Sunday, January 31, 2010

And now for something completely different

The blog is in its second week now, although I'm sure it feels like longer when you're doing the challenges! This seems like a good time to give a bit of background on the contributors, so that we each have some idea of who we'll be sharing our writing with over the next few months.

Those of you who wish to do so, please feel free to leave a comment telling us about your interest in writing, why you're undertaking this challenge, and any other information you'd like us to know.

As a general note, we're a group of enthusiastic New Zealanders, scattered around the country, with varying degrees of experience and interest in writing, brought together by the beautiful Anistasya, who has already completed her first novel and the talented Nightfire, winner of more Nanowrimo's than should be allowed!

25 comments:

  1. Aw!! You guys are way too nice!

    I'm Anistasya (Ani for short) and I have been writing since 2005 when I first undertook to do the National Novel Writing Month. The last four years, I have been working on creating a world full of characters that I now know better than my own family and love nearly as much. I have bugged Nightfire and Iconoclast endlessly with ideas and storylines and they have been the most amazing listeners, believing in me when I was sure I was just going crazy. I have now finished by first novel (see The Silver Hawk ) and I am looking for an agent (in the US preferably because the is not much of a market for Fantasy in NZ). In the mean time, Nightfire and I thought we would keep in touch through practicing a bit of writing every day and now it seems like a hub for us crazy friends living in different cities to keep a community despite the distance.

    Love you guys!
    - Ani

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  2. Kia ora everyone,

    It's good to see we have a few followers - welcome!

    My interest in writing started a long time back - creating poems and short stories were two of my favourite pastimes, as Gallic gallimaufry (nice one) and Anistasya will attest. Then I went and developed that desire to 'write about serious issues'.

    I don't write poetry these days, and all my attempts at longer fiction are stuck at various stages of 'unfinished'.

    However, I love my role as a sounding board for Anistasya, and have a tendency to edit anything I can get my hands on.

    I see the 3AM Epiphany project as a chance to return to short fiction and everything I used to love about writing, with the blog/challenge format to keep me motivated. Now if only writing a dissertation were that easy...

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  3. Hullo!


    Although I don't think I've ever written a story unless its been required by school classes, as a kid I loved playing with words and sounds. Books were the best invention since, uh, television, and occasionally poetry just 'happened'. I dreamed a poem once. I liked to consciously put words together too, but it seemed pretty separate to the rest of my life and sometimes I forgot about it. I forgot about it more as I got older, even though it still happened sometimes. I read much less as I got older too.

    This is a big scary thing for me to do for lots of reasons. Firstly, writing at all is a bit nerve wracking. I'm not quite sure what's going to come out or if anything will. Secondly, I think I've been pretty ready with the constructive criticism for both anastasya and the iconoclast at times over the years - but actually making anything I've done available for them to see/comment on? Well that's a different story. Thirdly, I struggle with routine and doing anything regularly is a challenge so writing will be no different.

    There's lots to gain from this though. I'm hoping I can learn to delight in words again, and to have them running more freely through my head, and to be able to express myself better, and to have some kind of creative link with you guys.

    Please tell me the first post is the hardest! I've been practically hyperventilating about it all day.

    p.s. The other day I found what I think is the first ever piece of creative writing I did... it went "Puggling puggling puggling ball
    rode his horse up the wall
    but when he got hungry
    there was nothing to eat"

    hehe

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  4. *giggles at the puggling ball* that honestly made me crack up! You will find a warm and welcoming home here honey :)

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  5. *Galumph-hug*!

    I think I remember puggling ball :)

    If it's any help, I've always admired the relationship you have with words. The most interesting writing is the stuff you weren't sure would come out - you can surprise yourself.

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  6. *Galumph-hugs*!
    I should like to practise some of those :D

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  7. Belatedly - hi, I'm Floot AKA Sarah. Apparently the first international 3a.m.er - woo :D

    Erm. I'm 31. Wrote masses as a child and teenager, then Life got in the way. Discovered NaNo a few years back which has reignited my love of writing - though never stopped loving reading :) - currently trying to finish three NaNo works which are in various stages of disarray, and starting work on a new book with Lazette Gifford's Two Year Novel course over at forward motion.

    Due to ill health I am liable to be a real slowpoke with these challenges, but I'll keep trying!

    Hello all :-D

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  8. Hello all! I'm Nightfire, also known as Talia. Along with most of the people here I have been writing for a large portion of my life. Not often very good writing but writing none-the-less. I tend to have issues with descriptive language - as a result I failed a lot of creative writing at school. I write plotlines rather than stories and my work tends to be very outline-ish as opposed to descriptive. I hope to develop my descriptive side of things with these challenges so I can finally get my NaNo projects sounding like more than just outlines!

    I've just got back from a week of camping so time to cath back up! Welcome to all the new writers that were not there when I left (i.e. over half of them! Maybe I should go away more often?)

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  9. Welcome Floot - great to see you can post comments now :) And welcome back Talia, hope you enjoyed your week away from 21st century clutter! I'd love to hear all about it hehehe did you meet Ulrich and Yesult by any chance?

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  10. *Galumph-hugs* for everybody!

    I see a lot of people have NaNoWriMo in common...November could be interesting this year :P

    (Also, Yseult is now Essylt verch Edenevet, unless she's changed it back :P)

    *Returns to dissertation which is mysteriously not writing itself.*

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  11. Nice to meet you all :)
    Perhaps we need to enlist some male 3am-ers! Currently our gender balance is a little lopsided!

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  12. We have an Essyllt! Or an Essylt. I can't figure out how to spell her name because she keeps changing it. Come and introduce yourself, or I'll do it for you :)

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  13. I've been hawking the idea round to anyone who'll stand still long enough to listen - both male and female. Some interest but no one has bitten yet. I'll keep trying...

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  14. Mmm having some guys here would definitely mix things up a bit. We should advertise of Nano and other such places again.

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  15. Last time I tried to post in the 'post NaNo' forumn I was moved to self-promotion and Marketing. I recall being a little offended at that actually. It was hardly marketing and I really don't think of this as self promotion!

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  16. Ah... true. Oh well, we'll have to come up with some other ideas

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  17. I've mentioned it also on my wordpress blog.

    I guess if you have any blogs on jivejournal and so on that would be good too. MySpace... xanga...

    Other places:

    http://www.fmwriters.com/ -> I only really post in the 2YN forum which is restricted to people taking the course.

    As well as NaNoWriMo, how about JanNo, FebNo, etc. Also Screnzy, EdMo... *thinks*

    Some of the post moves on NaNo confuse the heck out of me. Might be worth PMing a mod and asking for explication/explaining the idea?

    You are allowed to advertise in your sig, though, so that would be a good place for a linky, as would any signature you have on any forum which might have budding writers on it. Most places won't begrudge an 'advert' in the sig, though I agree this shouldn't come under the heading of advertising.

    Have you considered starting a Facebook group? If someone had the knowhow, you could even write a Facebook app which posted the daily challenges to a person's profile?

    If I have any other bright ideas...

    One thing I will say is that I had no idea, till I was invited, that I would be able to take part so directly. Maybe make that clearer somehow to people who come looking. If Anistasya hadn't commented on my wordpress I would have just ended up doing it off my own bat. The interactivity is nice, it would be worth letting people know it was a possibility.

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  18. Mmmm good point. I will change the intro text to say that people are welcome to join :)

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  19. Great. I keep pointing people to the site - being assured they are welcome may mean a few more of them stick around :)

    Maybe suggest a way in which people can request an invitation? I don't know, maybe tell people to leave a comment saying they're up for it or something?? I don't know what information you need from people to invite them.

    As I say, I had no idea it was possible to have an interactive blog, so I wouldn't have known to ask to be invited *grin*

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  20. Check out the "want to join us?' tab on the side bar and see if it has everything we need?

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  21. Looks good. My only worry is that it might get missed. Can you move it to above the book cover? It is a little lost between the cover and the search button. I think it'd be more obvious at the top of that column.

    Just a thought, you could mention in your text at the top of the blog (where you talk about the book) about the possibility of joining in, and point people to the relevant place.

    Some people still won't be proactive enough to do anything about it, but it's definitely worth giving them every chance :)

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  22. Yeah, can't put it in the text at the top as there is a word limit and everything else there is really important. Do we necessarily need all three emails, Nightfire? maybe Just you and me? Otherwise how do they choose who to contact lol

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  23. Ahh fair enough :)

    I'd tend to think one email - even if it means creating a special one for this blog that several people can check, so emails get responses asap. Don't leave people flapping about who to email. Make most of the decisions for them and they'll be more likely to take the last step ;)

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