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- Oct 18, 2020
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Pleased to meet everyone.
I am a prospective (also known as "wannabe") writer hoping to find inspiration and advice from experienced writers with regards to both writing itself and all the practical issues associated with it.
I am, however, a bit intimidated by some of the other introductory posts, as quite a lot of new members appear to have published works even *before* coming here... Well, I wrote my only book draft back in middle school. and its quality was - unsurprisingly - what one could expect from a middle school pupil. I gave up on it after about 250 pages, and the world is now forever a better place.
Anyway, I will use the recommended questions for an introductory post:
• What genres do you write?
I do not (yet), but I want to write Science Fiction. I lean towards the harder and more serious kind which deals heavily with social and philosophical issues. It's not that I don't like soft science fiction or space operas - I just prefer watching it in the Cinema or on TV instead. I have begun putting together a disposition, but at this point I haven't even decided if I'm going for a novel, short stories or something else entirely.
• What do you like to read?
I'm currently going through a "must-read" list of classic Science Fiction works, hoping to find additional inspiration and to avoid overused concepts and story elements. This is my reading list so far (not finished):
Philip K. Dick, Robert a. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Stapledon, H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon... I haven't read all of these yet (and I will likely not read all of the respective authors' works).
My personal favorite is William Gibson and his work from the 1980s, though - both his Neuromancer trilogy and his short stories. I'm a big fan of both his themes and his fast-paced writing style, and this is probably the style I am leaning towards myself. I am also quite a nostalgic (as my username suggests), so I am considering if I should - as Gibson did - incorporate some aspects of the classical "hard-boiled detective fiction... but then I might end up being too much of a copy-cat, so I'll have to give this some more thought.
But I actually read a lot more non-fiction (about history, philosophy, religion, science etc.) than fiction. I'm actually hoping to reuse aspects of historical social institutions/conflicts etc. as inspiration for a Science Fiction story setting.
Recently I have also been reading up on books on how to write. Some are probably well known here: Strunk & White, Stephen King, Anne Lamott, Lisa Cron, John Truby, Steven Pinker, William Zinsser.
• How long have you been writing?
I actually write for a living. But not by writing stories. I write management information, legislation, formal decision papers etc., but these are very different writing skills which probably translate poorly into a fictional work. Bureaucrats like myself are not exactly known for having plain and concise language like Ernest Hemingway or Toni Morrison.
• Do you beta read?
I had to Google that term
No, but I'd like to try it. And I guess I'm fairly qualified as I have very little writing experience.
• Do you have any particular hobbies? Are you expert in any particular field or craft?
I read. A lot.
I am a prospective (also known as "wannabe") writer hoping to find inspiration and advice from experienced writers with regards to both writing itself and all the practical issues associated with it.
I am, however, a bit intimidated by some of the other introductory posts, as quite a lot of new members appear to have published works even *before* coming here... Well, I wrote my only book draft back in middle school. and its quality was - unsurprisingly - what one could expect from a middle school pupil. I gave up on it after about 250 pages, and the world is now forever a better place.
Anyway, I will use the recommended questions for an introductory post:
• What genres do you write?
I do not (yet), but I want to write Science Fiction. I lean towards the harder and more serious kind which deals heavily with social and philosophical issues. It's not that I don't like soft science fiction or space operas - I just prefer watching it in the Cinema or on TV instead. I have begun putting together a disposition, but at this point I haven't even decided if I'm going for a novel, short stories or something else entirely.
• What do you like to read?
I'm currently going through a "must-read" list of classic Science Fiction works, hoping to find additional inspiration and to avoid overused concepts and story elements. This is my reading list so far (not finished):
Philip K. Dick, Robert a. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Stapledon, H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon... I haven't read all of these yet (and I will likely not read all of the respective authors' works).
My personal favorite is William Gibson and his work from the 1980s, though - both his Neuromancer trilogy and his short stories. I'm a big fan of both his themes and his fast-paced writing style, and this is probably the style I am leaning towards myself. I am also quite a nostalgic (as my username suggests), so I am considering if I should - as Gibson did - incorporate some aspects of the classical "hard-boiled detective fiction... but then I might end up being too much of a copy-cat, so I'll have to give this some more thought.
But I actually read a lot more non-fiction (about history, philosophy, religion, science etc.) than fiction. I'm actually hoping to reuse aspects of historical social institutions/conflicts etc. as inspiration for a Science Fiction story setting.
Recently I have also been reading up on books on how to write. Some are probably well known here: Strunk & White, Stephen King, Anne Lamott, Lisa Cron, John Truby, Steven Pinker, William Zinsser.
• How long have you been writing?
I actually write for a living. But not by writing stories. I write management information, legislation, formal decision papers etc., but these are very different writing skills which probably translate poorly into a fictional work. Bureaucrats like myself are not exactly known for having plain and concise language like Ernest Hemingway or Toni Morrison.
• Do you beta read?
I had to Google that term
No, but I'd like to try it. And I guess I'm fairly qualified as I have very little writing experience.
• Do you have any particular hobbies? Are you expert in any particular field or craft?
I read. A lot.