# Who are the aspiring authors here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113 "2003-03-25T20:45:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_Brian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I\_Brian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Brian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/1 "2003-03-25T20:45:43Z")
Sorry - think I posted this before, but if so the thread disappeared before I ever saw it again. šŸ˜‰ Anyway - roll call, if anyoneā€™s interested - Iā€™m always curious to see whoā€™s in the same boat. Scarpped a finished novel 8 years ago, got another on hold for destructive editing after it failed to get serious attention last year - and this year Iā€™ve done everything I can to ensure that Iā€™ve done everything right to send one out for June - the one that I intend will eventually see myself published (I had to do plenty of research on the markets and their conditions - agent and publisher demands, etc etc). Anyway, whoā€™s in the same boat? (btw - Iā€™ve placed a load of links to writer resources on my own site, in case theyā€™re of any use to anyone - you can find them [here](http://www.chroniclesofempire.net/yabbse/index.php?board=8).) ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/2 "2003-03-26T07:29:54Z")
Thereā€™s me. I finished my first full-length novel in 1997 and started trying to get it published. A handful of rejection letters later I re-read it and found that it stunk. Since, Iā€™ve written a vastly longer novel that, unfortunately, also seems to stink. And that one I havenā€™t even finished editing yet. My problem is that I think Iā€™m brilliant while Iā€™m writing and when Iā€™ve just finished a story, but a week later I think the story is badly written, primitive, cliched and generally bad. I have another story floating around in my head but havenā€™t gotten around to actually committing it to paper yet. I started once but the attempt more or less failed. Right now I plan to go to journalism school and subsequently get a job as a journalist. They say itā€™s the best writing training there is. ---
**Author:** ![Pollo\_Boyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a4c791/32.png) [@Pollo\_Boyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pollo_Boyo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/3 "2003-03-26T08:29:32Z")
My sci-fi novel stalled out for linear reasons, but Iā€™ve got a comic-premise thatā€™s been getting rave reviews and is currently awaiting approval at a global publisher. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/4 "2003-03-26T12:11:22Z")
Iā€™m a published author with non-fiction, but Iā€™m still aspiring when it comes to my drama and fiction. Iā€™ve written quite a bit of science fiction and fantasy over the years, but Iā€™ve only been printed in self-published editions (someone elseā€™s, not mine), college literary magazines, and on-line contests. Wunnnathesedays, thoughā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/5 "2003-03-26T12:24:39Z")
Iā€™ve had some poetry and short stories published in various magazines and in one book (an anthology type thingy), but nothing big. I donā€™t think I could write a novel. (I canā€™t even read, ya know?) Another Trek Doper, **Viva los twages** , is a fiction writer. Sheā€™s not very good, though. The cute ones never are. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/6 "2003-03-26T13:29:38Z")
Iā€™m not exactly aspiring, but I am working hard to restart my career. Just finished a damn good novel, but canā€™t find an agent. I donā€™t mind if they say they donā€™t want to represent me, but itā€™s frustrating that they arenā€™t answering. Grrr. So donā€™t think that just because you sold a novel, you have it made. ā˜¹ Still, there are some good signs; my novel is going to be reprinted by [Embiid](http://www.embiid.net) as an e-book publisher next month, and theyā€™ll be putting out the unpublished sequel in August. ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/7 "2003-03-26T13:40:35Z")
Well, I am not exactly in the same boat, yet. Right now I am rather standing on the docks, looking at the boats and wondering which one to take. So far I wrote a couple of miscellaneous unpublished stuff and participated with a short story in a contest, but didnā€™t win. Right now I am ā€œworkingā€ on a fantasy novel, but at the moment I am stuck (see the other thread about that). Then again, writing isnā€™t my real profession, itā€™s more of a hobby and one of the things I want to do at least once in life: To get a novel published. Itā€™s somewhat silly, but Iā€™d love to write a battletech / mechwarrior book and to dedicate it to Michael Stackpole, who is - along with Harry Harrison - my favourite author. ---
**Author:** ![Kendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Kendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kendo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/8 "2003-03-26T13:46:51Z")
Aspiring writer here. Very much aspiring. I have a few hundred pages of a novel done so far, a comedy about a man who gets mistaken for Jesusā€¦by the mass media. This is the book I hope will eventually ā€˜make meā€™. Iā€™ve unfortunately just had about a twelve month break from writing it, but Iā€™m nearly ready to jump back onto it. Comedies are certainly my ā€˜thingā€™, though. My sci-fiā€™s not too bad, but Iā€™m not a big fan of all the research that I feel I have to put into sci-fi. And itā€™s all [badastronomerā€™s](http://www.badastronomy.com) fault, too! šŸ˜‰ I also wrote a full length romantic novel once. :eek: It was called ā€˜Junk Maleā€™ and revolved around a woman receiving unwanted love letters. I am so ashamed. Clearly that oneā€™s not going to the publisher. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/9 "2003-03-26T14:11:51Z")
Checking in! Iā€™m about halfway through revising Novemberā€™s NaNo novel. Iā€™m going to finish, damn it, and submit it no matter how much it sucks. (It doesnā€™t suck, so far, or at least I donā€™t usually think so.) > [@](#): > > My problem is that I think Iā€™m brilliant while Iā€™m writing and when Iā€™ve just finished a story, but a week later I think the story is badly written, primitive, cliched and generally bad. I think this is normal. Actually, my problem is, while Iā€™m writing Iā€™m thinking, ā€œHey, this is okayā€“wait, no, it sucks, I need to burn it and bury the ashes twelve feet deepā€“no, I guess itā€™s okayā€¦who am I kidding, this is _great_ā€“aaargh, Iā€™m an illiterate idiot!ā€ I think thatā€™s pretty normal, too. NaNo was extremely helpful, I managed to get the beginnings of a sort of habit, so that when I sit down to work I donā€™t just go, ā€œOh, this is pointless and itā€™s going to suck anyway, whatā€™s on the Dope this morning?ā€ Instead I just tell myself, ā€œYes, itā€™s pointless and it will suck, but thatā€™s irrelevantā€“keep writing!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/10 "2003-03-26T14:17:35Z")
Me. I just canā€™t get my lazy arse in gear to finish what Iā€™ve started. ---
**Author:** ![Nangleator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19adc/32.png) [@Nangleator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nangleator)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/11 "2003-03-26T14:39:21Z")
> [@](#): > > From **Bren** > > ā€œHey, this is okayā€“wait, no, it sucks, I need to burn it and bury the ashes twelve feet deepā€“no, I guess itā€™s okayā€¦who am I kidding, this is greatā€“aaargh, Iā€™m an illiterate idiot!ā€. These are my exact feelings when writing. And this is exactly what I told myself to finish my novel: > [@](#): > > ā€œYes, itā€™s pointless and it will suck, but thatā€™s irrelevantā€“keep writing!ā€ Keep writing, if only for typing practice. Iā€™ve finished a SF novel, and shopped it around to about 8 places. I intend to try again, after a recent edit, but itā€™s so hard to find the time, particularly when Iā€™m convinced no editor will ever take the time to read my submission. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/12 "2003-03-26T16:00:29Z")
I write science fiction and fantasy. I have a few short stories published but have yet to sell either of the two novels I have publisher-ready. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/13 "2003-03-26T16:06:13Z")
Jaded angry writer checking in. Iā€™ve finished a mainstream/contemporary/womenā€™s fiction novel that Ive shopped around for about three years. Received bites from four agents but was quickly informed it was unmarketable because it had consensual incest and bondage in it. So Iā€™ve shelved it for a while. Working on my second novel, but have found that the medications Iā€™m on for anxiety attacks have turned off my creative drive. This novel is much more mainstream and more in the vein of ā€œOprah bookā€ a.k.a. woman victorious. sdmb writers may want to stop by [SDMB Fiction Live Journal](http://www.livejournal.com/community/sdmbfiction) to participate in exercises and mutual bitching. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/14 "2003-03-26T19:36:39Z")
Aspiring writer here. Short stories and screenplays so far. Nothing worth shopping around yet though. Most of the stuff Iā€™ve written I consider ā€œpracticeā€ work. It will all be in an anthology in 30 years and people will say ā€œWell, it was juvenile, but I see the seeds of the brilliant writer he eventually became.ā€. They will soā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/15 "2003-03-26T21:17:18Z")
Iā€™ve written a novel and a novella, several poems, and many songs (do they count?) Anything over 10 pages for me is usually utter crap. But I think I have produced, counting my songs, around 40 or so pages worthy of publication (not that they have been, mind you. On the other hand a lot of stuff that doesnt deserve to be published isā€¦can you give it to them, Frodo? oops ;)) ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/16 "2003-03-26T21:42:35Z")
Hello, Iā€™m FallenAngel, your bartender on the aspiring writerā€™s boat. I have published two short stories and a couple of poems here and there. My completed and unpublished list of works reads as follows: 1 novel 23 short stories 1 poetry collection (128 pieces) A second novel, told as a series of 10 vignettes, is halfway finished. Itā€™s all finished in my head, but I havenā€™t written down the last half yet. A sci-fi novel a la William Gibson/Neal Stephenson is about 1/3 finished but momentarily stalled. In development (research and planning) are two more novels. One of these has been kicking around in my head for about 7 years, but I know the writing of it will render me clinically insane, since itā€™s a dark tragedy and I identify so strongly with my characters. As a result, I have reams of research material and know the plot exactly, but havenā€™t been able to bring myself to put fingers to keyboard on it yet. I donā€™t know if thatā€™s lack of artistic courage or just an overly developed sense of self-preservation, but I have deep pangs of conscience over leaving my characters in limbo, despite the destructive torment they will suffer once I bring them into creation. Oh well, what to do? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/17 "2003-03-26T22:08:28Z")
Another aspiring novelist here. Iā€™ve written five complete novels in the Shadowrun universe which Iā€™ve posted to my web page (never tried to get them published because theyā€™re non-canon, but quite a few people have told me theyā€™re decent) and am planning to submit a proposal to write an ā€œofficialā€ SR novel when they fire up their novel line again. Aside from that Iā€™ve made some headway into RPG freelancing, having my first work published last year. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/18 "2003-03-26T22:17:27Z")
I write. I donā€™t claim to write well though. I have written a memoir which reads as a bunch of interconnected short stories. It was very therapeutic and quite fun to write all the vicious gossip about all my friends and family. šŸ˜ƒ I am also in a stalled position with another novel. I finally finished chapter 12 and about 30K words but it is not really anywhere near finished. I am writing it as a trilogy but in actuality I know that it will be too short for most publishers as a trilogy so if I ever try to market it, I will combine it into one largish novel that should be around 210,000-300,000 words. I also am constantly writing poetry. Every single person who has heard some of my poetry has urged me to publish it. I donā€™t really want to though since I turn poems into songs (I constantly write music) and donā€™t want to feel that the musical medium is a secondary process to my poetic outlets. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/19 "2003-03-26T22:19:08Z")
Iā€™ve got two (hopefully) novel-length peices started. One is stalled out because the entire premise is crap - at least thatā€™s what I keep telling myself every time i get two or three pages added to it. The other is stalled because I canā€™t get into the head of one of my characters. Rather, whenever I do I get really scared, well freaked out is a better term. Itā€™s about a serial-killer and if I write too much at a time I get to thinking Iā€™d really enjoy acting out some of the things he does - yikes! Oh, well, at the pace Iā€™m going, theyā€™ll be finished in 2050 or so. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113/20 "2003-03-26T22:23:03Z")
I threw out a half-finished fantasy novel earlier this years and started on a new one. So far I have about thirty pages done. I do have several friends and relatives who are literary agents and who have promised to help sell any book that I actually finish. Hope springs eternal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-aspiring-authors-here/164113.md?page=2)