The Wood Beyond The World Forum Welcome, Rebecca

I'm so glad you decided to join the Wood -- I know you'll be a great addition.  Please introduce yourself here, if you feel so inclined.  I know the Woodfolk will soon be posting on this thread to welcome you.

 

Welcome Rebecca. Congratulations on your entry into the Amazon conpetition. Its lovely to have you in the group.

Welcome to the Wood, Rebecca. Don't worry, most of the members don't bite and those that do have had their shots :-)

Loekie,  speak for yourself, I do bite, and nibble, and... well...

Welcome to the Woods Rebecca.

 

Nick.

And my dear, Nick, you've had your shots. ;-)

Had your shots... or should be shot?

Welcome to the Wood, Rebecca.
Gayna

Thanks so much everyone for your kind welcome! I apologize for the delay in replying: my computer is extremely unhappy lately. I suspect I have inherited a bug somehow, although my virus checker says "no."

Anyway, I am trying to read through some of the threads, and your profiles, and get a feel for the place--oh yeah, I also want to peruse some of your writings!

I do have many years experience with critique groups and editing, so I do hope that I will be an addition you won't regret.

Thanks again! If I seem quiet for awhile, it's because I'm reading your stuff.  

Oh my goodness, I just got a request to write a column for abnabooks. With a deadline and a word limit, no less. Scary yet enticing!

Go for it, Rebecca -- I would.

Deadlines and word limits always inspire me.

Let me address Gayna for a moment, Rebecca, before I throw in a comment.

Quote:


Gayna, please! I need my foil. We can't have him shot! What would the Wood be without our banter? :-)

Now, Rebecca. I think what makes the Wood unique is the diversity you'll find here. You have people like Leah, Nick (who has had his shots), etc. that have actual full length narratives to read whilst you have someone like me who is taking his first novel and doing a complete rewrite and adding stuff in increments as the rewrites come about. And a little envious because I have a long way to go before A House Fractured will a finished product.

You have different fantasy and sci-fi focii here. What makes most of us unique is we want to be storytellers. We're not interested in writing pedantic, generic stuff. As you can see from the threads, we are doing what Tolkien said we should do: sub-creating. We just don't worry about the fight sequences but wonder which herbs they may use to spice their mutton stew. Well, I do. :-)

And be as quiet as you want. I'm a master of that. I'll disappear for a little while and then come back with a vengeance. Usually because of Nick's not so subtle comments.

I speak for myself, and for the older members of the Wood here, as you read our stuff, all we ask is to be honest. If you don't like something, let us know why. We have thick skins.

Hum! That makes me wonder. If Gayna were to shoot Nick, would it bounce off?

The Three Musketeers is obviously having an effect on you, if all you can think about are foils.
Gayna

Good morning, everyone. I've been up since 3:30. My intent, since I could not sleep, was to sit down at the computer and read some of the stuff here...but, as usual, life interrupted. I took up my husband's offer to drive to the gym, so that's done now, then we had to tow my Honda in to a repair shop cuz it is all messed up. So here I am, just now sitting down at the computer at 7:00. And I'm already losing steam. There are not enough hours in the day!

In reply to Loekie, I do dearly love diversity and, what's more, I believe it imperative to the success of a writing group. If everyone is the same, philosophically, religiously, politically, age-wise, background, even maybe financially, one won't get those valuable critiques that come from people of different mind-sets. Of course, a healthy dose of open-mindedness must be stirred into the pot, or there will just be angry people.

A House Fractured is a great title! I look forward to throwing in my 2 cents. And the idea of a group of writers getting together with storytelling as the main goal, is wonderful. I am also one of those obsessed with the details, like what herbs they used. In fact I have several books on the subject to help guide me.

I do adhere to honesty, because what's the point if we're not? We're not getting the help we need in that case. Even though it means more work for the author when people negatively critique something, it's better to get it from a small group with your best interests at heart than to have your book published for the whole world to laugh at, or dismiss, or lamblast, when it's too late to fix it. I love all critiques, good and bad. I take every one very seriously. On the other hand, I have had people be deliberately cruel and dismissive, because some of what is in my books is offensive to certain kinds of people, and that's not helpful either. We as writers need to be able to let go of our prejudices when we're critiquing and look at other folks' writing with the big picture in mind. I welcome diversity because if a diverse group tells me my story doesn't work, I will believe it and get to work on a rewrite. It's harder to believe a critique from someone who has narrow-minded prejudices, because you sense their critique is not objective. 

Man, I didn't intend to ramble on. See, that column I need to write is going to be hard, because of the WORD LIMIT.    

Reb,

 

You are no more long winded than Loekie or I.  Our resident short poster is Bill I think.  But he is usually to the point, so he does not need the amount of redundant verbage... ; )

 

I like you statement about the big picture... because a lot of past groups I belonged to, all they cared about was the opening paragraph, page and if the agent would keep reading.   You can have the greatest first page ever conceived, but if the rest does not follow...    For me, yes the opening is important, but not any more than the next page, or the next or the last.  They all must equally flow, follow form and more importantly advance the plot.

 

Plot you say?  Yes, characters need plot and plots need characters so they go hand in hand.    The characters though are what makes the stories memorable.  You can sum a plot up in one paragraph, but a character...thats a whole story.   So when I review, I might hit someone with the opening of a story, a chapter, a scene, but I always reserve my final judgement until I am well into the story.  Consistancy of writing, of pace, of plot, of scene building all come into play as I read and review.

 

I am not the wordsmith of the group, but I am very good with with plots, subplots, pace, and a few other things.   For me, ramping up my prose is the challenge, but I write in a style that I refer to as easy reading.  Its not dumbing down, but the writer working within the talents they have.  I think it very important that a writer stretch themself's, challenge themself's, but if they over do, I think the readers will see through it, because it can show.

 

Ok...there I go again on one of my long winded thoughts.  See, you are not the only one.  

 

As to Loekie, I wish you would get some revised stuff up, or new, as its been ages.   I truly enjoy reading your work ... and commenting... hehehe.  To quote my friend Loekie, be afraid - be very afraid.

 

Nick.

 

 

Reb Quote:


That's great. I have over 80 pages of research gleaned from the net just on how to use plants, be it cooking, dyes, medicinal, etc. I am be a little anal about this stuff but I feel it gives a layer of reality. All too often, fantasy focuses on the big stuff yet when people are just chatting, mundane details like what kind of tea they are drinking is important.

As to your points about honesty, critiques, etc. you'll find it here. But you aren't going to find cruel and dismissive. Blunt, oh yeah.

Of by the way, Nick, there is tons of new stuff online. The original three chapters now has grown to 7. I hope to have chapter 8 (All His Children) on line this weekend. Chapter 9 (Nest of Vipers) is on its way but being stubborn. Tons of things have been added. Li is starting to grow into a full-fleshed person.

Loekie,

 

I am so there then.  Looking forward to the read. 

 

Nick.

Quothe Nick:

You are no more long winded than Loekie or I.  Our resident short poster is Bill I think.  But he is usually to the point, so he does not need the amount of redundant verbage... ; )

Actually, I think the females here tend to be the most concise -- other than me, of course. Bill doesn't post often, but when he does, if he needs to, he exhausts his topic (but never the reader!)

Leah,

 

Now that was concise...  ; )

Nick

Concise? Strange word. I think I've heard it before but it doesn't ring a bell. Certainly not part my my vocabulary :-)

Concise...brief, short, to the point, succinct, summarizing, terse, short and snappy, crisp, Leah like.  

Yes, my Websters listed it as "Leah like"...but I think I have a Websters that was a POD version and I can not find the authors name associated with it.  As a matter of fact, there seems to be a lot of references to Leah in it.  ; )   A few Bills and Loekies as well. 

 

Nick.