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The Aspiring Writer Thread

--What do you like to write?

I like to write works that express emotions, or influence other's emotions.

--Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published?

I actually have an acrostic of the word FALL in a child's poem's anthology.

--What do you like most about writing?

Capturing the essence of what I feel and letting others know.

--What do you like least about writing?

Writer's block. Or not having the right word.

--What do you want to do with writing, personally?

For right now, I'd just like to see what can actually be expressed in writing.

--What are your tips for other writers?

Have fun, don't worry about what other people think, and thesaruses are your friends.
 
What do you like to write?
surrealist, sci-fi, and psychadelic ideas
in the form of poetry, short stories, music, lyrics and scientific journal articles (Sometimes...).

Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published?
No, not really. Unless a poem in a magazine for free counts... lol

What do you like most about writing?
It's my way of expressing my ideas that don't directly convert into simple enlish language. Sometimes when I am in dreamy mindstates or am high, writing artfully, or abstractly is like taking a photo of that mindstate so I can convert it into poetry later. I like to convey the mindstate and ideas that I generate, in hope of inspiring other people to think in similar ways, or at least let others know how I think.

I also like to write short stories as they reflect were I am at, very abstractly, and again, instead of being photographs of my mindstates, it's like a video camera of my life. It acts as a personal reflection and also because it's fun showing others.

What do you like least about writing?
Understanding the concept itself, but having it's meaning lost through external interpretation. When it teaches people the wrong things, and when distracts me from my uni work.

What do you want to do with writing, personally?
I want to be able to convey mindstates, spirituality and psychadelic experiences, like the way good music and good drugs alter our mindstates, I want to tap into peoples natural resources of imagination and lift them up and make them think that tiny little bit more then usual. While at the same time, would love for people to get lost in my writing, and would love to be able to lose myself, look at my work.. and say I'm proud of it, whether it's published or not. Though I think being able to live my life on whatever money I did end up making if any, would be a huge accomplishment.

What are your tips for other writers?
it doesn't really matter how you write it, but when you have an idea or really enjoyed a moment, write it down on paper... It doesn't matter if it's written well, but if you've made an effort, that effort will be imprinted in your memory and will be imprinted on paper, and is about 10x easier to come back to, (same as what was said above, before bed as well, if it's proud... go the extra effort, wake yourself up and write it down, because either way.. if it's profound enough, it's not going to let you sleep for a while and once it's on paper, you've imprinted it in your mind, and it's so much easier to sleep).

Work with your writing in terms of your level of writing and what you want to convey.. It's not about using big words, it's about using the words you know artistically to convey a deeper meaning. You don't have to be a genius to write, you just have believe that what you're writing is genius :p
My brothers dyslexic, and he can't read the letters on the keyboard, yet he's mastered flight simulators and knows what every key on the keyboard does, by memory. He uses the tools he has, not the ones that he doesn't.

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Also, I wanted to ask about peoples histories with writing
How old are you now? How old were you when you first developed a passion for writing and how did it develop?
I'm 20 now...
I was dyslexic in year 1 of school, and the teachers made me repeat, but I overcame it fortunately by about year 2 after repeating. It still it took me a while to truly appreciate writing, We were given the task to write a short story after we got a picture of a tropical island where someone got stranded. What was supposed to just be over night homeowork, left me writing for days on end. I ended up with 20 pages typed... Haha, there was so much handwriting, that I decided not to type it up myself... which was part of the homework, so the teacher typed it up for me. Since then, i've always put that as my passion, next to science (back then I imagined using test tubes), these days, i'm studying neuroscience. So I was somewhat close... lol (I wanted to be a scientist first, and a writer on the side).
It wasn't until recently, after high school that I moved on from short stories into poetry (i wrote a 10,000 word short story for year 12 major work)
I've always loved having that creative outlet for my ideas, even if there are no ideas up there in my head, paper gives me a blank wall to project things onto.

Making music and dancing work on two entirely different creative outlets, but I love them both too and they defenitely enhance my style of writing!
 
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Making music and dancing work on two entirely different creative outlets, but I love them both too and they defenitely enhance my style of writing!
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Yeah, I have to say that for me writing, music and dancing are intimately linked. I think the experience of electronic music, and DJing for many years has left an indelible mark on me as a writer / creative person... This most definitely extends to the ways in which electronic music can be assembled - I draw a lot of inspiration from these methods. I'm guessing that's probably true of my closest friend on this board too (EntrenchdMentalist). I'd be interested to hear his thoughts on this. ;)
 
Man, I am behind the times. I had no idea this thread had been moved. :)

Felt like taking a crack at Baker's question, for a mini-autobiography:


How old are you now? How old were you when you first developed a passion for writing and how did it develop?

I'm 27.

If my memory is right, I was about 8 or 9 when I first tried my hand at writing. I was (and still am) someone with a vivid imagination who loves to read, and I wanted to get my ideas (such as they were ;) ) on paper. The very first story (that I never finished) that I tried was inpsired by an old Time-Life book on the oceans (which I now own); it had to do with a sinking ship off Hawaii. Another story I started to write was supposed to be a mystery about a scorpion.

For several years after, I didn't pick up a pen or pencil to write again. A watershed event for me was reading Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two, and several other sci-fi works. These really stoked my imagination, and so when I was 12, that's when I started writing stuff that put my abortive elementary school stuff in the dust.

I got high marks for my writing in middle school, and one of my fondest memories is of getting an "Awesome Author" award when I left eighth grade. ;)

In high school though, my writing was sporadic, and it was something of a time of adjustment for me. I experimented with light verse, which I still like, but good poetry just wasn't my forte.(It still isn't, though I love reading it.) I tried writing serious sci-fi, but my characters were relentlessly flat, and my scenarios too old-school pulpy. I did get a few ideas that are still with me--in fact, that I'm only now writing about.

I did very little creative writing in college; I spent most of my time in amateur research, as well as regular schoolwork. A lot of profs commended me on my writing, but I was good at reports because I had to be, not because I liked it. Most of my good stuff was done either my last year in college, or since then. My writing style has been pretty much fixed since then: downbeat scenarios--sometimes with a twist, but usually not--that focus more on a character's inner conflicts and development than on his or her surroundings. That pyschological aspect interests me more and more as I go along, because it's something that I myself identify with. Intimately.

New tip: Re writer's block

For a while, I've heard from some authors that one of the best ways to get over writer's block is to...just write. I was skeptical at first, until the last couple of stories I've finished--indeed, the times I was stuck, the best way out was to just continue writing. YMMV, but I've found--in accordance with what other writers say--that writing itself often gets the creative juices flowing, even if you have no idea where your story is going when you pick up your pen or start typing.

In short, if you get stuck...write your way through it. ;)
 
^ Definitely the best cure for writer's block, IMO! ;)

Good to see you back in your own thread, Belisarius! Out of interest, what sort of sci-fi do you read nowadays?
 
^
Thanks! :)

My current favorite "big-name" sci-fi author is Robert Silverberg; I love the way he blends believable characters into exotic situations. Another favorite is David Marusek, though his body of work is small; his story "The Wedding Album" will blow you away. His first anthology is coming out next spring, and I'm seriously considering a pre-order. :D

Right now, I've been reading a lot of short sci-fi by different authors in anthologies, since that's the market I really want to break into. Namely, I've been perusing the Gardner Dozois-edited The Year's Best Science Fiction collections. For those of you who haven't read any, I *highly* recommend them--though there are at least one or two other regular yearly anthologies of selected top sci-fi.
 
Hey guys I found this doing a random search, it's old, but I felt I should participate in it. :)

--What do you like to write?

Stories about life, and all things involved with it. Stories about people, about love, heart, growing, learning. Stories somewhat taken from my own growing and learning experiences. Stories with struggle and meaning and a little of my humor thrown in too.

--Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published?

I'm in the process of editing and rewriting my first novel right now. I've finished the first draft and now I'm perfecting it. Once I get happier with it I will begin submitting it to agents and set my intentions on getting it published. It WILL happen. Someone out there wants it. I just have to find out who.

--What do you like most about writing?

Everything. It's freedom to be God over the lives of your characters. You can experience whatever you want through them, love, sex, happiness, sadness, torture, grief, learning, joy. Anything. You are the master of the universe over these people's lives. And if you take the time to create in depth characters, they will feel like real people to you. You will grow to love them and have a relationship with them. It really does feel like being God. You're characters become so real that they have a mind of their own and almost write for you. Really, I often don't even think of what my characters will say, I just move my fingers and type and they come up with things all on their own. You don't even have to think, it's just like the story is guiding you, not the other way around. I am God and I give my characters free will to be who they are, yet I still have a plan for their life. Writing and experiencing a story unfold in front of me and grow and become deeper in my heart is one of the greatest natural highs I've ever felt. I really love my characters, they are like my children, and I feel like I never would have "met" them had I not gotten into writing.

--What do you like least about writing?

It's hard to even say anything. I like almost everything about writing. If I had to pick something I'd say the way it negatively can affect my health. There are times I don't leave the computer for days and live off chocolate and green tea. I get backaches too. And eyestrain. Worth it. :)

--What do you want to do with writing, personally?

Just keep growing as a person and a writer at the same time. I want to see my stories touch other people. If I can do that, I will die happy.

--What are your tips for other writers?

Don't give up ever. Writers block is always in the mind, it doesn't truly exist. There is always something to say. Some of my best days writing were when I didn't think I'd be in the mood. Give in to your story and let it guide you. And create your characters BEFORE you begin your stories. Give them personality quirks, parents, grandparents, friends, HISTORY, even if you don't use half of that information in your story. Know them and they will help you when you are stuck.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------came across this and thought I might fit in here?

PS



--What do you like to write?
Quotes, lyrics, and music. I am a DJ merging into music production.

--Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published? A friend of mine from Cali and I will be in the process of making an album starting summer of '09! :)

--What do you like most about writing?
In most cases, producers make the music and then write the lyrics, whereas my production is inspired by the words I write.

--What do you like least about writing?
Not enough people do it.

--What do you want to do with writing, personally?
Write lyrics for myself and other music artist.

--What are your tips for other writers?
Listen to yourself, and then write what you hear. Ask what others think, and go with what works. :)
 
What do you like to write?
poetry and short stories. novels are too big for me to get a handle on.

Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published?
I've published poems in small, obscure journals. Nothing much.

What do you like most about writing?
I never get bored of it. It's always somethign I can do. And it's a healthy addiction unlike my other addictions. Also, I enjoy that I can do it all by myself without having to bother with other people.

Also I love when I think I'm writing about one thing, and then the poem/story takes on its own life and becomes about something entirely different and possibly cooler.

What do you like least about writing?
...Nothing, really.

What do you want to do with writing, personally?
I want people to identify with the feelings I write about. Most of all, I want to publish one book of some sort.

What are your tips for other writers?
Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. EVERY DAY.
 
--What do you like to write?
Cyberpunk (to lesser extents I like dieselpunk/steampunk/post-appocalyptic worlds) themed/inspired. I usually write short stories. But I am progressing towards a larger proper work.

--Have you published anything, or are you in the process of getting published?
- I have an anonymous blog that occasionally is updated.

--What do you like most about writing?
- The control over the story is both highly defined, and infinite.
- Anything is possible.

--What do you like least about writing?
- Its hard to do when you think of things. I smoke weed before I go to bed, and lay there thinking great things, but rarely do I write them down (outside of bed coocoon is coold) and when I do they are brief and poorly written.

--What do you want to do with writing, personally?
- Write a novel that is win.

--What are your tips for other writers?
- Smoke lots of grass.
 
I freelance ghostwrite (mostly web content and eBooks) and if you want to step out into the writer world consider making a collaboration of your short stories or even write a good eBook. A good eBook is a good start. Most are about 50-100 pages (about 300 words per page) and it's easy to format them. I get paid to format them too, so I have seen some really good ones and some really bad ones....and then some REALLY bad ones. I see people's eBooks who go cheap and hire some dude from Pakistan and my god the bad writing shows.

Lulu is one place I know a lot of my eBooks get resold. The problem with ghostwriting is all rights are transferred to the client so you can use a few chapters as part of your portfolio but you get zero credit for the book. It's fun to ghostwrite because I get to learn and research and write on tons of different topics.
 
Lysis,
How do you get ghostwriting jobs? Do they mostly look for people with MFAs to do that?
 
leiphos said:
Lysis,
How do you get ghostwriting jobs? Do they mostly look for people with MFAs to do that?
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Elance. It's hard to break into it. You get some people who just want cheap and who will go for the guy who will write a penny per word and then you get the people who want quality so unless you have some kind of sample chapters or content that you've written that shows your experience they go for the high priced writers. Their system is hard to learn, and it's been 3 months since I hit the scene but I've gotten 10 jobs since then. Most of them are cheap, but for each one I get it increases my portfolio. Most people get frustrated with Elance because it's all about learning what to look for when it comes to the cheap asses and knowing if you have a chance to win. It costs money to bid, so most people quit after a few weeks.

I also have a website for my ghostwriting as well. It's sad to admit, but I spend so much time writing for clients that I haven't had the time to finish the content on my own site! LOL

Also, Helium is free and you can write in their marketplace for money. The pro to it is that others rate your writing and the good ones can be in your portfolio (I have one article ranked #2 and I flaunt that in my bids regarding that subject). Helium allows you to write on any subject you wish, so you can write, be seen, and use it as a reference.

I use rent-a-coder too which usually means I have to go cheaper on my price, but I have such a high rating I can usually charge more than my competitors.

If you have the time, write write write small articles (about 500 words) on subjects you like or want to research. Use them as part of your portfolio and samples and jump in. I have gotten so busy I have asked others to write eBooks for me. It took me about 3 months to really build a profile which really isn't that long. It's just that you get paid absolute shit at first and it's kinda embarrassing to admit but my first 5 articles I wrote for a whopping $10 bucks. LOL But hell I kicked ass, used them to my advantage, and keep raising my price as I write more.

Sorry for the long post! I have actually thought about writing an eBook helping other writers break into the industry. If you have a voice and can write, you don't need a PhD...although you won't get paid as much, but it's still a decent living.

I could go on and on..I have learned so much in the last 5 months.
 
Lysis said:
Elance. It's hard to break into it. You get some people who just want cheap and who will go for the guy who will write a penny per word and then you get the people who want quality so unless you have some kind of sample chapters or content that you've written that shows your experience they go for the high priced writers. Their system is hard to learn, and it's been 3 months since I hit the scene but I've gotten 10 jobs since then. Most of them are cheap, but for each one I get it increases my portfolio. Most people get frustrated with Elance because it's all about learning what to look for when it comes to the cheap asses and knowing if you have a chance to win. It costs money to bid, so most people quit after a few weeks.

I also have a website for my ghostwriting as well. It's sad to admit, but I spend so much time writing for clients that I haven't had the time to finish the content on my own site! LOL

Also, Helium is free and you can write in their marketplace for money. The pro to it is that others rate your writing and the good ones can be in your portfolio (I have one article ranked #2 and I flaunt that in my bids regarding that subject). Helium allows you to write on any subject you wish, so you can write, be seen, and use it as a reference.

I use rent-a-coder too which usually means I have to go cheaper on my price, but I have such a high rating I can usually charge more than my competitors.

If you have the time, write write write small articles (about 500 words) on subjects you like or want to research. Use them as part of your portfolio and samples and jump in. I have gotten so busy I have asked others to write eBooks for me. It took me about 3 months to really build a profile which really isn't that long. It's just that you get paid absolute shit at first and it's kinda embarrassing to admit but my first 5 articles I wrote for a whopping $10 bucks. LOL But hell I kicked ass, used them to my advantage, and keep raising my price as I write more.

Sorry for the long post! I have actually thought about writing an eBook helping other writers break into the industry. If you have a voice and can write, you don't need a PhD...although you won't get paid as much, but it's still a decent living.

I could go on and on..I have learned so much in the last 5 months.
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Thank you for writing this.
 
MynameisnotDeja said:
--What are your tips for other writers?

Don't give up ever. Writers block is always in the mind, it doesn't truly exist. There is always something to say. Some of my best days writing were when I didn't think I'd be in the mood. Give in to your story and let it guide you.
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So true. I even used to just write about writer's block and the ways in which it frustrated me and I'd write out how to get through it. There definitely is always something to say.

I gave up writing after my laptop crashed and I lost everything. I was crushed, it was tragic. I've since moved on to different outlets of expression.
 
Oh God. I am so sorry. :( That truly is tragic, absolutely fucking tragic. I am almost crying just thinking about it. It would be like a sudden death of someone very close to you.

I religiously back everything up out of fear that might happen.

I hope if you ever feel up to it you might try writing again. If it came from you once, it can come from you again! BUt I totally understand why that massive loss would make you turn away from it. I once lost a part of my book and it killed my motivation for a few weeks, big time.
 
Yeah people were always telling me to back up my material but I remained negligent and that's the price I pay.

And Deja I'll definitely write more again in the future. I still do write from time to time, just not at all the way that I used to.
 
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