotten back into reading physical books in the last year. Before it was fanfiction that engrossed my attention. Even still, I can go into a fanfiction binge. There is just something about them that just makes me so happy. I suspect it has to do with following a familiar character, someone that I have already connected with and want more of. Some of my favorite tropes are falling in love with an outcast (think The Enchantment of Ravens, if you've read it) and particular types of misunderstandings (think the prison section in The Scum Villain's Self-Sacrificing System Vol. 2, if you've read it).

Happy to be here. Hope we can be friends and get writing advice from each other. I have recently started grammar refreshers and an editing workshop, so, hopefully, I'll be an adequate asset.

 

[Maryn]

Welcome to you. IMO, Breaking Bad might be the best-scripted series ever to air, The Wire being a close second. Such a huge character arc, such rich secondary characters, so much plot! I wish I were seeing it for the first time.

Your intro reminds me once again of the importance of cover art. It's what makes the potential buyer reach for the shelf or click on the link, especially for a writer whose name is unfamiliar.

Maryn, whose pseudonym remains unfamiliar to nearly everyone

 

[xandraxian]

Welcome to you. IMO, Breaking Bad might be the best-scripted series ever to air, The Wire being a close second. Such a huge character arc, such rich secondary characters, so much plot! I wish I were seeing it for the first time.

Your intro reminds me once again of the importance of cover art. It's what makes the potential buyer reach for the shelf or click on the link, especially for a writer whose name is unfamiliar.

Maryn, whose pseudonym remains unfamiliar to nearly everyone

I'm liking Breaking Bad. I have heard great things about the show. When my mom watched, she enjoyed it too, but she had to stop at the scene where Walter lets a girl choke on her own vomit. I am near the end of season 2 on episode 10. The only thing holding me back is my dislike of Walter. I'm not saying that a show needs to have a likeable protagonist or whatever...it is just going to take me longer to get through the series because of my distaste for him. I like Jessie, though. It was so sad to see him go through the night his mom kicked him out. Poor baby!

Yeah, cover art is so important. For me, while I may read the synopsis of books with plain, boring covers, I practically refuse to buy books that have a real person on the cover, especially if they're shirtless. I'm not here for that type of content. Though, if it is slapped with a new cover...I am tempted and have succumbed before.

 

[Maryn]

Alas, my genre is famous for shirtless buff men, often with their heads fully or partially truncated. Damn it, publishers, I am not writing hot sex with torsos. It's the whole person.

Maryn, who hated her cover art every single damned time

 

[xandraxian]

Alas, my genre is famous for shirtless buff men, often with their heads fully or partially truncated. Damn it, publishers, I am not writing hot sex with torsos. It's the whole person.

Maryn, who hated her cover art every single damned time

It is quite unfortunate. Here's an example of how cover art sways me.
As I said, though this example is hardily the worst, I would never buy this:

However, just a different artistic direction, and you can pull me in:

However, I will say that I do not go for the above style usually. I prefer to get books that depict drawn characters on the cover. The usual style of romance, just doesn't do it for me...which is fine in my case, I am not a romance fan. Sorry about bashing on your genre, though.

 

[Maryn]

Psst! You're posting images that are larger than AW allows. Read this sticky. You can delete them or resize, as you prefer.

I appreciate the apology, and repeat myself about reading stickies in general. The biggest, most important rule here is Respect Your Fellow Writer (RYFW), which means no dissing genres, among other things.

You're new and I want to make sure you settle in without incident. We like new people and usually they like us, too.

Maryn, so very likable you won't be able to help yourself

 

[xandraxian]

Psst! You're posting images that are larger than AW allows. Read this sticky. You can delete them or resize, as you prefer.

I appreciate the apology, and repeat myself about reading stickies in general. The biggest, most important rule here is Respect Your Fellow Writer (RYFW), which means no dissing genres, among other things.

You're new and I want to make sure you settle in without incident. We like new people and usually they like us, too.

Maryn, so very likable you won't be able to help yourself

Oh! My bad, my bad. Fixed! Thankfully, it is very easy to fix. Thank you for the sticky. <3

 

[regdog]

Welcome to AW

Maryn already gave you the link to posting photos, but it is part of my usual greetings, so enjoy the repeated link.


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.

 

[TomCrossley]

Welcome Xan! I like buying new books too. There's something so great about turning a fresh page. And they look great on your bookshelf haha.

 

[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, Xan!

Even still, I can go into a fanfiction binge. There is just something about them that just makes me so happy. I suspect it has to do with following a familiar character, someone that I have already connected with and want more of.

See you around the board!


Norsebard

 

[xandraxian]

Thank you for the welcomes, regdog, TomCrossley, Izz, and Norsebard! <3