Jo, how often do you think it's acceptable to not start with your name? When I see an entire page of bios, my writer sense starts to twig seeing name after name. I mean, it needs to be easily visible right near the start, but first thing 100% of the time?
Daniel Smars was born on a cold, snowy day in Wisconsin in the 6th decade of the last century, which makes him old as shit right now. He learned the basic: crawling, eating, drinking, etc. and maintains those habits to this day. Somewhere in there he learned to write, play guitar, sing and write songs. He currently writes a newsletter of sorts called “Life On Smars”, plays acoustic solo shows under the name “Blind Irish Dog” (yes, it’s a kilt he wears and the answer to your question is “nothing”) and is presently flogging and punishing himself for the crime of referring to himself in the third person.
We are about the same age, but after reading this, I realize just saying 'born in the last century' is getting to the point of meaning something in some contexts.
I'm 33 and have worked with kids who were blown away with the fact that I was born in the 1900s. I feel like living through the change in millenniums does something strange to our sense of time...
I hate bios so much so of course I've written a million of them trying to get it right... Here is yet another try!
Nikita is a Montreal-based speculative fiction writer (for the most part) who’s hooked on playing “what if?” with the world. She once dreamed of authorial fame and the abundant wealth that would come with it, but is now satisfied writing for anyone other than the void. Her hobbies include listening to the wind in the leaves, jumping into cold lakes, and wondering where all the stars have gone. Her work has been published by Fiction on the Web, The New Quarterly, and Soliloquies Anthology. She spends most of her time hiding under a rock, but you can follow her on Substack under @nikitael, where she posts monthly about whatever’s in her brain at the time.
Astrid Egger, is fascinated by Where’s Waldo? a red sock in a blue section of her drawer, and what both can teach her about patterns. She engages in a daily character study of her two tabby tail swatting cats who refuse to outgrow their kitten bed. These two interests find their expression in her stories some of which are published in small magazines.
I'm also kind of fascinated by "Where's Waldo"! Little known fact: in every pic where Waldo is eventually found, he is secretly giving the middle finger behind his back! (that made up "fact" kept my niece busy for a week, trying to discover the fabled "middle finger of Waldo"...)
Laurianna Murray writes about the beautiful and messy stories of life, relationships, and sexual adventures. She straddles two worlds—a sexy, polyamorous life in Berlin and a slightly less adventurous life in Upstate NY that’s just blocks away from her best friend so that makes it all worth it. A world traveler, Laurianna likes to practice her Spanish while furiously swiping on the dating apps. You can find her at www.lauriannamurray.com.
Barb Natividad is a disabled writer living in Chicago where locals eat tavern-style instead of deep-dish pizza. Her work has appeared in BigCityLit and Babaylan: An Anthology of Filipina and Filipina American writers. Find her at Comedy, Tragedy - barbnatividad.substack.com and @barb_natividad on Instagram where her dog has more followers.
Kim works for the Chicago Cubs, where she is a Professional Parking Lot Babysitter. Her hobbies include making a mess in her stamp sized kitchen, stabbing fabric with small, sharp, pointy objects and playing Fetch with her Feline Overlords. She writes fiction, CNF and sometimes spills her guts in memoir sorts of pieces.
Jo, how often do you think it's acceptable to not start with your name? When I see an entire page of bios, my writer sense starts to twig seeing name after name. I mean, it needs to be easily visible right near the start, but first thing 100% of the time?
Daniel Smars was born on a cold, snowy day in Wisconsin in the 6th decade of the last century, which makes him old as shit right now. He learned the basic: crawling, eating, drinking, etc. and maintains those habits to this day. Somewhere in there he learned to write, play guitar, sing and write songs. He currently writes a newsletter of sorts called “Life On Smars”, plays acoustic solo shows under the name “Blind Irish Dog” (yes, it’s a kilt he wears and the answer to your question is “nothing”) and is presently flogging and punishing himself for the crime of referring to himself in the third person.
We are about the same age, but after reading this, I realize just saying 'born in the last century' is getting to the point of meaning something in some contexts.
I'm 33 and have worked with kids who were blown away with the fact that I was born in the 1900s. I feel like living through the change in millenniums does something strange to our sense of time...
I hate bios so much so of course I've written a million of them trying to get it right... Here is yet another try!
Nikita is a Montreal-based speculative fiction writer (for the most part) who’s hooked on playing “what if?” with the world. She once dreamed of authorial fame and the abundant wealth that would come with it, but is now satisfied writing for anyone other than the void. Her hobbies include listening to the wind in the leaves, jumping into cold lakes, and wondering where all the stars have gone. Her work has been published by Fiction on the Web, The New Quarterly, and Soliloquies Anthology. She spends most of her time hiding under a rock, but you can follow her on Substack under @nikitael, where she posts monthly about whatever’s in her brain at the time.
Playing “what if?” with the world is a great line!
Astrid Egger, is fascinated by Where’s Waldo? a red sock in a blue section of her drawer, and what both can teach her about patterns. She engages in a daily character study of her two tabby tail swatting cats who refuse to outgrow their kitten bed. These two interests find their expression in her stories some of which are published in small magazines.
I'm also kind of fascinated by "Where's Waldo"! Little known fact: in every pic where Waldo is eventually found, he is secretly giving the middle finger behind his back! (that made up "fact" kept my niece busy for a week, trying to discover the fabled "middle finger of Waldo"...)
I love the line about patterns- makes me curious about your writing!
Same!
Laurianna Murray writes about the beautiful and messy stories of life, relationships, and sexual adventures. She straddles two worlds—a sexy, polyamorous life in Berlin and a slightly less adventurous life in Upstate NY that’s just blocks away from her best friend so that makes it all worth it. A world traveler, Laurianna likes to practice her Spanish while furiously swiping on the dating apps. You can find her at www.lauriannamurray.com.
Love how you tie all of this into your writing.
Barb Natividad is a disabled writer living in Chicago where locals eat tavern-style instead of deep-dish pizza. Her work has appeared in BigCityLit and Babaylan: An Anthology of Filipina and Filipina American writers. Find her at Comedy, Tragedy - barbnatividad.substack.com and @barb_natividad on Instagram where her dog has more followers.
*waves from Rogers Park.
Hi!
Hello from Albany Park!
The tidbit about the way locals eat and your dog having more followers are engaging!
The dog line really made me laugh
Thanks!
Thank you!
Kim works for the Chicago Cubs, where she is a Professional Parking Lot Babysitter. Her hobbies include making a mess in her stamp sized kitchen, stabbing fabric with small, sharp, pointy objects and playing Fetch with her Feline Overlords. She writes fiction, CNF and sometimes spills her guts in memoir sorts of pieces.
Such great details!
"Stabbing fabric" is wonderful.
I like the stamp sized kitchen, and I totally respect the Feline Overlords.
"spills her guts..." those of us who also write memoir can really feel that!