Introduce yourself!

[KurnDerak]

Name: Kurn Derak

Writing Style: Fantasy and Horror of several varieties in prose. Everything in poetry.

Started Writing: The earliest I remember writing were a few various things in elementary school, though I really started writing around Jr. High when I got more into short stories and poetry. Sadly, I don't have practically anything I wrote from back then.

Currently Writing: Two projects I have are currently on hiatus. One is a planned trilogy entitled The Guardian Chronicles about an organization which protects people who are fused with animal spirits and change into that animal at night. I have parts 2 and 3 planned out, and I'm stuck at not knowing what to do with part 1. The other is what is unintentionally a Last Airbender-esque universe, but with with gods and the elements rebelling against control. Another I think will also be put on hiatus, as it was used to work through a lot of things last fall which I subsequently worked through before getting it to a satisfactory point. Edit: Or I finish it the day after I posted this.

[Sion]

Welcome!
If you want to join us for the Skype meetings this is the information:
Next one will be on March 16th, 6:00PM Central Time
PM me for contact info.

Exited that you are interested in the Guild.

[Jolkman]

Name: Joel "Jolkman" Engebratt

Writing Style: Mostly settings that I use myself in RPGs I run.

Started Writing: I don't know when I started to write but I have as long as I can remember thinking up new worlds.

Current Writing: I have a fantasy setting I'm currently working.

[tzeneth]

Name: Marcus

Writing Style: A little of everything, although I have a preference for fantasy.

Started Writing: Sometime during one of those school years.

Current Writing: Initial outlining phase for a fantasy novel.

[ScoobyThulu]

Me real name is Thomas Childress.
My writing style is, well I don't what it is. However the genres I prefer are dabbling in science fiction, fantasy, sword and sorcery/high fantasy, and some hard boiled detective type pulp fiction. Currently I am enrolled in the Library Science/Information Technology program at a local community college and hopefully transfering to IU.
My influences tend to be Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Gaiman, Bradbury, Adams, Ellison. From a comic point of view I read a lot of Eisner, McCloud, Jeff Smith, Gaiman, Conan stuff, Pekar, Waid, Simonson and a lot of everything else and especially silver age and the like.
I started writing as early as kindergarten. We had to dictate a story about a random color. I got green and while everyone was mucking about with stories about blue skies and the like I had one about a green mailman eating monster.
I used to travel in a full time drama company as a performer/writer/director but that has been a bit. Some years ago I was writing copious amounts of short fiction and tried submitting to F&SF and others, got rejection notices of course and some with personal notes from editor (assistants).
The last thing I really wrote was my Smart Monkey mini comic that I also drew. I learned a lot from it and my next one will be much improved from the layout and printing process.
Currently writing not much of anything and I need to get back to it after a considerable dry spell. School does get in the way of that so I am going to punch up and throw out there for consideration. Hoping it will prime the well so to speak. There is school to consider as well, it tends to get in the way sometimes.

[Kai Gaiden]

Been avoiding this forum bc then I'd feel accountable...which I want bc then ill actually do something lol and with the anthology rooting around now I figure this'll get me on course.

So!

Name: Kai or Colin

Writing style: fantasy is where I've always rooted myself but I do enjoy sci fi on occasion.

Started: Middle school, I'm actually still proud of some of my work that is mainly school related but polished writing in general. It's where I started world building for a current thing.

Current: sadly writing has taken a back seat to responsibilities in life. I have a dozen stories or prompts started and one folder full of world building races and lands but still fighting to find a story worth telling or one people wouldn't throw out as tired cliches. Which is where I'm hoping the anthology can kick my butt into at least producing short stories I'm proud of and start getting my own rejection letters.

[ScoobyThulu]

sadly writing has taken a back seat to responsibilities in life.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
It happens to all of us and for some of us longer than others, it's why I joined up.

[Wordmaker]

Even if you only manage to write 500 words a day, you can complete the first draft of a novel in less than 6 months.

[Sion]

Writing style: fantasy is where I've always rooted myself but I do enjoy sci fi on occasion.

Current: sadly writing has taken a back seat to responsibilities in life. I have a dozen stories or prompts started and one folder full of world building races and lands but still fighting to find a story worth telling or one people wouldn't throw out as tired cliches. Which is where I'm hoping the anthology can kick my butt into at least producing short stories I'm proud of and start getting my own rejection letters.

I am also firmly rooted in the fantasy genre. I already have a story that I am submitting for the Anthology, but I was thinking about maybe taking a swing at the sci-fi genre. Or maybe ...steampunk

I think that you are being a little to hard on yourself. If you want to get out of cliches then this is what I would recommend. Purposefully come up with in your mind the most cliched plot in your mind. Then start moving around the pieces until you become interested again. Maybe that will help, but it surely helped me when I was in the dooldrums of writers block.

Cheers! And long live the Writers Guild Anthology!

[Kai Gaiden]

Thanks guys

I am hard on myself thanks to perfectionsim. Even draft zero has to be refined in my eyes to even let it get proofread. An interesting idea you propose though, I think at the least it'd be a good exercise for me to do at different stages to check my own though patterns.

gasp steampunk!