Voices in Space

Max Koranov

Max Koranov is the initials of this author's children and a dead friend’s surname jumbled. Max Koranov didn’t finish high school, but was paying her own bills at seventeen. “Emancipated” from the child welfare system two weeks before they’d be obliged to finance her university, she decided to educate herself. She spoke her first words at six years old, but could read and write at three. Jumping state with family an average of twice per year, she was placed in special ed and gifted programs frequently, and still prefers the former for company. When asked to offer a piece of writing advice to the VIS community, this User in the Limelight responded "I don't feel adequate giving advice, but will phrase what has helped me most: Read those who struggle like yourself, not polished work. In sharing the process (rather than consuming the product) you decide whether to suck authentically or not."

Dragonstar

Dragonstar is a part time writer who has a passion for writing and illustrating children's books. She considers critique groups a refuge from life's chaos, and recommends that all writers "try a new style of writing," or try to "write about something different." Breaking free of our comfort zones allows us to surprise ourselves, Dragonstar believes.

Moon Puppy

Moon Puppy "has always not-so-secretly wanted to ‘be a writer’ (whatever that means)," but stopped writing creatively after she started grad school, which admittedly made her "a somewhat cranky person." Having recently graduated and started writing again, Moon Puppy insists she is far more pleasant to be around (or so, she says, she'd like to believe). Moon Puppy generously offered some excellent writing advice to the VIS community, which we have preserved in her own words (trust us, we couldn't have put it better ourselves!): "1. Read The Art Of War (it’s magically motivational), and – as per Pressfield’s instructions – Write(!!), whether you’re feeling inspired or not. 2. For inspiration (because – less face it – it’s far nicer to write with it than without) read or reread your favorite authors, stories, poems, passages, textbooks, cereal boxes – or whatever else pushes your literary buttons. 3. Don’t be afraid to share what you’ve written. Learn to use constructive criticism, but don’t let other people's opinions about Your work outweigh your own. 4. Don’t not back up your stuff (unless you don’t care about it at all). 5. Don’t use double negatives (unless you’re feeling fuck-ity). 6. Don’t let yourself be too restrained by grammatical rules, and don't hold back from making up words (English is a living language after all), but Do learn how to correctly use your/you’re, to/too and there/their/they’re . . . Some people suffer from an anal retentive condition that causes them to feel visceral pain upon the above words’ misuse, and hurting people – as we all know – is bad." Thanks, MP!

William Wakefield

The majority of William Wakefield's pieces are the result of "word mining" from various notebooks and journals he has kept over the past twenty years. As a guitar player and former singer in a rock band, it is only natural that much of his work is also written for songs, such as "Thundering Wonder Machine," and "Golden Gumbies" (to listen to these works as songs, please visit http://www.myspace.com/588751566). Clearly a devotee of journaling, William Wakefield advises writers not to become too dependent on typing on keyboards; there is something liberating about putting pen to paper, and that feeling should not be lost.

Eugenio Rodríguez

Eugenio Rodriguez's work experience ranges from dish-washer, factory worker, teacher, radio and TV news reporter in Spanish (he was nominated for two Florida chapter Emmys for best investigative series), copywriter, and translator. Some 20 years ago, Eugenio won two prizes and a fellowship to help him publish a book of short stories. He used the money (instead) to continue writing on his own terms, but stopped writing shortly thereafter. Eugenio recently decided to get back into the craft, this time in English, and is hoping his fluency in the language will be able to carry him through writing a novel. Eugenio's writing advice (in his own words) is as follows: "Give yourself fully to every endeavor, dip in, and yet don't get lost in the experience, maintain a sense of perspective --nothing is permanent."

Charlotte Storm

Charlotte Storm can best be described by the words ironic and eccentric. Her two loves in life are music and writing, which is why she enjoys writing lyrics to songs, as well as poetry and short stories. Writing mainly from experience, Charlotte Storm lives by her own mantra that "you can't let anything or anyone stop you from doing what you love."

HungerGamesGirl59

HungerGamesGirl59 is an award-winning writer whose passion is poetry. However, she is currently finishing a fiction series that she has been writing with a friend, and says she finds the process of co-writing "very fun because you don't always know where the story is going." According to HungerGamesGirl59, a writer should never force him/herself to write at a particular time; the most effective works are created spontaneously. She also reminds us that constructive criticism is a writer's best friend. Authors that inspire HungerGamesGirl59 include J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S Lewis, J.K Rowling and Edgar Allan Poe.

Thomas Dargan

Thomas Dargan recently retired from Verizon, where he worked on the team that invented Fios. We are jealous to report that he lives on a boat, in New Rochelle, just north of the NY City line. He is a member of the Hudson Valley Writer's Center, http://www.writerscenter.org, and student of Joanne Dobson. Of all his hobbies: reading, opera, good singing, sculling, and sailing, he enjoys writing the most because "what I see when I do it surprises me." Tom claims his good sense of humor is a mechanism to hide his moral indignation. In writing groups, he hates negativity and sarcasm (though he sometimes admits to it himself). And while praise is nice, he wants to know the nuts and bolts of your reactions: where a reader smiled, and where the eyes flicked back because it something wasn't clear. -This was paraphrased from a note written by Tom Dargan

Little Red

Writing is not only a passion for Little Red; it is a process she could not remain sane without. Writing since she could first pick up a pen, Little Red says all her characters have "come to me, fully developed unto themselves." She accredits all her poetry to a dream she calls "Adam," adding that all her literature stems from her intense love for him. Little Red would like to give an enthusiastic "Thank you" to all her fans, and looks forward to continuing to share her work and commentary with fellow literary-buffs in the VIS community! If you would like to read Little Red's first published novel, it is available currently at a 30% discount at: http://a-argusbooks.com/Storelifeblood.htm

C.R.Moroney

C.R.Moroney is from Melbourne, Australia. She is a musician, writer, and dedicated iced-coffee drinker. To read her works, click on the works tab of her VIS profile.

Frederick Bridger

Frederick Bridger until recently was the editor of Front Range an annual international literary journal published by the Front Range Writers. The journal is currently on editorial hiatus while he pursues other interests abroad. His poetry and prose have appeared in Contemporaries, Catskills Magazine, Big Sky Journal, Wanderings, The Masthead, SubtleTea, Redactions, Inside Higher Ed, and the anthologies That Thing That You Do and Poems Across the Big Sky. He has been a featured reader on Poets West, a broadcast of NPR. A former professor of literature and creative writing at Montana State University-Great Falls, he currently is on international contract as a writer/editor for private industry, and has for a number of years hosted a summer writers’ workshop at his remote cabin atop Montana’s continental divide. Currently he is assembling two collections of poetry for publication and is hard at work on his third novel, having given up on his first two! To learn more about Mr. Bridger, visit http://www.bridgerswildernessgate.com/index.html and http://www.frontrangemt.org/index.html