Fiction writers! Firefly, science fiction, fantasy! Over here! by Archer

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Fiction writers! Firefly, science fiction, fantasy! Over here!

POSTED BY: ARCHER
UPDATED: Thursday, May 29, 2003 08:52
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VIEWED: 1531
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Monday, May 26, 2003 11:11 AM

There are a lot of requests flying back and forth for proofreads, editing, suggestions and so on.

So that got me to thinking.

(No, not in a bad way, like the whole 'electric can opener+fusion reactor=more power' way. Will I never live that down?)

In any event, it occurred to me that getting a public mailing list together for people to swap and trade stories would streamline things a lot.

It wouldn't have to be a big affair, just a friendly get-together of a dozen people or so who can give honest appraisals of each other's work. You don't have to be a writer yourself, as long as you're just willing to honestly critique a story.

So if there's some interest, let me know either here or at archero@SoftHome.net and I'll see about figuring out where one goes and does such things. If it costs a little cash, well, I ain't going broke any time soon.

(If somebody here DOES know what it entails, dropping a word in my ear would be much appreciated.)

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"Most days, I'm just me."

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Monday, May 26, 2003 1:05 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

If you want to help by reading, not proof reading, but just reading, I suggest you take the advice of Orson Scott Card and ask the following questions.

Were you ever Bored?
Was you’re mind wandering?
(Where in the story did this happen? Look back through it to find out)

What did you think of the character named _____?
Did you like him?
Hate him?
Forget who he was?
Why?

Was there
anything you didn’t understand?
any section you had to read twice?
any place where it got confusing?
Naturally, where was this? If you know why this happened tell the author.

Was there anything you didn’t believe?
Any part where you said, “Oh come on!”

Finally
What do you think will happen next?
Is there anything you’re still wondering about?

These came straight from his book “How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy” a Hugo award winning reference. Even if you plan on writing things other than sci-fi and fantasy I still recommend it for the potential writer.

Of course add other things as they come up,
I would put in: What (or who) did you want to know more about?

Stuff like this can be more useful than advice.

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Monday, May 26, 2003 1:34 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

You did this one out of pity for me didn't you?

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Monday, May 26, 2003 2:38 PM

ARCHER

Nah, I pity you for a variety of other reasons.

Seriously, requests for readings and examinations seem to crop up regularly, so the organizational portion of my feeble brain said "Why not set up all the prospective and aspiring writers together?"

It was your post that inspired it, though. I was looking at it and thinking "Well, I'd offer, but I don't really read fantasy much."

So I decided to try to be helpful some other way. My first thought was to religiously bump your topic up to keep it fresh, but then inspiration struck.

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"Most days, I'm just me."

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Wednesday, May 28, 2003 8:28 AM

ARCHER

Okay, I've gotten enough response to decide to see about putting something together on it. I'll look into it when I have some time over the next couple of days, and should have it up and running before I head back out.

I'll update ya'll when I get the chance.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2003 1:12 PM

ARCHER

Ladies and gentlemen, we are flyin'. Send a blank email to ficwriters_r_us-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and we're in business.

Just need to clarify one point. This isn't a substitute fiction-trading group or clique. Somebody asked me why I'd want to go private with as much commentary as my fics get.

In short, this is the place you go to sharpen your skills, either as a writer, editor, or both. If you have a piece of fanfic you want to run by folks before you post it, here's where some people are gathered who'd be happy to help you out. I'd like to point out that this list isn't exclusively limited to writers. If you cotton to the idea of reading and commenting on folks' prepublished works, here you go. If you have a yen for editing and proofing, you're definitely welcome.

Most days, I'm just me.

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Thursday, May 29, 2003 8:52 AM

CHANNAIN

i DO aim to misbehave

GREAT idea! I'm e-mailing now!

"I'm still flyin'...that's enough." ~ Mal

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