Writing anyone?

[Inappropriate Behavior]

I'm determined to finish at least one novel. Not saying it will get published but I want the sense of accomplishment. I'm pretty much set on one idea (which keeps fluctuating some). I've worked at writing character sketches to get a feel for them so I can keep them consistent, I've charted the backstories and gotten most of my plot line mapped out. Hopefully that's the hard part.

 

[pathetically-lovely]

I write in my free time. It's fun.

 

[dwags222]

i go through phases where i will pump out some poetry.

of course i also have the "one day i will write a novel" dream, but lets be honest, i am sooo lazy.

 

[Xel]

I write sometimes, but most of the time I can't find the will to do it. And I always dislike my work. However, this year I did complete one story for school. It was about a guy who has to give up his dog to move. Most people who read it said they were about to cry. I felt "Mission Accomplished!"

 

[travelnjones]

I write when i must. its like someone starts speaking through me at time, thats when i must.

Its here, sort of tells the story of an INTP writer. Exponential decline of content through the years.

http://crescentstar.blogspot.com

I sort of write quick tit bits on a theme i think that works for us.

 

[mikal]

I write because I must..

 

[Ben]

I have been thinking about writing songs. Specifically for punk music, but I cant sing or play an instrument so this has stopped me

 

[lindsayo09]

i myself love to write but i really do not like sharing it with people, its a common everyday thing. i write stories about people. my most common is civil time, and some times i can even date back to writing about Queen Elizabeth I, but mostly i stick to writing about how i feel and about people around me, i watch their act then i write about it, you would have to know me to know what i am talking about. i don't share my work because people either laugh or just look at me like how did you know this, i am not a open to trust you kind of person, sorry

 

[Weneolan]

Mentioning National Novel Writing Month seems kind of anathema to some, but I've found that it has worked wonders for buckling down and just getting some writing out. I've got story ideas floating around in my head all year long, but when November comes along, it gives me a very clear deadline and a regional group to give each other encouragement and asskickery as required. I've done it for four years now and I have no intention of stopping. It's helped me come up with some really fun stuff, too; I've found it's fantastic for things like world-building and character development, or even fine-tuning societal details.

The entire point of it helped to address one of my worst insecurities about the creative process, too... Just pound the stuff out, even if it feels like you're basically vomiting onto a page. A lot of it will probably be utter dreck, but that's okay because in between, there might be some awesome bits and pieces that could prove to be very useful, or at least highly entertaining. And that applies to all kinds of endeavours, not just writing.

 

[Carnap]

I want to do some kind of writing. I'm not so great with fiction. I have a nice command of language, but all the plot, etc is not my area.

I'm thinking essays later on.

 

[preilemus]

I once wrote some depressing haikus for english class. i somehow have a natural ability to concern those around me.

 

[Ermine]

^ That reminds me of how I accidentally wrote a very "compelling", depressing love poem in english. We had a fun assignment to make a list of bad/harmful/hateful words and put them all in a positive themed poem. It was weird how believable my poem was, but luckily not compelling enough to get my class worried about me.

 

[Mer]

I like to write for my own enjoyment. I go through periods of writing nothing but over the past year I've been working on a novel. I day dream alot and like work out the plot in advance but not to strictly just an outline or else I ussually get bored with the idea as I go along. I'm way to shy to show my work to anyone, I been thinking of posting on some of it on a writing site...but haven't gotten up the nerve yet or picked what I would even submit.

I find this blog post on advice from famous writers really motivating and it inspires the desire to write in me right away. I thought it might be helpful to other people interested in writing here or people who always wanted to... 54 Tips For Writers, From Writers

 

[bananaphallus]

I like to write but rarely have the patience for it, probably why I prefer poetry - the relative brevity and the fact that somehow the more ambiguously worded and vague your poem is, the better.

helium.com is interesting, you can submit creative writing/bare your soul to be judged and rated by faceless internet drifters, or you can write articles for cashmoney, bitch.

 

[Polaris]

I wrote a humorous summary of our experiences as students of dental hygiene (dental hygiene is an extremely funny topic, if you ignore the pain bit), which promptly offended the head of school, and had all our clinical instructors smiling diabolically when she wasn't around. I later found out through my mother that it had been published in the National Dental Hygiene Gazette. My one and only claim to fame. I was embarrassed more than anything, I didn't mean it to go that far.

I like to write, but always critique myself to death before I get started. So nothing really happens. I also struggle a little with the English language, it isn't a natural expression for me.

 

[PhosterPhoster]

i write a lot and have had fiction published on the web and in print in various places. here is a list sort of... http://darbylarson.blogspot.com/2008/10/here-is-complete-i-think-list-of-my.html

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

I like to write, but unless I sit down and write a novel without stopping, it's going to stop around 30 pages. I am experimenting with taking breaks between 30 pages sets, because I really want to finish one of these and get it published, but it's just hard to keep up enthusiasm and the schedule of constant writing. I plan to do it at least once before I die though.
I have written a few short stories, along with a great deal of poetry and journaling (when I want to... not daily). I do not intend to publish the majority of that though.

 

[Irishpenguin]

Last year I had ideas popped into my head that I thought would make a really cool story. I've been adding on to it in my head ever since, although I've only actually written about 15 pages of very un-organized text. Yea I really need to get on that.

It was about a child in a post-apocalyptic world visiting ruined city after city searching for his guardian. Along the way, he learns more about why the world is in the state that it is now. It's sort of a surreal horror-drama-parable, but I can't make the child sound convincing, so it's been nixed. Anyone interested in picking it up? *mentally scans for anyone capable*

Haha, Yea I'm not sure if I would be what you would call "capable" but that brief summary was sounded cool enough to kick my imagination into gear right after reading it and I slowly started to imagine the world and the kid, as well as what kind of people he would meet. So now I have one more fictional world in my head, but it seems cool, even thought it's all dead and stuff. So thanks for that.

One thing that bothers me is that even if I did manage to finish a story, I have absolutely NO idea how one would go about getting it published, I know something about an editor and some publishers want the rights to your book but some writers want to keep the book, but I mean, I have no idea how to find an editor or publisher. So yea.......Could anybody point me in the right direction on how one goes about actually publishing or just getting your stuff out there for people to read?

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

It depends on how long your story is, what the audience is, and what it's about. If you have a short story or poetry, that's a different process than publishing a novel or a collections of your works.

Short story or poetry: There is a list somewhere of magazines and stuff to send these too... depending on what it is, you might include a cover letter. Don't use staples. Don't fold the piece, but you can tri-fold the cover letter if you're putting it in an envelope. You'll want to send it to more than one place if you can and then evaluate your options afterwards.

Novel or collection of works (published as a whole): I can't help you there, but from what I've heard, you probably want to follow the same rules as far as not stapling or folding, and sending it to more than one place. You might want to make some calls (like getting a job) to make sure you get read. I've also heard that an agent might help, but I'm not sure, and you might have to pay them.

Good luck either way!

 

[Irishpenguin]

Thanks for the advice melody . Although I still have to find out who I would want to call and send it too if it ever gets finished. Oh well, what you said still helped a little. And it's planned to be a novel.

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

I think the last time I talked to someone, they said that it was better to send novels to publishers who specialize in that genre. I'm sorry I couldn't find that list... I knew how to find it three years ago, but I don't remember anymore, and I couldn't find it on-line. I think there were maybe three books though that I was using that had publishers and magazines listed by what they publish, so you may do well to look at a bookstore, or if you can, talk to an English professor. They could probably help you a lot more than I can.

 

[Irishpenguin]

Thanks again for your help. I'll try to keep an eye out for this list that keeps coming up

talk to an English professor. They could probably help you a lot more than I can.

Holy crap! I can't believe I actually never thought of this. And I actually remember thinking "Who would know how to do this". Apparently it was a very simple answer. Even though the closest thing I know to an actual professor would be my English teacher, but she seems like she knows what she's talking about when she teaches so it's worth a shot.

 

[Farion]

Ok, resurrect.

I've been writing a book for a little over a year now (using a very loose definition of writing) but now that I've gone beyond the brainstorming and journal-idea catching stage, I can't get the will to write more than occasionally.

This I thought was a very interesting and true article about the writing process and, in a way, about INTPs (or INTJs, I still am fuzzy on which does which) in general.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Oops. If I knew about this thread I wouldn't have posted in the poetry forum, lol.

This is what I wrote, embellished and edited (See. That's why I write. I can never resist):

I've fantasized about being an author since I was 5. Actually, by that time I was already starting to write my own books (mostly "illustrated" children's ficton, but also "autobiographical" stuff...yeah, I was a very narcissistic child....and a non-fictional book about Scotland hauled from my immigrant grandmother's ramblings). I was raised in a Christian home and so made up demented Bible stories which could pass for Stephen King novels (in content, not quality). I swear, the Bible should never be given to children...all that stuff about demon possession and human sacrifice sounds ten times as disturbing when spun into original tales and spouted out of the mouth of a kindergärtner. I even prefaced them with "remember, the stories in the Bible are true!"...so apparently at the tender age of 5 I also had the intention of starting a cult. I have tried desperately to put it out of my mind, but the "itch to write" (or at least, to tell stories) never quite goes away. When I was a teenager I did finish an absurdist comic mystery novella and typed about 50,000 words of a fantasy novel...I gave up when I realized it was crap, but then they say to be a great writer you have to "throw out everything you did before the age of 20", so I suppose that's fine. (But even then I had fans; a teacher was moved so deeply by my one of my short stories she asked to keep it for her own reading pleasure, and one of my friends even wrote a screenplay of the novella!)

I wanna get back into it; I actually have ideas for two novellas now, one satire and one dark but bittersweet children's "novel" (I find I'm more likely to start something if it's a "big project" than writing endless short stories that don't seem like "accomplishments", but of course starting out by writing a novel is stupid and way too much work, so I think this is a good compromise). But I just can't get around to it, mostly because of:

A) My P laziness/ADD

B) The fear that it will suck

C) My intense perfectionism slowing the process down considerably (my loose leaf books are so heavily edited about half the page is a scribble of black ink).

But I know I'll return eventually. I always do. One of these Novembers, I swear...

 

[Nocturne]

Hmmmm... I find it quite easy to write. I keep a notebook filled with poetry, entries, etc. When it comes, it is easy. When it doesn't, there is nothing.

 

[Jesse]

I have always wanted to write a novel. I constantly think about it. But it will never happen as I just don't write the essential ingredient to getting it done.

 

[Synthesis]

I second Nocturne's position. I write poetry more than anything else, my room's walls are covered in paper. When I get an inspirational kick, I write essays about observations I've made concerning...anything. I've never intended on writing books though because every time I try to write one 'for fun', I end up getting stuck at the end. Stage setting is easy, everything until the falling action/resolution is easy, then everything seems blatantly obvious so I just stop writing.

(there seem to be too many 'I's' in this post, as though my mind is trying to tell me something when I look at it. Strange.)

 

[Architect]

No. I seriously tried once, but I found the computer I was writing on far more interesting than the words. Same thing happened to me in Physics. I finally realized I should stick with computers.

 

[Stoic Beverage]

I dabbled in poetry a couple years back. I was told I was good, but I didn't really enjoy writing it, so I don't write them anymore unless I'm struck about the head with inspiration.

I write essays quite often, but this is for the sake of refining and preserving my thoughts.

I've always wanted to write short stories or possibly even a novel, and I feel like I might be able to, but I can't get any ideas as far as plot. If it started, I think I could finish it, but I can't find a decent starting idea. Oh, well.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Apologies if this has already been posted (I haven't read the whole thread).

Two books often cited as helpful for writers are:

Stephen King's On Writing and Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones.

I don't do as much writing as I used to, or as I'd like. However, I do a lot of editing and book reviewing (in addition to all the writing I do as a teacher). So, yeah, I write -- but not always about the things I want to write about.

Dave