"A new take on the epic fantasy genre... Darkly comic, relatable characters... twisted storyline."
"Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!
When I'm not depressed I write articles about video games for Gameranx. My friend there is an editor and he likes to help me out.
I've only written a few things for him. He wants me to write about Minecraft but I'm not sure how much I can write about it, and there's not a lot of motivation for me to do so.
I know I should do it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
For funsies, I like to dream up a post-apocalyptic world. Okay two of them, one right afterwards, and one a generation or two afterwards. I've got a number of characters that I've written a couple of sentences about to give an idea of what they're like. I haven't written anything about the setting, but I can see it in my head. I'm trying to stay away from cliches, it makes it more challenging. I'm not sure I'd actually publish this, I know post-apocalyptic worlds are popular these days but I don't know when people are going to get tired of it.
Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
Don't worry about what's popular, just do what you like
By the time you get it finished it may have come and gone or may still be around or may be upcoming, basically you never know so it's pointless to try to shape what you do to what you think will be popular whenever you finish it
When I'm not depressed I write articles about video games for Gameranx. My friend there is an editor and he likes to help me out.
I've only written a few things for him. He wants me to write about Minecraft but I'm not sure how much I can write about it, and there's not a lot of motivation for me to do so.
I know I should do it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
For funsies, I like to dream up a post-apocalyptic world. Okay two of them, one right afterwards, and one a generation or two afterwards. I've got a number of characters that I've written a couple of sentences about to give an idea of what they're like. I haven't written anything about the setting, but I can see it in my head. I'm trying to stay away from cliches, it makes it more challenging. I'm not sure I'd actually publish this, I know post-apocalyptic worlds are popular these days but I don't know when people are going to get tired of it.
Edit: But this looks pretty interesting and you should not wait for NaNoWriMo to write a book out of it.
sarukun on
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
You can always do Camp Nanowrimo, I think the next one is in July
The nice thing about Nano is the group effort, solidarity, camaraderie, but certainly enough writers out there are going through it all the time that you don't NEED to wait
I had actually been considering trying to pick up a story I've had sitting on the backburner for a while.
I go back and forth on whether or not there is any point in trying.
The point is to finish.
If you are writing then the point is to finish what you are writing.
After you are finished writing you can then decided whether there is a point in trying to sell it, but while you are not finished writing the point is to finish writing.
+1
AntimatterDevo Was RightGates of SteelRegistered Userregular
When I'm not depressed I write articles about video games for Gameranx. My friend there is an editor and he likes to help me out.
I've only written a few things for him. He wants me to write about Minecraft but I'm not sure how much I can write about it, and there's not a lot of motivation for me to do so.
I know I should do it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
For funsies, I like to dream up a post-apocalyptic world. Okay two of them, one right afterwards, and one a generation or two afterwards. I've got a number of characters that I've written a couple of sentences about to give an idea of what they're like. I haven't written anything about the setting, but I can see it in my head. I'm trying to stay away from cliches, it makes it more challenging. I'm not sure I'd actually publish this, I know post-apocalyptic worlds are popular these days but I don't know when people are going to get tired of it.
Edit: But this looks pretty interesting and you should not wait for NaNoWriMo to write a book out of it.
I like the nuclear family.
All white picket fence then "they've seen some shit". Conjures images of a delightful little incongruity.
Run with it dude. If you can manage to write through the depression (not an easy thing, I know from experience) it may even enhance the work, given the genre. It's something I've used on the theological side of my education, much to my benefit.
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
Her complaint is legit because I went way over the word count allowed
I am excited to have won but also slightly embarrassed honestly
It isn't that I hate the ukulele, but it's easier to spell than the glockenspiel or the hurdy gurdy.
If anyone can talk about loneliness, or crushing and hopeless despair, it's someone like me. I think in a bit I'll come back to the Google Docs and write up about the setting.
And yes I was thinking of the Fallout series when I came up with the nuclear family.
DS: 2667 5365 3193 | 2DS: 2852-8590-3716
+1
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Word counts are stupid fucking artificial constructs anyways. A title being a certain word length doesn't suddenly make it better than something else; the challenge is to fit within the constraints of the form.
(My professors used page counts. Typically 2 pages. You know how hard it is to take a 10-page essay and throw out all the useless crap until you are down to 2 pages, and still have it make sense?)
Also.. yeah. I suck at finishing more than I suck at starting. I get angry at myself when I think of starting, I get depressed when I think of what it'll take to finish.
Word counts are stupid fucking artificial constructs anyways. A title being a certain word length doesn't suddenly make it better than something else; the challenge is to fit within the constraints of the form.
(My professors used page counts. Typically 2 pages. You know how hard it is to take a 10-page essay and throw out all the useless crap until you are down to 2 pages, and still have it make sense?)
Also.. yeah. I suck at finishing more than I suck at starting. I get angry at myself when I think of starting, I get depressed when I think of what it'll take to finish.
well, I mean, if it was a 2 page limit i don't see why you were throwing uselesss crap in there anyway
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Word counts are stupid fucking artificial constructs anyways. A title being a certain word length doesn't suddenly make it better than something else; the challenge is to fit within the constraints of the form.
(My professors used page counts. Typically 2 pages. You know how hard it is to take a 10-page essay and throw out all the useless crap until you are down to 2 pages, and still have it make sense?)
Also.. yeah. I suck at finishing more than I suck at starting. I get angry at myself when I think of starting, I get depressed when I think of what it'll take to finish.
well, I mean, if it was a 2 page limit i don't see why you were throwing uselesss crap in there anyway
The exercise was about getting all the useless bullshit you usually put into college papers down on paper, and then learning how much was actually worthwhile. I refer to my degree as a certificate that I've been taught how to bullshit. With that class, though, anyone can sneeze out a 3-5 page paper on Poe vs. Herman Melville. But cut out all the pontificating and pointless examples and it gets really hard to have the same quality with a smaller page count. (That professor called me the best, most intelligent writer in the class and that I could probably work towards my doctorate and skip my masters if I could stand up to the pressure. I hated myself for days after that cuz I don't think I'm that good.)
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
I think many writers, successful ones even, have this constant sense that someone will eventually realize they are hacks and call them out and then everyone will laugh and it will be like the bad dream where you're naked in school and suddenly you're on a stage and that guy you're crushing on is there and you just want to die but you're naked so you have nothing on hand with which to do yourself in
I think many writers, successful ones even, have this constant sense that someone will eventually realize they are hacks and call them out and then everyone will laugh and it will be like the bad dream where you're naked in school and suddenly you're on a stage and that guy you're crushing on is there and you just want to die but you're naked so you have nothing on hand with which to do yourself in
Huh. You just described how I feel about the compliments I've been getting from my boss this last week.
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
Low self esteem is a real kick in the pants
Even when you win, you feel like a loser
And the thing about writing in particular is that you kind of have to keep doing it... Rare is the writer who just puts out one good book and then rests on his laurels forever
So you're constantly teetering on the precipice of failure, of your next story not being as good as your last and whatever legacy you might have being tarnished by a single misstep
Word counts are stupid fucking artificial constructs anyways. A title being a certain word length doesn't suddenly make it better than something else; the challenge is to fit within the constraints of the form.
(My professors used page counts. Typically 2 pages. You know how hard it is to take a 10-page essay and throw out all the useless crap until you are down to 2 pages, and still have it make sense?)
Also.. yeah. I suck at finishing more than I suck at starting. I get angry at myself when I think of starting, I get depressed when I think of what it'll take to finish.
well, I mean, if it was a 2 page limit i don't see why you were throwing uselesss crap in there anyway
The exercise was about getting all the useless bullshit you usually put into college papers down on paper, and then learning how much was actually worthwhile. I refer to my degree as a certificate that I've been taught how to bullshit. With that class, though, anyone can sneeze out a 3-5 page paper on Poe vs. Herman Melville. But cut out all the pontificating and pointless examples and it gets really hard to have the same quality with a smaller page count. (That professor called me the best, most intelligent writer in the class and that I could probably work towards my doctorate and skip my masters if I could stand up to the pressure. I hated myself for days after that cuz I don't think I'm that good.)
I think you are maybe doing the wrong things with what people are telling you.
Really, based on these two posts, I feel like your entire outlook on life might do well with some changes.
I think many writers, successful ones even, have this constant sense that someone will eventually realize they are hacks and call them out and then everyone will laugh and it will be like the bad dream where you're naked in school and suddenly you're on a stage and that guy you're crushing on is there and you just want to die but you're naked so you have nothing on hand with which to do yourself in
My interactions with other writers oscillate between this and absolute total belief in their own press.
Although frankly, of the two, I think I'd rather be up my own ass than convinced I'm nothing.
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Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I've been known to put pen to paper and write words from time to time.
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
I'm going to go out on a limb and say few people voluntarily think they are worthless losers
It's not something where you wake up in the morning and say, "Today, I want to have low self esteem and a lot of anxiety about my skills and abilities!"
I write percussion music. I haven't had to write anything original for a band in a long time, I've mainly been involved with cover bands. I still write my own cheat sheets, and occasionally a full song if I need it.
I do wholeheartedly believe that you can choose to focus on certain things over others in your life.
This is not to suggest that this is easy, or that it is equally difficult for all people who try to write, or that the struggles people face, internal and external, aren't very real, and difficult to deal with.
But I don't think that changes the fact that what you should be most concerned with is "what am I going to do today that will bring me closer to the goal of finishing this piece that I am working on".
If you want to be a writer, that is.
And you should want to be a writer! Writing is great!
0
Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I don't think I'm a worthless loser.
I know I am.
0
Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I used to consider myself a writer. I've written plays, poetry, short stories, fanfic, fan poetry, graphic novel scripts, creative nonfiction among other things. I've had a handful of novels and one graphic novel series knocking around my skull for more than a decade. I'd tinker with one, and when I ran out of ideas or creative energy for it, rotate to one of the others and chip away at it. I was also lucky enough to get involved in a forum RP for several years with some really killer writers (the chick that does Unsounded was one of them), and wrote thousands of pages of storyline etc.
I teach English and Creative Writing now though, and--as counter-intuitive as it sounds--that means I don't read or write for pleasure much anymore. The paper-load (grading papers, giving useful feedback on papers, designing lessons and writing exemplars for lessons) is pretty heavy and doesn't leave time for much non-work-related writing (or reading), alas. I still start the occasional story, or jot down a poem once in a while, but not like I used to. I miss it.
0
Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
I know it sounds trite but the best help for that is to just get your butt in a chair and write something
Of course it's not as simple as all that but you can set a pretty low goal for daily output and it will add up
Even just 100 words a day gets you a flash fic within 10 days, or a short story in a month, novel in a couple of years
No editorial critique. I'd just really like to read your novel
"A new take on the epic fantasy genre... Darkly comic, relatable characters... twisted storyline."
"Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!
Posts
then i discovered i'm better at drinking
Drunk.
Not intoxicated.
"Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor
My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!
I've only written a few things for him. He wants me to write about Minecraft but I'm not sure how much I can write about it, and there's not a lot of motivation for me to do so.
I know I should do it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
For funsies, I like to dream up a post-apocalyptic world. Okay two of them, one right afterwards, and one a generation or two afterwards. I've got a number of characters that I've written a couple of sentences about to give an idea of what they're like. I haven't written anything about the setting, but I can see it in my head. I'm trying to stay away from cliches, it makes it more challenging. I'm not sure I'd actually publish this, I know post-apocalyptic worlds are popular these days but I don't know when people are going to get tired of it.
EDIT: Oh uh here is a link to my characters I guess.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9mkLI8fYGpBWGk4cnJHU1RwRlE&usp=sharing
By the time you get it finished it may have come and gone or may still be around or may be upcoming, basically you never know so it's pointless to try to shape what you do to what you think will be popular whenever you finish it
I'm totally not putting zombies in it though cause I'm gettin real tired of their shit.
Your disdain for the ukulele pains me greatly.
Edit: But this looks pretty interesting and you should not wait for NaNoWriMo to write a book out of it.
The nice thing about Nano is the group effort, solidarity, camaraderie, but certainly enough writers out there are going through it all the time that you don't NEED to wait
What's this concept of a writing buddy?
Bumblebee and Fluttershy OTP
The point is to finish.
If you are writing then the point is to finish what you are writing.
After you are finished writing you can then decided whether there is a point in trying to sell it, but while you are not finished writing the point is to finish writing.
please just because they're both yellow doesn't mean they have to be shipped together
Lickety-Split/Lickety-Split OTP
I believe the most applicable vernacular would be "fuck the haters".
I like the nuclear family.
All white picket fence then "they've seen some shit". Conjures images of a delightful little incongruity.
Run with it dude. If you can manage to write through the depression (not an easy thing, I know from experience) it may even enhance the work, given the genre. It's something I've used on the theological side of my education, much to my benefit.
I am excited to have won but also slightly embarrassed honestly
If anyone can talk about loneliness, or crushing and hopeless despair, it's someone like me. I think in a bit I'll come back to the Google Docs and write up about the setting.
And yes I was thinking of the Fallout series when I came up with the nuclear family.
(My professors used page counts. Typically 2 pages. You know how hard it is to take a 10-page essay and throw out all the useless crap until you are down to 2 pages, and still have it make sense?)
Also.. yeah. I suck at finishing more than I suck at starting. I get angry at myself when I think of starting, I get depressed when I think of what it'll take to finish.
well, I mean, if it was a 2 page limit i don't see why you were throwing uselesss crap in there anyway
The exercise was about getting all the useless bullshit you usually put into college papers down on paper, and then learning how much was actually worthwhile. I refer to my degree as a certificate that I've been taught how to bullshit. With that class, though, anyone can sneeze out a 3-5 page paper on Poe vs. Herman Melville. But cut out all the pontificating and pointless examples and it gets really hard to have the same quality with a smaller page count. (That professor called me the best, most intelligent writer in the class and that I could probably work towards my doctorate and skip my masters if I could stand up to the pressure. I hated myself for days after that cuz I don't think I'm that good.)
Huh. You just described how I feel about the compliments I've been getting from my boss this last week.
Even when you win, you feel like a loser
And the thing about writing in particular is that you kind of have to keep doing it... Rare is the writer who just puts out one good book and then rests on his laurels forever
So you're constantly teetering on the precipice of failure, of your next story not being as good as your last and whatever legacy you might have being tarnished by a single misstep
It's... Daunting to say the least
Really, based on these two posts, I feel like your entire outlook on life might do well with some changes.
My interactions with other writers oscillate between this and absolute total belief in their own press.
Although frankly, of the two, I think I'd rather be up my own ass than convinced I'm nothing.
It's not something where you wake up in the morning and say, "Today, I want to have low self esteem and a lot of anxiety about my skills and abilities!"
Would you like to see some?
This is not to suggest that this is easy, or that it is equally difficult for all people who try to write, or that the struggles people face, internal and external, aren't very real, and difficult to deal with.
But I don't think that changes the fact that what you should be most concerned with is "what am I going to do today that will bring me closer to the goal of finishing this piece that I am working on".
If you want to be a writer, that is.
And you should want to be a writer! Writing is great!
I know I am.
and fan-fiction
I teach English and Creative Writing now though, and--as counter-intuitive as it sounds--that means I don't read or write for pleasure much anymore. The paper-load (grading papers, giving useful feedback on papers, designing lessons and writing exemplars for lessons) is pretty heavy and doesn't leave time for much non-work-related writing (or reading), alas. I still start the occasional story, or jot down a poem once in a while, but not like I used to. I miss it.
Of course it's not as simple as all that but you can set a pretty low goal for daily output and it will add up
Even just 100 words a day gets you a flash fic within 10 days, or a short story in a month, novel in a couple of years
Nothing wrong with slow and steady
Why I fear the ocean.
it is a pile of unmitigated bullshit
but I will see it through to the end
I'd love to read it.
No editorial critique. I'd just really like to read your novel
"Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor
My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!