Hey guys,

Ive been busy so havent been posting much, I have also been writing ALOT, and I followed JV's advice, I put something I had written away and forgot about it. Then I went back and read it and sure enough just as she said I HATED IT. The thing is I thought at the time that I had written it that I was onto something good, and it was going to be my big novel someday.

But after reading it again now I dont even want to read it much less inflict it upon someone else. THere are some things that I will keep in it when I start to rewrite it, I still like the basic premise and I like the names I have, but after reading some of JV's comments concerning names a revision is in order there as well.

Mostly im just fustrated and needed to vent and since screaming into my monitor makes me seem like a maniac here I am, venting.

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sumigo is just an online handle, my real name is Brandon.

I hear ya. Stupid as this sounds...stick with it.

I have a friend who is writing her first novel, and she is sticking to a rule whereby she doesn't allow herself to re-read anything she's written prior, until the whole book is at least written in draft. Otherwise she finds herself in constant edit-mode, writing and re-writing old sections instead of writing new stuff, which makes her feel discouraged about the overall progress.

She also doesn't allow anyone else to offer comments, good or bad, until she's ready. So while I have read the book she's working on, I am under strict embargo to not offer any suggestions, or else she will go bananas.

Sumigo, I understand your frustration! I’m constantly flip-flopping on ideas of what to write -- should I write a post-apocalyptic story about such and such; or should it be a fairy setting, with the cartoon like characters trying to kill one another. I know, I know, it sounds weird (without going into too much detail), but that’s seriously what I’m debating between right now. I envy you; at least you have written something. Incidentally Sumigo, if you want to share a snippet I’d happily read what you’ve got.

The story I am writing is if you will a fantasy/crime drama that will eventually evolve into an epic fantasy. The key difference between what I want to do and other stories that are in this genre is make the main character a "magical forensics" expert if you will not a detective, but not cheesy like CSI with Hobbits or something cliche like that.

And based on my other comments regarding dragons, elves and what not I dont want any typical mythological/fantasy creatures in it which is part of the challenge, starting scratch with new creatures and races and a magic system that fits the above theme.

So in a nutshell I want it to be epic fantasy that merges elemets of crime drama's while keeping an original tone without getting too bizarre and losing peoples interest.

the one thing I know where I am doing well is in the background history of the land this will all take place in as well as the few characters that I have already.

One area I am not doing well is getting it all started, I know where I want to go and I know how things will eventually end, but I am having difficulty getting a good start, the part that I put away was suppose to be that start, but now I have to go back later and redo it.

In the meantime I will endeavor to persevere, and I will post a snippet as soon as I clean up some things.

Thank you for the encouragement.

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sumigo is just an online handle, my real name is Brandon.

Sumigo, sounds like you're brewing up a great story. I wholeheartedly support your “radical” approach to fantasy writing. The genre has too many doppelgangers to count, and each of them has a new take on the same ‘ol thing. (Which is one reason I like Tad Williams so much. The guy is willing to take a chance, or exercise his cerebral muscles, and write stories that explore the edge of creativity.)

Anyway, keep up the perseverance, and I’ll look forward to the day you post that snippet.

Sumigo, that sounds excellent! Not bizarre at all!

Don't worry about disliking what you've written before. Everyone has a tiny little bit of perfectionism inside and this is usually how it shows itself. The thing to do - and I'm having trouble with this - is to just sit down and write it, ignoring your concerns about how *good* it is, and focusing on how good a *framework* you're setting up for the story. Or just focus on enjoying the world. Or anything like that. Just don't think about how you as a reader would feel about it - and names can be changed at any time, so that can be sorted later. Think NaNoWriMo method. Although I think it's good to get friends/allies to read it (knowing that it's a very rough draft, obv) so you get outside tips and ideas.

Beginnings are always the worst bit for me, personally. I understand the hardship. Tips like "begin as near the end as possible" almost help but don't quite - and I always end up wanting to begin in the manner of my favourite authors. Which gets confusing. Do you have a plan for what you want your first chapter to be like?