I am a grumpy, whiny, old man. There could be hundreds of creative streaks and sub-streaks within my grumpy, whiny, old head, hands, and heart. Painting, woodworking, fiddling, photography, and writing are a few. But you probably want to know about the writing streak. I gave up writing bad poetry more than five decades ago and never got around to writing good poetry. I used to write news aggregation articles for money. In a two year span I earned just over $5.00 and, finally, understood it was not my forte. My self-published novella, a romantic comedy, was started in 2011 and went live in 2017. In the intervening four years it earned me not quite $ 8.00. My current project, a Sci-Fi/Fantasy series in the planning stage since 2017. Maybe even longer, but that is the oldest file I've found with it. My accomplishments include more failures than successes, but that makes every success that much sweeter. I joined Writing Forums to learn, to share what I have, and for the comradery of other writers. Aren't you glad you got to meet me?
Delightful introduction. What's the premise of your science fantasy series, if you don't mind me asking?
Thank you. Premise: Mars, now politically independent of Earth, decides to colonize the stars. Earth does everything in its power to prevent it, including political and commercial sabotage, banditry, and outright war. Mars builds and launches the greatest fleet of ships ever constructed. The fleet is a small world in its own right with 10 million colonists in suspended animation, crews to maintain and protect the sleepers, and a smaller fleet of warships with one purpose - get the colonists out of the galaxy. The fleet, a bit worse for the wear, eventually find a new home planet for their cargo of humanity. The leaders of the fleet learned from human history and their own experiences through their generations of travel, that human nature does not change, so set themselves as guardians of the new planet by keeping technology limited and religion a primary motivation for the masses.
Is this the start of your story? Or is it the end? Sounds like a good place to start. It would be interesting to follow a group of people who need to implement—and live under—this 'new thinking.' Also interesting to wonder what will happen if another wave of colonists arrive from Earth or Mars, who might want to keep using technology, and exploiting technological superiority. Lots of possibilities with this setup, although I think I'd rather explore the 'what happens next' scenario, than experience (as a reader) the whole process that gets them to that point. Welcome to the forum! I'm 72 years old, by the way! And getting grumpier by the minute....
Hi and Welcome , I am a grumpy, whiny, old man . . . congratulations on making it thus far Writing bad poetry and never getting around to writing good poetry is a craft within itself. Writing in itself is a learning curve . . . writing poetry is the hardest of all. It takes a lot of practice. Writing for money? Well, my perspective is at least, you got an opportunity to do so. Should have looked at other avenues (if possible) but kept going . . . ? Self-publishing . . . I commend you for trying to outside your comfort zone. Again, it is the personal experience that comes with this . . . you're in the know Current project . . . I have no comments to add Accomplishments, include more failures than successes . . . with age, comes wisdom. Yes, very glad that I was able to come across your post and nice to have introduced yourself
I fibbed; found the very first file dated 2016. Seems my procrastination is paying off. I'm older than dirt, so you must be older than gravel. Doubtful, though, you will ever be as grumpy as me. I have references. In my case wisdom took a different bus. Seems I was on the short one. And, thanks to everyone who took time to read and/or comment on my introduction.
