Does anyone here write?

[MrColossal]

I've tried going places to write... There are people that spend hours in coffee shops and all that but I find them MORE distracting than sitting at home with a kitty and some music on.

So I guess what I'm saying is, don't try to force the idea of coffee shop writing if it doesn't work. When I tried it [it wasn't a coffee shop but still] I was all ready to start drawing, had my pad and pencil, sat down, was all prepared but holy crap, people walking around, talking, the door constantly opening and closing. Took all the wind out of my sails and I felt like a fool.

[FSi++]

Does anybody have any of their writing online?  Share it with the rest of us, I wouldn't mind having a butchers.

Can you read Russian? If so, I have some Fallout-inspired crap stories, which I once wanted to translate, but then realized that I don't really give a damn.

[MoodyBlues]

I've written some goofy shorts, four chapters of a science fiction/fantasy novel called The Lonely Planet, and a rather crappy novel about anthropomorphic mice.  I've stored most of the shorts and LP at http://moodyblues.deviantart.com.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I've written, for a period in my life. Occasionally I still do. Very very very short stories, lots of poetry and some dialogs and cutscenes for various games.

But I had to quit. As easy as it is for me to write (and it's always been rather obscenely easy, the hard part isn't *writing*, it's keeping it all in check as you watch your work *grow*), for some reason it's getting to generate a lot of anguish. Dunno why.

[voh]

If you want to read any of my stuff, here's some of my stories

http://www.danwa.net/junk/stories/

Custard, Free and Quite the Fall were actually entries to the writing competitions on here, when they were still held (I miss those immensely, but ya know, not enough entrants, no contest...). Frenzied and Publisher are really short, but they're coffee shop stories. The Awkward Hero is a story which symbolically details my vacation to France. Yeah. Symbolic

Anyway, that's some of my writing. I'm not saying I'm good, I'm saying I'm decent. I'm happy with what I write and if I continue writing I can only get better

[evenwolf]

I've tried going places to write... There are people that spend hours in coffee shops and all that but I find them MORE distracting than sitting at home with a kitty and some music on.

I motivate myself more with a little movement around.   At home, I find I get distracted by the internet or TV but I've done my fair share of work there too.    Usually when I work the hardest at a coffee shop is when I'm "controlling" my surroundings with my ipod.    I'll play music depending on how I feel, sometimes lyrically intensive but usually not.


One interesting note:    mom and pop "hippy" coffee shops are full of LOUD people in my opinion.    People who blab and blab for the sake of blabbing.    I actually enjoy the atmosphere at Starbucks where you have people stopping on the way back from work.

[voh]

We don't have coffee houses here, all we have are coffee shops, and good luck getting a decent cup of joe there (snicker).

Hence why I said I write in a cafe. During the afternoon it's fairly calm there, the coffee is good and the music is louder than anyone there. Also, it's the kind of music I'd listen to on MP3 player anyway, so I don't need to use one.

I think the key is to find a place you're comfortable and not distracted. I had a period where I'd go to the woods and write there. Doesn't do it for me anymore, but just to show that even I've switched to something which works better for *me*. If a coffee house works, that's awesome. If not, at least you'll have tried, and that goes for both coffee houses and whatever place else.

Nobody can tell you the secret of writing, as that's so incredibly personal I doubt any of our (well-meant) advices are going to do you much good.

Other than the following, of course, because it's an absolute truth (and the universe just so happens to agree with me). Write as much as you can, as often as you can, about as many different things as you can.

The only way of becoming a better writer is through writing itself.

Hey, just follow that and you can't really lose, now can ya?

[lo_res_man]

I don't know why but I find Microsoft Word inspiring. unfortunately I don't own a copy, which really sucks because something about it helped me write SOMETHING. Maybe it was the really good spellcheck or the blankness of it all. No distracting pretty colours. Don't know, it just made want to write. Jarte is amazing, but it's not as inspiring for me.
I do have some stories 'published' on elfwood.http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/libr/j/s/jsinc86/jsinc86.html These are the only ones I've really completed ( and two aren't) so phooey. I love writing, I just can never seem to finish stuff or I try way beyond my range. Like a journal type story were a female scientist perfects cloning, and clones herself. How would I know how to write about a pregnant womans anxieties? But that was one of the first stories I ever wanted to write.

[Ghost]

Jarte is amazing, but it's not as inspiring for me.

Though you just dropped the name, I'd like to thank you for pointing me to a word processor that convinced me so totally that an hour after installing, I feel I've used it all my life.

I love writing, I just can never seem to finish stuff or I try way beyond my range...  How would I know how to write about a pregnant womans anxieties?

Interestingly enough, many writers constantly write about stuff that is beyond their range. I remember an article where Stephen King explained that for a short story where a woman kills her man by luring his car into a building site, into some hole, and fills sand into it) he had his brother making him a small model explaining the physics. A trite example, but still: One strength of a writer seems to be the ability to slip into people's skins, understanding situtations, and then sounding as if he's dead right. Of course, in fantasy and scifi, you can usually have it all your way by making up things as you go along. For my IMP story I introduced "ModBots" that are actually nanobots- but since I happen to have not too much of a technical background, I just made something up and presented this as my reality.
As for feelings and emotions, I can defenitely say that up to the age of maybe 18, I've been careless, content and happy, and it shows in my stories. You need to have experienced some anguish to be creative, it seems.

[nick.keane]

I don't know why but I find Microsoft Word inspiring. unfortunately I don't own a copy, which really sucks because something about it helped me write SOMETHING. Maybe it was the really good spellcheck or the blankness of it all. No distracting pretty colours. Don't know, it just made want to write. Jarte is amazing, but it's not as inspiring for me.

You can always download a 60-day trial copy of Word 2007 from Microsoft's website! it contains all the spontaneous inpiration of a thousand wild hogs doused in syrup and sent on a crusade against the pope - viciousocity, devoutness, and bacon for all!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I remember an article where Stephen King explained that for a short story where a woman kills her man by luring his car into a building site, into some hole, and fills sand into it) he had his brother making him a small model explaining the physics.

I believe you mean a man kills another man, who has killed the first man's wife. I recall that article, it might even have appeared on On Writing. Incidently, I've always found that story (Dolan's Cadillac) a brilliant hommage to Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado", but it really bothers me that it's nowhere credited as such. When people hommage and credit, it's an hommage. Hommage without credit (and this kind of hommage, in this context, means "blatantly using the concept, story, almost even the structure and even some lines") is too much like plagiarism.

No distracting pretty colours. Don't know, it just made want to write.

For this reason, I've found that you just can't beat good old pen-and-paper. A killer combination.

[nihilyst]

You can always download a 60-day trial copy of Word 2007 from Microsoft's website! it contains all the spontaneous inpiration of a thousand wild hogs doused in syrup and sent on a crusade against the pope - viciousocity, devoutness, and bacon for all!

Though I own Word 2003, I often just use WordPad. It's simple and clean and doesn't distract me with a million options I don't need.

When I have some time, I'm writing short stories and novels, all being in fantasy or parallel universe settings, mostly adventure stories or thrillers.

[Ghost]

I believe you mean a man kills another man, who has killed the first man's wife.

Ah, my foggy memory again; thanks for clearing that up. Do you by any chance remember the title of that story, too? I just remember it was in one of his short story collections...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Again, Dolan's Cadillac, first story in Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

[Ghost]

Thanks. It was the name of the collection I was after.

[Stupot]

Rui mentioned Stephen Kings On Writing.  I read that about a year ago when I was feeling a bit like I am at the moment.  And it inspired me to really get cracking for a few months, then I lost the enthusiasm again.   Maybe the secret (for me at least) is to just read that book every few months.

Or maybe the lack of enthusiasm is just a sign that I actually don't enjoy writing as much as I would like to think I do, and that I should stop fooling myself and buy some colouring books.

[Redwall]

I haven't read anything by Stephen King except On Writing. Yes, it is great.

I write on a laptop... sitting next to my desktop. I have no idea why, but it helps me focus. Sometimes I take it to a park or something, which I like but I can't usually see the screen well enough to make it worthwhile.

[voh]

Though I own Word 2003, I often just use WordPad. It's simple and clean and doesn't distract me with a million options I don't need.

I can tell you one thing. You haven't used a Word Processor until you've used 2007. It's indeed an inspiring program, and if you make the ribbon disappear until needed, it's not distracting at all. Besides, all the functions are located on exactly the right spot (after a couple of days of acclimatizing).

Honestly, I write with pen on paper or in Word 2007. There simply is no other option anymore

[Tuomas]

I don't know why but I find Microsoft Word inspiring. unfortunately I don't own a copy, which really sucks because something about it helped me write SOMETHING. Maybe it was the really good spellcheck or the blankness of it all.

I know some people who still write with a good old typewriter. This because, I think so too, you might at times write too fast for yourself. I find myself writing faster than I think often. It's like you're getting the ideas from your own text. And most professionals recommend, that you really think before you write anything. Dunno then. Anyway, when I write, i  use OpenOffice writer. Imo, it's the best text editor the computer world has to offer. MSWord just gets me frustrated.


we did have a writing contest at AGS forums. I tried reviving it a few months back, but no-one really expressed their interest in it. I'd love to go about writing again. Sure, a time limit restricts a lot, but the best way to develop is to write write write and write, as much as possible. Same goes to the poetry contest. I mean, at least it'd give some people an inspiration to write.

I often write when I feel bored. In the train or in the army, I would just take my pen, and you know, think of nice things for a while. Then I'd write them down, and yeah, we were supposed to study the bazooka, and I wrote a short story about a river. It was much more interesting. My friends thought I was a weirdo for making so many notes about the bazooka.

Oh, and Voh. Let me know immediately when you get the site up and ready. I'd really like to see something like that and be a member at least (even though it would mean writing in English, unless it would have native language sections too).

[lo_res_man]

How about we have a Writers Club? Instead of a strict contest, we each write something within a certain time limit, maybe even have a  topic, post our pieces, and then discuss them and critique them.  And then we start again.