Hi all,
I'm a writer of something akin to "adult upmarket general literary fiction" aka literature stuck in the non-genre swamp. I am working on, am almost done with a novel which is 1) very good 2) but too damned long, basically over 150,000 words. Since it is my first novel (I did self-publish to zero acclaim a few years ago), and I do not have an agent or a publisher, I am sorta kinda maybe nervous about what will happen when it's done done. Frankly, I am ambitious, part of me has always wanted to write the "big novel." Something grand and heavy but deep and rich that you need two hands and a lap for. Well, this is it.
A little bit about me: I'm in my 40s, I have an MFA, I live in NYC. None of those things really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but at least you know which round hole you can stick this peg into. And even though I live in NYC and have an MFA I am not really part of a "writing community." Part of that is on me: I have some social anxiety, don't get out much (day job and writing take up most of my time). Part of me is not even that interested in being part of a writing community, again social anxiety.
But. I feel the need to connect with others who do the same thing, who have the same passions, fears, hopes, desires. Who stare at blank pages with dread and filled ones with even more dread. Who berate themselves because they only wrote "X hours" today.
I'm not that interested in having my material read, but I would probably do some beta reading at some point. During my MFA years, I found that I got out of writing workshops what I put in; meaning, the more I helped others, the better I understood my own writing. So I am probably going to be an advice giver more than anything else.
AK
I'm a writer of something akin to "adult upmarket general literary fiction" aka literature stuck in the non-genre swamp. I am working on, am almost done with a novel which is 1) very good 2) but too damned long, basically over 150,000 words. Since it is my first novel (I did self-publish to zero acclaim a few years ago), and I do not have an agent or a publisher, I am sorta kinda maybe nervous about what will happen when it's done done. Frankly, I am ambitious, part of me has always wanted to write the "big novel." Something grand and heavy but deep and rich that you need two hands and a lap for. Well, this is it.
A little bit about me: I'm in my 40s, I have an MFA, I live in NYC. None of those things really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but at least you know which round hole you can stick this peg into. And even though I live in NYC and have an MFA I am not really part of a "writing community." Part of that is on me: I have some social anxiety, don't get out much (day job and writing take up most of my time). Part of me is not even that interested in being part of a writing community, again social anxiety.
But. I feel the need to connect with others who do the same thing, who have the same passions, fears, hopes, desires. Who stare at blank pages with dread and filled ones with even more dread. Who berate themselves because they only wrote "X hours" today.
I'm not that interested in having my material read, but I would probably do some beta reading at some point. During my MFA years, I found that I got out of writing workshops what I put in; meaning, the more I helped others, the better I understood my own writing. So I am probably going to be an advice giver more than anything else.
AK
Algernon
Hello and 
