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Greetings from Australia

My name is Silvia, I am 31 and I recently started taking my writing more seriously. It sounds almost like a confession. What I mean is that I stopped over-critisicing my work and started having a good time while I am at it. The results have been unexpected and are taking me towards the path of fantasy and speculative fiction.

Unexpected mainly because almost everything I have writen until now its in a memoir style (with very few exceptions). I started writing journals when I was 6 yo and kept on writing them as an adult while travelling the world. Then, I moved from Europe to Australia a few years ago and the more fluent my English gets, the more fiction short stories I come up with.

At the moment, I am writing a story based in the Middle Ages that is about re-encarnation and time travel in a non sci-fi way. The first part was sad (as it was inspired by grief) but the second part is more adventurous and hence the reason I am here. I lack the skills to give my story the depth that it deserves.

I am an avid reader of historical, speculative and fantasy fiction. As I have never attempt to write in this genre before, it feels like I am trespassing and I feel a bit lost as to how to get started. Despite devouring GoT along with other book series (to try to understand the structure behind the story), I hit a total blank when it comes to world building or anything related to magic.

That is why I open my first Twitter account just a couple of days ago, to research on fantasy writing. And thanks to that I found your forum and a few amazing writers along the way. I hope that you can point me in the right direction.

Ps. Please forgive any mistakes in my posts as it is hard to write on a tablet while a bulldog is demanding your absolute attention.

Looking forward to your comments,

S.
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
Glad to have you here, Silvia! Please feel free to dive into any discussions. :)

I also devoured the Song of Ice and Fire books pretty quickly, but I'm behind on the TV show.

We have a lot of people here that love writing adventure stories, so if you want help with a particular idea or scene, there are plenty of places to ask. Writing Questions is the most popular place, but you could try Brainstorming and Worldbuidling also. If you're inclined, we have Challenges and a Showcase section (where you can share work) that opens up after you post 5 times. I'm pretty active in the Challenges, so if you want practice, you can always join in on any one of those.

Enjoy!
 
Hello

If you have a question, don't be afraid to ask.

You've come to the right place. We have quite a few Medievalists here who can point you towards resources and research if necessary. Combining history with fantasy is my favorite :)

I'm quite the opposite of you. I read quite a bit of French and British literature (and Historical) but I write across a wide variety of genres. Maybe someday I'll settle down in a one or two but for now I prefer to experiment.

I use a few writing communities and though Speculative Fiction is not my only genre, this has become my go-to community for all things writing. I think you'll find that MythicScribes is a community that is active, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Welcome!
-Stephanie
 
Hi Silvia! I'm another Melburnian. If you aren't already aware of it, our local Melbourne fantasy and sci-fi convention is coming up! It's called Continuum, and you can get heaps of info about it at that link. I know it can be a bit pricey (though I've always found it worth every cent in terms of meeting people, having great discussions and getting heaps of ideas) so if you're not sure, you can try it out on the Friday night for a gold-coin donation. If you have questions or want to chat about it, drop me a message here. This will be my third year attending, and I've loved the last two. :)
 
Hi Cupiscent! Thanks for the tip! It does look pricey but Friday night sounds pretty good. What time does it start? Is it easy to go around? I am a newbie at all things fantasy and I wouldn't know where to start. S.
 
You can have a look at the program over here. That shows you what discussions or events are taking place in the various conference rooms. Just from what you've said here, you might be interested in seeing the history-in-spec-fic panel at 6:30, or the world-building one at 5:30?

There will also be informal spaces - like the gaming room room, the bar, or just the foyer area - where people will be waiting around and probably talking about all things fantasy and science fiction. It's not a huge event - there are probably only a couple of hundred members - and everyone is very friendly. If you let the people on the welcome desk know it's your absolute first time ever, they'll help you get oriented. Plus if you look on the program, there's a "Continuum 101" session at 9pm which can help answer first-time questions.
 
Sounds great Cuspicent! I will definitely see you there on Friday 05 June. Not sure if I will be able to make it to the Continuum 101 session as there is a time travel one at the same time :p Thanks again! S.
 

SeverinR

Vala
Tell the inn keeper the ship from Australia came in...4 newbies from Australia.

Welcome, tip the wait staff, don't feed the dragon, he bites the hand...
No dwarf tossing when unicorns are around, don't ask not pretty.

Pull up a chair and join in a conversation.
 
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