Welcome, Anna! I hope you enjoy hanging out here. Everyone's friendly and lots of fun, and you'll find people at all different stages in their careers, from beginners trying for that first or second or third publication (like me) to successful full-timers.

Great to see another face on the forum!

zubbycat :)

_________________
"Read! Read! Read! Write! Write! Write! Rewrite! Rewrite! Rewrite!" - Pierre Berton
"Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words." - Mark Twain

Greetings to you, Anna! Welcome to the insanity of this forum and of writing.

Big hello to all our newcomers. For some reason, even though the link at the bottom indicates I'm "watching" this topic, no notices have come my way in a while.

Hey, Anna, it's good to see another fiction writer on board. Sometimes it feels like we're a bit on the scarce side. Pop on over to Willow's Martini Bar and check out the latest scoop/dirt/dish/whining/table dancing/bottle tossing/general hoopla.

Karen

_________________
Karen
_____________________

http://anovelplace.wordpress.com/

http://lifeinthedykelane.blogspot.com

Welcome in, Anna. Nobody bites - well, not unless we're asked to.

_________________
Rejection is Nature's way of telling you to write better.

I'm bumping this up for Sarah (or whoever) and any other newbies.

I am just a little too happy to be here!

Hi All I an SaraSometimes and I have just hopped on this roller coaster for the full ride. I have published one or two short stories, and won a couple of poetry and fiction contests, but past experience aside, I have no experience with freelance writing.
I am a 35 year old stay at home mom who is still trying to get the State of Indiana to recognize my disability. I have recently been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and I have Dissociative Identity Disorder (which used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder, but has nothing to do wth Sybil, and very little to do with "insanity" pleas at crimninal trial.

What do I write? Just about anything. I have written (mostly co-written) articles for Journal publications in the fields of Education, Storytelling, Medieval studies, and religion. I have nearly finished a non fiction book about religious diversity. My ultimate goal is to become a victim's advocate in the theatre world, with a script in the works to be used as "drama therapy" and want to edit an anthology of fantasy stories written by victims of severe abuse. When I get time to go back to fiction, I will finish my YA historical fantasy about St. Brendan the Navigator, and will hopefully get to do the one about the DID patient whose alters manage to obtain their own bodies.

Thanks so much for creating this place, Angela, it is obviously well loved.

SaraSometimes

_________________
I am NOT lying! I simply restated the facts to fit into my own personal paradigm.

Sara,

Welcome to the nut house of writing.

If I can be my normal, nosy self, are you aware of your other personalities when they're "in control"? (Willow, am I using proper terminology or just way off?)

I was fascinated with the story of Sybil, so much so that I read the book the movie was based on.

I wonder if those voices I hear in my head, the ones that I ascribe to my fictional characters, might be other personalities? Probably not. (Rats! No one else to blame for my problems!)

Hmm. Very interesting.

Kathy

Bumping this up for our newest member. Do pop in and tell us a little about yourself. And welcome to the forum. :)

_________________
Jeanne

Now there's a book I would read :)

--

I think I filled this out before, but since my horizons have expanded and I have more things going on, here's a refresher cup of linky goodness to some of my projects:

smokeringsandcoffeestains.com • my personal blawwg, in which there is cussing, goofyness, political ramblings and other stuff

writerswell.org • my writing advice blawwwg, in which I do my best to talk about freelancing and discourage the terrible "writer mill" types and encourage the true freelancer types.

americanfiction.suite101.com • paid blog about, you guessed it, American Fiction. (This one is paid by the click - the more people who click on the articles I write, the more I make)

readingwritingcafe.com • new paid blog about all things reading or writing (This one is paid in a lump sum each month instead of by the click)

groups.myspace.com/nanowrimonewengland • brand spankin' new myspace group for NaNoHeads in all of New England, from NY to Maine. I just started it yesterday, so I don't even know if I have any members yet. :)

bgwe.org • same as before, this is my work site. It needs updating, since I now charge by the page, not the hour.

storybystory.com • the sorely neglected fiction site. I am seriously behind on uploading stories. I think I got a whole TWO up before I was too swamped to continue. lol

cafepress.com/storybystory • stuff I make to sell. I've had a chance to revamp a few designs per the suggestions of one of the lovely writers here, but not all of them.

elance name is geechee_girl, guru name is phoenixx64, myspace is /postonbarber, friendster is /postonbarber

There is probably more, but that's all I can think of right now that is linkable.

Ok, back to work!

_________________
Blog • Advice • Apple • Books • Work

I've just rejoined the group after a long absence.

I'm Mike aka Mikey. This is a long one - sorry.

I write heartsandhumor. Sound strange? I guess it does. I'll explain in a
bit.


I'm originally from Nova Scotia, Canada. I married and started a family.
We settled in, but telecom is not an industry that settles.
Thirteen years later, I was out of work. I was off for a year and
then found a job in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

It was the year out of work that gave me the time to grow an interest
in writing. My wife was the one who wanted to write. Her writing group
caught my interest.

Many of the members of her group wrote children's stories. I had ideas.
A few publishers showed interest but didn't buy.

I began to write humor stories. It pleased me but not the readers.
A local free paper used a few of them, but that was it.

When I moved to Saint John, my wife and children stayed behind to sell
the house. It took a year to sell and have them move to be with me.

During that year, I found the internet. The first thing I looked for was
a writing group. I found one with amazing members. One was blunt and
very honest. She taught me I needed help with my grammar and still do.
Another one, who became a very dear friend, told me, "Mike, your
humor is nice, but everything you write has a soft side to it. You
need to write from your heart."

I listened to her and sold my first story. That story has since been
published in several magazines and newspapers in both Canada and the USA.
In the year to follow, I had stories published in The Saint John Telegraph
Journal, several in the Ottawa Citizen, and a few in the Halifax newspapers.


Three years later, the company I joined failed. We moved to Ohio.
Work took up all my time. Writing took a back seat.

Three years after that, telecom took another nose dive. I moved to
New Jersey. My wife and children stayed in Ohio for a year before
joining me again. During that year, my wife became sick. Soon after
moving to New Jersey to be with me, she passed away.

Writing became a part of me again. It became my therapy.

In the past ten years, I saved all the little heart-touching stories
my friends sent me. If they touched me, I saved them.

I joined a support group for young widows and widowers. At some point, I
started posting one of those touching stories a day. When I ran out,
I searched the internet for more. One site caught my interest. I submitted a
story to them.

They used it - no pay of course.

My inbox exploded. Another gentleman used the story on his site - 150,000
readers. My inbox exploded again.

It was a sign. I was on to something.

A gentleman mailed me, "Mike, do you have a web page? If not, I would be
pleased to create one for you - no charge. Your stories need to be told."

One thing led to another. Life has a new meaning. I looked at everything
around me, searching for the little thing we all see but don't see.

Some of the best in inspirational and motivational writing and speaking
world have become friends. They come from all over the world.

Even better, the people my stories touch email me. The personal stories I
receive are worth all the work I put into my project.

My collection is now 300 pages of more than 90 stories to make people think,
cry, or laugh.

Many of my stories focus on the grief of losing a spouse. A lot more
speak of love.

Love?

Yes love. In the online support group for widows and widowers, I met a
wonderful woman. She moved from NC to NJ to be my wife. Love is with me
again. My writing holds nothing back. My love for her is known to all.

I can't tell my first wife how much I loved her. She's gone. I wish I
had told her more often, but it's too late now. It's a mistake I won't
make again. My new wife, Ginny, will always know.

My goal last year was to finish a collection of my touching stories.
The goal is complete. My goal this year is to find a publisher.

Wish me luck.

If I don't find one, it's OK. My stories gained me 1000 readers in my
ezine, tremendous friends, and great acquaintances.
That means more to me than anything.
Mike aka Mikey


Michael Smith
To read my stories or to sign up
to receive my weekly story, go to:
http://archives.zinester.com/86758/
Keep on waving

_________________
I'm writing a collection of inspirational stories
Read them at: http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michae ... mith.shtml
To receive my weekly inspiration, go to:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.js ... 45578&p=oi

Thanks for sharing so openly, Mike. Welcome back.

I found your story deeply moving and very encouraging.
All the best with your book; it sounds great.

Awesome Mike, God has been gracious to you through some very difficult circumstances. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you!

_________________
"In the beginning was the Word..."

http://groovybell.blogspot.com/

and

http://groovytrekkers.blogspot.com/

Now I Squidoo!!!
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/groovyoldlady

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten was a sleeper, too. It didn't get published first time out. And don't forget to get a few things published in the Chicken Soup books.... great publicity. It sounds like your stories could be a perfect match. Good luck on getting published. Consider going to a writers conference where you can meet an agent or an editor face-to-face. I think that's probably the fasted way. Writers conferences are a blast anyway and you learn so much in such a short time. They're worth the time and money spent. Find a conference that really suits your writing and go!

_________________
Founding member of The Blood-Red Pencil
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com

~~~BUMP~~~ (in honor of new poster Adele)

_________________
www.davidlevinchess.com

Hi, All!

Thanks for the bump, Dave! Saves me a ton of searching around. My first reply went to cyberspace, so if anyone finds it...look for my lost socks while you're there!

I guess the idea here is to detail our writing somewhat. I write a bit of everything, depending on what mood I'm in (some pretty dark poetry sneaks out), but right now I am focusing on children's literature - I have a diploma from I.O.C.L., and I also write (try) scary and funny (I think) stuff for the grown-ups.

My publishing credits include some kids' magazines, business documents, and at least one thing (where is it, anyway?) on the Internet, and I've kept a diary (a lot of angst in there which is why I don't say 'journal') for a very long time. A-hem. A verrry looong time.

That's it for now, if I've forgotten anything it's because it's late and my muse is rebelling. I'm going to appease it and accept that generous invite to tour Willow's bar now!

_________________
Writing is dreaming while you're awake....