NationStates Jolt Archive

is there anybody else here who would count creative writing as a hobby?

i do, but i hardly ever feel like doing anything about it, or particularily creative. a few years ago i used to have loads of ideas for short stories and poems and stuff, but since uni its kinda dried up :(

im writing a novel at the moment - have been for around 4 years, but only spending a few months on/off it at a time... well actually more off-time than on, but... bah. its a sci-fi-ish book (intended to be three) involving time travel. set in the future originally, time travel is used to wage the war of the future in the past, accross a number of different time 'fronts'. so its also a bit contemorary (sort of - it has a WW2-ish timeframe), and a bit fantasy (there's a medieval timefront but its a bit fantasy), and has a couple of nice plot twists and technology based sci-fi.
it focuses on a number of central characters, and book 2 is set at a different timeframe than 1 and 3, but explains most of book 1 (characters & history)and allows for a greater understanding of 3. problem is, i've got it all mapped out in my mind - well, the important parts are nailed and the rest i have a vague idea - but i can't bring myself to write any more. it sucks :headbang: so its only about 80 pages so far - about 15 chapters or something. really want to write more, too - if anything just to get these ideas out of my head...
any advice on getting writing again?

is there anybody else here who would count creative writing as a hobby?

i do, but i hardly ever feel like doing anything about it, or particularily creative. a few years ago i used to have loads of ideas for short stories and poems and stuff, but since uni its kinda dried up :(
I only rarely write. Occaisonally, I am gripped by an idea that won't leave me alone until I write it down. I've never gotten anything really great except for a short sci-fi story that a friend and I did jointly that we almost managed to get paid for. Except the magazine stopped putting out issues, and therefore couldn't include our story...
:(

I wrote a novela once, and I know what you're going through, I did the first chapter and then barely wrote for a year and a half, and then suddenly finished it during the summer (but it was a terrible plot, I'm keeping the finished thing locked up for a while). My only advice is that the only way to really get writing is to force yourself to write a paragraph, and all of a sudden you'll find yourself up all night over it. It's like an avalanche, you just gotta shake the snow a little and the rest will fall down on you.

I've written star wars & fantasy, just never finished any of it.

Although my forte is non-fiction and poetry, I have written a number of fictional stories over the years. Never submitted any to publishers though, 'cause I didn't think they were good enough.

I write poetry. I have actually had various poems published in anthologies, i won a local poetry contest, and i have had two poetry books published. The first one though wasn't in any bookstores, i just got a bunch of free copies i could give to people. The second one is in stores, but it hasn't sold many copies. If you want to see a bit about it, check out this site:

http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/19706

I wrote a novela once, and I know what you're going through, I did the first chapter and then barely wrote for a year and a half, and then suddenly finished it during the summer (but it was a terrible plot, I'm keeping the finished thing locked up for a while). My only advice is that the only way to really get writing is to force yourself to write a paragraph, and all of a sudden you'll find yourself up all night over it. It's like an avalanche, you just gotta shake the snow a little and the rest will fall down on you.
sound advice. cheers dude :)
might try that now...

Yes I write as a hobby I might even try to have some things published one day who knows. Love poetry and fiction stories as well as philosophy.
Currently in the middle of several projects. :)

is there anybody else here who would count creative writing as a hobby?

i do, but i hardly ever feel like doing anything about it, or particularily creative. a few years ago i used to have loads of ideas for short stories and poems and stuff, but since uni its kinda dried up :(

im writing a novel at the moment - have been for around 4 years, but only spending a few months on/off it at a time... well actually more off-time than on, but... bah. its a sci-fi-ish book (intended to be three) involving time travel. set in the future originally, time travel is used to wage the war of the future in the past, accross a number of different time 'fronts'. so its also a bit contemorary (sort of - it has a WW2-ish timeframe), and a bit fantasy (there's a medieval timefront but its a bit fantasy), and has a couple of nice plot twists and technology based sci-fi.
it focuses on a number of central characters, and book 2 is set at a different timeframe than 1 and 3, but explains most of book 1 (characters & history)and allows for a greater understanding of 3. problem is, i've got it all mapped out in my mind - well, the important parts are nailed and the rest i have a vague idea - but i can't bring myself to write any more. it sucks :headbang: so its only about 80 pages so far - about 15 chapters or something. really want to write more, too - if anything just to get these ideas out of my head...
any advice on getting writing again?

Yes. Be disciplined. Set aside time to write, and just sit down and write. One you start - even if it is an effort - it will become easier. Treat it like a job with regular hours.

Don't be afraid to throw stuff away. If it's not working, or a section is weak, don't try and save. Throw it out and start over and get it right,

If you are having problems with characters, imagine what they are like and create an internet persona. Go on line an become that character, interact with people, and have fun. You'll get a much better feel for what they would do and how they would act if you "play" them for a while.

If you are a fiction writer, practice telling lies and tall tales. Everything is material.

i could write if i could think of anything to write about

I'm writing a fantasy fiction story right now. It's at http://www.xanga.com/thetemplar

I've written some decent stuff, but I don't even attempt to write prose.. so until then, it's all stacked next to the typewriter.. :(

I write screenplays. I haven't finished anything yet but I'm currently working on a film series. I also have a television series in mind but one thing at a time.

is there anybody else here who would count creative writing as a hobby?
Hobbyists blow. I've always aspired toward the professional in the Arts (and rewarded for that).
Hobbyists are ineffectual. Believe that you have something to offer and submit appropriately. There's a market for everything these days, if written well.
I was published in Blue Blood magazine (my Goth days) when I was 20. I feel ashamed of the story now, even though it's not bad in a technical sense. I have an agent (absolute must) to handle the messy stuff. She calls once a year to ak me to write something. I tell her I'm busy with other artistic/capitalistic endeavors.

I've been writing "kept-to-myself" fiction for a while and am brainstorming a non-fiction book for young Libertarians right now.
I know I can find a publisher when I'm done, as anyone can if they write well.

It's not about being published though. It's about being read.

If your story connects with readers, you'll make enough to write another book.

I love to write on my free time, my computer is full of stories I've written. I have started writing a series of short stories, I am on the fifth one right now.

I'm currently writing a couple novels. The first is titled Earth Federation - sortof a cross between say, Halo and Battlestar Galactica, but purely original. The second is called Victory Mile, its a novel about a war between a few fictional countries with 1870's - 1890's era technology.

Earth Federation is at around 30,000 words (I've been pecking away at it for years), Victory Mile is at around 3,000 words.

I write a lot. Some of it is posted on

http://p079.ezboard.com/ftheorylandfrm19

under the nickname Cor Shan.

Edit - Nikolai is set in the stone/tool age (going by AoE standareds here)
Javhir is like Ironage setting, in a desert.

[original post]


OMG I love to write creatively. I do lots of poetry, although it usually ends up on the inside of my English folder or something because it comes to me at totally random times. But as far as actual fiction stories, I always get ideas, start writing, then map out the plot, write about ten computer pages, and then a year later that's all I've gotten done. I guess I know what's going to happen but not how to make it happen. Then by then my writing style has changed and so I have to either hyperedit or start over.

I love to write though! My most recent (started about a year and a half ago) story involves a world where the world is exclusively filled with lesbians, men are exploited for their sperm and then, when they get too old, turned schoolteacher. The protagonist is a straight girl who has a really young teacher.

The funniest thing is that things in my writing always seems prophetic of events in my life. A bit after I write it, I always notice lots of parallels that totally weren't there when I was writing it in the first place. Which is why I've decided NOT to continue writing that story where the main character is in New York and her family in Oregon gets killed by a volcano...

Crap. Couldn't find them.

OMG I love to write creatively. I do lots of poetry, although it usually ends up on the inside of my English folder or something because it comes to me at totally random times. But as far as actual fiction stories, I always get ideas, start writing, then map out the plot, write about ten computer pages, and then a year later that's all I've gotten done. I guess I know what's going to happen but not how to make it happen. Then by then my writing style has changed and so I have to either hyperedit or start over
Sounds like you need one word of advice: Focus.

That should turn your aspirations into reality, if you aspire to publication.

lol.

The key is to have a message, I find. One story I wrote, Nikolai (at the above link) was finished because (and only becuase) I had a message - kids have good ideas too.

Its semi-squel, Nike, was finished becuase forcing kids to do stuff is WRONG, and it will bite you in the a$$.

OMG I love to write creatively. I do lots of poetry, although it usually ends up on the inside of my English folder or something because it comes to me at totally random times. But as far as actual fiction stories, I always get ideas, start writing, then map out the plot, write about ten computer pages, and then a year later that's all I've gotten done. I guess I know what's going to happen but not how to make it happen. Then by then my writing style has changed and so I have to either hyperedit or start over.

I love to write though! My most recent (started about a year and a half ago) story involves a world where the world is exclusively filled with lesbians, men are exploited for their sperm and then, when they get too old, turned schoolteacher. The protagonist is a straight girl who has a really young teacher.

The funniest thing is that things in my writing always seems prophetic of events in my life. A bit after I write it, I always notice lots of parallels that totally weren't there when I was writing it in the first place. Which is why I've decided NOT to continue writing that story where the main character is in New York and her family in Oregon gets killed by a volcano...
You know I think I saw a movie like that once on the sci-fi channel...except men weren't allowed to exist period, the women reproduced by cloning. The plot followed one woman who decided to try and breed a male without any testosterone...some men existed as part of an underground prostitution business run by the more reckless of women. Or at least, I think I saw it....

Or it could have been a <wonderful/terrible> dream.

Edit - my latest idea has something to do with a Matriarchal polygamist society where woman 'own' men, and get into duels, and then the winner takes possesion of all of the loser's men and children to raise as her own. Of course, most duels are ties, and the only way to win is to kill your opponet. Very odd neh?

Or it could have been a <wonderful/terrible> dream.
Heh heh...so true... :p

You know I think I saw a movie like that once on the sci-fi channel...except men weren't allowed to exist period, the women reproduced by cloning. The plot followed one woman who decided to try and breed a male without any testosterone...some men existed as part of an underground prostitution business run by the more reckless of women. Or at least, I think I saw it....
Good observation. It's every writers duty to do what hasn't been done to death.
And every publisher's to find those who have done their homework.

I write creatively as well. I guess I could be listed as "aspiring" because I don't have a large enough body of work to really fill out a good portfolio. I have several projects I'm working on, some ambitious, others more playful.

Perhaps within 3 years I'll be ready to start looking around for an agent; until then I'm still focusing on improving my skills as a writer, trying out new styles, and working on my p*ss-poor editing...

I've published acidemic papers in the past, as well as some journalistic ones, but nothing in the creative spheres. I've often thought of using NS as a tool to get some test-readings, but I don't have webspace to put up stories for you guys to link to.

You won't need an agent until... You finish a book/novel/Short story/novella/ect.

A good website is Hatrack.com, it has lots of advice, as does the book Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.

Yup, it's been my dream to write a book and get it published, but first I'm going to finish my script.

I once wrote a 50-page Star Wars fiction about a TIE fighter squadron for an english assignment, and got an "A" for it. After that I started joining fiction writing groups on the net, and I've become one hell of a story writer... I seem to enjoy it.

I've actually written two whole original fantasy novels, though they were finished a few years ago and I haven't written since. Maybe one day I'll actually try to get them published.

I once wrote a 50-page Star Wars fiction about a TIE fighter squadron for an english assignment, and got an "A" for it. After that I started joining fiction writing groups on the net, and I've become one hell of a story writer... I seem to enjoy it.
I once wrote a "Hash and Wietje" story and got 40/40 (=A, I guess). :D

It was only one page, but still...

I once wrote a "Hash and Wietje" story and got 40/40 (=A, I guess). :D

It was only one page, but still...

Well if you passed, stand tall and proud.

I have a degree in Film & Digital Media with a specialization in screenwritting. A short script of mine is being filmed this spring by someone else. I'm getting a grad degree in playwrighting. I've written eight plays that have had ten productions combined, won some Kennedy Center ACTF nominations, and was a playwright in residence at my first college. I was also given an award for reviews and had a popular column(college paper, so take that for what you will....).

One script written strictly for the screen is pimping on the corner and two adaptations of plays are putting on the pretty makeup on ho heels to go out and help earn daddy some caddy money.

Now, totally ashamed at pimping myself, I'll just shuffle away....

I write occasionally, but not fiction. More introspective, observational stuff. Of course my life is so strange most people think it is fiction.

I'm a part-time writer and I've already written several amatuer-based books.
My most impressive work so far has been a fantasy novel titled Skyfang: the Legend of Ayyad, which I won the National Novel Writing Competition for. My current work is a massive fantasy saga called Laxius Power

I once wrote a 50-page Star Wars fiction about a TIE fighter squadron for an english assignment, and got an "A" for it. After that I started joining fiction writing groups on the net, and I've become one hell of a story writer... I seem to enjoy it.
bold added

I dig your sense of personal detatchment and casual interest. "I seem to enjoy it," but you know...I could be secretly hating it and not saying anything to myself 'cause I don't want to start anything...

I write occasionally, but not fiction. More introspective, observational stuff. Of course my life is so strange most people think it is fiction.

Weirdos stick together. I keep a diary of whats going on in my head... usualy I burn with hatred after working hard all day, so my mind is filled with anger and sadness... But i always keep it locked deep down to avoid exploding... and then I write my anger down to appease it.

I have a degree in Film & Digital Media with a specialization in screenwritting. A short script of mine is being filmed this spring by someone else. I'm getting a grad degree in playwrighting. I've written eight plays that have had ten productions combined, won some Kennedy Center ACTF nominations, and was a playwright in residence at my first college. I was also given an award for reviews and had a popular column(college paper, so take that for what you will....).

One script written strictly for the screen is pimping on the corner and two adaptations of plays are putting on the pretty makeup on ho heels to go out and help earn daddy some caddy money.

Now, totally ashamed at pimping myself, I'll just shuffle away....
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhh :D

I love to write though! My most recent (started about a year and a half ago) story involves a world where the world is exclusively filled with lesbians, men are exploited for their sperm and then, when they get too old, turned schoolteacher. The protagonist is a straight girl who has a really young teacher.
nice idea. though i think the tv show, Sliders did something along those lines (minus the teacher/protagonist bit).
*subtly brings the thread back to good 'ol TV*

bold added

I dig your sense of personal detatchment and casual interest. "I seem to enjoy it," but you know...I could be secretly hating it and not saying anything to myself 'cause I don't want to start anything...

I have very little self confidence. Might explain why.

Weirdos stick together. I keep a diary of whats going on in my head... usualy I burn with hatred after working hard all day, so my mind is filled with anger and sadness... But i always keep it locked deep down to avoid exploding... and then I write my anger down to appease it.Ooookaaay.

Sounds like you need a new job, Although I can't fanthom what exactly could make you so angry. I mean I've had some real sucky jobs and none effected me the way you describe. I decided long ago that anger was unproductive, sometimes counterproductive, so I learned to let things go and think about the big picture instead.

But I do find myself thinking about creative revenge methods on occasion.

Usually just the plotting is catharsis enough.

An idea for writing-practise: Fan fiction. I've been writing some fan-fic for "Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic," strictly for my own pleasure. I've finished one story of around 15.000 words and is on my second, which is currently of lenght 30.000 though it will probably be 45.000 when finished. The good thing about fan fic is that the universe and characters exist already, and, to some degree, will behave independently of you.

I have plenty of ideas but am awful at forcing myself to sit down and write. I seem to do better in short bursts than longer chunks (poetry, non-fiction essays, humor, etc.) I wrote one substantial short story a few years ago, and it was the longest thing I've ever been able to finish.

I get a lot of ideas from history and mythology. I've been in the process of writing a series of stories about my ancestors for the past few years (one of which, a novella, shows some promise), and that intertwines my interest in history and genealogy.

I'd love to be able to write for a living. Maybe write stories for comic books. THAT would be sweet.

Ooookaaay.

Sounds like you need a new job,

Too damn right. I've already handed in my notice, and I plan to punch my boss on the last day. I already have a new job secured, so I can lay into him when he leaves work.

Although I can't fanthom what exactly could make you so angry.

Not knowing me might be a reason.

I mean I've had some real sucky jobs and none effected me the way you describe. I decided long ago that anger was unproductive, sometimes counterproductive, so I learned to let things go and think about the big picture instead.

Like I said I channel my anger. Often into productive things. I have a philosophy-"Never give up."

But I do find myself thinking about creative revenge methods on occasion.

Usually just the plotting is catharsis enough.

I think we all do that somtimes.

I tend to like doing longer stories. My earliest works were around about 20,000 to 35,000 words in length. My most recent completed work is about 63,000 and my current work is now 64,000 words and counting. I don't like writing fanstories, as it tends to limit my creative writing. I also like writing in short bursts, but still focusing on one long novel.

Yes, I do. I have a website where you can write regular fiction, or do roleplays.

S2.invisionfree.com/rpghq

I also write movies

I sometimes write bad short stories that most people think are weird. I even posted one to this board once.