7/7/08: Now active as a beta-reader. I've been neglecting this site and I want to get involved with it again, but so far I have nothing to publish.
9/18/07: Seraphim is complete. It was started July 10th, 2005, and the last update was today. I don't think I've spent 2 and a half years on anything in my life. Microsoft Word puts it at ~177,000 words, and claims I spent 537 hours writing and editing it (though that includes times I've accidentally left it open)
It was a tough project. There were times I was greatly frustrated by it, times I thought about giving up. Progress was slow at first, due to my own lack of discipline and a drought of ideas. I had the beginning and end in my head, but all that stuff in the middle was a gaping valley I had to build a bridge across. Some of the events in Seraphim were planned, others were created as a spur-of-the-moment idea. I stuffed a lot of ideas into it, taken from the many books I read in the period of its creation.
So, what now? I have another project lined up, of course. This one I'm going to put even more effort into, because I hope to publish it. I'm taking writing classes in college and learning a great deal about the craft. Some things I've always known about, others I've been practicing not knowing that I'm doing them, others are totally new to me. Whether or not I'm succeed as a writer, I'll always have stories to tell.
A special note about reviews: The quality of reviews is astonishingly bad in Fictionpress nowadays. Usually, it consists of a short, 10 word blurb that they liked it and want more, or an inane pretend conversation with the reviewer's pet/friend/evil twin. Absolutely no reviewing is taking place. There is always room for improvement on a story, and you should always point it out. Some thick-headed authors will take it badly, but they need to get over themselves. Wouldn't you want someone to tell you your zipper's down? Therefore, I say this, Fictionpress users: do some reviewing in your reviews! Gush all you want about how much you love one character, but if you leave at least one little snippet of constructive criticism, then the job is done. I'd rather have 1 good, full review than 100 of these: "WRITE MORE!!"
FictionPress.com - let the words flow
United States