Does anyone else like to write?

nurseangel

TCS Member
Thread starter
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
10,132
Purraise
4,820
Location
1 Happy Place
I am working on a children's book...just for fun...I've never been published.
 

weldrwomn

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
2,136
Purraise
11
Location
In the snow!!!!
I really enjoy writing. I have even been arm-twisted into reading some of my stuff at an open mic night at a bar in Alaska. I doubt that I will ever get published though.
 

ut0pia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
5,120
Purraise
34
It's a secret dream of mine, and I have started but never had the time to continue with what I'd written. I like to write fantasy and romance. I usually get really inspired after I've read a good book and I'm mad it's overy lol..so I say to myself, forget this- I will write my own story and it will never end as long as I live haha. That's why I am thinking of getting an easier job rather than some demanding career, so that I have time to work on realizing my dream, but I am not sure if i'll be able to do this.
 

tierre0

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
7,256
Purraise
1
Location
on the shores of Georgian Bay
For anyone who really enjoys writing this is a fantastic site that you might be interested in.
I have been a member for awhile and have had a blast with it.


http://www.helium.com

If you are interested in reading some of my stuff just PM me and I will give you the link to my articles.
 

rapunzel47

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 20, 2003
Messages
30,725
Purraise
8
Location
Lotus Land
Thank you for that link. I love calling words together, and have often thought I'd like to DO SOMETHING about that, but have lacked the right combination of time and inspiration. I took just the tiniest look at that site, and I'll definitely be going back to look more carefully.
 

MoochNNoodles

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
36,646
Purraise
23,465
Location
Where my cats are
I go through spurts where I'll work on something for a few hours; then not again for months. I don't know that I really want much of what I write to be read though. I guess I'm too afraid of criticism.
 

meowers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
1,274
Purraise
12
Location
California, East Bay Area
I would love to write a grownup version of Twilght someday.
Or, I think my life would be a very interesting book. But it might be embarasing!

Good for you!
 

natalie_ca

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
21,136
Purraise
223
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I love to write, but I can't sit and write on demand. I have to be in the right mood.

I've nearly been published twice. The first time was back in the late 1980's. I had entered a short story into a contest hoping to win the top prize which I think was either $1,000 or $5,000. It was the first time I ever let anyone read anything I wrote.

I didn't win, but I did get a letter back from the Publisher saying that they liked my story and wanted to know if I could expand it into a novel. They were prepared to offer me an advance any everything.

I gave it some serious thought, but in the end I didn't go through with it because at the time I was very shy about my writing and didn't think I was any good at it. And I had this horrid fear that it would be a flop and horridly criticized etc. etc.

The next time was in 2002. I wrote a short story and submitted it to a publisher. They were interested in publishing it as part of a short story collection. Again, after giving it second and third thoughts, the same fears crept through.

The problem is that when I write, while I write fiction, I tend to position myself into the first person perspective for each of my characters and I write from the heart as though what is happening to them, is happening to me. Thus I get too close to the characters and the story and it feels like it's too personal to share.

I let a patient who was a retired creative writing professor, read it. He absolutely loved it. He said that if it was a paper I had submitted in his class it was definitely an A+ paper. That made me feel good. He encouraged me to go ahead and have it published and persue a career in writing.

I never did
I ended up getting side tracked in a bad relationship which lead to mild depression. It was all I could do to get out of bed and go to work. And then about a year and a half later I ended up off work sick.

I have dabbled with writing since, but not seriously. Haven't finished a short story.

I also have several poems that I have written. However, for me poetry is therapeutic and I only tend to write when I'm very down and blue. I haven't felt like that in many years, since my parents died. So I haven't written any poetry in decades.
 

going nova

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by nurseangel

I am working on a children's book...just for fun...I've never been published.
When I was an undergraduate, I started writing books for children about advanced physics concepts.
They were very basic, learn-to-read style and presented as a story... in Spanish!
 

redcivic927

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Feb 8, 2009
Messages
16
Purraise
0
Location
st.louis area
Im into writing poetry and lyrics type stuff. Its been a while since ive written any story type stuff. I mostly write when i get really depressed which lately in the past few months i have been so theres been some stuff ive written but other than that its been a very long time.
 

clixpix

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
14,540
Purraise
2
I say go for it! Don't let yourself get in your own way! The way things are in the world, we all need to keep our eyes out for ways to reinvent ourselves. If I had a gift for writing anything longer than a forum post, I'd definitely give it a shot!
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Originally Posted by Meowers

I would love to write a grownup version of Twilght someday.
Already exists - there's a whole genre of that. Currently it's the "hot" thing. I suggest you go play around on Amazon's site and check out people's list of book recommendations.


I love to read and have tons of stories stuck in my head. I'm sure I'll eventually have to write some of them down or go crazy.

This thread reminded me of when I was in kindergarten. The teacher asked us to write a short story. Everyone else handed only page long stories in. Mine was 11 pages long and I wrote as small as I could to get everything in.... I still remember her face when I handed it in.
 

keycube

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
958
Purraise
45
Location
Michigan
I enjoy writing, but have attention span issues that seem to prevent me from giving a damn about what I'm writing, just minutes after I've taken pen to paper. I have fantastic "big-picture "themes" swirling about my head, but when I seriously consider jotting something them down, the only prevailing thought I can muster is, "Ah, fuggit".
 

ut0pia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
5,120
Purraise
34
Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

The problem is that when I write, while I write fiction, I tend to position myself into the first person perspective for each of my characters and I write from the heart as though what is happening to them, is happening to me. Thus I get too close to the characters and the story and it feels like it's too personal to share.
Me too. It gets better the older I get. When I was a child I used to write for school assignments, and then throw away what I wrote and write a different, less personal version. I think once you are really determined though you can get over that! I loosened up in one of my english classes in college and actually submitted the first drafts, and now whenever I see the professor around campus I get really shy and want to get away from him because he has read some of my stuff...Its totally irrational, I'm sure he doesn't even remember me...But I can't change how I feel.
 

pipersjo

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
996
Purraise
3
Location
Home of WVU Football!!!!
I wrote a paper during my one of my English classes and my prof wanted to publish it in some kind of short essay collection. TBH, I cannot even remember what it was about but apparently it must have been pretty decent. I always thought I was a horrible writer-- I always got bad grades in writing/English classes until him
.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

nurseangel

TCS Member
Thread starter
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
10,132
Purraise
4,820
Location
1 Happy Place
One of the correction officers at my work got published about a year ago. Now he works on my shift and I think it has renewed my interest in writing. He says he made very little on the book, but I am still inspired.
 

addiebee

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Messages
7,724
Purraise
17
Location
Michigan
I write and edit for a living - corporate work, mostly. But these days, I'm doing much more prospecting than actual work. I started my professional life as a journalist. I love feature writing. A good story still moves me after all these years, although I am feeling rather burned out professionally. My last two contract assignments really took a lot out of me psychologically.

I would love to get into fiction writing; I've been told that I would be good at it, but I have never pursued it. As I push towards 50, I am re-evaluating what to do with the next phase of my life. Heck, with the stock market crash ( and even if it didn't crash), I can't really afford to retire... so....
 

emrldsky

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
2,335
Purraise
2
Location
Nuh uh...might give me away!
I write just about every day at work..oh, you meant for pleasure?


I used to write poems, lyrics, and stuff like that. I haven't written anything in a very long time (several years), but I think it's because I outgrew it. I don't think I was that good anyway.
 
Top