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#1 XxXAbsolutZeroXxX

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Posted 15 August 2015 - 01:24 AM

I've noticed that George Miller (Mad Max Fury Road), George Lucas and many others cite Joseph Campbell as being the man.

https://en.wikipedia...ced_by_the_work

I know nothing about it. But it seems like it could be interesting.

#2 Mister Blastman

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Posted 15 August 2015 - 06:46 PM

Heh I'm pooped. I just spit out 3k words this afternoon in a re-write. That's a lot of prose!

#3 Atlai

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Posted 15 August 2015 - 08:06 PM

Heyyoo, I'm an aspiring writer myself. It's cool to see others have a similar interest :lol:

I just finished writing my first book at 90,000 something words, It's currently in the process of being edited :)

I'm super excited, but I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it... Either self publish or run it through a publisher?

Your concept seems interesting Marack, let me know when you finish and I'd love to read it.

#4 Hans Von Lohman

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Posted 15 August 2015 - 11:07 PM

Being an aspiring author is one thing. If you are actually writing something that is out there, then I think "aspiring" is just a code word for "underpaid".

After all, if you have material out there you wrote, well then you are a writer. Being an "aspiring" means you don't yet feel you can make a living on just the writing.

I'm thinking of writing a few short stories (some military sci-fi, some steampunk) and I think it could be fun, but I don't expect to make money doing it. I just do it for fun.

#5 Mister Blastman

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 08:50 AM

View PostMason West, on 15 August 2015 - 08:06 PM, said:

Heyyoo, I'm an aspiring writer myself. It's cool to see others have a similar interest :lol:

I just finished writing my first book at 90,000 something words, It's currently in the process of being edited :)

I'm super excited, but I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it... Either self publish or run it through a publisher?

Your concept seems interesting Marack, let me know when you finish and I'd love to read it.



Are you editing it yourself? That's what I'm doing with mine--well have been for the last year and a half while working a day job. I've found the self-editing process is such a tremendous learning experience and a time to grow and blossom as a writer.

But I also am not fooling myself, either. After I'm done with this third edit I'm going to shop agents and through agents, they shop publishers. Apparently from what I've heard, these days publishers won't talk to you without an agent.

I thought about self-publishing but I'd prefer a professional editor to go over my work and the only way to get there is to learn how to hone my craft to the professional level, first.

Congrats on your first book! It's awesome to think of an idea and then after years of toil, to actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and realize, "Damn, I really created something!"

#6 Gremlich Johns

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 09:26 AM

View PostMarack Drock, on 14 August 2015 - 11:39 AM, said:

and now genetic alteration and selective breeding are becoming a common practice.

That's called Eugenics

read up on Margaret Sanger - that may help you with your more nefarious aspects of the science. She's pretty controversial

Of course, there's also the {Godwin's Law}'s. Also research Super Soldier articles (professional articles, not fiction).

#7 Gremlich Johns

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 12:38 PM

You mean for actually using science for everybody's benefit? And irrespective of what you want to call it, it is still Eugenics. Your readers will not be fooled.

BTW, Margaret Sanger preceded {Godwin's Law}, FWiW.

#8 Gremlich Johns

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 03:59 PM

While I will respect your suggestion to PM, what you are doing is asking me to censor myself in "your" thread. You want discourse, that's what I was giving. Publishers will be less giving.

#9 Hans Von Lohman

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 09:12 PM

I've been watching a lot of interviews with Andy Weir recently. He wrote the Martian novel, which is now being released as a movie in October (Matt Damon, Ridley Scott).

He got his big break using Kindle Direct Publishing. Aka you post your book on Amazon, and they take a cut of the profits.

Apparently that is all you have to do. Just submit your work, let them look it over for a few days to make sure it is legit, and then it is done.

I personally prefer all my books to be digital now. That way I can carry them all around on my i-phone. No more paper books for me.

Edited by Hans Von Lohman, 16 August 2015 - 11:57 PM.


#10 Atlai

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Posted 16 August 2015 - 09:59 PM

View PostMarack Drock, on 16 August 2015 - 09:21 AM, said:

AWESOME TO HEAR! I will be watching. What genre is it?

I would definitely consider it fantasy at this point, even if I didn't originally set out to write a fantasy novel. I'll be sure to let you know when I have it fully released!

Also thanks :) Good luck to you.

View PostMister Blastman, on 16 August 2015 - 08:50 AM, said:



Are you editing it yourself? That's what I'm doing with mine--well have been for the last year and a half while working a day job. I've found the self-editing process is such a tremendous learning experience and a time to grow and blossom as a writer.

But I also am not fooling myself, either. After I'm done with this third edit I'm going to shop agents and through agents, they shop publishers. Apparently from what I've heard, these days publishers won't talk to you without an agent.

I thought about self-publishing but I'd prefer a professional editor to go over my work and the only way to get there is to learn how to hone my craft to the professional level, first.

Congrats on your first book! It's awesome to think of an idea and then after years of toil, to actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and realize, "Damn, I really created something!"

Yeah I'm currently working through it and editing, but I will be sending it out to my uncle who edits movie scrips.

And thanks! I can't tell you the feeling I got when I wrote the last chapter, I was actually pretty sad because of how much the characters grew on me over the course of writing it.

I would love to read yours and Marack's books when you have them published, so please keep us updated.

#11 Mister Blastman

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 08:06 AM

View PostMason West, on 16 August 2015 - 09:59 PM, said:

Yeah I'm currently working through it and editing, but I will be sending it out to my uncle who edits movie scrips.

And thanks! I can't tell you the feeling I got when I wrote the last chapter, I was actually pretty sad because of how much the characters grew on me over the course of writing it.

I would love to read yours and Marack's books when you have them published, so please keep us updated.


Yeah mine was emotional to write, too. I knew how it would end for a long, long time before I wrote it--a few years, actually, but when I got there... wow. But I had a lot of fun writing it, too.

My ending is a cliffhanger. Hopefully it will create more questions than answers. :) I dunno yet, I have it in the hands of my first two beta readers right now and I'm feeding them third draft material as I finish it.

That's pretty cool to have a connection like that to an editor. Leverage it well. :)

#12 Nightmare1

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 09:05 AM

I write as a hobby and have self-published my first book this past year. I haven't been able to pursue its marketing aggressively though.

I tend to write sci-fi stuff, but am currently working on a fantasy novel as my next book. I also want to write a non-fiction.

Best thing I can do to advise you is to keep two stories going at once. If you get write's block on one of them, switch over to the other one. Once you draw down towards the end of one of them, focus solely on it. Don't rush things. After I finished writing my book, I revised and edited it three times over the course of two years to get it ready for publishing. It took me a grand total of seven years from the moment I typed to first word to the moment I received my first order for it.

#13 Mister Blastman

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 09:14 AM

View PostNightmare1, on 17 August 2015 - 09:05 AM, said:

It took me a grand total of seven years from the moment I typed to first word to the moment I received my first order for it.


I bet that first order felt great.

Question: Do you regret self-publishing? Do you wish you had pursued an agent and a traditional publisher so they would do the marketing for you?

#14 Nightmare1

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 09:23 AM

View PostMister Blastman, on 17 August 2015 - 09:14 AM, said:


I bet that first order felt great.

Question: Do you regret self-publishing? Do you wish you had pursued an agent and a traditional publisher so they would do the marketing for you?


*Chuckle* Well, in all honesty, it was a family member who placed it, so I couldn't say that I felt fully vindicated. :lol:

I self-published at the time because I didn't have a lot of options. I'm a chemical engineering student, about to graduate actually, so I don't really have a lot of time to invest in courting a company and trying to sell my book. Self publishing allowed me to do it at my own pace and on my own terms. After I graduate, I will likely start pushing the book and probably purchase some additional services from the company, such as a professional marketing team, to launch the book more effectively.

The other reason why I went with self-publishing is because I had the opportunity to compete for and win a $2,500 scholarship for aspiring authors who wanted to self publish. That had an awful lot to do with the decision.

The company I'm using, for anyone interested, is Westbow Press, the self-publishing arm of Thomas Nelson: http://www.westbowpress.com/

If a book does well with Westbow, then Thomas Nelson will often pick it up with a standard contract and whatnot. I feel like it's a good process and my experience with Westbow has been excellent.

#15 Rebas Kradd

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 12:00 PM

I'm writing a nonfiction book right now. Trying to keep it under 100,000 words. It's a good thing I've picked a topic I'm passionate and knowledgeable about, because otherwise I'd never make it. Just putting together a solid book proposal is a ridiculous amount of research.

I've got a pretty good grasp on my voice and vision, but unfortunately, that doesn't really set you apart at all these days.

Edited by Rebas Kradd, 17 August 2015 - 12:01 PM.


#16 Nightmare1

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 02:06 PM

View PostMarack Drock, on 17 August 2015 - 12:46 PM, said:

@Nightmare1 that is AWESOME. I am really curious to know what book you wrote cause I really want to read it. I love Sci-Fi, and Fantasy with a passion.


Thanks! It's a bit more of a novella, being just a tad short to be a full novel. It's also a bit of a soft sci-fi, set in the near future, but with high tech weapons and gadgetry that isn't yet available.

My book's website is here: https://manwithoutac....wordpress.com/

It has illustrations by my RL brother who's MWO name is BerserX.

#17 Nightmare1

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Posted 17 August 2015 - 02:40 PM

View PostMarack Drock, on 17 August 2015 - 02:13 PM, said:

AWESOME. I will be getting a copy on Paperback.


Cool, thanks! :)

#18 Nightmare1

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Posted 20 August 2015 - 03:39 PM

One other thing I'll mention is this: Decide on your target audience at the start of your novel. For example, I knew that my first endeavor would likely not be a huge success or be particularly well written/polished. Because of this, I chose to target young teen boys ages 13 - 16. I figured that age group would be able to enjoy my stories without being disappointed by a lack of character development or possible plot holes. If I targeted an older and more critical audience, I would be unlikely to do as well in the long run.

Also, with regard to the number of pages you write each day, I like to target about three pages a day (Also the number used by Louis L'amour). I just feel like that is a good number. I also choose short milestones to work towards, typically represented as particular places in my plot line. I then divide that milestone into smaller ones (chapters usually) to help me measure my progress over time. You can always go back and change up where the chapters start/end and polish things later.

#19 Mister Blastman

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Posted 21 August 2015 - 04:24 PM

So what do ya'll listen to while writing for inspiration? I like to listen to space/ambient. It clears the mind and lets the thoughts flow yonder.





Those are but a small taste. They lend a bit of surrealistic spice to my prose.

#20 Nightmare1

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Posted 21 August 2015 - 05:16 PM

I open Pandora and listen to my Country Music mixes. :)





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