Writing

[Chanak]

I'm not sure if this thread will go anywhere, but I've been looking over the story threads here on the forum, and wanted to make a place where we could talk about the ups and downs of writing stories if we wanted to. This is NOT a story thread, so don't post any stories in here.

I've been writing for years now. I'm self-educated and self-motivated, having grown comfortable with word-crafting over time. Story writing to me is 5 parts inspiration, 20 parts frustration, and 10 parts mechanical inclination (yeah, that totals 35, but who cares ). Oral story telling is much different than writing, to be sure...being a good story teller in no way prepares you to be a good story writer. It is possible to be both, or either one. When the mood strikes me I can spin a tale to an audience, but for the most part I am a writer, tinkering around with words at my own pace in solitude.

Think of the wizards in D&D...poring over spellbooks, filling their minds full of runes and forgotten languages. That is the realm of the writer. Why do wizards do that stuff? Well, all I can think of is that they are driven to do it. Same with writing. Anyone can write if they learn how, but not everyone will be a writer. It takes stubborness and insane dedication like those fantasy wizards in order to keep doing it. Sometimes, I get tired of it and take a break, but it always lures me back.

Maybe we can start this off by asking a question: why do you write?

My answer: I am drawn to do it like a moth to a flame. Something about being totally in control of something that *I* am making, where I make the rules, is irresistable to me. I am mechanically inclined but don't care to mess around with engines. Math is at once fascinating but incredibly boring. I just have this unquenchable desire to create, and writing fulfills this desire like nothing else can.

[dragon wench]

*smiles* Interesting question...

I am propelled to write for various reasons, and my general emotional/mental state will dictate the shape my writing takes.
Sometimes writing is a powerful release... I will have a huge mess of stuff swirling about inside that I simply need to get out. In this case my writing is a form of processing, and becomes largely therapeutic in nature.
Other times I am in a mischievous mood.. and well.. no knowing what might happen then..
Or I simply want to create a world in which I have a sense of control, a place that I can build as a stage director brings into being a play.

[Sytze]

Why do I write?

I think I've only got one reason for that:
To create my own world, fantasy and surroundings. I'm starting to write my own story now, and I'm also wondering if I'm actually able to write, without using too much of other people's ideas.

[The Z]

No idea. There's just something really charming and fascinating about writing that I can't put a finger on. It's an output for creativity/imagination.

[Magus]

I'd have to agree with most of what Chanak says. But what keeps me at it isn't really just stubborness. It's the great feeling I sometimes get when I've finished something I'm really proud of, that feeling of accomplishment that tells me I've done something worthwhile. That's what keeps me coming back. For me, the hardest part about writing is getting started. Each and every time I sit down at the keyboard, the struggle begins anew.

Though I might point out that I prefer writing with others. It helps break it up into manageable pieces, and we draw inspiration from each other that helps keep the words flowing.

[Chanak]

Originally Posted by dragon wench

*smiles* Interesting question...

I am propelled to write for various reasons, and my general emotional/mental state will dictate the shape my writing takes.
Sometimes writing is a powerful release... I will have a huge mess of stuff swirling about inside that I simply need to get out. In this case my writing is a form of processing, and becomes largely therapeutic in nature.

These same variables also affect my writing, though I find if I'm swept up by powerful emotions or circumstances, I tend to write poetry. Otherwise, it isn't until after the fact as I scan over my work, proofreading and gauging the overall flow of the story, that I will see an underlying symbology which possesses a deeper meaning. I create this framework quite subconsciously. In my poetry, it is conscious (and requires more effort for me to express)...but in my stories, it is subtle and right under my own nose.

Other times I am in a mischievous mood.. and well.. no knowing what might happen then..

Squirrel transmogrifications?


@Magus: It wasn't until I joined the Dark Flames group on the SYM forum that I began to write with others. As a result I became quite close with some of the other members, such as dragon wench, Yshania, Tlainya, and Scayde. It was a big adjustment for me, to be sure, but an invaluable experience I'll never forget. I was doubtful that I could pull it off successfully...after all, my writing can be pathological after a fashion. Usually when the Muse speaks to me, I isolate myself, become oblivious to the world outside of my own mind, and suffer from intense moodiness. Becoming part of the DFs changed that, though I will still isolate to some degree. I now find I can cooperate with other writers, as long as I diligently work at it.

[Magus]

@Chanak: The symptoms sound familiar enough. Like you, I think I've gotten a bit better than I used to be. But I admit I've never had trouble writing with others, though that might have to do with the fact that I started out writing with others here, just about four years ago. I find it much harder to write by myself, really. The first and last independent short story I wrote was probably the hardest thing to write I've ever done, though I'm proud of the results.

I do find it strange to go play actual pen-and-paper D&D after doing these stories for a while. You get used to doing whatever you want without regard for..."rules."

[Chanak]

@Magus: The mind is a terrible thing to taste, to quote the band Ministry. How interesting and confusing it can be. I find if I begin a story with a solid concept in mind and a certain outline, I struggle and feel stifled. Something about them rules...I normally fly by the seat of my pants, and wing everything. That is where I flourish.

Kyrilon Z54 is a good example of winging it. It's the first "sci-fi" story I have worked on to date. I'm finding it somewhat difficult to avoid cliches as I move the protagonist out into the thickening plot. The spectre of the cliche looms over my shoulder as I envision the world outside of his antiseptic womb of machine-honed efficiency. Thinking about it, I rather enjoyed the Stasis Area, and fooling around with the Central Consciousness - Hal 9000 with a heart.

[Luis Antonio]

I write because I exist. I write to free some of my most inner desires. Call me a dumb person, but I'd love to have the oportunity of space conquest, and the spellcasting habilities, and everything every human person dreams here and there.

Writing is the art to create and destroy worlds.

Writing is power.