Who Out There Is Writing A Book?
Howdy fellow Inklings!
Are you writing a book? A series? I wanna know! Why? Just because. I’ve been hanging out in here for a while and am surprised to find just how many aspiring authors there is. I’m something of a writer too. Pretty god-awful at it, but eh. What can you do? Except read and keep on writing. One of the ways I get inspired is hearing about other writers going-ons because it’s always interesting to hear about their own writing rituals. Sort of helps me out in a way. So how about it? Do you write?
• How old are you?
• What genre is you’re story?
• Is it just one book or a series?
• Who’s your protagonist? (Boy? Girl? Age?)
• Where’d the idea for the story come from? (Dream? Daydream? Desperation?)
• Do you outline?
• How far in [the story] are you?
• How fairs the writing so far?
• Are you sharing what you write?
• What inspires you?
• Writers block special remedies?
• Tell me about your writing process. (Where? When? With what? Do you have a very meticulous regimen?
• End this sentence: Writing is…
• And just because – Favorite book? (Just one people; I know it’s Impossibly hard but really Just one. If it’s a series than one in that series)
And just to be fair:
• I’m 25.
• I’m currently delving in youth fiction- fantasy.
• Girl – 14yr
• Desperation – At age sixteen, I thought, “I suck at everything. I ‘should’ write a book.” So I embarked on a labyrinthine journey of deplorable writing and near likely futile dreams. (That was quite a while ago. I love to write)
• Sometimes I outline but mostly I go in it half blind and try and feel my way through.
• Quite far. No completions though.
• I write as often as I can so I think it’s going alright.
• I don’t share what I write. I’ll share my candy with you but my writing is my own until I feel comfortable enough to give someone a peek. (This, among many things, could use some personal growth. It’s actually a good idea to share because then you get feed back.)
• Everything. I read a lot which always gets me wanting to write something of my own. Watching movies and looking out the window is always good too. Dreaming is a definite inspiration. I have very crazy dreams.
• I don’t share the stuff I write which is somewhat of a prophylactic against writers block for me. I don’t know why.
• I write anywhere so I wont forget but in a session (I set up for myself) it’s always the library. I love being surrounded by the sight and scent of hundreds beyond hundreds of books. My Jetstream ball-point pen is my best-friend. My Legal pad with fine lines never falls far behind. My trusty electronic dictionary/thesaurus because I simply adore it. Oh god… Alright. No coffee for me but a water bottle is a must. Soft music sometimes is nice (Mozart or Debussy), but since they frown upon listening outside of your headphones in the library, I usually reserve that pleasure for home. Then, I write.
• Writing is… disparaging at times but rewarding also.
• Yeah just one is hard. But… The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Good Luck on Your Stories!
Me? You want to hear about my story??….OKAY!
Well, I am 18 years old. My story is predominantly fantasy, and as of right now, it’s just one book, although there is potential for it to go into a series. My protagonist looks like she’s about 17, but she’s really several thousand years old (but not a vampire, so everybody calm down). The idea came from my many useless hours of sitting around being awesome.. not really, i don’t just sit around doing that… It was mostly my overactive imagination and a movie that i watched that made me think of things differently. No, sir, i’m not giving away my idea.
Do i outline? Not particularly. I like to know how my story starts and ends, and that’s really it. After that, the only details i go into are character sketches and profiles and histories of other people or places in the story, just so I know how THEY got to where they are in my story. So far i haven’t really just sat down and started writing. Ideas keep floating around in my head, conversations and new details and such. I’m going to do things differently with this story and really plan it a bit more before i delve into writing it. I think that’ll make it easier for me to find the motivation to really get in to it. Does that make sense?
The one part i have written, however, got some good reviews on here. Then again, for all i know all the people on here are 13 year old Twihards with no concept of good or bad writing. Still… praise goes to my head quickly and gives me a buzz. So i’ll say my writing is fair. No point putting myself down, is there? And neither should you. Just assume that you write wonderfully, and maybe you really do.
I can’t really pick one single thing that inspires me to write. Mostly, it’s my own overactive imagination and the fact that i’m artistic, but suck at drawing.
Writers block remedies… movies, books, walking my dog, music, listening to people’s conversations. The usual. Most of the time, i don’t force myself through the block. I just wait for it to pass, or else write a whole lot of nonsense about my writers block. Sometimes that opens me up a bit. I write what i want, when i want. Then again, sometimes i don’t want to. Sometimes the words just fall out and i can’t control them, damn it!
Aaannnddd finally…
Writing is freedom.For me, anyway.
There are no restrictions on your imagination except those that you imagine are there.
And doesn’t that just sound so profound? I might have said something wise…
Oh, and Jecelyn – you like Muse, so i like you on principle. Hysteria is an awesome song, and Muse inspire most of the emotions that i write to. As does Adele, Sarah Blasko and Paramore.
• How old are you?
- 16 years old
• What genre is your story?
- Horror/Fantasy
• Is it just one book or a series?
- I’m not sure just yet. Still working on the one book, but you never know. It may turn out that the story doesn’t end on the last page…
• Who’s your protagonist? (Boy? Girl? Age?)
- There are two protagonists in my story. One boy (age unknown) and one girl (18)
• Where’d the idea for the story come from? (Dream? Daydream? Desperation?)
- Inspired by a book I read about fairies. They seemed like a very interesting thing to write about, except mine are going to be a little on the darker side.
• Do you outline?
- Never. It makes my story feel too forced and then I feel like I lose some flexibility with it when I plan like that. I just go with the flow.
• How far in [the story] are you?
- About 100-150 pages as of right now.
• How fairs the writing so far?
- I was on a roll up until about a month ago. Now everything’s slowed down a bit. The adrenaline rush of a new idea has died down and now I write very little each day. I’m sure things will pick back up again.
• Are you sharing what you write?
- Never, ever, ever. Except with my sister. She’s the only one I trust not to blurb about it and to give me an honest opinion at this point. My parents would just say they love it. My sister points out a sentence and says, “You see that right there? That’s sh*tty writing. Fix it.”
• What inspires you?
- My day-to-day life, actually. It’s quite boring. That boredom leads me to create worlds/people/situations that I don’t face in my real life.
• Writers block special remedies?
- I don’t believe in Writer’s Block. I think it’s a myth born from the uncreative. Sure, everyone hits a wall at some point, but that just shows you who the true writers are. You’ve got the one’s who push through all the crap, and then you’ve got the ones who complain about “Writer’s Block” and never do anything to fix it.
• Tell me about your writing process. (Where? When? With what? Do you have a very meticulous regimen?
- I write when I feel like it. If I’m not in the mood for writing but I do it anyway, my stuff turns out like crap. It ends up horribly written, repetitive, and boring. When I get the little tingle in my fingers and a spark in my head, that’s when I write. I’m only sixteen…I don’t have to make any deadlines, no schedules to keep. As of right now, I write when I want, where I want, and about whatever I want. I have all the time in the world.
• End this sentence: Writing is…
- Writing is my escape.
My favorite book: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
How fairs the writing so far sounds like you overdosed on college Shakespearean courses. Couple of nibbles on NYC literary agents, both wanted first chapter plus one wanted synopsis. My personal belief is LA are better than small publishers because LA is the only route into the big publishing houses. With big houses one gets top notch marketing pros, top flight editors, and name recognition in the literary world. It’s a tough nut to crack, however, it takes an insane amount of determination to land the right agent. Bottom line is fiction is a lot tougher to get published than non fiction. Unless you have racked up an impressive resume of having short stories published in university run lit mags the odds are way against you. Non fiction is easier to get published, still tough however, but big time publishers are looking for creative non fiction with a strong narrative. I’ve been published in big time periodicals but never published a book. Without sounding vain, I’m still hoping.
• How old are you? 40
• What genre is you’re story? YA science fiction
• Is it just one book or a series? One book for now, maybe more if this one gets finished.
• Who’s your protagonist? (Boy? Girl? Age?) 14 year old girl
• Where’d the idea for the story come from? (Dream? Daydream? Desperation?) I really don’t remember. I was about 14 when I first had the idea. It’s mutated a bit
• Do you outline? Only very roughly. My entire novel outline is half a side of A4.
• How far in [the story] are you? About 1/3 of the way through
• How fairs the writing so far? I hope it’s better than fair
• Are you sharing what you write? Only with my husband and kids, who beta-read for me.
• What inspires you? I have no idea.
• Writers block special remedies? Write something different. Normally fanfic.
• Tell me about your writing process. (Where? When? With what? Do you have a very meticulous regimen? I’m a mum. I write where and whenever I get a chance, often while waiting for a kid to do an activity. I don’t have time to demand special conditions. I need a pen and a piece of paper.
• End this sentence: Writing is…something I enjoy.
Favourite book? Lord of the Rings.
* I’m 18.
* Absurdist/Heightened Realism.
* Just the one book for now.
* Many different characters with interweaving stories, each chapter focuses on a different tale within the same city.
* Style is Stream-of-Consciousnesss, so I tend to write down ideas as they come and put them within the story when they fit. Makes for some weird prose.
* No outlining, as I’m largely experimenting with the style at the moment and seeing how well everything runs together when it comes straight from the imagination. I do, however, respect outlining infinitely and believe it provides superior storytelling.
* I’ve just started this project actually. Wish me luck with completing it *rolls eyes at stereotypical writers who never finish anything (of which I am one)*
* I think it’s alright. It’s hard to judge your own work though.
* Yes, with my mentor and my girlfriend.
* Film techniques and Classic Literature.
* Time, really. I tend to go and write something else. It exercises the writing skills while providing relief from a stagnant story.
* I have a large many-paged notebook that I carry everywhere. I usually write wherever, then go back and rework the drafts at home at my desk or in my room. Bed is a nice place to write. I use a cheap blue pen to fill my pages, which generally consist of many crossings out and hideously structured lines that tend to go to hell when I get excited and write in a rush. Nighttime and morning are usually my best writing times, and my process is very little.
* Writing is…good for the soul.
* Favourite Book: “Catch 22″ by Joseph Heller (amazing prose and character interaction, particularly in the chapter ‘The Eternal City’).
I wish you all the best with your book, it sounds like a winner. I look forward to hearing from you as a world famous and widely renowned author ; )
Yours truly,
Fellow Inkling.
• 18
• Fantasy horror
• Right now one book, but it might turn into a series.
• Emmaline J. Graves, a girl who is fifteen.
• Dream, T.V show and then a daydream added onto it.
• Yes I do.
• Fifth chapter.
• How does it go? Pretty bad right now. I’m going to have to edit the crap out of t. Xp
• Not yet. I share when I’m on my second rough draft.
• My mom, my favorite shows, my favorite books, and so on.
• Practicing writing by watching T.V and writing what the characters on the show are doing.
• I write on Microsoft Word, on my Mom’s computer.
• End this sentence: Writing is my second favorite pass time.
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
• Age: 30
• Genres: Sci-fi and paranormal.
• My sci-fi has one sequel, and I haven’t decided for the paranormal.
• Protagonists are a girl, 18, and a boy 19 for all novels.
• Sci-fi idea came from a dream and paranormal idea came from a romance fantasy I have.
• I don’t outline, but I do write a full plot.
• I have the first draft of my sci-fi novel complete. I have about 20% of the sci-fi sequel complete, and I have about 30% of the paranormal complete.
• Writing is okay, but nothing to write home about. I have noticed my writing improving the more I write.
• I won’t share anything until I’ve completely polished the manuscript and then I’ll get feedback.
• My inspiration comes from wanting to tell a darn good story.
• Plan before you write. Inept planning often results in writer’s block, according to writersdigest.com
• I don’t really have a writing regimen. I do try to write something every week and I try to write whether or not I feel like it. When I’m excited about a novel then I write whenever I have an idea for a scene.
• Writing is FUN.
My favorite book is The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.
* 18 years old
* Mixed, really. Fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adventure
* I hope that it will be a series of about 3/4!
* I have two main; a girl named Evelyn Parsons (18 human) and Eran Durance (129 year old Vemalarti/draconus cross from Ferctus. I make up my own parallel world and everything in it–its awesome!)
* My story came from listening to a Muse song, “Hysteria”. I thought: What if you wanted something so badly, but it was out of your reach?
* I find that outlining helps a lot. I like to be organized.
* I’m quite far. I finished the first draft, now i’m just taking my time and going back into it. Its quite long.
*How fair is the writing? That’s up to everyone else to decide, i suppose!
* Sharing it to anyone that wants to read it
* Songs and books that i love. My drive and my overactive imagination!
* To beat writers block, i read a poem. Something like Shakespeare or Milton, to really get that poetic feeling. Writing needs to flow like it. And i listen to music. Sometimes, even taking a coffee break can help.
* My process–i write anywhere, because ideas hit me out of the blue and i cant contain them. But i mostly love to write on my dining room table, much to everyones annoyance because they have to eat on the settee! Haha i also like going to the library.
* Writing is passion. Writing is energy. Writing is life.
* I dont know if i can answer that one! I have so many. But i do have a huge soft spot for the secret garden!
And i really agree with your writing is… comment. It can be a pain, but ver satisfying.
yip, i write, i am 17 years old, and my book is horror.its just one book, my protoganist is a 16 year old guy. i was just typing on the p.c and my story started. i am halfway into my book with 30000 words written so far. the writing is coming on slowly. i share my writing with my girl friend. reading inspires me. i write at home at night or morning. writing is a great way to except this world. have too many favourite books.