Share this author's profile Faltarego (Eric Rountree)

I'm interested in reading most types of fiction, except for romance and horror. In terms of writing, I tend to go for anything where I can bring in an alternate reality of some kind or another. I'm no good at short stories, because I have too much to say and can't really confine it like that. Hence, I have three novels in works, as well as a couple of plays and a screenplay. Goal: Finishing something.

I'm into movies, games, music (I play a little piano and guitar), videography, video editing, and filmmaking.

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I've had a couple of people ask me (actually both on the same day) where the handle "Faltarego" comes from. So, I thought I'd post a brief origin story here.

It was sometime in 2004 when it struck me that much of what I do is ego-based. The writing, especially. So, for some reason I began thinking about what it would be like to do creative work anonymously. It seemed like an interesting notion, and so I set about figuring out how I might actually do it.

The first order of business was to create a new identity (or non-identity in this case) for myself. I knew I had to have the word "ego" in the name, and I knew I wanted something that was evocative of "alter-ego" while also implying "non-ego" or "anti-ego". The word "falter" turned out to be ideal. The sense of "stumbling" was perfect.

I tried to create my non-identify as an email address (I think I was using Yahoo at the time), but unfortunately "falterego" was already in use. Instead of starting from scratch, though, I played around with the spelling, and eventually came up with "faltarego," which looked good, sounded good, and magically added another level of meaning to the handle: An alter-ego that falters at the altar of the ego. Or something like that.

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Some stuff I've started here that I like:

• The Unseen Way - An alternate reality story involving a door that only one person can see. I really need to get back to it.
• Calling Doctor Bell - Another alternate reality story involving weirdness with telephones. I've finally gotten back to this one.
• The Clams of Mischief - A very silly science-fiction parody with some very funny contributions from others.
• Hell Hole - My Star Trek fan fiction.
• The Protagonize Character Placement Agency - A crazy "breaking the fourth wall" story about other Protagonize stories, which really started to grow into something, there, for a bit. Must get back to this one, too.
• Egad! More Stupid Poetry! - An exploration of the "Double Dactyl." Many hilarious entries from many Protagonizers.
• The Prime of Mister John Broddington - A Victorian romance with a twist. Collaboration with Moonwalker. Featured story week of  June 16th, 2009.
• A Slice of Life - A two-chapter Tale of Terror that got the nod from readers and moderators and won me the 2009 "Tales of Terror" competition here on ole Protagonize. Coolness!

And some stuff that I've contributed to that I really like:

• Ode to Cliché - A hilarious fantasy romp started by Ammo1143. Evidently, she's actually still around. I haven't heard tell of her in ages.
• A Glossary of Forgotten Species - More hilarious stuff, this one started by Dr. Pinch.
• Davy and Joe - This was the one that got me going on "breaking the fourth wall." Bloody funny stuff, this. Started by Eloosive, and joined by a cast of thousands.
• The Smart Ones - Started by G2LaPianistaIrlandesa and Ganga. They asked me to join in around chapter thirteen (lucky, huh?), and then Moonwalker joined the team shortly after that.
• Haiku of the Famous and Infamous - Started by TheRiverTalker. Joined by many. It had been ages since I'd written any haiku, and I couldn't resist.
• Delinquent Doris - A very funny story started by Tasha Noble that I hope I haven't ruined.
• Free Your Mind - A dystopian future story started by Asheyna, in which all the (many, many) contributors write themselves (or their aliases) into a world where creativity is banned.

Evidently I like the word "hilarious."