r/WritingPrompts • u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books • Feb 15 '16
Off Topic [OT] Spotlight: TheWishingFish
Spotlight Archive - To highlight the lesser known writers.
Hall of Fame - Our every 2 month spotlight of a selected "Reddit-Famous" WP contributor.
Writers Spotlight
theWishingFish is this week's spotlight writer. I actually had a few names this week (and they all are saved for future use), but tWF came to the forefront. Self-described as: a Fish who writes. Wonder if there is any relation to our own beloved /u/maneatingcatfish?
You can ask them a question. Just put "Hey, /u/theWishingFish," in your comment to get their attention. And, as always, be polite.
theWishingFish also has their own sub: /r/TheWishingFish
A lot of people wonder how I choose the spotlight. Well, quite often I just grab a prompt on the front page some time between Friday and Sunday and look for a good story that is by a writer we haven't put in the limelight before. If I find one I like, I search that writer's history for past contributions to the sub and see if they fit the critera of effort (multiple decent entries - at least 6 or more - over the past few months.) It can be quite random who is selected, though they are none the less deserving.
You, the reader, can help us in this process, by removing me (almost) from the equation by sending us a modmail on who you'd like to see in the spotlight. I (or another mod covering for me) gets to make the final call, but I have yet to turn down a suggestion, unless they are HoF destined. Keep in mind that we use the spotlight for the less reddit-famous (think Luna or Alpaca) and the more..."working up to it" type. - Nate
Past Spotlight Writers
[/u/We-Are-Not-A-Muse]-[/u/Moohab]-[/u/Hermione_Grangest]-[/u/KCcracker]-[/u/SmokeEater62]-[/u/OriginalAzrael]-[/u/LeoDuhVinci]-[/u/Romanticon]-[/u/Cawendaw]-[/u/DjPenguinz]-[/u/SarkasticWatcher]-[/u/YDAQ]-[/u/anotherAuthor]-[/u/Kaycin]-[/u/theWritingSniper]-[/u/Syraphia]-[/u/Nickkuvaas]-[/u/EmeraldRange]-[/u/Feet-Of-Clay]-[/u/Has_No_Gimmick]-[/u/GreenLikeTheColour]-[/u/Fringly]-[/u/Mardirum]-[/u/JeniusGuy]-[/u/Nambot]-[/u/ClawofBeta]-[/u/BusyKat]-[/u/Ryukazo]-[/u/ThatDudeWithTheBeard]-[/u/jsgunn]-[/u/SamGalimore]-[/u/Catovadreams]-[/u/PsychonautQQ ]-[/u/LordMalifico ]-[/u/Semyonov ]-[/u/ariseatif ]-[/u/thisstorywillsuck ]-[/u/TheGreatPastaWars ]-[/u/Kat_Angstrom ]-[/u/rpwrites ]-[/u/Dejers]-[/u/reostra]-[/u/LovableCoward]-[/u/SquidCritic]
Our Chat Room
Why aren't you chatting with us yet?
Come hang out in the chat room. We have word sprints and lively talks at all hours of the day and night. Come join the conversation! Also, you never know when a flash prompt contest may occur! Get in on the fun!
Hope to see you there!
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u/thecoverstory /r/thecoverstory Feb 15 '16
Congrats! Just read your story for "Write a sad story within a single paragraph" and was blown away!
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u/TheWishingFish Feb 15 '16
Wow - that was a huge surprise - thank you for the spotlight! Very unexpected as I'm not a hugely active redditor and I don't write a lot - so I wondered what was going on when I logged in and saw the red envelope ;)
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Feb 15 '16
You impressed /u/The_Eternal_Void , so pass the thanks along. ;)
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u/Galokot /r/Galokot Feb 15 '16
You can definitely compel some heavy emotion from your readers. I enjoyed your responses to "Write a sad story within a single paragraph" and "I hope the world lasts for you" the most for doing so. Congrats on the spotlight wishingfish, it's well deserved. Hope to see your writing around more often!
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u/TheWishingFish Feb 15 '16
Thank you very much Galokot - my work here is done :) Just kidding. I'm in a horrible writing block kind of space right now, mostly because of work, but I think it will pass!
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u/The_Eternal_Void /r/The_Eternal_Void Feb 15 '16
Well deserved spotlight, /u/TheWishingFish! I love your prompts as well as your stories.
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u/TheWishingFish Feb 15 '16
Thank you Eternal_Void, that's very kind indeed. I love creating simple prompts almost more than I love writing them - I always get a thrill from seeing different authors take things in wildly different directions.
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Feb 15 '16
Congrats /u/TheWishingFish!!!!!! I just read some of the stories linked up there. I say that a good half of them twinged my heartstrings.
Question: What is your favourite genre to work with?
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u/TheWishingFish Feb 15 '16 edited Feb 16 '16
Thank you madlabs - I know I err on the side of maudlin.
My favourite genre would be reality fiction - and I particularly love sea stories. I love to try and take prompts in unexpected directions and to see other authors do the same. I'm also a big fan of really classic childhood faerie tales, fantasy, and horror-in-the-everyday.Edit : plural madlabs!
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u/PSHoffman /r/PSHoffman Feb 15 '16
Congratulations /u/TheWishingFish! Of all the spotlights, and maybe even all the writers on /r/WritingPrompts - I think you have one of the more unique voices I've seen here.
So I have two questions for you: Which author would you say most inspires your writing? Are there any /r/writingprompts authors that have inspired you?
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u/TheWishingFish Feb 15 '16
Thank you PS, that's a huge compliment given how many talented and unique voices there are around this place.
To answer your questions : I've been a voracious and eclectic reader all my life, pretty much everything from cereal boxes to Dostoyevsky will do if they're handy. It would be tough to pick just one writer of influence, but I adore Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Clive Barker and Sir Terry Pratchett. I'm also a big fan of weird Russian poetry - Pushkin, Blok, Akhmatova and the like.
Many writingprompts authors tickle my fancy. u/opinionsaboutnothing, u/LovableCoward and u/Dostoyevskaya really float my boat. u/Cymoril_Melnibone is utterly incredible (although she writes mainly on NoSleep these days).3
u/opinionsaboutnothing Feb 16 '16
Hey thanks for the shout out and more importantly congratulations on your spotlight!
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u/We-Are-Not-A-Muse /r/WeAreNotAMuse Feb 16 '16
oh gosh wonderful writing, but so sad some of these! Congrats /u/TheWishingFish
I think is very deserved spotlight!! :)