Shockley
Maester
Hello everyone.
I've been writing on and off for a few years now, without much success. To date, I have completed all of two stories (both intentionally short) and started upwards of ten longer stories, all of which I shelved due to dissatisfaction with the plots.
As much as I like to consider myself a world builder, I know that's not exactly accurate. I'm a History major and I've always been fascinated by geo-politics, and that's where my focus has always been. I have the countries, I have lists of monarchs pages long and I know who they hate and who they are allied with, but outside of that my worlds tend to be barren, lifeless things that serve as little more than glorified backdrops. That's one of the main reasons I decided to join this forum - I see an avid interest in world-building, and that's something I do need to improve.
As a writer, I'm sad to say that fantasy is not my strong suit but it is my passion. I started out writing westerns (that's not true - I write midwesterns, since I grew up and still live on the border of Texas and Oklahoma), and while that's still the main body of my work, I have since started to try and introduce horror elements into my story. What Lovecraft did for New England, I'd really like to do for North Texas.
My favorite writers include most of the pop writers. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and even forerunners to the style like Conan Doyle and Lord Dunsany. My three favorite fantasy writers - Tolkien, Lewis and Jacques - came into my personal Writer's Pantheon at a later date, though I'd have to say that I like them more at this point than I ever did any of the others. Outside of genre, I love Pearl Buck, William Faulkner and essayists like Hunter Thompson and Chuck Klosterman. In addition, I'm an avid reader of science articles and books, though I try to create a fine line between that and my fiction.
I'm looking forward to interacting with you all.
I've been writing on and off for a few years now, without much success. To date, I have completed all of two stories (both intentionally short) and started upwards of ten longer stories, all of which I shelved due to dissatisfaction with the plots.
As much as I like to consider myself a world builder, I know that's not exactly accurate. I'm a History major and I've always been fascinated by geo-politics, and that's where my focus has always been. I have the countries, I have lists of monarchs pages long and I know who they hate and who they are allied with, but outside of that my worlds tend to be barren, lifeless things that serve as little more than glorified backdrops. That's one of the main reasons I decided to join this forum - I see an avid interest in world-building, and that's something I do need to improve.
As a writer, I'm sad to say that fantasy is not my strong suit but it is my passion. I started out writing westerns (that's not true - I write midwesterns, since I grew up and still live on the border of Texas and Oklahoma), and while that's still the main body of my work, I have since started to try and introduce horror elements into my story. What Lovecraft did for New England, I'd really like to do for North Texas.
My favorite writers include most of the pop writers. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and even forerunners to the style like Conan Doyle and Lord Dunsany. My three favorite fantasy writers - Tolkien, Lewis and Jacques - came into my personal Writer's Pantheon at a later date, though I'd have to say that I like them more at this point than I ever did any of the others. Outside of genre, I love Pearl Buck, William Faulkner and essayists like Hunter Thompson and Chuck Klosterman. In addition, I'm an avid reader of science articles and books, though I try to create a fine line between that and my fiction.
I'm looking forward to interacting with you all.
Myth Weaver
I love Tolkien, Lewis and Jacques as well. Welcome here, Shockley!
Auror
