NationStates Jolt Archive


Are you a writer?

Londim
14-12-2008, 21:08
Partly inspired by the Best Selling Novel thread, are any of writers either as a profession or just for fun? If so, have you written anything that you would like to share with the NSG community?
Fassitude
14-12-2008, 21:16
I have a copious output of letters, affidavits, records and so on, but I write none of them. I have a secretary for that. So, I'm not even a writer in the literal sense.
Zilam
14-12-2008, 21:16
I write for fun. I would love to do it for a profession. In fact, when I go and do my missionary work, I hope to also start up a journal/magazine about the places I go, the things I see, the people I meet, with a Christian touch, and lots of photos.
Fassitude
14-12-2008, 21:16
when I go and do my missionary work

Oh, haven't those people suffered enough...
Call to power
14-12-2008, 21:19
no I have a job.
Inklingland
14-12-2008, 21:20
I have witten several books, some of which have been made into blockbuster movies.
I specialise in the fantasy genre mostly.
Zilam
14-12-2008, 21:21
Oh, haven't those people suffered enough...

Missionary work does not automatically equate to someone going and converting people while thumping a Bible. In fact, I will be doing more humanitarian work than preaching. Of course, I can't deny the fact that I will talk about Christ at some point, but my main goal is to live out the law of love towards others, as is called for in the Gospel. A more cultured person would realize that.:)
Ashmoria
14-12-2008, 21:25
I have witten several books, some of which have been made into blockbuster movies.
I specialise in the fantasy genre mostly.
wow and you joined nsg just to tell us that.

welcome, ms rowling!
FreeSatania
14-12-2008, 21:28
As a student I have to write papers but I can't say I enjoy it. It's just something I have to do and the topics are usually pretty dry.
Fassitude
14-12-2008, 21:29
In fact, I will be doing more humanitarian work than preaching. Of course, I can't deny the fact that I will talk about Christ at some point, but my main goal is to live out the law of love towards others, as is called for in the Gospel.

I have to repeat: haven't those poor people suffered enough?
Zilam
14-12-2008, 21:31
I have to repeat: haven't those poor people suffered enough?

Helping the poor,feeding the hungry, and giving hope to people is suffering?
Inklingland
14-12-2008, 21:35
wow and you joined nsg just to tell us that.

welcome, ms rowling!

I'm not Miss Rowling, though I am a great fan of her work.:)
LSDville
14-12-2008, 21:36
I have witten several books, some of which have been made into blockbuster movies.
I specialise in the fantasy genre mostly.

Thats pretty cool, what have you written?


I'm pretty much the anti-thesis of a writer. 1.5 years into college and I've only had to write about 5 papers; one of my friends just wrote 5 papers in 6 hours and he's got a couple more to do...

I'm pretty left-brained: the only thing I write about is science and the only things I can draw are cyclohexane rings, lines and arrows :p
Fassitude
14-12-2008, 21:37
Helping the poor,feeding the hungry, and giving hope to people is suffering?

All you'll end up doing them is a disservice so that you can infect them with your particular religious meme. That your meme has nothing to do with "feeding and helping the poor, giving them hope" and has a lot more to do with "striking fear in them lest they perpetuate the meme, getting others into it, and then hoping not to be punished like the horrible, despicable, wretched sinners they are when the 'lamb of love' comes back to slaughter most of them" is just compounding. Fortunately, inevitable secularity will rectify your acts of evil and revert the ignorance you proselytise - unfortunately it'll take some time and these people and those they manage to infect will suffer even more needlessly meanwhile.
Londim
14-12-2008, 21:41
I'm also a student but I've finished writing papers for this semester! Also an extract on a story I'm working on:



The setting was like every other setting he had been to. The mourners, the black suits, the casket. Why black anyway? He was thinking of changing his robes. Black was boring, he ws thinking of getting a turquoise one. Maybe it would cheer him up and the souls up. No one was original anymore and that annoyed him. Him was Death and he had been doing this same job forever. It had seemed like a great opportunity at the time, well paid, all this power, even his name appointed to the ailment that befell mortals. There was one thing that he had been too idiotic to ask about and that was holidays. He hadn't had a holiday at all and he was sick of it.

He had never minded before, he travelled for his job and used to see all sorts of ceremonies. The Mayan sacrifices, the Egyptian Pharoah's burials in the Pyramids but his favourite were the Viking Ship burnings. There was always something mesmerising about a burning ship of the sea and the fact that he would only have to get one soul from this kind of ship. What these ceremonies had were grandeur, something exciting about them and the souls were always happy to go with him to Afterlife.

Now he had to deal with the same old ceremonies, no fun at all. He watched the burial from across the graveyard. He could have stood right in the middle of the crowd, they would never see him but he preferred surveying the whole scene and anyway he couldn't take the constant sadness. The burial was over and the mourners left. He walked like he had all the time in the world, because he did, and stood over the grave thinking more about holidays and turquoise robes. In fact he would take a holiday right after taking this soul to Afterlife. With the backlog that the bureaucracy ws facing in the Admissions office they wouldn't notice for quite a while. Some souls he taken there were still there months after their deaths waiting for admission into Afterlife and assignment to the company they would work for.

He was so lost in thought he didn't notice the man standing next to him.

"So I'm dead then?", said the man. Death jumped and spun round to see who had interrupted his train of thought.

"You scared me half to me!", Death shouted. He was an itimidating entity, Death, but the man didn't flinch.

"Oh well. What you going to do? Kill me?", replied the man off hand. This man was a cocky bastard and Death didn't like him. Oh well he'd definitely be spending enternity in Hell. Why did humans have to come along. Death was happy working with the dinosaurs and the animals but because of the, now over 6 billion, bumbling humans the management of animal deaths had been outsourced. He should've got rid of the humans when there population was small.

"Come on! I haven't gone time for this. You're going toAfterlife and you are not to speak until you're in the Admissions office. Understand?" said Death.

"Of cour-", began the man but Death cut him off.

"Didn't I just say no talking?!" Once he had dropped this imbecile off he was going on holiday. Let someone else deal with his absence. Death had had enough!
Inklingland
14-12-2008, 21:42
All you'll end up doing them is a disservice so that you can infect them with your particular religious meme. That your meme has nothing to do with "feeding and helping the poor, giving them hope" and has a lot more to do with "striking fear in them lest they perpetuate the meme, getting others into it, and then hoping not to be punished like the horrible, despicable, wretched sinners they are when your the 'lamb' comes back to slaughter most of them" is just compounding. Fortunately, inevitable secularity will rectify your acts of evil and revert the ignorance you proselytise - unfortunately it'll take some time and these people and those they manage to infect will suffer even more needlessly meanwhile.

As a Christian myself, I must say I find your sterotyping of all of us based on what a minority are doing in our name very offensive. Not all of us are Westboro Baptist Church members, you know.
Seathornia
14-12-2008, 21:47
As a Christian myself, I must say I find your sterotyping of all of us based on what a minority are doing in our name very offensive. Not all of us are Westboro Baptist Church members, you know.

He's talking about missionaries and they don't exactly have the best track record with regards to helping people versus converting people.
Ashmoria
14-12-2008, 21:52
I'm not Miss Rowling, though I am a great fan of her work.:)
oh professor tolkien im sorry to have to tell you but youve been dead for 27 years.
Rambhutan
14-12-2008, 21:57
I pretty much see missionaries as spreaders of disease and destroyers of cultures, but perhaps that needs a different thread.

I have edited a few books, and contributed to some rather academic ones. I would like to write some fiction but I tend to get hung up on perfectionism - I may be a bit of a grammar nazi here but I am even worse with my own work.
Jaoms
14-12-2008, 21:58
I'd like to think I'm a pretty competent writer, and I'm going to, hopefully, be professional in a year or two.
Johnny B Goode
14-12-2008, 21:59
Partly inspired by the Best Selling Novel thread, are any of writers either as a profession or just for fun? If so, have you written anything that you would like to share with the NSG community?

Yeah. I've actually written a couple stories on deviantart (http://johnnybgoode666.deviantart.com/) and fictionpress (http://www.fictionpress.com/~JohnnyBGoode). (Links are to my accounts) Please read. Could you also review if you have accounts on either (or anonymously on fictionpress)

Oh, haven't those people suffered enough...

I have to repeat: haven't those poor people suffered enough?

Fass, is there really a need to be an asshole to someone who's trying to help people? I'm an atheist, and you, quite honestly, are the biggest insult I've ever met to atheists. It appears that if someone is in any way connected to a religious organization, you assume that they kill puppies and do similarly cruel things. This is more than slightly ironic, as you commit the same mistake as the religious extremists you so decry, forcing your beliefs on people who have already established different ones. Also, your insistence on talking like you are the most worthy creature on earth and someone who's merely trying to help people is a piece of shit is really starting to grate on my nerves. I've heard you say that you are trained in medicine, and I'd rather take my aches and pains to the guy with the spirit mask and the funky-smelling syrup than someone as much of a bastard as yourself. I realize you'll probably never read this post, but at least attempt to think before you speak next time.
El Aces
14-12-2008, 22:00
I'm not a professional writer, although I'd love to be, but getting your foot in the door seems to be the hardest part. If only I was born ten years earlier when the big sci-fi mags were still up and running. . .

Here's probably my favorite thing I've written.

WARNING- Contains strong language

his angel-

Iguana leaned back in his in his chair, slowly reached for his cigarette, which was nestled in the dirty brown ashtray and took a long drag. He watched as the smoke he exhaled slowly made the perilous journey to the ceiling. He wondered if the smoke felt it when it was cut in twain by the dull wooden fan blades. He looked over at the waitress, specifically her ass, and gave her a wink when she looked back at him.

"Do you have a problem, sir?" The waitress had hate in her eyes and a slow southern drawl. She was beautiful. Iguana was struck by just how blond her hair was, just how green her eyes were. He wanted her forever.

He averted his eyes, afraid he might go blind from her beauty. "No, no problem, ma'am, sorry to trouble you." Iguana stammered out. He paid the bill, left a large tip and stepped outside. The cold night air was refreshing, the stars like faint refrigerator lights. This was his kind of night. The kind of night where you really felt happy. The kind of night where you felt like everything was all right with the world.

As much as Iguana loved the cool night, he hated to drive in it. So he slept in his truck, cowboy boots hanging out the passenger side window, hat pulled down over his face.

He awoke with the sound of shouting, yelling, cursing. He lifted his hat and looked through the window. It was her. His southern angel. She was being pushed around by a beefy guy in mechanic's coveralls. She didn't have a top on. Her exposed breasts shone in the moonlight.

"FUCKING WHORE! YOU'LL DO WANT I WANT YOU TO DO, BITCH!" The stranger shouted. It hurt Iguana to hear a lady being called such foul names. He grabbed his .44 from the glove compartment, opened his door and jumped out, tucking his gun into the back of his jeans. He walked slowly towards his angel and the stranger.

He held one hand behind his back, holding the revolver light in his hand. "Come on now, son, leave her alone." Iguana was going to give him one chance. "Or you'll do what, fuckhead?"

The stranger had wasted his one chance.

The sound of the .44 echoed for miles, but no one heard it, except for Iguana and his angel. The stranger fell. Iguana pulled the trigger again, the gun hot in his hand. He emptied six shots into the man, his angel never screamed nor said a single word.

He emptied the shells from the chambers and reloaded it, flicking the safety to the on position. His angel walked closer to him and kissed him. She kissed him like he had just saved her from a rabid wolf, a vicious wild animal. She loved him, and he loved her. He picked up her ripped top and handed it to her, she replied with a thanks and another kiss.

They left the body in the empty parking lot and got into Iguana's truck. Iguana backed up, pulled onto Highway 34 and they both drove into the rising sun.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To heaven."
Zilam
14-12-2008, 22:03
All you'll end up doing them is a disservice so that you can infect them with your particular religious meme. That your meme has nothing to do with "feeding and helping the poor, giving them hope" and has a lot more to do with "striking fear in them lest they perpetuate the meme, getting others into it, and then hoping not to be punished like the horrible, despicable, wretched sinners they are when the 'lamb of love' comes back to slaughter most of them" is just compounding. Fortunately, inevitable secularity will rectify your acts of evil and revert the ignorance you proselytise - unfortunately it'll take some time and these people and those they manage to infect will suffer even more needlessly meanwhile.


What ever dude. You go about your business. I won't give you the pleasure of hijacking this thread to further revolve around you and your ideas, whatever they may be.
Neo Art
14-12-2008, 22:07
All you'll end up doing them is a disservice so that you can infect them with your particular religious meme. That your meme has nothing to do with "feeding and helping the poor, giving them hope" and has a lot more to do with "striking fear in them lest they perpetuate the meme, getting others into it, and then hoping not to be punished like the horrible, despicable, wretched sinners they are when the 'lamb of love' comes back to slaughter most of them" is just compounding. Fortunately, inevitable secularity will rectify your acts of evil and revert the ignorance you proselytise - unfortunately it'll take some time and these people and those they manage to infect will suffer even more needlessly meanwhile.

gotta agree with Fass here. Sure, missionary work has gotten a bit more tasteful, it's no longer "all you starving people, repent your sins, believe in Jesus and we will feed you", now it's "hey you starving people, come eat...and as long as you're here you might as well listen to what we have to say about Jesus". Sure, it's not so despicable manipulation anymore, but it's still manipulation. It's still playing on people's fears and weaknesses in such a way as to make them more vulnerable to your message. Sure, you feed them, but as long as you keep mixing food and jesus, your motivations will always be intermingled. Not "feed the hungry because they are hungry" but "feed the hungry, so that they may come to us and listen about our faith".

If you cared about helping people, if you REALLY cared about helping people, then do it. Help those who need helping. Do good. But let your motivation be to help, to do good, not to use the help you provide as a method of pushing your faith on others, to manipulate them in their time of need.

Do good things, sure. But leave your bible at home.
Skallvia
14-12-2008, 22:08
I write every now and then...I rarely finish most of my stuff though, I just get too many Ideas I like too much...

I got a few good reviews for a fanfiction I wrote a few years ago on Fanfiction.net...But, I only wrote Four Chapters, cause school got started and I lost interest...
El Aces
14-12-2008, 22:11
gotta agree with Fass here. Sure, missionary work has gotten a bit more tasteful, it's no longer "all you starving people, repent your sins, believe in Jesus and we will feed you", now it's "hey you starving people, come eat...and as long as you're here you might as well listen to what we have to say about Jesus". Sure, it's not so despicable manipulation anymore, but it's still manipulation. It's still playing on people's fears and weaknesses in such a way as to make them more vulnerable to your message. Sure, you feed them, but as long as you keep mixing food and jesus, your motivations will always be intermingled. Not "feed the hungry because they are hungry" but "feed the hungry, so that they may come to us and listen about our faith".

If you cared about helping people, if you REALLY cared about helping people, then do it. Help those who need helping. Do good. But let your motivation be to help, to do good, not to use the help you provide as a method of pushing your faith on others, to manipulate them in their time of need.

Do good things, sure. But leave your bible at home.

Congratulations, a winrar is you.
Poliwanacraca
14-12-2008, 22:16
I suppose technically I am a writer, because I've written things and had some of them paid for and published, but it's certainly not a way I ever expect to make a living. It's one thing selling the occasional poem or joke, and another doing so often enough to pay the bills. :tongue:
Muravyets
14-12-2008, 22:24
I write for fun. Horror/dark fantasy. I'm experimenting with fantasy adventure right now. Someday, if I ever finish something that I think doesn't suck, I'll try to publish it, but really it's a hobby for me.
Redwulf
14-12-2008, 22:29
I write, but have trouble finishing things. A good example is in my sig. One day I intend to return to writing it.
Inklingland
14-12-2008, 22:31
oh professor tolkien im sorry to have to tell you but youve been dead for 27 years.

You are correct of course, but upon my death my brain was transferred to a cryonic-suspention chamber underneath Oxford University. :)
Ashmoria
14-12-2008, 22:37
You are correct of course, but upon my death my brain was transferred to a cryonic-suspention chamber underneath Oxford University. :)
you brits have all the coolest stuff.
Skallvia
14-12-2008, 22:40
You are correct of course, but upon my death my brain was transferred to a cryonic-suspention chamber underneath Oxford University. :)

http://pro.corbis.com/images/MME082.jpg?size=572&uid={7F805585-0EAB-4FF5-B309-D814F9C92DA1}

Fancy words for a simple jar >.>
Redwulf
14-12-2008, 22:45
<snip "Image">

Fancy words for a simple jar >.>

Image not available?
Skallvia
14-12-2008, 22:46
Image not available?

Really....weird, it shows up here...
Soheran
14-12-2008, 22:52
Yeah, I've written stuff. About half of it is awful. The rest is reasonably decent, but generally incomplete and seen only by me.
Angels World
14-12-2008, 22:58
That sounds really awesome! I hope it works out for you. I would definitely read it. :)I write for fun. I would love to do it for a profession. In fact, when I go and do my missionary work, I hope to also start up a journal/magazine about the places I go, the things I see, the people I meet, with a Christian touch, and lots of photos.
Thumbless Pete Crabbe
14-12-2008, 23:08
I'm more of a collector than a contributor, but I'm getting there. I've got drawers and file cabinets filled with clippings and excerpts from novels, usage notes and so on, that I study in my spare time. Maybe it'll all amount to something concrete some day, but studying language is its own reward, and I won't mind if it doesn't.
Angels World
14-12-2008, 23:11
All you'll end up doing them is a disservice so that you can infect them with your particular religious meme. That your meme has nothing to do with "feeding and helping the poor, giving them hope" and has a lot more to do with "striking fear in them lest they perpetuate the meme, getting others into it, and then hoping not to be punished like the horrible, despicable, wretched sinners they are when the 'lamb of love' comes back to slaughter most of them" is just compounding. Fortunately, inevitable secularity will rectify your acts of evil and revert the ignorance you proselytise - unfortunately it'll take some time and these people and those they manage to infect will suffer even more needlessly meanwhile.

Was going to ask if you were joking, but I am going to assume you weren't.

Don't you try and spread your views?

Most missionaries, if they are true missionaries, go out into the mission field because they are called by God to go. They honestly want to make a difference; their heart is in what they are doing. And please don't flame me for saying they are "called by God." :)

Missionaries can be a great help to those who are in need.
Pirated Corsairs
14-12-2008, 23:11
I write as a hobby. I have a half-finished novel from NaNoWriMo this year... 50,000 was not enough to tell my story. I don't know if I'll get back to that one though, with the exception of one or two chapters that I'm somewhat proud of, I really don't like it much.
I've also written a few short stories and some poetry. Unfortunately, most of the poetry was lost when my last computer died, but it's not as if it was any good anyway.
Angels World
14-12-2008, 23:18
He's talking about missionaries and they don't exactly have the best track record with regards to helping people versus converting people.

Quite the contray. Missionaries are known for helping people who are less fortunate.
Yootopia
14-12-2008, 23:19
No. I write essays for university, and a wee bit of fiction for whatever projects I'm working on, but I'm not a writer.
Yootopia
14-12-2008, 23:20
you brits have all the coolest stuff.
Terrible teeth, though.
New Limacon
14-12-2008, 23:22
I write for Jolt. There are actually only about fifty real people on NSG, and to keep them entertained I have to post with my thousands upon thousands of puppets.
Yootopia
14-12-2008, 23:22
I write for Jolt. There are actually only about fifty real people on NSG, and to keep them entertained I have to post with my thousands upon thousands of puppets.
I, Yootopia, agree with this.
Pirated Corsairs
14-12-2008, 23:23
Quite the contray. Missionaries are known for helping people who are less fortunate.

Yeah, missionaries were so helpful, for example, to the native cultures in the Americas. :tongue:

The thing is, if you actually want to help people, do relief work. But "missionary" implies that you're more concerned about getting people to believe in (insert deity here) than you are with feeding them or preventing disease or finding people shelter or whatever.
Angels World
14-12-2008, 23:28
But in answer to the poll, yes, I am an inspiring writer and am working on three book projects.
New Limacon
14-12-2008, 23:31
I, Yootopia, agree with this.

I'm glad to see that Yootopia, a real person who is not me but someone else, a real person, agrees with me. Please remember, he is a real person.
Yootopia
14-12-2008, 23:32
I'm glad to see that Yootopia, a real person who is not me but someone else, a real person, agrees with me. Please remember, he is a real person.
It is good that you agree with me, NL. You are always very wise in your views.
Skallvia
14-12-2008, 23:32
I'm glad to see that Yootopia, a real person who is not me but someone else, a real person, agrees with me. Please remember, he is a real person.

Although This person, Who is not a real person, but A Puppet of New Limacon...Disagrees entirely :mad:
Angels World
14-12-2008, 23:33
What the colonists did to the Indians was wrong. But the missionaries of today have no control of the 1600's and can not be judged as if they had something to do with that.

Missionaries are concerned with relief work, but yes, Christians are also concerned with saving souls from burning in Hell for eternity.

Let me present a small scenario for you. Let's say you do believe there is a Hell and that if people don't voluntarily accept Christ as their Savior then they will die and go there. They will suffer untold torment for all eternity. Wouldn't you want to save people from that fate?
Yeah, missionaries were so helpful, for example, to the native cultures in the Americas. :tongue:

The thing is, if you actually want to help people, do relief work. But "missionary" implies that you're more concerned about getting people to believe in (insert deity here) than you are with feeding them or preventing disease or finding people shelter or whatever.
Pirated Corsairs
14-12-2008, 23:34
I'm glad to see that Yootopia, a real person who is not me but someone else, a real person, agrees with me. Please remember, he is a real person.

Remember, I am a real person as well. After all, if I were just a puppet, would I call attention to myself by quoting my puppetmaster? Of course not! So I must be real!
Yootopia
14-12-2008, 23:34
Although This person, Who is not a real person, but A Puppet of New Limacon...Disagrees entirely :mad:
Why do you hate freedom? :(
Rambhutan
14-12-2008, 23:36
Quite the contray. Missionaries are known for helping people who are less fortunate.

Nope
http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/mission.html
Pirated Corsairs
14-12-2008, 23:40
What the colonists did to the Indians was wrong. But the missionaries of today have no control of the 1600's and can not be judged as if they had something to do with that.

Missionaries are concerned with relief work, but yes, Christians are also concerned with saving souls from burning in Hell for eternity.

Let me present a small scenario for you. Let's say you do believe there is a Hell and that if people don't voluntarily accept Christ as their Savior then they will die and go there. They will suffer untold torment for all eternity. Wouldn't you want to save people from that fate?

Yeah, but that belief is silly, so there. :P

But seriously, if belief that one is helping is sufficient, then there's nothing wrong with, say, human sacrifice, as long as you believe that it helps. Yet, somehow, I think you would object if missionaries from some religion started sacrificing people.

And really, the doctrine of Hell is one of the most evil beliefs ever invented. If somebody is wrong about something, they will suffer infinitely horrible torment for eternity...

But... this is quite the threadjack, no? Perhaps somebody should start a new thread on the subject. :p
Luna Amore
14-12-2008, 23:40
What the colonists did to the Indians was wrong. But the missionaries of today have no control of the 1600's and can not be judged as if they had something to do with that.

Missionaries are concerned with relief work, but yes, Christians are also concerned with saving souls from burning in Hell for eternity.

Let me present a small scenario for you. Let's say you do believe there is a Hell and that if people don't voluntarily accept Christ as their Savior then they will die and go there. They will suffer untold torment for all eternity. Wouldn't you want to save people from that fate?I'd wonder what twisted God gave the people the choice of follow me or burn in hell for eternity. I'm still not sure what sane person can believe that. That is basically spiritual extortion. I get the feeling that this needs to be a separate topic though. EDIT: Made a new thread: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=576440

As to the OP, I write as a hobby now, but I'm sending off manuscripts, attempting to become a professional. Here's to hoping and lots of re-writes.
The Convivial
14-12-2008, 23:51
I'd like to know how many answered with the last option because it is so damn funny! Ooo Ooo Ooo ME!
Yootopia
15-12-2008, 00:13
I'd like to know how many answered with the last option because it is so damn funny! Ooo Ooo Ooo ME!
Good first post :)
Redwulf
15-12-2008, 00:16
What the colonists did to the Indians was wrong. But the missionaries of today have no control of the 1600's and can not be judged as if they had something to do with that.

Missionaries are concerned with relief work, but yes, Christians are also concerned with saving souls from burning in Hell for eternity.

Let me present a small scenario for you. Let's say you do believe there is a Hell and that if people don't voluntarily accept Christ as their Savior then they will die and go there. They will suffer untold torment for all eternity. Wouldn't you want to save people from that fate?

Addressed in the new thread on this topic. See link to the thread above.
Hydesland
15-12-2008, 00:18
If you cared about helping people, if you REALLY cared about helping people, then do it. Help those who need helping. Do good. But let your motivation be to help, to do good, not to use the help you provide as a method of pushing your faith on others, to manipulate them in their time of need.


That is utterly absurd. If part of your faith is the idea that you will suffer torture for an eternity after you die because you haven't heard of some dude who lived around 2000 years ago, then of course the best thing you can do to help them is to prevent them from having to go through eternal torture. In fact, if genuinely believed that anyone was going to hell, I would do all I could to prevent it, every last possible annoying measure, if it meant it might save people from hell.
Cannot think of a name
15-12-2008, 00:45
I write plays and have been paid for it, but it's not my primary source of income (yet...). Screenplays too, but paid even less for that.
The imperian empire
15-12-2008, 00:50
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HqUn5rwnROY

Why I cannot take writers seriously... Thank you Harry and Paul...

On a serious note, I think writing would be something I'd enjoy.
Sirmomo1
15-12-2008, 01:06
Having to write is the worst thing IN THE WORLD. Don't do it kids, it'll make your eyes bleed.

But in answer to the poll, yes, I am an inspiring writer

In that case I am sure you will be very successful :)
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
15-12-2008, 01:06
I write papers as a student, and I also write short fiction for my own amusement. I've been published in a few magazines (campus publications mostly), and even got paid once ($20! WOOOO!!).
Nanatsu no Tsuki
15-12-2008, 01:42
I write for fun, but I would like to do it professionally.
Muravyets
15-12-2008, 02:30
I write as a hobby. I have a half-finished novel from NaNoWriMo this year... 50,000 was not enough to tell my story. I don't know if I'll get back to that one though, with the exception of one or two chapters that I'm somewhat proud of, I really don't like it much.
I've also written a few short stories and some poetry. Unfortunately, most of the poetry was lost when my last computer died, but it's not as if it was any good anyway.
I'm doing the 50K challenge right now.

OK, right now, I'm procrastinating from it, but I am almost a third of the way to the 50K goal. I'll try to get focused again after another cup of coffee tonight. But 50K won't be enough to finish my story either. So how will I keep my motivation going in January? :(
SaintB
15-12-2008, 02:38
I wouldn't call myself a proffessional but I had several short stories and poems published. Most of the poems were jaunty limmericks with political meanings.
Ardchoille
15-12-2008, 02:43
As a writer, I have chosen the "Me hate write! Me go smash!" option.

Because good writing is hard work, and I'm a laze-aholic.

(Actually, I'm kidding myself. I'm not a writer, I'm a journalist.)
Muravyets
15-12-2008, 02:44
As a writer, I have chosen the "Me hate write! Me go smash!" option.

Because good writing is hard work, and I'm a laze-aholic.

(Actually, I'm kidding myself. I'm not a writer, I'm a journalist.)
I had to give that option up after the invention of the personal computer. They're so much more expensive to replace than typewriters were. ;)
Barringtonia
15-12-2008, 02:48
I wrote for a trade magazine in Australia, focused on fish, cheese and wine, which was heaven, I also submitted many articles for a travel magazine while backpacking and I wrote for local magazines in Beijing on various different things.

I've also been quoted here and there for industry, including a feature article in the New York Times.

My favorite piece of writing was on Hanoi, where I delved into a comparison between the houses and French confectionary.

A line I've always wanted to use, and I suppose it's been done before, is...

The tie-dyed, tired-eyed travelers disembarked....
Ardchoille
15-12-2008, 03:01
I've also been quoted here and there for industry, including a feature article in the New York Times.

You mean, the NYT said something like, " ... and as a fine example of industry, we'd like to cite Barringtonia, who toiled for years ..."? :D

My favorite piece of writing was on Hanoi, where I delved into a comparison between the houses and French confectionary.

Ooh, link? Even my brain has a sweet tooth.

A line I've always wanted to use, and I suppose it's been done before, is...

The tie-dyed, tired-eyed travelers disembarked....

I am a sub-editor. You are doomed.

I had to give that option up after the invention of the personal computer. They're so much more expensive to replace than typewriters were. ;)

Yeah, and you can't sneakily unhook the carriage and watch the effect on an innocent workmate. Progress is hell.
Katganistan
15-12-2008, 03:04
I wrote (and was paid for) two short stories for ADQ magazine years ago -- a now-defunct magazine put out by Steve Jackson games for their Car Wars game.
Barringtonia
15-12-2008, 03:05
You mean, the NYT said something like, " ... and as a fine example of industry, we'd like to cite Barringtonia, who toiled for years ..."? :D



Ooh, link? Even my brain has a sweet tooth.



I am a sub-editor. You are doomed.

I can TG you the article, it's still online, I'm not overly comfortable with my name being public.

I should be able to find the Hanoi article online as well, let me have a rummage around Google.

TG'd, I'll idly continue to hunt for the Hanoi article,

MODEDIT: Gracias.
Redwulf
15-12-2008, 03:39
A line I've always wanted to use, and I suppose it's been done before, is...

The tie-dyed, tired-eyed travelers disembarked....

One of these days I'm going to use the tongue in cheek William Gibson reference "The sky was the clear bright blue of a television tuned to an unused channel."
Pirated Corsairs
15-12-2008, 04:51
I'm doing the 50K challenge right now.

OK, right now, I'm procrastinating from it, but I am almost a third of the way to the 50K goal. I'll try to get focused again after another cup of coffee tonight. But 50K won't be enough to finish my story either. So how will I keep my motivation going in January? :(

Good luck!

As far as keeping your motivation going, it helps a lot, I'd think, if you like where the story is going so far. I don't think what I have so far is very good(well, except a few parts that I was pretty proud of, especially one passage heavy on the metafiction), so it is more difficult for me to keep writing, because it's like throwing good words after bad, so to speak.

Also, bring the book up often in conversations and stuff. That way, everybody will know you're writing one and will expect to see it, and it will be embarrassing if you don't have something after hyping it up so much.
I know that motivation really helped me get through NaNoWriMo...

(Incidentally, I would be rather interested in reading it, if you do finish. :))
Muravyets
15-12-2008, 06:19
Good luck!

As far as keeping your motivation going, it helps a lot, I'd think, if you like where the story is going so far. I don't think what I have so far is very good(well, except a few parts that I was pretty proud of, especially one passage heavy on the metafiction), so it is more difficult for me to keep writing, because it's like throwing good words after bad, so to speak.
I just finished reading all the work done so far, and it's shit, but I don't really hate it yet. However, I am a bit worried about not losing the thread of the plot. But I'm not overly worried because I'm doing this "forced first draft" trick to overcome my crippling obsession with editing myself to the point of paralysis. I'm just slamming out words -- practically stream of consciousness -- then printing the day's work and deleting it from the computer. That way, I won't go back and rewrite instead of writing new content. When it comes time for the second draft, I would retype every single word, anyway, so I figured I may as well do it this way.

The result is that the work I'm doing now is pretty much unreadable, but I am happy to see the characters taking good shape and the progression of scenes starting to come together.

Terrifyingly, though, I have already decided on two, possibly three major changes to the plot, which I had previously outlined in detail. I've dropped one planned major character, drastically changed the love interest angle, and am reconsidering the ultimate fate of another major character.

On the plus side, though, the complicated plot is starting to streamline as I write.

I've never worked with this forced production technique before. It's kind of weird, but seems to be a good thing so far.

Also, bring the book up often in conversations and stuff. That way, everybody will know you're writing one and will expect to see it, and it will be embarrassing if you don't have something after hyping it up so much.
I know that motivation really helped me get through NaNoWriMo...
Oh, hell, that won't help me. I do nothing but talk about my projects. Half my friends and family are so sick of my talk, they don't care what I do with it. And the other half are just like me and love to talk about projects even more than they love doing them. Neither faction demands results much. :D

(Incidentally, I would be rather interested in reading it, if you do finish. :))
Gladly, after the second or third draft. I wouldn't show it to anyone earlier than that. You know what the great Mark Twain said:

"A manuscript is like a fetus. It is not improved by showing it to someone before it is finished."

;)
Barringtonia
15-12-2008, 06:37
I'm just slamming out words -- practically stream of consciousness -- then printing the day's work and deleting it from the computer. That way, I won't go back and rewrite instead of writing new content. When it comes time for the second draft, I would retype every single word, anyway, so I figured I may as well do it this way.

That's a brave move though given it's only 50, 000 words as opposed to a 300,000 word novel I suppose it's not too much of an issue.

Even where I've completely re-written something, I still find paragraphs, sentences and descriptions that I keep, if not for entirely separate pieces of work.

I have a huge file of paragraphs and phrases that I can rummage through.
Sarzonia
15-12-2008, 06:49
I am a professional writer. Actually, I just left a full-time gig as the managing editor of a weekly newspaper. I wrote a freelance story for The Annapolis Capital.

If you're interested, you can read it here (http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/12_08-04/CAN).
New Ziedrich
15-12-2008, 07:34
I want to write a novel, but I have no idea how to actually get published.
Christmahanikwanzikah
15-12-2008, 07:40
Stream of consciousness led me to remember this little bit of news...

http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_10694041

Hef, guard the keys closely. :tongue:
Hoyteca
15-12-2008, 07:50
I'm a bit of a writer. Mostly poetry and songs, but I have wrote a few short stories and a few unfinished novels. Most of it's on my deviantart account, since I can't get them actually published.
Western Mercenary Unio
15-12-2008, 08:03
I write on my free time, but everything I wrote was on my old computer. Which died and with it everything I wrote. I'm gonna start over but I constantly jump between Firefox and Word.
Hoyteca
15-12-2008, 08:15
We need samples of you peoples's writings. Anpu demands it.
Western Mercenary Unio
15-12-2008, 08:16
We need samples of you peoples's writings. Anpu demands it.

Finnish or English?
Wilgrove
15-12-2008, 08:21
oh professor tolkien im sorry to have to tell you but youve been dead for 27 years.

Well, Inklingland did say he writes fantasies. ;)

As for me, I'm working on a Fantasy novel, right now I'm working on the character sheet.
Hoyteca
15-12-2008, 08:23
Finnish or English?

Abraham Lincoln prefers English, but Anpu couldn't care either way. Anpu would like it in Engrish, though. You know, "All your base are belong to us" engrish.
Bouitazia
15-12-2008, 08:28
I write for fun mostly,
and have so far only done poetry and short stories.

Working on a sci-fi book right now though.
Only have to combat my extreme procrastination tendencies.
I have had the story in my head for years.
Hoyteca
15-12-2008, 08:48
I write for fun mostly,
and have so far only done poetry and short stories.

Working on a sci-fi book right now though.
Only have to combat my extreme procrastination tendencies.
I have had the story in my head for years.

As a fellow writer, I must inform you that Anpu demands samples. How can you have a writing thread without samples? It boggles the mind.
Western Mercenary Unio
15-12-2008, 13:50
Abraham Lincoln prefers English, but Anpu couldn't care either way. Anpu would like it in Engrish, though. You know, "All your base are belong to us" engrish.

What does Abraham Lincoln have to do with this?
Sirocco
15-12-2008, 14:03
I write for NationStates and NationStates 2. :)
Cameroi
15-12-2008, 15:54
i don't have enough time and place alone to develop the skill, let alone turn out the copious quantities of product it would take to end up with enough as a fraction of it, to be remotely worth submitting to be published.

the kind of writing i like, the authors i've met who write it, far and away the vast majority are pretty much social hermits, and their advice about writing, getting good at it, tends to involve setting aside a place and a time every day, where you go write something. well in reality not all of us, have equal amounts of opportunity to do that. i think if i did, if it were something i could count upon, then i would indeed devote some of that time and place to developing my ability to paint the kind of world in my head, that i dream all the time, with words. with naratives taking place in it. like schmitz did with his universe of the h.u.b.

i mean the special effects are there in my head when i dream, and occasionally i'm able to represent them (poorly) visually, usually with the aid of 3d drafting and illustration programs, though occasionally with more mundane tools, like felt pens, bamboo brush, even water colors and acrillics. but mostly, to turn out enough stuff, to keep myself at it, i need to get back a certain level of gratification from the medium itself, and my love of being able to use this computer tecnology to do that helps keep me inspired to do what i CAN do, or more or less can.

words are a whole nother craft, and like ALL forms of creative expression, it attracts me to a degree, i just don't ever expect, now, at my age, for it to become such a major part of my life as it would need to. not as long as i don't have a way of living as such a near hermit as i would truly love to and have found to be the happiest times in my life when i did come close, but not sustainably, to live that way.
Muravyets
15-12-2008, 18:58
That's a brave move though given it's only 50, 000 words as opposed to a 300,000 word novel I suppose it's not too much of an issue.

Even where I've completely re-written something, I still find paragraphs, sentences and descriptions that I keep, if not for entirely separate pieces of work.

I have a huge file of paragraphs and phrases that I can rummage through.
I'll do the 100% retype for the whole damned thing, which will be a 300K word novel eventually. After a while of shuffling paragraphs and sentences around, I can't keep track of where I am in the revision process anymore, so I take a break and then start over with a blank screen. I figured since I do that anyway, I may as well see if I can use it to keep forward progress going within each draft.

We need samples of you peoples's writings. Anpu demands it.
If he/she/it insists:

1) Here's a bit of fan fiction I did, just fooling around, for an MMORPG I used to play. It's an origin story for one of the monsters in the game. I wrote it in the "voice" more or less of my in-game character, so the thing begins with the word "Greetings." This one is as finished as I'll ever make it, because it was just done as a little joke.

http://www.eternal-lands.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=39075

2) This one is an example of "first draft" writing. It was also written as fan fiction for that MMORPG. I knocked it out as an introductory adventure for that in-game character, who I was developing as a character to use in my own writing. He was still in development when I wrote this story. I am now using him in the adventure I'm writing right now on the 50K plan. This story's basic idea is kind of interesting to me. Some day, I might rework it to be a full length adventure set in the world I have invented for the character, which is entirely different from the one in the game-based story. As it is, it only the merest bare-bones idea for a story.

http://www.eternal-lands.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38045

Those poor people who run that game asked me to write one of their official backstory histories, and I've kept them waiting a year now. I should make that January's 50K challenge.
Hoyteca
15-12-2008, 20:36
What does Abraham Lincoln have to do with this?

Everything. If you hadn't messed your mind up with your hiphop and your country music and your ancient Greeks and your Scientology, you'd know that Lincoln has EVERYTHING to do with it.
Megaloria
15-12-2008, 20:39
I write the sports blog for my (linked in sig) Blood Bowl league these days. Sports writing has some very fun points to it, mostly because it's essentially fantastic storytelling of things that actually happened, as opposed to boring historical accounts or fantastic fiction. Well, I suppose MY sportswriting is fiction, but whatever.

I've also been known to do poetry and short stories from time to time.
Cannot think of a name
15-12-2008, 20:46
I write the sports blog for my (linked in sig) Blood Bowl league these days. Sports writing has some very fun points to it, mostly because it's essentially fantastic storytelling of things that actually happened, as opposed to boring historical accounts or fantastic fiction. Well, I suppose MY sportswriting is fiction, but whatever.

I've also been known to do poetry and short stories from time to time.

Fly-By Knights and Pancake Valley Shortstacks amuse me.
Oiseaui
15-12-2008, 20:47
I've had a few poems published, but where actual writing is concerned it's a very occasional hobby which I've not done in quite a while.
Taro Aso
15-12-2008, 21:12
As writing is means of communicate, it is important. Especially to convert the state message. Cartoon, photo real image better. The best is the contribution towards the economy.

No to all but the smash.
Megaloria
15-12-2008, 21:17
Fly-By Knights and Pancake Valley Shortstacks amuse me.

Glad you enjoyed it! Working on the semifinal updates right now, hopefully I'll have them all done within an hour or so.
Cannot think of a name
15-12-2008, 21:23
Glad you enjoyed it! Working on the semifinal updates right now, hopefully I'll have them all done within an hour or so.

I have to be honest, I only had the patience to read a quarter of one entry, then just started scanning for team names.
The blessed Chris
15-12-2008, 21:30
Not massively, no. I enjoy articulating such feelings as I have, but beyond NSG, I write academic essays, and that's it. Enjoy it massively of course, but undergraduate pre-dissertation word limits can be constraining.
Smunkeeville
15-12-2008, 21:36
I write short stories, novels and stage plays. I am in the middle of (failing at) writing a play.

I wrote a poem on my friend's cast last night.

There once was a dude named Craig,
who fell down and broke his leg
though he's got a cast
he's still just as fast
he's awesome, that dude, named Craig.
Megaloria
15-12-2008, 21:40
I write short stories, novels and stage plays. I am in the middle of (failing at) writing a play.

I wrote a poem on my friend's cast last night.

There once was a dude named Craig,
who fell down and broke his leg
though he's got a cast
he's still just as fast
For his other leg ends with a peg.

The implication of pirates makes everything better.
Smunkeeville
15-12-2008, 21:47
The implication of pirates makes everything better.

:) Yeah, I was working off the cuff.
Mad hatters in jeans
15-12-2008, 22:08
No, i don't write for a living.
Don't have nearly enough time to develop that skill. I write essays, maybe letters but that's as far as that goes.
(However if i'm really bored i write a few utterly random things, in a weird way, i find it very draining. It's really hard to write a good story, mostly because most of them have already been written i'm afraid of copying previous work. and most of the cool stuff has already been done)
Twafflonia
15-12-2008, 22:21
I'm a writer. Although I've done more professional editing than writing. (How's the saying go? "Most editors are failed writers, but then, so are most writers.")
UNIverseVERSE
15-12-2008, 22:59
I wave a pen about on occasion, and claim it's writing. Not really that good at handling characters, but I like situations and descriptions.

Best thing I think I have online is here (http://b.armory.com/~xyzzy/visions.html).
Smunkeeville
15-12-2008, 23:06
I'm a writer. Although I've done more professional editing than writing. (How's the saying go? "Most editors are failed writers, but then, so are most writers.")

Most writers fail at editing as well. :tongue:
Muravyets
15-12-2008, 23:08
I'm a writer. Although I've done more professional editing than writing. (How's the saying go? "Most editors are failed writers, but then, so are most writers.")

Most writers fail at editing as well. :tongue:

Both are so, so horribly true. :D
The Romulan Republic
16-12-2008, 00:05
Amature writer, with some vauge plans of being a professional screewriter (I'm currently a film production major at university).

Right now, I mainly write for on-line roleplaying, though I always try to maintain a semi-professional standard of quality in everything I write.
Sarzonia
16-12-2008, 23:07
We need samples of you peoples's writings. Anpu demands it.

I gave you one: I am a professional writer. Actually, I just left a full-time gig as the managing editor of a weekly newspaper. I wrote a freelance story for The Annapolis Capital.

If you're interested, you can read it here (http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/12_08-04/CAN).

Oh, and there's also this:

A Month Of Rain (copyright 2008, Mike Sarzo)

I wonder how it is you get by
How you're able to sleep at night
You laughed at me when I cried
And you reveled in my lonesome fright

I wake up, it's 4 a.m.
And I beat a well-worn path
Sleep no longer is my friend
I struggle in the aftermath

Chorus:
I still see you every day
I've memorized the taste of pain
Tried to wash you out, you won't go away
Even with a month of rain

As days go by, you still remain
Haunting my thoughts and all my dreams
I jump in my skin and I hear the refrain
And my life's been ripped in the seams

I sit here and I try to understand
What made you do what you have done
To lose what you stole is part of no plan
It isn't worth that moment of fun

Repeat chorus

I still see you in the shadows of my mind
In one sense, we're all doing time

I pray for healing, for some clarity
I try to see a point of view
That I can't understand for my sanity
My feet are wet with tears and dew

I can't be there to ease the loss
I wish I could have stopped you some way
And forced you to pay the highest cost
But you'll see the truth come Judgment Day

Repeat chorus thrice

I wake up, it's 4 a.m.
And I beat that well-worn path
Sleep no longer is my friend
I struggle in the aftermath
Hoyteca
17-12-2008, 01:34
Here's a sample of my work.

Temple by the Sea

The journey was long,
but the fruits are gold,
you wondered if you were right or wrong,
but for worrying, you figure, you're much too old.

through the forest of the impaled,
over the river of blood,
vast seas to be sailed,
on the island the temple stood.

You enter looking for riches to be found,
you walk past impaled, crushed skeletons on the ground,
a labrynth of halls greet you so warm,
for outside brews a storm.

Vines growing out in the halls,
growing out of the blood in the walls,
and if you decide to go ahead,
you won't hear what's to be said.

The maze breeds madness,
and the doom brings sadness,
for a people since long gone,
left in the darkness before dawn.

The sole guardian roams this place,
having seen no soul for years, no sun for days,
naked, you see her sit down close to the wall,
she had to have been at least six feet tall.

You ask her which way to go,
awaiting an answer to hear,
but your tongue she does not know,
this realization fills you with fear.

The walls hold bodies of victims long since sealed,
sacrifices chained in the small rooms in the halls,
they cried as they were walled up, cried as the temple healed,
their souls eternally trapped in the walls.

The halls grow cold,
as she grabs a hold of you,
you forget about your quest for gold,
you know now what you must do.
Soleichunn
17-12-2008, 03:51
I'm an amateur. I have some written things, a few short stories and a plot for a comic (which I can't do as I have no drawing skills).
Hoyteca
17-12-2008, 06:12
I'm an amateur. I have some written things, a few short stories and a plot for a comic (which I can't do as I have no drawing skills).

I have the same problem with comics. I have a plot and a script. I have the poses and whatnot planned. But when it comes to getting it done, it looks more like something drawn by a blind guy that had a bit too much booze in his system.
Western Mercenary Unio
17-12-2008, 06:17
Everything. If you hadn't messed your mind up with your hiphop and your country music and your ancient Greeks and your Scientology, you'd know that Lincoln has EVERYTHING to do with it.

Ancient Greeks and Scientology...WTF?!
Hoyteca
17-12-2008, 10:42
Ancient Greeks and Scientology...WTF?!

The words of an enemy of the powerful, possibly ficticious state of Zepland. Go back to your native Xenuland before the possibly even more ficticious armies of Zepland find you, you fiend.