NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

@kingmidas Well, delayed welcome to you. 

Posted by: @kingmidas

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@davidjvowell Hello and welcome. I've been here for about 5 years (ish) and this is my first post. I haven't yet done an introduction.

I suspect that means you use your time more wisely than I, nevertheless, I welcome your interaction with the forum as I think its a wonderful community and communities are built one voice at a time!

@gideonpsmith I will make the attempt later today to draft something by way of an introduction and post it.

Hello everyone,

My name is Patrick MacPhee. I write a mix of SF and fantasy. I've lurked this forum occasionally over the years, but I'm not normally one to post.

After a few entries, I was lucky enough to win a first place finish (4th Quarter, Issue 41). Moving forward, I hope to get advice on writing and to give advice if it's wanted.

Patrick

I'm not overly fond of crafting introductions, mostly because I'm never sure what to write, where to start and when to stop. My main interests are crime fiction, fantasy fiction and science fiction. I knew Dave Farland (Wolverton) as an instructor in some of his classes and through emails, video chats, etc., and he often encouraged me to enter the WoTF. I still have the last remarks he made about my writing, which I look at sometimes - "Nice hook!" - "Great scenes!" - "Beautifully done". And a couple of years before his passing, we spoke about his excitement when he was in talks with a major movie studio about his work and told me not to get "too excited" yet when I offered by overly-excited congratulations.

I wrote my first novel at 14. I sent my first query letter at 15 to an editor who hand wrote a response on the query and told me the idea (for a mystery) sounded interesting but to consider changing the title (Sweet Whisper of Death), which she said "is overused and overworked." She offered to look at it when it was completed. Maybe she was humoring a 15-year-old. Maybe not. As it happened, the company closed before it was complete and I lost heart and did not send it out again. In high school, I won a writing competition for my grade level (11) in the best new writer's competition and our submissions would go onto the state championships. It was humiliating. They put my name on the board, announced it among the other winners for 10th and 12th and I spent an awkward amount of time thanking people who congratulated me when I had not even wanted them to know I'd submitted anything. My friend, Mike, who I've known since first grade still reminds me that I was "always the writer." I think he does it to annoy me and I remind him that I have stories to tell his children about their dad back in the day. 😬 [To break the suspense - I did not win the state championship for my division.] I thought after the initial response to that win that everyone would forget it. But then the newspaper ran a story on it and that little moment then became a much larger moment with me then having to tell my family about a story I submitted and did not tell them about - a confession prompted because our family doctor offering his congratulations to my mother who was having her annual check-up. The bright side to that was that my family doctor was also the county coroner, so for a crime writer that was a gift.

After high school, I put off college and went to work as a reporter. Journalism, after all, is said to be a training ground for writers. I got the crime beat and the officers I met then are still friends to his day even though we have moved on to other things. The money I made from working put me through college where I majored in psychology but managed to take every English class I could find. I was also the only student who carried around the Oxford English Dictionary. I did take one Creative Writing class; however, it was a dud, taught by someone who had not published and taught mostly advanced grammar and I dropped it after the first month.

I've submitted articles to magazines but never felt as if my writing was 'good enough' which may plague everyone. I received a personal reply from one editor asking for an article and I promptly filed it and did not follow through - fear that I could not pull off the article as brilliantly as the query letter that got it noticed.

A famous Creative Nonfiction writer matched me with a published author who was excited to hear about my idea for a historical true crime book and wanted to help. He died of a heart attack in his garage in Texas before I could respond to the email.

I've gone through a class with Orson Scott Card as a teacher and have attended so many workshops by professional authors over the years - both in fiction, nonfiction and journalism that I lost count. I find the different perspectives interesting and the concepts intriguing - although sometimes it takes a bit of time to understand them if the instructor has a professional writing portfolio but really has a hard time trying to explain what they actually do when they write. (Not that it may mean anything but if you are one who enjoys lettering systems - I'm an INTP on the Jungian/Meyer's Brigg system, which may provide some insight onto my personality.]

And, as I've said elsewhere, I've been a member of the forum - lurking, not posting - for about 5 years. Farland actually wanted me to go through the online workshop and see if I enjoyed it, and so I did. He also encouraged me to reach out to a publisher he knew personally who produces different anthologies and I did, but they were by invite only. I also have a number of the Writers of the Future Anthologies and read outside of them as well. I don't pretend to like everything I read. If I do like it, then I try to understand it.

And before it is recommended - lol - I already have Wulf's book on a howling good story.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will respond.

@kingmidas Thanks for sharing that introduction. It's fascinating to hear about different writers' journeys. 

Writing advice - I've seen that as well re: writing instruction and advice, courses, etc.. Some instructors can write very well, but they can be frustratingly vague in describing something that has become instinctive to them. Others can teach very well, but they lack the experience and wisdom of a seasoned writer, so they sometimes get bogged down into details. Rarely do you get both together. One of the few exceptions I've found is Brandon Sanderson on YouTube, which resonated with me a lot. He's a judge for the contest and writes mainly speculative fiction.

You mentioned the crime beat and studying psychology. Have these experiences helped shape you as a writer?

Great to meet you and good luck on your writing journey!

@macpat I've been very fortunate in discerning from which writers and editors I take advice. I look at their credentials and their portfolio of work and, for editors, for what they have edited. I also find interesting reader reviews on finished products - I ignore surface reviews, meaning people who simply did not like the book or the genre, etc., and look to those reviews with repeating elements. If 1000 people say a character in a book seemed one-dimensional, then I look at that. If 10 people say - the book did not interest them, then I ignore it because it does not provide me with anything useful to gauge the work itself. 

Brandon Sanderson is interesting in his classes - and it is notable that they are online and you can go through a make a syllabus out of them both on repeating themes (plot/character/setting) and sometimes you can catch additions to a new lecture that was not mentioned in an older one and vice versa. He seems to have an affable style. 

As to your question - I think my experiences as a writer shaped my experience as a journalist and mental health professional and clinical supervisor. And, in turn, journalism and psychology influenced by observation skills and understanding of human nature - both in theory an in application. My reading interests and my intellectual interest are varied and eclectic and this also holds influence and choices I make as a writer. I may be reading Socrates early in the day and you will find me later in the day following an anthropologist through the Amazon jungle in search of a rare plant. I find wonder in most anything and inspiration in all things.

@macpat Hey Patrick! Welcome to the forum! I look forward to meeting you in person in a few weeks time

@kingmidas I'm glad you've made your introduction and started posting after all these years, and what an introduction! Thank you for sharing, it was great to read about your history and connection to the contest through Dave. He is missed by us all here. I wish you all the best with your future submissions

Posted by: @kingmidas

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The bright side to that was that my family doctor was also the county coroner, so for a crime writer that was a gift.

Just to say, I loved this little nugget from your introduction - it sounds like a character from a crime novel set in a small town.

Posted by: @macpat

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Hello everyone,

My name is Patrick MacPhee. I write a mix of SF and fantasy. I've lurked this forum occasionally over the years, but I'm not normally one to post.

After a few entries, I was lucky enough to win a first place finish (4th Quarter, Issue 41). Moving forward, I hope to get advice on writing and to give advice if it's wanted.

Patrick

Congratulations, Patrick! We look forward to hearing your acceptance speech at the award ceremony, and in reading your story! 

Cheers!

@kingmidas 

I'm glad you've introduced yourself, KingMidas. Welcome to the Forum!

I'd give you the rundown, but you already know it. It sounds like you have excellent life history to tap into, which makes for great stories. And you've had training by some of the best: Dave Farland and Scott Card. Awesome writing instructors. Their teachings will serve you well.

Welcome aboard!