Greetings from Robert C Day (please, call me Robert)

Great rejections of the past

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robertcday

Basic
Sep 25, 2019
York, UK
So, I was getting spots in my ears and this puzzled me because I wash my ears thoroughly in the shower each morning; inside and out. But still, I had these little sore spots: like the kind of things that teenagers get on their face except that they were not on my face. And I'm no teen.

I pondered and watched and washed and dabbed on the antiseptic cream and I watched and pondered a little more and then, finally, I got it. I figured it out. The mystery of the spots was solved. Yay!

I wear earbuds to listen to sounds on my phone. They are black and rubbery and fit nicely into my ears. They seal me into my personal sonic universe. In between my sonic adventures they live in my rucksack with the various other minutia of my life: sandwiches, bananas, pens, books, salt sachets; that sort of thing. Normal stuff.

In the dark corners of my bag, sandwich bred with pen and begat crumbs which bred with bacteria and begat mould which bred with my earphones and begat (drum-roll) sore ears! You get the picture?

Then I met Del Winterbottom. His main business is selling Bluetooth earbuds from a rolling stall in the centre of York, UK (where I live). They are white and come in their own little carrying case, which doubles as a charger. And they are fab! I can hang out the washing, dance around the kitchen, run up 'n' down the stairs and do a thousand and three other things without getting entangled in cords; without having to find a place to balance my phone; and without getting spots in my ears. Such joy!

Wait, there's more.

Del Winterbottom also writes books. He self-published a three-volume epic-fantasy series called The Rulers Above. His Goodreads page is (was) a mess. It's better now because I tidied it up. I'm a librarian there so I can do that. Thing is, though, there's no photograph. I know what he looks like so I went searching on the internet for a picture to pop into place. I didn't find one, but I did find various references to something called Pop-up Submissions; perhaps you're familiar with this?

So, to cut a long story short (yeah, I know - too late) I watched the video (part of which featured Del and the third volume of his series), fell in (brotherly) love with AgentPete, subscribed to the YouTube channel, signed up to Litopia and was told that I need to screw up the courage to write an intro to me on this forum. So I did.

Hi. :)

I'm just about to finish an MA in Creative Writing. I've just written a novel. I write short stories on post them on my blog. I'm 55 years young. And ... that's it for now. Ask me questions and you shall receive answers. Tell me to be brief and I'll do that too.

Hope you're having a wonderful day and that this is the start of something wonderful. Looking forward to working with y'all.

Right, I'm off now to explore the rest of this site. And to put a photo on my profile (I never did find one of Del).

Robert.
 
Welcome Robert! What a great intro :) Now I really want those earbuds!! Lots and lots to discover and read on here... I'm still finding gems all the time!
 
Welcome Robert! What a great intro :) Now I really want those earbuds!! Lots and lots to discover and read on here... I'm still finding gems all the time!
Hi, Rainbird - lovely to meet you. :)
Yeah, the earbuds are great and a bargain at £12 (or two for £20). I saw someone on a train the other day wearing what looked like an identical set and asked her what she paid. I was shocked (and secretly please) when she told me £165!
You say that there's lots to see here; what's your favourite so far? Bear in mind I'm Basic (for now (I'm in the sucking and seeing phase) and so may not be able to see what you can.
I look forward to getting to know you and this site and discovering how we can help each other.
Robert.
 
Hi, Eva - thanks for the great advice. ;)
I recognise you from the video I referred to earlier. You and AgentPete provided some inadvertent (and lovely) humour with the lag between your comments. That Pete's quite a livewire isn't he!
I hope we can chat further as I get more used to life here. I'm off to look for a who's who section now so that I can get to know who the movers and shakers are.
Keep smiling.
Robert.
 
Welcome to the Colony! I moved and shook, but it fell off....
Hahaha, yes, that happens to me all the time, Paul. :D
Thanks for your kind welcome. I see your face popping up on the threads all the time - do you live here?
You know, the thing that concerns me right now is that I don't know what anyone does. AgentPete seems to be important in some obscure (to me (so far)) way, but I'm not sure why. Is there some kind of a guide to the people here?
Hope you're having a productive day.
Robert.
 
Welcome Robert
Thanks, Steve C. Remind me - who are you again? I recognise your face but I'm not sure where we ...

Ah, stop it, Robert. No sense in riling people up before you get to know them.

I look forward to getting to know you, Steve.
Kindness - Robert.
 
Welcome to the colony, what genre do you write?
Hi, RK, thanks for the warm welcome.

At the moment I'm in the middle of the second draft of a science fiction novel. It's not hard sci-fi. Although the themes are AI, nanorobotics and spaceflight, at its heart the novel is about the human condition.

Previously I've written novels about romantic attachments (with a serial-killer twist) and a messed-up coming-of-age (the mess being the male occupier of her previous birth/body attempting to take over this one).

My short stories bravely (or stupidly) defy categorisation, but if pushed, they would lump themselves under 'weird'. They're mostly about how people would react if something strange happened to them. :)

What genre do you write, RK?

Robert.
 
What genre do you write, RK?

Hey Robert, thanks for asking. I've tried a few things too: a romance, a memoir, a YA fantasy which I'm in the middle of changing from third person past to first person present, and I'm planning a thriller and written 10,000 words (I was going to finish writing it for Nanowrimo, bit after #mswl yesterday, I'm back on the fantasy).
 
Thanks, Robert, it's very kind of you - thanks for taking the time.

Here's a bold sally into friendship: what genre do you write in?

Robert.

Hi fellow Robert! I typically write Sci-fi, although I do dabble in poetry. My sci-fi is more on the 'what if?' (Speculative) side of sci-fi than fantasy sci-fi.

What genre are you writing in?
 
Hi, Eva - thanks for the great advice. ;)
I recognise you from the video I referred to earlier. You and AgentPete provided some inadvertent (and lovely) humour with the lag between your comments. That Pete's quite a livewire isn't he!
I hope we can chat further as I get more used to life here. I'm off to look for a who's who section now so that I can get to know who the movers and shakers are.
Keep smiling.
Robert.
Oh no Robert! You didn't see that! My only appearance on Pop-Up Submissions and look what the Italian internet did to me. Yes, @AgentPete is great to work with and I laughed all the way through.
 
Hey Robert, thanks for asking. I've tried a few things too: a romance, a memoir, a YA fantasy which I'm in the middle of changing from third person past to first person present, and I'm planning a thriller and written 10,000 words (I was going to finish writing it for Nanowrimo, bit after #mswl yesterday, I'm back on the fantasy).
Sorry for the delay, RK; I went off and stalked you a little (Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads and your Blog). I did the biggest part of my latest novel through NaNoWriMo Camp (July 2019) and so I know of what you speak. Not sure what mswl is?
Next up, I'm going to write a Zombie book. Just a straightforward gruesome-death-for-all thang. Going to base it in the secure building I work in and release it day-by-day to the employees of this company. Going to feature thinly disguised versions of the employees here and get them to vote on who's going to die (horribly) next. Should be a hoot! :D
Good luck with the change to first-person present. I just wrote several thousand words in that style and found that I like the immediacy of it.
So, who's in charge here? I want to ask how to get my work critiqued (and how to critique that of others).
Robert.
 
Hi fellow Robert! I typically write Sci-fi, although I do dabble in poetry. My sci-fi is more on the 'what if?' (Speculative) side of sci-fi than fantasy sci-fi.
What genre are you writing in?
As I was saying to RK:

"At the moment I'm in the middle of the second draft of a science fiction novel. It's not hard sci-fi. Although the themes are AI, nanorobotics and spaceflight, at its heart the novel is about the human condition.

Previously I've written novels about romantic attachments (with a serial-killer twist) and a messed-up coming-of-age (the mess being the male occupier of her previous birth/body attempting to take over this one).

My short stories bravely (or stupidly) defy categorisation, but if pushed, they would lump themselves under 'weird'. They're mostly about how people would react if something strange happened to them. :)"

I loves me a bit of speculative sci-fi. You got some of yours out there? I'd stalk you, but I've met my quota for that today (I did RK (so to speak)).

Robert.
 
Oh no Robert! You didn't see that! My only appearance on Pop-Up Submissions and look what the Italian internet did to me. Yes, @AgentPete is great to work with and I laughed all the way through.
I did see it, and I'm totally glad I did. It's lovely to see people in their raw and naked state (no, not like that!) People are the most lovable when their heart shows. And your did.

What you writing these days, Eva?

Robert.
 
#mswl = mansuscript wishlist. It's on Twitter and agents tweet what they want to see in their inbox. @Nmlee let us know about it on the front page of the forum.

To do critiques, you have to do it in the writing groups and to see the Writing Groups, you have to be a Patron. @Carol Rose keeps us in line if needed, but that's not often :)

There's heaps on me over the internet, lol!
 
#mswl = mansuscript wishlist. It's on Twitter and agents tweet what they want to see in their inbox. @Nmlee let us know about it on the front page of the forum.

To do critiques, you have to do it in the writing groups and to see the Writing Groups, you have to be a Patron. @Carol Rose keeps us in line if needed, but that's not often :)

There's heaps on me over the internet, lol!
I saw that from @Nmlee. I wondered what it was about but haven't got around to investigating everything yet. Thanks for the heads-up.

I'm very tempted to get myself on the Patron package immediately. I think without it this site is (just) a forum (lovely though it is). Is it worth the upgrade? I mean, how good is the feedback and how quickly does it all happen?

And yes, you are ubiquitous on the net. :) May I call you by your first name, RK?

Robert.
 
I did see it, and I'm totally glad I did. It's lovely to see people in their raw and naked state (no, not like that!) People are the most lovable when their heart shows. And your did.

What you writing these days, Eva?

Robert.
I noticed you asked above who's in charge here. I know @AgentPete owns and pays out for the site and as he states in Italian under his avatar he is "Capo Famiglia" (Head of the family) in other words, the boss. Then there are "Guardians", and when I first came here I asked if they were there to kick me out if I misbehaved- I really didn't know. And yes that's what they do- warn if we step out of line and not follow what is laid down in the Prime Directive.

I don't use the critique section, for the moment, because I have a deadline to meet with my WIP. and then since I'm a very severe kind of judge I don't want to upset anyone, so I refrain from giving an opinion. Remember what I said about your friend, Del's work? ooooh.

I just write novels on a religious vocation and a mysterious death. All based on real life. At the moment I'm writing a memoir on my experiences with what I believe is a demonic infested situation... involving, again a religious vocation, a mysterious death and demonic attacks on the author. I also write romantic short stories, in fact when I was in a convent my novice mistress told me, writing stories of romance was not a sign of a religious vocation.

Looking forward to bumping into you often on here Robert.
 
Of course, you can call me Rach or Rachel. But we have another Rachel, so maybe Rach will save confusion :)

I think you get out of the Writing Forum what you put in. I'm biased too, I think we're a lovely group of writers and I really love the "reader reaction" method of critique Agent Pete asks we use.

If it were me, I'd recommend interacting (as you are), getting a feel, for your enjoyment etc and then go for it. But, of course, that's entirely up to you. The timing for responses to critiques does depend on how busy everyone is IRL. I'm normally free alot (although, with the warm weather, I'm doing more physio during the day), so I have to split nights between critiquing and writing. I love the way you can privatise threads and delete them.

What I do is give a shout out to see who is free, then I'll privatise the thread, then post my work. I've not encountered that before. Again, I picked up that method from @Nmlee :)
 
I don't use the critique section, for the moment, because I have a deadline to meet with my WIP. and then since I'm a very severe kind of judge I don't want to upset anyone, so I refrain from giving an opinion. Remember what I said about your friend, Del's work? ooooh.

Thanks for that information-filled reply, Eva. That's just the kind of thing that a beginner (on a forum) needs to hear. It helps to know who does what and which direction the hammer would come from. :) It's also great to hear what you are writing. It helps because without sharing that, people seem like they are, I don't know, like gods in an unattainable state. So yeah - thanks.

As far as critiquing goes, I'm a strong believer in telling the truth. There's just no point in being told your prose smells like fragrant flowers when really it is a bag of rotten durian fruit. No, so long as it's given with a constructive intent then a severe opinion is the best one to receive. I believe you have un vero cuore ('scuse my poor Italian).

Likewise, looking forward to learning with you, Eva.

Robert.
 
I was shocked (and secretly please) when she told me £165!
Oooooh! What a bargain! All the sweeter :)
what's your favourite so far?
I LOVE the Writers Groups, I've learned so much, not just from having exceptional critique and help but from reading other work, others comments and critiques and offering critiques also. My MS is a million miles away from what it was before I came on here. It's brilliant (the Writers Groups, that is!!)

Flash Club is also brilliant for stretttccchhhhiiiiing your writers muscles :)

And really, just here in the group, we have such a good laugh. Always interesting, always kind, always friendly.

And on that note... have you seen we are having a Gathering in October? In Cambridge... not that far from you!
Is it worth the upgrade?
YES. YES, and YES.
 
If it were me, I'd recommend interacting (as you are), getting a feel, for your enjoyment etc and then go for it. But, of course, that's entirely up to you. The timing for responses to critiques does depend on how busy everyone is IRL. I'm normally free alot (although, with the warm weather, I'm doing more physio during the day), so I have to split nights between critiquing and writing. I love the way you can privatise threads and delete them.

Thanks, Rach.

Of course, yes, I should test the waters here first with my Basic membership. Then, if I start to make friends (something I actually find very difficult to do, believe it or not) I can jump into the deep end. I'm intrigued by "the "reader reaction" method of critique" and look forward to experiencing that.

Laters. Robert,
 
I think you're doing a great job making friends :)

The "reader reaction" does require a change of mindset (a positive one IMHO), but Agent Pete has a PDF to explain everything :) It's in the Writing Groups though.
 
I noticed you asked above who's in charge here. I know @AgentPete owns and pays out for the site and as he states in Italian under his avatar he is "Capo Famiglia" (Head of the family) in other words, the boss.

Actually, I nicked the expression from a virtuoso in the PR business, one of the Grand Old Men of the industry... he has it on his business cards, it tickled me so I borrowed it :)
 
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Great rejections of the past

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