Here goes - hope the water's warm

Coddiwomple

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Hello Everyone,

I joined a few weeks ago and have since been poking around, nosing into corners. I’ve already benefited from reading critiques in SYW, and I’m impressed by the community here and its willingness to share knowledge.

About me.

I’m one of those mid-life college students, taking one class at a time around my work schedule, plodding toward my bachelor’s degree (It took a few decades for me to realize learning is actually fun). I got sucked into writing as a pastime after taking a short story class. Writing is also one of my favorite bonding activities with my college-aged daughter – we work on our stories, share them, and critique them, inspiring and supporting each other along the way. It’s a blast.
In the process, I’ve developed an itch to make my work better. I love creating characters and finding out what happens to them. It would be delightful if I could learn to work that joy into something to share.

Currently reading: Alice Munro Runaway, while impatiently awaiting the last book of Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle.
 

Denevius

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The family critique sessions sound pretty cool!

Best of luck here, and welcome to AW!
 

regdog

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:welcome:


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.




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Try stopping by Writing Exercises, Prompts & Whimsical Pursuits and give the Flash Fiction Challenge a try.
 

Sagml John

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Welcome Coddiwomple (love that name!) So cool that you and your daughter work together like that. My granddaughter (you think you're midlife) beta'ed for me but there's a difference between having thick skin and needing a bullet-proof vest. Have fun in the forums!
 

BradCarsten

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Welcome Coddiwomple! you're fortunate to have someone so close to you to write with. You must really keep each other motivated, and you have a permanent beta reader! Have you ever considered joining up on a project?
Congrats on going back to college. I also love learning. I probably have a hundred courses on udemy, and countless books, but I don't know if I would be brave enough to head to college, especially with a job. That's quite hardcore. Best of luck with that.


while impatiently awaiting the last book of Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle.

Word on the street is that it will (100%) definitely be out before 2035. :D
 

Coddiwomple

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2035? So soon?? But that's well before the next George R.R. Martin book comes out! ;)

It is great sharing the writing habit with my daughter -- she's crazy creative and astonishes me with the humor and depth of the world she's building. It's also easier to open up your creation to someone else when it's mutual. We have made some forays into working together, but not as co-writers. I have a graphic design background, so I worked up sketches of some of her main characters based on her descriptions. Maybe someday we'll put out a graphic novel together... or maybe we'll keep playing around, having fun... either counts as a success. : )

And I'm not that hardcore. I work at a college, so it's easy to fit a class a term into my schedule!
 

Coddiwomple

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Thanks! My daughter doesn't hold back on the critiques either, but that's what makes them valuable! We follow a similar cycle with each other:
Step 1. Deny, resist, deflect.
Step 2. Stew.
Step 3. Grudgingly admit the other person has a point. Possibly.
Step 4. Rewrite.
Step 5. Marvel at the improvement.
Step 6. Thank the other person excessively, ask for more feedback
 

Coddiwomple

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Thanks!

I appreciate the warm welcome! Up to the ankles now, and nothing has slithered from the depths to bite my toes off... yet. :)
 

Fallen

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Step 3. Grudgingly admit the other person has a point. Possibly.
Step 4. Rewrite.
Step 5. Marvel at the improvement.
Step 6. Thank the other person excessively, ask for more feedback

Lol, the essence of writing. If at first you don't succeed... get another pair of eyes on it. :)

Welcome to AW!
 

Hayley Lane

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Thanks! My daughter doesn't hold back on the critiques either, but that's what makes them valuable! We follow a similar cycle with each other:
Step 1. Deny, resist, deflect.
Step 2. Stew.
Step 3. Grudgingly admit the other person has a point. Possibly.
Step 4. Rewrite.
Step 5. Marvel at the improvement.
Step 6. Thank the other person excessively, ask for more feedback

That is awesome!
Welcome to the forum :)
 

NathanLyle

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As they say, better late than never. Is it weird taking classes from people at the school you work at? I can never eat at a restaurant where I work.

I'm asking this from the perspective of a child that isn't close to his parent...you and your daughter don't ever get tired of each other? Are you Gilmore Girls close?
 

Coddiwomple

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As they say, better late than never. Is it weird taking classes from people at the school you work at? I can never eat at a restaurant where I work.

I'm asking this from the perspective of a child that isn't close to his parent...you and your daughter don't ever get tired of each other? Are you Gilmore Girls close?

At first it was hard sitting in class with all the youngsters. I felt like an intruder, and worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up. First day, clue the mental lash: old, pathetic, foolish, out of place... Fortunately all that smoothed away quickly. The other students take for granted the occasional older person, and I find it helps me in my job, to get some sliver of insight into what the students go through. I also have tremendous respect for the faculty I work with, so that helps for the few times I've taken classes with someone I work with directly.

As for my daughter... yeah... we're close, but not in a you-have-to-text-me-every-day kind of way. We just like each other's company, and share similar interests. It's a constant source of revelation and amazement. I'm not that close with my mom, and I didn't do anything to deserve this!
 

Coddiwomple

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And speaking of mother/daughter relationships and writing...
If anyone out there is writing a close mother/daughter relationship and needs show-not-tell details, I'm happy to offer up examples of how that plays out for us. Other areas of expertise, some more dubious than others: college life, horses, martial arts.