Gathering Of Dedicated Scribblers discussion
Introductions
Hello, everyone. My name is Mike and I just started the Coursera writing class on Monday. A bit about myself. I went through a two year Screenwriting program at UCLA. Most of which was online, but I was selected for the Masterclass in 2016 and flew out to LA for a few workshops.I've written 9 screenplays. One made it to the semi-finals of the Austin Film Festival contest. I'm still writing screenplays but want to expand to novels.
I don't write by page count but I write three hours a day, more on the weekends (aided by beer) and every chance I get while slacking off at work.
I've developed my writing habit over a decade and have no intension of dropping off or quitting. I ran a screenwriting writer's group for about 4 years so I know how these things work and how easy it is to loose members. I have two rules, don't pull your punches when giving me notes. I can take harsh criticism quite well (thanks Mom.) The second rule is, every person who gives me feedback I guarantee to return the service.
Thank you,
M.R.
Wow, 3 hours of writing everyday seems like a lot. Hope I can also form a writing habit like yours. This is also my 1st novel and I haven't taken any writing courses before so am still on the journey of becoming a better writer (forming habits and such).
S. wrote: "What is your novel going to be about?"Actually, it's not that hard to write three hours if you schedule the time. I'm a night owl so I write from 6 PM till 8. Then I goof around, watch TV, play video games and such. Then when the kids are asleep and the house is quiet I get in another hour, usually on a different project. If you do something like this for a year it will become a habit.
Here is my story logline and dramatic question:
The Boogaloo and You:
A docile urbanite must rush to pick up the skills needed and prepare to survive in a post-apocalyptic world as society begins to crumble around him.
Can an introverted pacifist, soft from fast food and the instant gratification of Amazon Prime survive a world in chaos, where desperate people are willing kill over a package of ramen noodles?
Hi Mike and welcome! I'm so glad people are starting to trickle in and its great having someone on board that already has experience leading a group! Would you mind being a moderator? I think if we can get a few moderators with experience in literature we can really help out some of our members.
Hi everyone,I am Sangeeta , who just started the Coursera course and I am trying to create a story logline. How can we support each other on this platform?
Hi Sangeeta. Welcome to the GODS. As you progress through the course you will find that random peers can review your work. At first there will be many new students to help you accomplish this. As the course progresses a majority of the students will not continue. This will be hard on the amount of feed back that you receive on your work.
Thankfully here you can post a sharable link whenever you need assistance to your posted chapter. Because everyone writes at a different pace, linking your chapter will not interfere with where everyone is in the course at that time. They can simply read your chapter and give you advice as you need it.
Furthermore you can connect here and create topics to speak with other students that are writing in your specific genre or even a primary language. This would allow you guys to basically have your own channel for conversation while not flooding a messenger service or phones with chiming notifications. Your peers will simply log on and see that someone has posted in the topics/channels that they participate in. You can also send private messages through your profiles so you can keep your emails separate from spam.
Another example you can see from above was I had the ability to link book recommendations that could aid Mrs. Faye in her writing. Of course once you have written your book you can link your book to your profile and fans can leave reviews on your work. This creates advertisement. You can also create book giveaways and connect with fans. But, for now. This is how we support each other. You are communicating with us, other students aspiring to publish a novel. If you need any help, just ask!
Andres wrote: "Hi Mike and welcome! I'm so glad people are starting to trickle in and its great having someone on board that already has experience leading a group! Would you mind being a moderator? I think if we..."That depends, what do moderators do? Do I get to crack skulls? Or am I more like the pep squad? I know a lot of inspirational cheers.
Lmao. I sure hope there will be no cracking of skulls necessary. It simply grants you access to tools. Allows us a move around topics or create new folders depending on what everyone needs. It can help us keep things fluid and organized, delete old topics that no one is using etc.
Andres wrote: "Lmao. I sure hope there will be no cracking of skulls necessary. It simply grants you access to tools. Allows us a move around topics or create new folders depending on what everyone needs. It can ..."Sounds doable. I'm in.
Hey! I guess I am the youngest here. Ths course was the first one I ever took. I am now creating draft for my first chapter. Honestly speaking I think I could definitely do with some honest feedback and advice. I hope we can have a happy cooperation . Thank you._Rufaida
Just a bit of advice. When you post a new chapter, your reviewers will not be able to contact you or you them. I would recommend leaving something at the bottom of your chapter so that someone who is interested in your story can keep in touch and either continue reviewing or allow you to ask further detail about questions they had when reviewing your work. You are more then welcome to use the GODS slack or goodreads page to do this so you don't have to give out your personal email.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I've started to leave this link at the bottom of my submission so someone can get in touch with me. Also, create a topic with the title of your story so you can notify the group when you have posted a chapter. This will help you achieve your reviews while allowing other members to conduct their 5 peer reviews.
Andres wrote: "Just a bit of advice. When you post a new chapter, your reviewers will not be able to contact you or you them. I would recommend leaving something at the bottom of your chapter so that someone who ..."Rufaida wrote: "Hey! I guess I am the youngest here. Ths course was the first one I ever took. I am now creating draft for my first chapter. Honestly speaking I think I could definitely do with some honest feedbac..."
Thank you.I am sure this would be helpful.
Hello guys! My name is Kaylin. I am in highschool, and I am aspiring to write a book, but I wonder if writing will still be in for me in the future! I have always wanted to write books and ever since I was younger, I have always thought up ideas and began writing, but now I really want to do the real deal! I joined the coursera in hopes that it will hopefully help me FINALLY write a full length novel! Also, has anyone used wattpad before to share their work? I have made an account, but I have not posted anything.
Hello! I'm Monica. I'm an aspiring YA and MG fantasy author. I started writing when I was in middle school but life got in the way multiple times. I kept coming back to writing though and am finally determined to make it happen. If anyone else is writing YA or MG (Middle Grade) I'd love to connect.
Monica wrote: "Hello! I'm Monica. I'm an aspiring YA and MG fantasy author. I started writing when I was in middle school but life got in the way multiple times. I kept coming back to writing though and am finall..."I am!!! That is the only genre I would write because that is the only genre I read (Hence my grade) If you would like to friend me here on goodreads then we could make sure we don't lose each other!
Nice to meet you Kaylin and Monica! I also read a lot of YA books and at the moment am writing a YA fantasy novel
Kaylin wrote: "Hello guys! My name is Kaylin. I am in highschool, and I am aspiring to write a book, but I wonder if writing will still be in for me in the future! I have always wanted to write books and ever sin..."Hey Kaylin! I am a high school student as well. I am thinking of using Wattpad but haven't started yet. But I do wish to publish the novel I write on Coursera on Wattpad.
Hi everyone :)My name is Maria and I am hovering on chapter 7 of my novel at the moment. I've been in two groups so far, but they seem to get a bit quiet after 2-3 chapters in, so I am really glad I got recommended this group. I did a bit of creative writing before and at the moment I am completing creative writing specialisation on Coursera which I can recommend.
I'm also writing in a fantasy genre. I thought it would be a YA novel, but I'm still thinking if some topics will topple it into a more adult area. Nice to meet you all.
S.M. Fay you should join me and Kaylin in the YA and MG Fantasy discussion.Maria S. what's your book about? YA can deal with some pretty mature topics. If your MC is 15-18 years old and the voice is meant to sound like a teenager talking to teenagers than it's likely YA.
Hi, Monica. I’ve actually had a chat with a friend and she said that my novel is a YA, heheh. I’ve originally had my character aged 20, but I think of dropping it to 18. My book is about a young magician taken under the wing of two mentors who prepare her to enter a kind of a magical trial. Hopefully, I’ll make a topic for it soon with more details.
What about your novel?
Maria, this is my story pitch and logline.Story Pitch
(Set in early 1900s New England) Jack and Ella are sent to an orphanage after their mother passes from a strange wasting disease shortly after their father is killed in an accident. Not long after their arrival, while out on a walk with the matrons of the orphanage and the other children, Ella disappears. The police find Ella and return her to the orphanage, but Jack can tell something is wrong. Ella has been replaced by a Fae changeling. Once Jack reveals the changeling for what it is, it runs back to the land of the Fae. Jack follows it and must now outsmart the Fae to rescue his sister.
Logline
After his little sister goes missing, a young boy must face the dangers of a strange, magical world to find her.
Dominga, JointheGods.slack.com
It's there for you to use it in anyway that would help you continue writing just like this group. If there is another tool that you would like me to set up for the group just let me know.
When reviewing someone's story you are correct, there is no way to directly give feedback **UNLESS** we post our email or something at the end of each submission. Please create a topic for your personal work and use that http link to post at the bottom of your chapter. This way you can invite someone who has reviewed your story to continue following you. Also, post your coursera sharable link in your topic so that friends here on GoodReads can give you feedback as well.
Welcome Maria! I had two groups fall apart so I know exactly where you were coming from. I hope we can all promote and grow our Coursera community on this site. The more members we can gather the more reviewers are available etc. It does get hard trying to do 5 random reviews for each chapter. At least this way you can review someone's story and help them grow rather then 5 chapters of a story you might never see again. The incentive to be detailed in your review begins to disappear after a while.
I'll probably use the slack workspace. I can't get the link to work though. Can someone help me out?
jointhegods.slack.com doesn't work? When I get off work I'll try to post a link in here.
@Dominga,It's okay. Remember these are tools that I am using to offer help. In no way are you required to use them just know that they are here if you want to use them. We'll get you on the slack and as I keep promoting advertising hopefully that grows as well. If not you can always drop in here when you need any help.
Hiya. Thanks for the link! I am not sure how to use this site yet but will give it a shot :) My novel is called Deeper Than Water - it is a murder-mystery thriller.
I am gigi goodwin :)
Btw my slack isn't working either funny enough
Hi, Rita here, I am about to start week 4 of the coursera group but so far no reviews on my first chapter on week 3. I did only posted it a few hours ago though, but reviewing other people's first chapters I wondered about how to make sure I find them again, so I am not reading random chapters every time, and things make more sense. I have now read about posting a likn with my chapter and will make sure to do this in the future!
This seems like a great resource, thank you very much for creating this space.
I am writting magic realism, so not sure which of the themes on the ones available I should join my work to, science fiction or fantasy?
I read instructions about opening our own topic to link to on our submissions and will make sure to do this, but this time my chapter doesnt have a link in it, so where would I go to post the link to my submitted chapter one?
Thanks so much for your space!
Hey Rita, I'm on week 4 of the coursera class and I'll make sure to go back and read your chapter one. If you want to post links specifically for the class, post under Coursera reviews, otherwise create your Magic Realism tab and post under that. Good luck,
M.R.
Thanks I have done this! I would also be happy to read your chapters, starting with one for now? Maybe a review on it still wellcome?
Welcome Gigi and Liavali to the group. I'm sorry the slack didn't work. If you'd like to send me an email @ ArodDaMonster@gmail.com I'd be happy to send you an invite from the slack itself. Maybe it will work that way?Either way, anything I could do to help the group please don't hesitate to ask.
Liavali wrote: "Thanks I have done this! I would also be happy to read your chapters, starting with one for now? Maybe a review on it still wellcome?"
Yes, my first chapter is under the Coursera review tab, I broke it up into two sections because I couldn't fit it all in one. "The boogaloo and you - Chapter One"
Hi everyone! My name is Rachel. I just started the coursera course last night and luckily saw a link posted by a member of this group in the forum this morning.I am still on the fence about what pitch I want to write but will have that narrowed down by the end of the day. Either way, they are both mystery fictions set in the early 20th century. One focuses on flipping the film noir theme while taking place in Hollywood’s film noir era; while the other is about a dysfunctional and corrupt family in 1930's Chicago.
In college I studied Political Science, Russian, and Film; and primarily focused on political films. The best way to influence people is through “The Idiot Box,” as a professor once told us. Typically, my work revolves around subtle political motifs, but not always.
I am looking forward to giving and receiving feedback! I can take harsh criticism when needed; and I can give harsh criticism if you want it. I can also deliver any notes with just complete kindness (this is the current love of your life, after all!)
I can't wait to work with you all!
Hi Rachel, feel free to post your different pitches if you want and I am sure you would get some reviews here already to help you narrow it down. Looking forward to seeing your stuff, you can also post links under the coursera links and we review stuff!
Welcome Rachel. I hope you got the slack invite. There is only a couple of us in there and we haven't really spoken, or spoke at all in fact lol. We have been using this platform but your welcome to invite and use it. I'm sure you'd receive responses on either. Yes, I'd love to read pitches.
Rachel wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Rachel. I just started the coursera course last night and luckily saw a link posted by a member of this group in the forum this morning.I am still on the fence about what p..."
Without reading the pitches, I say go with the film noir idea. It's one of my favorite genres. Tight writing. Great stories.
Is that any relation to the L.A. Noir video game?
Andres wrote: "Is that any relation to the L.A. Noir video game?"The video game, which is an all-time great I must say, was modeled after the film noir style. The stories are usually dark, plot-driven, full of tough-guy dialog and short. Film noir movies are usually 80 to 85 minutes long. I think we need to get back to making films that short. Especially with attention-spans going down.
This sounds extremely interesting I do like tough-guy movies (good fellas, the Irishman). However, I know entirely too little of this genre so with my ignorance, I might be a horrible reviewer for Rachel.
Liavali wrote: "Hi Rachel, feel free to post your different pitches if you want and I am sure you would get some reviews here already to help you narrow it down. Looking forward to seeing your stuff, you can als..."
Hi Liavali, thank you so much for replying!
These were the two pitches I posted:
1. In the mid-1940’s, May Alexander finds herself in the pool of beautiful women being cast in films. With only one great role under her belt and only one Academy nomination, she isn’t being cast outside B Movies these days. With a turn of luck, May finds herself landing a chance audition for Porter Tomeing’s upcoming dark film—the direction Hollywood is finding its films in these days. A bizarre reading with the leading man peaks the interest of Porter’s casting director. After a night of socializing with the casting director and leading man, May wakes up to news from the leading man she will be his leading lady. But the newspapers announce the hidden cost: Lucea Nabrall—the current industry’s favorite and go-to leading lady—was found face-down in her pool with a rope of moon flowers tied around her ankles. Hollywood and some outspoken politicians claim it was a suicide, but nothing adds up to May. Soon May has to learn who to trust, who to keep quiet around, and which men aren’t all as they seem, before anyone else gets hurt. Including herself.
2. Ida Baker jumped off a bridge Sunday morning. James Baker, her father, paid the Tribune $2,000 to only publish fifty words on the matter. Sitting around her New York townhome on Sunday afternoon, Maggie Baker—the younger of the two sisters—grew worried when her sister’s 12:15 PM EST call never came. Ida always called her sister before being escorted to the kitchen to assist with Sunday Supper preparations. Following a series of several unanswered calls to family and friends, Maggie finally gets a hold of an old classmate from her Catholic School, who lets her know her parents plan to hold a funeral that upcoming Wednesday. Maggie hops on the first flight home, inviting her husband and two children into a life they’ve never met. The Lincoln Park mansion may prevent whispers from the Baker home reaching the Chicagoan people, but the silenced Baker sister is now gone. And there is only so much money can hide.
I'm pretty sure I'm leaning heavily towards the film noir concept, but I do have the tendency to change my mind at the last minute!
Andres wrote: "Welcome Rachel. I hope you got the slack invite. There is only a couple of us in there and we haven't really spoken, or spoke at all in fact lol. We have been using this platform but your welcome t..."Hi Andres, I did receive it and joined; thank you so much for sending it!
I also responded to Liavali with the two pitches I had put on coursera. I am also very new to goodreads, and still trying to figure out how this one works. Slack is next!
M.L. wrote: "Andres wrote: "Is that any relation to the L.A. Noir video game?"The video game, which is an all-time great I must say, was modeled after the film noir style. The stories are usually dark, plot-d..."
Hi Mike! I love a great film noir. And you can't forget the femme fatale aspect in them! If I end up writing this one, I will be trying to flip the common characteristics we see in the films (make it female detective/tough lady vs homme fatale) but still include the other common themes you mentioned. You'll probably recognize two of the names in the pitch (just re-mix them up!)
Howdy everyone!I'm Scott! I started the Coursera course last week and am currently working on the outline of Chapter 1.
I am in academia and do a lot of writing, but almost entirely Public Health lectures, scientific articles, and newspaper op-eds. I also have a good amount of experience providing constructive criticism on the work of my students.
I am hoping to improve my written storytelling both as a hobby and to find new compelling ways to communicate ideas.
My goal is to write in short chunks whenever I have some time between other responsibilities (school, home, toddlers, etc).
Hello everyone,I'm not taking the course - at least not yet, as I currently focus my efforts on wrapping my soon-to-be-coming debut. But I'm always willing to talk all things fantasy (or about writing in general) so I'll be lurking around and joining the discussion when I feel like having something to say.
Hello everyone, I'm new in writing and I'm in need of feedbacks to improve my work. The project I am currently working is a paranormal gay romance/thriller novel. I have written my first chapter in Coursera but so far, I only received one review and it's not really much to help me improve. I hope I could get the help I need here.
Welcome the new GODS Scott and Tomas!
Rachel wrote: "Liavali wrote: "Hi Rachel, feel free to post your different pitches if you want and I am sure you would get some reviews here already to help you narrow it down. Looking forward to seeing your st..."
Hi Rachel, I didn't notice the pitches here, I find both equally compelling so I am sorry, I was wrong, we cannot help you choose :-P
Maybe the way to go about it would be to try and sketch a plan of both stories and also work on both set of characters profiles, and see if that makes you lean more to one or the other story?
I draw my characters, their houses, sometimes wardrobes etc. Not great drawings just cause it makes them more solid for me. Or collages of stuff I feel is relating to them also.
Hi all, I am also taking the Coursera class and find it hard to receive good feedback the last few weeks on their site. I am hoping this writing group can provide more reliable feedback.
I didn't really care for the way Coursera did not allow you to connect with your reviewers. I also felt that some authors had interesting storylines and there was no way to continue reading their work and watching how they progress. There seems to be a lot of third party devices and applications that needed to be installed or used in order to communicate with other writers. I had no idea was SLACK or TWIST was before I started the writing class. However, I felt that if a third party program was going to be used, why not one that was strongly associated with writing itself?
On behalf of the writing community, welcome to the GODS.