# Hello There!



## bryanvincent (Jul 7, 2017)

My name is Bryan. I'm a native New Yorker, but I'm moving to Ottawa, Canada to start grad school for English literature. During my undergrad, I was an English major but with a creative writing specialization. I've decided to come here partly because I'd like to make some new friends and receive/ give advice and feedback, but also because I want to continue to have a foot firmly planted in creative writing while I'm in my grad program (and I thought that being a part of this forum could help with that). I look forward to getting to know a bunch of you


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## Terry D (Jul 7, 2017)

Welcome aboard, Bryan. I think you'll find WF a good spot to get, and give, feedback -- or just to discuss writing in general.


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## PiP (Jul 8, 2017)

Hi Bryan, welcome to WF and our creative community. You've certainly come to the right place if you are looking to make friends.

What genre do you prefer? Do you have an interest in poetry or just prose?


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## bryanvincent (Jul 8, 2017)

Terry D said:


> Welcome aboard, Bryan. I think you'll find WF a good spot to get, and give, feedback -- or just to discuss writing in general.


Thanks so much for the greetings! I just wanted to say that I looked on your Amazon page and thought your author description was awesome, very witty and compelling. I'm kind of a bit of a wimp when it comes to horror related books, movies, tv shows, etc, but perhaps I'll give something a try!  I have to do some exploring because all of the threads can be intimidating. Hopefully, I'll find my niche eventually!


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## bryanvincent (Jul 8, 2017)

PiP said:


> Hi Bryan, welcome to WF and our creative community. You've certainly come to the right place if you are looking to make friends.
> 
> What genre do you prefer? Do you have an interest in poetry or just prose?


Thank you! Just so you're aware, we have something in common! I love pigs as well! There's a 12-month calendar hanging in my room right now and each month there's a different pig. For July, since it's geared for Americans, it's a little pig dressed up in colonial attire on a ship with an original American flag. Last month it was a pig on the beach. My love for pigs (and corgi dogs) is pretty much something that everyone knows about me and it's kind of ridiculous how many pig stuffed animals and knick-knacks I've accumulated over the years. Anyways, I've digressed, I mainly just write prose, though I've gotten a little more into poetry as of late. I'm a historical non-fiction and fiction enthusiast, as well as just an overall history buff, so I enjoy writing period pieces and historical fiction, as well as fantasy. Though, this summer I've been co-writing a contemporary supernatural YA novel with a friend, which was way way out of my comfort zone, but I figured that I'd give it a shot. And since I'm going off to grad school and unsure of how much time I'll be able to dedicate to it during my semesters, I figured a collab would be a good way to ensure that the project doesn't go cold. My friend said that once I have more limited time, he'll make it his goal to go back and start editing/reviewing until I'm able to pick it back up again.


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## PiP (Jul 8, 2017)

Oh, mY. Pigs are sooooo adorable, especially piglets! As far as pig ornaments and other trinkets are concerned, I had to politely dissuade my kids and friends from buying me every naff pig ornament on the planet. Sheesh some of them were ... ho hum ...

When I was back in the UK recently, i went to visit a working farm that was open to the public. I spent most of my time in the children's area taking photos of the piglets. They were absolutely adorable.

Sounds like you have several balls in the air as far as writing is concerned. 

Is is your friend also a member?


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## bryanvincent (Jul 8, 2017)

PiP said:


> Oh, mY. Pigs are sooooo adorable, especially piglets! As far as pig ornaments and other trinkets are concerned, I had to politely dissuade my kids and friends from buying me every naff pig ornament on the planet. Sheesh some of them were ... ho hum ...
> 
> When I was back in the UK recently, i went to visit a working farm that was open to the public. I spent most of my time in the children's area taking photos of the piglets. They were absolutely adorable.
> 
> ...


Aww, yes, I agree!! I used to want a micro pig, but I've heard from many sources that they're not really a thing. There's also the problem, at least in the States, that you can only own a pig if you live in rural areas. They're banned in urban and suburban areas because of some kind of sanitary concern. 
When I was in Lancaster, PA last year, that was pretty much me. I was taking pictures of all of the farm animals, especially the piglets, while we were on an Amish farm tour. They were so adorable and it was a great overall experience. 
Yes, sometimes I think that I bite off too much, more than I can handle. I'd really like to finish something for once. 
No, he didn't join on yet. He's a bit reluctant to join online forums, so I'm pretty much here to test out the waters. I won't name drop, but I did try out another writing-based forum a little while back and I kept getting lost in the shuffle. Even when I tried to get involved, commented on the work of a lot of their members, and put up my own sample, I still felt like I was being overlooked and wasn't really picking up much traction, and really got the impression that a lot of the cliques had long been formed. To that note, are there any tips you'd offer to a newbie breaking into the site?


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## PiP (Jul 8, 2017)

> bryanvincent said:
> 
> 
> > Aww, yes, I agree!! I used to want a micro pig, but I've heard from many sources that they're not really a thing. There's also the problem, at least in the States, that you can only own a pig if you live in rural areas.
> ...


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## bryanvincent (Jul 8, 2017)

PiP said:


> > I was offered a Vietnamese Potbelly piglet. While I was seriously tempted I declined as my garden is far too 'twee'
> >
> >
> >
> ...


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## PiP (Jul 8, 2017)

bryanvincent said:


> I actually have never tried a NaNoWriMo, probably because for all of my life up until this point, I've always had classes during the month of November, so I would probably not be able to get very far into the 50,000 goal.



I only discovered NaNo via my blogging buddies prior to joining WF. a group of us got together to spur each other on. It was hard work but fun. Used the stream of consciousness technique. IT is a matter of having time and a month is a big commitment if you have classes.



> Since we started working on our collaboration in June, my friend and I have written a collective 25k+ words, and considering we both work and like to meet up to discuss the novel before starting our respective chapters, I've been pretty happy with our progress.



that's a great start!


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## bryanvincent (Jul 9, 2017)

I'll have to see what my schedule is like. Maybe I'll give it a go and ask some people for advice managing time. I've always had a hard time with stress of consciousness though, constantly double-checking everything I write and wanting to go back and edit. If not, I can start prepping for November 2018. My grad program is only one full calendar year, so I should have more time on my hands after that. 

Thank you, collaborating definitely has its ups and downs, but it's been an enjoyable experience overall so far.


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## H.Brown (Jul 9, 2017)

Hello and welcome Bryan. Want to make friends then then you have come to the right place. 

Moving to Canada sounds exciting, when do you move? I look forward to getting to know you too. The groups are another place that you could visit to find like minded people to befriend.

See you around.


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## bryanvincent (Jul 9, 2017)

H.Brown said:


> Hello and welcome Bryan. Want to make friends then then you have come to the right place.
> 
> Moving to Canada sounds exciting, when do you move? I look forward to getting to know you too. The groups are another place that you could visit to find like minded people to befriend.
> 
> See you around.


Thank you very much! I'm going to be moving in mid-August before the start of the fall semester. I actually did look at few groups, one of the being the New Writers Bunch, but the person who seems to be the owner/manager hasn't been active in a few weeks so I wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. Look forward to seeing you around too


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## H.Brown (Jul 9, 2017)

bryanvincent said:


> Thank you very much! I'm going to be moving in mid-August before the start of the fall semester. I actually did look at few groups, one of the being the New Writers Bunch, but the person who seems to be the owner/manager hasn't been active in a few weeks so I wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. Look forward to seeing you around too




I'm a member of that group and yes Prinze has been recent of late but then sometimes as we all know life can get in they way, however he does check in. I would suggest putting in a request to join and he will most probably accept it and if it begins to take a while I will give prinze a poke hahaha. 

That gives you plenty of time to get packed, as that can be stressful.

What do you like to write?


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## bryanvincent (Jul 9, 2017)

H.Brown said:


> I'm a member of that group and yes Prinze has been recent of late but then sometimes as we all know life can get in they way, however he does check in. I would suggest putting in a request to join and he will most probably accept it and if it begins to take a while I will give prinze a poke hahaha.
> 
> That gives you plenty of time to get packed, as that can be stressful.
> 
> What do you like to write?


I might be missing something, but I'm having difficulty finding the part of the page where I can apply for the group. And in regards to the manager of the group, I totally understand how crazy life can get, so no worries there 

I dabble around with a lot of things actually. I mostly like to write historical fiction, period pieces, and fantasy. I recently started a collab with a friend of mine and we're working on a supernatural novel, which is very out of my comfort zone but it's right in his wheelhouse fortunately. What about yourself?


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## H.Brown (Jul 9, 2017)

I like writing and reading supernatural books so if you ever need a set of eyes I volunteer mine. I have never tried a collaboration piece before but you said earlier that you each have your seperate chapters do you find this easy than writing on your own? I find it interesting. I also am writing my own Gothic supernatural novel myself.

I have read period pieces before and enjoyed them greatly do you have a particular period you write about?

Ah I believe you may need to have made that crucial tenth post as then you become a fully fledged member of our lovely site, then you should be able to request to be added.

It is annoying sometimes hahaha.


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## bryanvincent (Jul 9, 2017)

Thanks so much, that's very kind of you!  I'll definitely keep you posted as we still have a while to go before I'm even comfortable subjecting a reader to that  (I'm mostly kidding). It's my first collab and it definitely is a very different process. We usually take it two chapters at a time and then swap them when they're finished. The main difference is that we have to plot out each chapter more than I would normally writing on my own so that he doesn't miss anything. So far, I've taken the first chapter in the sets, so he's had to readjust some things based on what I wrote in mind. Though we've been pretty synchronized up to this point without having too many major changes. That's really very interesting, a gothic supernatural! How long have you been working on it? 


I write mostly about 19th century New York/New England. I wrote a short story that takes place during the US Civil War years that I might post somewhere down the line on here. My capstone project for my creative writing major was set in early 19th century Massachusetts. 


That makes sense. I don't have the permissions to edit my profile yet either, so I figured that was probably the issue.


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## H.Brown (Jul 9, 2017)

bryanvincent said:


> Thanks so much, that's very kind of you!  I'll definitely keep you posted as we still have a while to go before I'm even comfortable subjecting a reader to that  (I'm mostly kidding). It's my first collab and it definitely is a very different process. We usually take it two chapters at a time and then swap them when they're finished. The main difference is that we have to plot out each chapter more than I would normally writing on my own so that he doesn't miss anything. So far, I've taken the first chapter in the sets, so he's had to readjust some things based on what I wrote in mind. Though we've been pretty synchronized up to this point without having too many major changes. That's really very interesting, a gothic supernatural! How long have you been working on it?
> 
> 
> I write mostly about 19th century New York/New England. I wrote a short story that takes place during the US Civil War years that I might post somewhere down the line on here. My capstone project for my creative writing major was set in early 19th century Massachusetts.
> ...




No worries I know how important second or in this case third set of eyes can be. It began as my dissertation piece two years ago now but since then it has grown and grown it even has ghosts hahaha.

Cool I will keep my eye out for some of your writing. My current work in progress is based in the north east of England and set in both the present day and the 1850's. I have found it great fun having to research the period and the place in that period you can see how much has changed from then until now.


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## bryanvincent (Jul 9, 2017)

H.Brown said:


> No worries I know how important second or in this case third set of eyes can be. It began as my dissertation piece two years ago now but since then it has grown and grown it even has ghosts hahaha.
> 
> Cool I will keep my eye out for some of your writing. My current work in progress is based in the north east of England and set in both the present day and the 1850's. I have found it great fun having to research the period and the place in that period you can see how much has changed from then until now.


Oh wow, that's awesome. You're going/went for your PhD? Ghosts can be fun! I actually plotted out a ghost novel a year ago, but never really got around to working on it. I was inspired while I was on vacation in Gettysburg, PA. If I ever were to try out the NaNoWriMo, I'd probably choose that story to work on.


So although our works are across the sea from each other, we're operating in similar time periods, at least while yours is set in the 19th century. The research is definitely one of my most favorite aspects of the process. When I started one of my short stories, the one I'm considering posting at some point, it coincided with the genealogical research I was doing (I'm also an amateur genealogist on the side  ). And based the location off of where some ancestors had lived and also named some characters after them. The plot was also inspired from a book I bought in Gettysburg about Victorian mourning customs.


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