Greetings to all of you

[Technomancer]

Hello everyone,

my name is Bjorn and I am a science fiction writer from Germany. I have been writing for about eight years by now and over time it has changed from a very occasional relaxation thing to a serious hobby. As I read almost exclusively in English, I also write in English, as it feels more natural to me this way.

My current project is now rapidly approaching a finished first draft, although being a pantser, there is still much work to be done. As for genre, I would call it Sci-Fi with heavy cyberpunk elements, although I'm reluctant to call it full-fledged cyberpunk, as it misses some genre conventions (is there such thing as positive cyberpunk?).

I decided to join this forum to read some other viewpoints and maybe gain some input that will help me with reworking my first draft. Additionally I would enjoy beta reading or exchanging texts with other writers, maybe once mine aren't a technobabble-filled, chaotic mess anymore (ha, as if that'll ever happen).

When I'm not writing, I care for my hydroponic garden, read or play board and video games. Down the line I'd like to maybe try video game writing for smaller projects, such as community-driven mods.

Glad to meet all of you,

The Technomancer (which even though I fix his computer at least once a week, my boss stubbornly refuses to make my official job title)

 

[dickson]

Welcome to the water cooler! Check out the Newbies guide and FAQS, browse the fora, and take part in the fun.

 

[Izz]

Hi Bjorn, and welcome to AW! You’ll love it here, I’m sure

We’ve got everything a writer, at every stage of their writing journey, needs, both in terms of resources and community.

I’m sure you’ve already carefully read the Newbies Guide you were linked to when you registered but please also peruse the FAQs linked to here, as well as the stickied/pinned threads at the top of each forum page. Doing this will not only help make the forums less overwhelming, but will also quickly get you up to speed on the culture and etiquette of the various spaces around AW.

There’s a lot here to discover, so take as much time as you need to explore, lurk if you like, join in conversations you find fun or interesting if you like, make friends, enjoy yourself!

And if you have any questions that aren’t answered in the above resources, please don’t hesitate to ask, either here in-thread or via the private conversation option (the envelope next to the bell at the top right of page)

Happy writing!
Izz

 

[Nether]

Welcome.

my name is Bjorn and I am a science fiction writer from Germany. I have been writing for about eight years by now and over time it has changed from a very occasional relaxation thing to a serious hobby. As I read almost exclusively in English, I also write in English, as it feels more natural to me this way.

My current project is now rapidly approaching a finished first draft, although being a pantser, there is still much work to be done. As for genre, I would call it Sci-Fi with heavy cyberpunk elements, although I'm reluctant to call it full-fledged cyberpunk, as it misses some genre conventions (is there such thing as positive cyberpunk?).

Given that you've been working on it for eight years, I imagine the word count must be massive

The Technomancer (which even though I fix his computer at least once a week, my boss stubbornly refuses to make my official job title)

My boss wanted to make my title The Wordsmith, but I told her I wanted a real-sounding title on my business card... although I also didn't get the exact title I wanted (or, quite honestly, *thought* I already had). FWIW, real titles are generally more useful when explaining what you do for a living.

(And I'm still often either called a wordsmith or encouraged to 'wordsmith something.')

 

[Norsebard]

Hello and to Absolute Write, Technomancer/Bjorn!


See you around the board!


Norsebard

 

[Technomancer]

Welcome.



Given that you've been working on it for eight years, I imagine the word count must be massive

The current project was actually started just about 7 months or so ago and standing at 100k words now. My previous projects were a mix of short stories and longer ones, but the current one is the first one that actually feels serious.

My boss wanted to make my title The Wordsmith, but I told her I wanted a real-sounding title on my business card... although I also didn't get the exact title I wanted (or, quite honestly, *thought* I already had). FWIW, real titles are generally more useful when explaining what you do for a living.

(And I'm still often either called a wordsmith or encouraged to 'wordsmith something.')

I would've also settled for "The almighty fixer of technological woes and redeemer of errant hardware", but he didn't go for that one either
But Wordsmith would be a nice title as well

 

[Valkyrie Tina]

Hi there from an expat German. I also just arrived and am still finding my way here.

100k after 7 months? That sure sounds like you are a Science Fiction writer (If your laser gun fails, you can kill your enemies with a average sicfi novel)

The Technomancer (which even though I fix his computer at least once a week, my boss stubbornly refuses to make my official job title)

I feel you. When I was working at university I wanted the title "professor of unusual and cruel geography" and was denied.

Greetings from Sweden
The old Valkyrie

 

[RinaL]

Hi Technomancer,

Nice to meet you! I'm from Germany, too.
I think it's cool that you're writing in english! I wouldn't trust my own skills enough to try that. Which elements of the cyberpunk gerne do you think are untypical in your story (except for it to be positive)?

–Rina

 

[PEBKAC2]

Welcome to the forums. We also have a discord server for real-time chat. You can find info on that here:
https://absolutewrite.com/forums/in...discord-chat-channel-is-available-too.343131/

 

[TheoreticalJoe]

This was a heck of an intro. Nice to meet someone else who aspires to the job title of "technomancer". The closest I ever came was one of my old bosses actually got me Business cards that said "Company Wizard: In charge of electronics, lights, and magic" Still my greatest achievement in life to date LOL.

 

[Technomancer]

Hi Technomancer,

Nice to meet you! I'm from Germany, too.
I think it's cool that you're writing in english! I wouldn't trust my own skills enough to try that. Which elements of the cyberpunk gerne do you think are untypical in your story (except for it to be positive)?

–Rina

Writing in English was actually a bit awkward for a few weeks or so, but you get used to it faster than you'd think, esepcially if you reead in english as you go along

Regarding Cyberpunk, I hit most of the typical worldbuilding and plot elements, but I'm not sure if my tone fits. While Cyberpunk often is dystopic and is about rebellion against power , it also often feels somewhat nihilistic to me. Like in many stories, at the end nothing really changes about the world and the characters aren't much better or worse off (in terms of wealth, happiness or personal growth) than they were at the start. And I mean this not as a criticisim of the genre, just a personal obserbation.

And while my story is about rebellion against a dystopian society, I have characters who are in it for their ideals and not personal gain and my characters are definitely better off in the end than at the start. So I'm not sure if it really fits the genre.

 

[Technomancer]

This was a heck of an intro. Nice to meet someone else who aspires to the job title of "technomancer". The closest I ever came was one of my old bosses actually got me Business cards that said "Company Wizard: In charge of electronics, lights, and magic" Still my greatest achievement in life to date LOL.

That is an awesome title, yes

 

[RinaL]

Writing in English was actually a bit awkward for a few weeks or so, but you get used to it faster than you'd think, esepcially if you reead in english as you go along

Regarding Cyberpunk, I hit most of the typical worldbuilding and plot elements, but I'm not sure if my tone fits. While Cyberpunk often is dystopic and is about rebellion against power , it also often feels somewhat nihilistic to me. Like in many stories, at the end nothing really changes about the world and the characters aren't much better or worse off (in terms of wealth, happiness or personal growth) than they were at the start. And I mean this not as a criticisim of the genre, just a personal obserbation.

And while my story is about rebellion against a dystopian society, I have characters who are in it for their ideals and not personal gain and my characters are definitely better off in the end than at the start. So I'm not sure if it really fits the genre.

This sounds a bit like what my wife has been writing over the last years!

I think character progression is a key part of writing a good story. And painting everything just black and white is not only boring but also unrealistic in my point of view. The dystopian gerne has been around for quite a while now and we've already seen a lot of the gloomy stuff, so why show how your characters managed to be better off in this brutal kind of world? Definitely keep going!

 

[ramendik]

My current project is now rapidly approaching a finished first draft, although being a pantser, there is still much work to be done. As for genre, I would call it Sci-Fi with heavy cyberpunk elements, although I'm reluctant to call it full-fledged cyberpunk, as it misses some genre conventions (is there such thing as positive cyberpunk?).

This sounds very interesting to me! I was thinking of "positive cyberpunk" or maybe "post-cyberpunk" off and on for many years and in fact edited one Russian novella for publication (back in Russia, in 2005) that I would think was that. Cyberpunk but the corporations and technologies are not always evil - and the characters get somewhere, too. I have my own setting "pencil-sketched", but I don't exactly have a plot for anything more than short stories in the setting, and this is not exactly 1950 so I don't know where I'd go with the "I, robot" approach to world description.

I would surely love a glance at your stuff at some point.

 

[Heaven sent]

Hello everyone,

my name is Bjorn and I am a science fiction writer from Germany. I have been writing for about eight years by now and over time it has changed from a very occasional relaxation thing to a serious hobby. As I read almost exclusively in English, I also write in English, as it feels more natural to me this way.

My current project is now rapidly approaching a finished first draft, although being a pantser, there is still much work to be done. As for genre, I would call it Sci-Fi with heavy cyberpunk elements, although I'm reluctant to call it full-fledged cyberpunk, as it misses some genre conventions (is there such thing as positive cyberpunk?).

I decided to join this forum to read some other viewpoints and maybe gain some input that will help me with reworking my first draft. Additionally I would enjoy beta reading or exchanging texts with other writers, maybe once mine aren't a technobabble-filled, chaotic mess anymore (ha, as if that'll ever happen).

When I'm not writing, I care for my hydroponic garden, read or play board and video games. Down the line I'd like to maybe try video game writing for smaller projects, such as community-driven mods.

Glad to meet all of you,

The Technomancer (which even though I fix his computer at least once a week, my boss stubbornly refuses to make my official job title)

Hi I write Christian poetry and short stories about animals. Love to read mysteries.
I’m a retired USA English teacher. I was a k- 8th grade computer teacher/ librarian. I would love to read your Sci-Fi draft.
Love board games. Invite me. I’m play Monopoly.
Nice meeting you.