This is post 20 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.
The Library - For Writers and Readers.
Welcome to my newest initiative - The Library. A brand new, writing focused curation post. Coming out of the ideas and discussions generated in the Seeking a Community of Writers post, I wanted to be able to pursue that idea even further. I know there are writing communities on Discord (of which I am also a member), and there are also curator blogs on Steemit. So this idea is nothing new. But I want for The Library to be a curator post focused solely upon writers, and the world of writing.
I intend to post this once per week, and dedicate space for other writers out there who are writing stories, blogs about writing, even blogs about books and reading. The more I explore Steemit, the more I come to realise that there is still so many bloggers out there who I have not encountered yet. People producing quality material, but not always finding the audience they deserve.
This idea is founded with those principles in mind. It's to help share the often disconnected writing worlds here at Steemit with each other, in the spirit of support and creative encouragement.
This is in no way meant to indicate the best (or worst, by omission) posts on Steemit. These are the ones that I saw - and that I liked - during the previous week, taking several factors into consideration, such as number of days since it was published, whether it is a series or not, and the overall quality of the writer's other material.
I can be contacted via DM on Discord if you see a writer who you believe needs to be brought to my attention for future editions of The Library (it may be you, but I will give more weight to those who recommend other writers).
To start with, the writing groups on Discord that I frequent are:
- The Writer's Block - how to join. Their Steemit address is @thewritersblock
- The Isle of Write - how to join. Their Steemit address is @isleofwrite
If you know of any others then feel free to mention them in the comments section.
@cizzo has released a great Science Fiction story that I think is worthy of more readership.
Glen is sent on a mission, one that may be life or death, but seems to be as much a trip through time as it is through space. The theme and writing style caught my eye as I wondered through Steemit this week, and I wanted to include this in the the very first edition of The Library.
@johnkingwriter is now 4 parts into a Science Fiction epic in the making.
Humankind has been forced to flee in to the far reaches of space and attempt to start a new life. Circumstances have conspired against them as they flee in the hopes that somewhere out there a new world will have the ideal conditions for human life.
We journey the scouting ship as it travels light years away and starts a new settlement. Will it survive, and endure?
I highly recommend this for lovers of Science Fiction. Having just started to post these episodes, it won't take long for any readers to catch up.
The above link goes to the first in the series (posted 3 days ago), and the rest can be found at his blog).
@shawndove has produced a well crafted story, and is also worthy of more readership. Part adventure, part suspense, an unnamed woman is on the run. But from what we do not know. Is this just a race? Or is there more to it than that? The tension and pacing in this story make for a great read. I can thoroughly recommend it to other readers out there.
@zakludick has introduced us to his very own fantasy world (Kedra) creation over this past week. A world that has been well thought out and developed, and has so far produced some great stories.
We first encounter Kayden after his sailing party has been ambushed and he himself taken captive. Thrown into the world of blood sports and slavery, he has to quickly adapt to this new world.
Keep reading as more side stories are entered into @zakludick expanding universe.
The above link leads to part 1 of the story (currently 6 days old), but I encourage to to keep reading, and to visit his blog page if you like what you read.
Charlotte Morgan and the Great Big Math Problem
@mctiller is celebrating the coming release of his next book by sharing chapters of it here with us. Charlotte Morgan and the Great Big Math Problem is a children's book, but is just as enjoyable for adults. The quality of the writing and storytelling shows clearly why @mctiller is having this published. I wish him every success with it.
This also is a multi part release, with the above link going to the first part (released 5 days ago).
And lastly, i wanted to bring to the attention of other writers a post released by the Isle of Write during the past week. I believe this to be a wonderful initiative, and look forward to where this will lead.
Isle of Write Curation Announcement!
From their post:
For the next eight weeks, Isle of Write will be on the prowl for excellent, publication quality (or near to) fiction and poetry. Pieces chosen may be still open for payout, they may be an old piece mouldering on your feed you thought you'd never see a dime for again. Poetry will have some special parameters and they will be detailed in a separate post, but every author of a curated fiction piece will receive an immediate transfer of 5 SBD and an invitation to be a part of our first series of Steemit Anthologies.
Please visit the above link to read more on this exciting development.
Images sources from unsplash.com and used with permission.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow.
@naquoya
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Links to earlier works
- Fiction
My Fiction Writing Collection
Writing Myself Out of Existence
When the Levee Breaks
- Blog Posts
Notes #1 - #39 - Notes From An Amateur Writer Collection
Notes #40 - Read, Write, and Face the Future
Notes #41 - What Are Some Of Your Favourite Books?
Notes #42 - Website Review: Fiction University
Notes #43 - Seeking a Community Of Writers
Notes #44 - What Are Some of Your Favourite Characters?
Notes #45 - When Madness Came Knocking
Notes #46 - Why Do I Write?
-Ramble On (Humour based travel blog)
Introducing My New Travel Blog
Making a Deal With the Devil
-Poetry
Yes, thank you for including my work!
You're very welcome.
Thank you so much for including the Isle and especially our curation announcement here!
And thank you as well for being one of the very first authors selected in this new initiative toward publication for talented Steemians such as yourself!
Still very happy about that news. Muchas gracias.
And helping to promote the Isle is something I am happy to do, and keep doing. I will include your link in each editions of The Library (once per week).
I remember when we first got to know each other better when we became peers as curators. Nice of you to get back in the game. You have a great eye in spotting diamonds in the rough, so I have the utmost faith in your picks. These titles have definitely piqued my interest!
It's great that you found these communities you can belong to, mate! I'm happy for you :) I hope you won't forget about your ol' pal @jedau when you reach the echelons you rightfully belong to!
I know curating has always had appeal to me here. I even excelled at it financially for a short period of time. I believe we met officially through @curie. But the emphasis for this work is less financial, and more exposure. For the writers included, and for me. All part of building an audience. This place keeps growing in number, so it can be hard to stay in the loop - and I am only referring to the specific area of interest. I wouldn't even try to stay up to date with all the other fields. That's why I stay away from the trending page, even for fiction.
And there won't be any forgetting going on. That's not how I play the game :)
But first things first - improve as a writer, and then try to get something published, then...
Oh yeah, you gave me a lot of breaks there! Too bad my qualification didn't last long. I totally get what you mean. With the influx of new users, I've always said that it's easy for old minnows like me to get lost at sea. Most people are interested in exclusively writing, instead of mutual support. So, it's a tougher crowd for sure.
I still run into this, a lot. Or just being blatantly ignored. I suppose it's good practice for submitting work into publishers.
Definitely. I feel like they'll turn more work down than accepting. Personally, I have yet to try out submitting to a publisher myself. I've been too scared in past years. I don't know if I have enough to submit one this year.
What a great initiative! I am glad I found this. A few of these authors I am aware of, but a few are new to me. That's perfect! I know you have good taste. Thanks for doing this!
You're most welcome. This will be a weekly occurrence, so look out for it every Saturday. Hopefully I can help shine a light in some more authors and help boost their readership. Thanks for your comment.
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Hi @naquoya, I heard in a podcast that you read a lot. My grandmother used to read an average of 2 or 2 books a week! She also wrote a few short fiction stories... if you wanna take a few minutes please check the last of her stories I posted: https://steemit.com/writing/@lavidaesunviaje/a-tale-of-two-giants-original-fiction-story-from-my-grandmother-ella-burley
I’m also a reader... on the last 2 years I have read, I think, more than 40 sci-do books... I love Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and sturgeon... can you recommend some other sci-if author you think I would enjoy?
Thanks!
And let me know if you read my grandmothers story and you like it...
I'm reading a lot at the moment, as I get deeper into writing studies. Part of being a good writer does involve a lot of reading. At the moment I average about 1 per week, so I'm not as prolific as your grandmother. I'm not overly fast, just do lots of it.
I will take a look at her stories when I get the chance - thanks for letting me know about them.
Have you read Ursula K Le Guin, Robert Heinlein, Philip K Dick, Richard Morgan, William Gibson, Roger Zelazny, Orson Scott Card, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Larry Niven, Frank Herbert, Douglas Adams, Arthur C Clarke, Daniel Keyes, Theodore Sturgeon, J G Ballard, Alfred Bester, Gregory Benford, Olaf Stapledon, John Brunner, Richard Matheson, James Blish, Frederik Pohl, George R Stewart, Michael Moorcock, Andy Weir, Joe Haldeman, Hugh Howey.
These are some of the names I can think of in the Science Fiction genre. There are many more, but you'll find some great books amongst these authors.
I don't know your exact tastes, but I can highly recommend Robert Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land, and Joe Haldeman - The Forever War.
Thanks for the suggestions. I only read 4 of those authors so I’m gonna search for the others...
My taste... I loved “ the end of childhood “ the foundation saga, the space odyssey saga, specially loved the “Rama” saga from Arthur C Clarke...
A few of sturgeons books... 🙂
I'm not familiar with all of those author's work, but if you go online and see if any of their novels appeals you should have a lot of choices i would imagine. Best of luck.
Beautiful idea. I need to be part of this.
Thank you. Do you write fiction, or about books and writings. I'll be happy to check your blog if you do?
Excellent initiative to support the writers who produce valuable content and might not be observed by the majority of the Steemit community. I also would invite you to join the dicord channel for "Steemit Poets United" with the hashtage #poetsunited. It's a new community focusing on promoting good poetry and empowering poets. Here's the link:
https://discord.gg/665VTUs
Thank you for dropping by and viewing my post. Great idea for Steemit poets. Communities are starting to come to their fore here. All the best.
You're very welcome... Keep those good projects coming.... we all need them.
Ahh you. It is a good thing you're doing, really, helping the underappreciated people to gain mor exposure.
But you're seriously threatening to make my feed even more unwieldy than it already is with all these potential new people to add XD
It's hard to keep up, isn't it. Sorry to add to your dilemma. Thanks for your appreciation (and understanding!).
This is a very interesting idea. As a new steemian, I am really appreciative of the efforts you and other curators put into this community! I actually have just heard about the Isle of writes (I joined their discord minutes ago) and it is exciting to try to take part in these initatives!
Thank you. Curating is one of the great things about Steemit. Done right it helps both the curator and the author - but it also helps strengthen the community by helping people flourish. That is my main aim. If you are a writer then I am happy to take a look at your work. This is only week 1 of this, so many more to come.
Part of me wants to say yes! I'm a writer (poet), and would love you to look through some of my poems (the few I have posted here).
Another part of me tells me that what I will post tomorrow is better than what I posted yesterday. The workshops in the groups have been quite helpful actually so I always think I am improving haha.
Yes, constant improvement is life. Keep striving for it. Make use of the workshops absolutely. But if you write then don't hesitate to call yourself a writer. Whilst I am not the best judge of poetry, I am still happy to take a look.
Well, I would appreciate if you did. I do not have many material on Steemit as I'm 6 days old, but, I do write and post a poem every day (sometimes more) - but even if you check out one poem that would be lovely. I'm not sure if we should post links or not, so I won't post a link here. Whenever you have time, do drop by and read my latest poem
I have just followed you, so I can keep track of your posts. As for posting links on other people's blogs, you are correct in assuming not to do so UNLESS the author gives permission. Which I am doing now, if you want to, you can give me a link on which one to look at first. Otherwise I can wander over there at some point and have a look.
Thank you :P
Well, I would suggest this poem : https://steemit.com/poetry/@poetrybyjeremy/intertwined-or-an-original-poem
Most recent, and I think it's the best I have so far.
Thank you for your support :D I hope you enjoy. My poetry should be easy to comprehend for people who are not accustomed to poetry - or at least that's what I hope
(delayed because had lack of bandwith)
Absolutely beautiful! Layout and ease of reading and content! I have a writer friend considering Steemit and your post link is on its way to his messages.
Thank you for your feedback. I do try to make these easier on the eye, but not always possible. And yes, share away, it's always appreciated.
GREAT info here for writers!
Love that you're starting this weekly post!
I spend so much time reading other writers here, that I figured this would be one way to help out. There aren't any curation posts specific to this field (that I am aware of), and there are so many authors that even I haven't found, so I am hoping for this to become a place for suggestions as well.
Thanks for comment, I appreciate it :)
I am the same way! I love to read (then comment). I have always been a ferocious reader.
When I was in junior and senior HS I spent more time at the library then out with friends. Heck, I still do. I'm always at the local library.
Nice to have the platform here to reach out to unknown authors and writers.
Hopefully it works to highlight authors and bloggers of quality that are making an effort but not necessarily being rewarded. Whilst the main criteria is quality, knowing it helps bring some more exposure is a good feeling.
And I think I spent a lot of time in libraries over the years myself, so it is only fitting that I create one of my own here now.
Great idea.
@artibeus writes seems to be writing about books primarily. At least so far.
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes he appeared on my radar during the week, so I will keep an eye on his blog also. Love posts about books and reading, as well as fiction itself.
Thank you for the curation and great writeup of my story @naquoya, its appreciated and motivating :). Feels great to be included amongst some excellent stories.
You're welcome. Glad I could do it justice, and help share both the story, and you, the author. Hope it helps.
This is a great idea, @naquoya! I look forward to checking out the authors you've listed above (a few I'm already following), and can't wait to see who you decide to feature in the coming weeks :)
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm looking forward to publishing more of these, and sharing fiction, and other writing related posts that I find in my travels.
Thank you for including my work in your new curation enterprise and also for your words of encouragement on the posts.
I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
You're most welcome. Thanks for writing it in time for my first edition of The Library. I appreciate your exceptional timing.
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I love this idea, and definitely want to be part of it if I can.... I'll contact you on Discord.... (and now following 😉🙏🏽☯️ )
Thanks for getting in touch. This idea is to help foster support amongst writers of all calibres here on Steemit.
How much time and effort do you need to write a post every day for 30 days? I imagine it would be good to have more engagement but if you ever get writers block is there a failsafe? Im interested in the poetry part in particular. https://steemit.com/poetry/@naquoya/early-poetry-efforts-steemit-exclusives - I like your style @naquoya
It does take quite a lot of time and energy to fulfil the task. I am using it to help refocus my writing. It takes a lot of discipline, and I did get a little run down a few days ago.
Not much room for writers block, unfortunately. That's what I mean by refocusing my writing. Learning to just write, and not worry too much on the details. One can always tidy up their writing later on.
Thanks for your feedback.
ahem
It's World of "Kedra" btw. Slight typo.
Also goes with my tag #worldofkedra for later when there is a lot of it.
Thank you for including me in The Library!
Me and my inability to edit efficiently. I'm really sorry. It's been corrected.
Hope it helps in some way to get more people reading.
Aha! Thanks!
Yeah I have read @cizzo's Lost Astronaut prior to this anthology. Very good.
I have started reading @jonkingwriter's Homesick series.
As for Raiders of the Middle Sea. It is now up to Episode 6. A new character has joined the story on Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 5, where Raiders has now become a non-linear storyline (just as planned, lol). It shows what happened to the crew of the ship where Kayden came from.
This is an awesome initiative! One lovely day I will have the time to read again!!! I like the idea of Steemit Anthologies.
It is hard to keep up with all the reading here at Steemit. I struggle, even though I aim to read as much as I can. So I imagine it is difficult for others. In an effort to help bring the bring material into an easy place to find, and perhaps highlight more writers, I thought this may help. Glad you like it.
This is a great idea. I'm honored to be featured. You put a lot of effort into the writing community here, and it is much appreciated!
Now I'm off to take care of my grumpy child, but I can see that I've got some reading to do later!
You spoke up at the right time the other day, as I was collating material. So your story stood out to me, and I was more than happy to include it.
Nice post...
Please upvote my post...
I would recommend checking out @alexbeyman , @navaneeth and @felt.buzz.
When they post fiction, it's always an amazing piece of work.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Beautiful idea. I need to be part of this.