Hey everyone! My name is Elli. I'm a 23-year-old freelance writer and aspiring author. I'm also a huge fantasy nerd. I love Tolkein's The Hobbit, and all of RA Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books based on Drizz't Do'urden. I stumbled upon this forum and joined because I was looking to be a part of an online writing community, and this one seemed like a great place to start. How are you all??
Yep this is definately a great place to start! You will find this place helpes you alot...it did me! hehe have fun writing and welcome!
Welcome! I hope you find your time here enjoyable! Trust me, the people here are simply amazing... No, words cannot describe the people on writingforums. Trust me, this is the place to be. Anyways, I'm Admin, and I would like to wish you luck in all that you do.
Hello Elli, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Writing Workshop, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Writing Workshop, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Writing Workshop forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Thanks, Avery! Admin: I'm excited to get started, and get involved! You guys have already made me feel welcome. ^____^ Cogito: Will do! Thanks for the tips!
Welcome Ellie! Other books you might like: Warhammer Gotrek and Felix books, and Ulrika the Vampire books by Nathan Long Mel Odom's Rover series (starting with The Rover). If you like The Hobbit, you may enjoy it. Odom also wrote Forgotten Realms books for a while and, in addition to Salvatore, was one of their better writers. Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold if you want something that is completely different from these other fantasy stories. A gritty, down-and-dirty fantasy story if there ever was one.
You guys are awesome! I'm totally compiling a list of all of these books so I can check them out. There's also another series I absolutely loved, called The Firebringer Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce. Anyone heard of it? It's a bit unique compared to most fantasy novels. For guys, it may not seem all that masculine of a story because the main characters are unicorns. But I think anyone who picked them up would be pleasantly surprised. The trilogy's really earned its place in the fantasy genre. The characters and plot are pretty captivating.
I have the first book in my to-read pile. Also, if you are interested at all in YA fantasy, try Fire and Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. Both quite good
They are both set in the same world, but both stand-alone books. Here is part of the Kirkus review of Fire (which is my favorite of the two, but they are both very good). It tells a bit of what it is about:
Hi! Welcome to the writing forums Elli. It may be below your reading level, but I enjoyed the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.
Avery: Haha, I know! The more the merrier, though. Yesterday I was trying to hunt for just one new book to read. Now I have a whole list! jso: I'll give it a looksee. Can't be any simpler than Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch, right?. Gigi: Thank you!
Do you like movies? I recently watched an amazingly profound movie about a tire that can blow stuff up with it's mind. It's called Rubber, and is on Netflix if you have it. Why should you watch it? 'No reason...' ;D
Admin: I LOVE movies, and I totally googled that to see if you were serious. I can't believe that's an actual movie!!!! Hahahaha, is it really any good?? LostinFiction: Thanks so much! Everyone's made it so easy, haha. I feel at home already.
It's different. Now, your opinion on what is good might be different than my opinion on what is good. I personally thought it was very good and thought provoking. Some people will see it as a movie about a tire. People like me saw it as a movie with a purpose.
Admin: It's amazing what perspective can to. Sadly, I don't have a Netflix account. But I'll have to see if I can find a copy of it. Jay and Taylee: Thanks!
Hey there :3 While not exactly 'main-stream' fantasy, I like the Magic: The Gathering books. (They are novels that have a fantasy card game based off them. You don't need either to enjoy one or the other.) I warn you though, the MTG books are chock full of bad editing...which tends to distract me from the writing, even though I felt the stories and concepts were solid. Welcome to WF! If you need anything, let me know =]
