About Us

The concept of Word Count Buddies began when Ing was whining (sorry, Ing, but you admitted it yourself) on his blog about his lack of  progress with his novel. You can read the original post and the comments it drew here. It took a tad more than a week to get the website up and running, and it's still evolving.

Who are the Word Count Buddies?  We are writers. We are NOT aspiring writers. We write... we write every day... and we hold each other accountable for doing that. We play by our own rules. It's true that most of us haven't been published... yet.  But that's what we aspire to. We have plenty of room for new members, just fill in form on the Join us page and email the result to Word Count Buddies.

So meet some of the gang...

Liz lives in Charlotte NC when she's not "on the road" for her day-job as an IT consultant. She was born and grew up in Wales, then lived in various parts of England, and moved to the US in 1994. She's now an American citizen, and proud of it.  When she isn't busy writing and managing this website, she enjoys reading, embroidery, remodeling her house, decorating, and gardening. And spending time with her long-suffering husband. Her goal? To see someone sitting in an airport reading one of her books. First step is to get a book published. As she's met every long-term goal she's ever set for herself, she's not about to give up on this one!

Ben, a.k.a. Daeruin, currently works as a technical editor in Salt Lake City. He has been married for 4 years has two children with one on the way. When the little one is born, that will make three children under three. Now you hopefully understand why he consistently has such low word counts!

Theadra says -I'm 35 years old and I've always enjoyed writing. I live in Pennsylvania with my two boys, my husband, and our German Short Hair Pointer. Until a few years ago, I hadn't finished anything I'd started writing. The day I finished my first manuscript is a day I will never forget. It was so moving, almost spiritual. My children are a big inspiration. It's used to be hard to tell them they can do anything they want when I hadn't even finished a novel. Now, when I say it, I mean it. With this challenge, I'm working on my fourth novel and I never thought I'd be able to say that. I haven't sold anything yet, and I would dearly love to. That's my next goal. If I don't sell a manuscript, ever, that's okay. I will still give it my best and try everyday.

Nancy - With her extensive, obsessive reading of movie books, Nancy Beck always wanted to write a story set during the 1930s-1940s, combined with a fantasy element (another of her loves). Her current work-in-process is the result, with a time travel element thrown in for fun, too (it takes place in 1974 and 1942, although most of the action is in 1942). Her day gig in New Jersey is as an administrative assistant, although an on-going gig as a novelist is one of her ultimate goals.

Ing lives in Washington (the state, not the D.C.), works as a writer and editor of student recruitment materials at a university (no, he won’t say which one, other than that it’s the best one in the state, and that if he’s done his job you should already know which one that is), and recently started writing mini-bios about himself in third person. He has been married for 12 years and has two children (and a cat). He has wanted to write a novel since he first read Tolkien at age 15, and has been occasionally trying ever since. Sad though it is to say, this is his most sustained novel-writing effort so far. Wish him luck. (And if he doesn’t write every day, kick his ass!) Ing is now giving up writing about himself in third person in order to focus on new opportunities...like writing about fictional people in the third person so’s not to get his ass kicked.

Aestril lives in Salt Lake City with her husband (who is a much better writer than she is) and two kids, works as an office manager for a VoIP company and runs her own small business. She loves reading, and enjoys abusing other authors' creations for her own amusement. Her love of not only books, but words, has been life-long, and she thanks her parents for planting the seed. She is currently writing a string of random stuff which will (hopefully) one day become one cohesive story.

Kel a.k.a R.J. Keller is a writer from Central Maine, where she lives happily with her husband, two kids, and the family cat. She supports her out of control iTunes addiction by working from home as a proofreader, is a frequent contributor to The Movie Fanatic website, where she also works as an assistant editor, and sees to it that every bird and squirrel within a one mile radius of her home is big and fat.

Matt says I've always enjoyed historical fiction and non-fiction (history especially). I'm a moderator at History-forums. I'm also a two year member of the American Historical Association. I've a BA in history and am going for a Masters in education. In my spare time I work on the family genealogy, which I eventually hope to publish as a history/memoir.

Elle lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She's a fulltime RN, a part-time freelance editor, and a single mom to two kids: a son who has just entered college and to a daughter who is currently in high school. She is a movie lover and is the editor-in-chief of The Movie Fanatic, a site devoted to indie film, up-and-coming talent and the support of fandoms. Her interests are broad, ranging from sci-fi and religious philosophy through physics and cosmology to linguistics and the power of ideas to change the world. She has been writing seriously since 2000 and with two almost-complete novels and several short stories under her belt, her current goal is to complete and start submitting her third novel for publication by the end of 2008.

Miranda (aka Mars) lives in Park City, UT with her son (13 months) and husband. She has written mainly poetry in the past, has penned a few short stories, and is now working on a novel. She reads mainly sci-fi and fantasy, but also loves classics. She has never been published, and feels awed to be among such accomplished writers as all y'all. She is hoping to get to know you and make a writing buddy, so don't be surprised if you see her comment randomly on your blogs...thanks for letting her (me) into your fold!

Jen (Jenevra Oldham) lives on the coast of Maine with her husband and their three cats, Bossa Nova, Rosco, and Bilbo (who is already much more famous than Jen, since he has an entire blog devoted to him). She works in marketing for a large (in Maine's standards) bank. Jen loves to read young adult fiction, which is also the genre she loves to write. Come November, Jen will be pulling her hair out as she once again participates in National Novel Writing Month. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, cooking delicious vegan food, performing in community theater, dancing like crazy during her and her husband's weekly dance parties, and smuggling food and drinks into her overpriced - but charming - local movie theater.

McTavish Born in Utah,I have lived in nearly every major city in the southwest, and was dragged back here (kicking and screaming) as a teenager. Luckily,I found a ready made family to keep me here and am enjoying all four seasons again with my soul mate and his three lovely girls. A perfectly even mix of Irish, Scott, Welsh, and French, I am fiercely proud of my Celtic Heritage and weave it into my writing whenever possible. At 24,I am a Government employee by day,and I juggle my passionate life as a wife and mother, novice herbalist, middle eastern dancer, amateur sommelier,and culture aficionado evenings and weekends. As an aspiring novelist I focus on historical fiction but am also exploring the vast world of mythological and paranormal fiction and finding a dark side that is ever so much fun! My ambitions:Sell a Manuscript by age 27 (used to be 25, but I'm quickly pushing that envelope) and be on the bestsellers list by 35.

Bob lives in Ellijay, a town in the mountains of North Georgia, with his wife and two of his three daughters. He also has one grand-daughter. By day Bob is a mild mannered Business Intelligence Architect, meaning he is a software developer that specializes in data, charts and reporting. He has had the desire to write for many years, but only lately has he really had the time to dedicate to it. He is working on his first novel. Bob also plays in a jam/rock band, Chin Dig. At present he doesn't have a blog or website.