# Any Other Writers Here?



## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

With the amount of times I have mentioned that I do freelance writing on this site, I can't believe I never thought to ask this.

Does anyone else around here do creative writing? Personally I do poems, short stories, novellas, screenplays, novels, and even the occasional stage play. Just looking to talk about writing with people...see what kind of stuff they write...maybe even share.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2017)

I keep feeling like I ought to be able to write a novel, but somehow a complete story never seems to come to me.  Just vague ideas.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

Flying Crane said:


> I keep feeling like I ought to be able to write a novel, but somehow a complete story never seems to come to me.  Just vague ideas.


 
Like what?


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> Like what?


Oh, ya know, sci-fi fantasy adventure sword-and-sorcery kind of stuff.  I read a lot of that when I was younger, and a bit more as an adult.  I learned to distinguish the quality stuff from the sea of garbage in that genre.  I get snippets of a scene in my head that I think could read well, but no overall story to tie it all together.  I find that writing dialogue is challenging as well.  A good story cannot simply be narrated, or it will read like a history book.  It has to be told through nuanced dialogue.

A few years ago I did a bunch of research thinking I might write a book on my system of Tibetan White Crane Kung fu.  Life took me in other directions and I never completed it after a brief start.  I still have my sources, tho.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

Flying Crane said:


> Oh, ya know, sci-fi fantasy adventure sword-and-sorcery kind of stuff.  I read a lot of that when I was younger, and a bit more as an adult.  I learned to distinguish the quality stuff from the sea of garbage in that genre.  I get snippets of a scene in my head that I think could read well, but no overall story to tie it all together.  I find that writing dialogue is challenging as well.  A good story cannot simply be narrated, or it will read like a history book.  It has to be told through nuanced dialogue.
> 
> A few years ago I did a bunch of research thinking I might write a book on my system of Tibetan White Crane Kung fu.  Life took me in other directions and I never completed it after a brief start.  I still have my sources, tho.


 
I have had that happen too, and I agree you really need to master dialogue. However, it is also possible to have too MUCH dialogue in a novel.

I mean, to me the whole point of a novel is you can get inside a character's head in a way that you can't in a movie. If a book has too much dialogue, then it might as well be a screenplay.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> With the amount of times I have mentioned that I do freelance writing on this site, I can't believe I never thought to ask this.
> 
> Does anyone else around here do creative writing? Personally I do poems, short stories, novellas, screenplays, novels, and even the occasional stage play. Just looking to talk about writing with people...see what kind of stuff they write...maybe even share.


I used to write quite good poetry. For some reason, it stopped flowing in my 30's. I've written other stuff off and on since then, though most is business-related. I started a fantasy novel some time ago. I have some character work completed, and parts of the plot. I go back to it from time to time (did so this morning), but it never really seems to come together. If I didn't have to work (or worry about not working), I would take a writing retreat to work on it, and either get it moving or figure out it won't work.

My wife is more the writer than I am. She also translates works from Russian to English and illustrates children's books.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> I have had that happen too, and I agree you really need to master dialogue. However, it is also possible to have too MUCH dialogue in a novel.
> 
> I mean, to me the whole point of a novel is you can get inside a character's head in a way that you can't in a movie. If a book has too much dialogue, then it might as well be a screenplay.


Yup, it's a balance that I've not been able to find.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> I used to write quite good poetry. For some reason, it stopped flowing in my 30's. I've written other stuff off and on since then, though most is business-related. I started a fantasy novel some time ago. I have some character work completed, and parts of the plot. I go back to it from time to time (did so this morning), but it never really seems to come together. If I didn't have to work (or worry about not working), I would take a writing retreat to work on it, and either get it moving or figure out it won't work.
> 
> My wife is more the writer than I am. She also translates works from Russian to English and illustrates children's books.


 
That's the hard part for me: admitting when something won't work, especially when I sink a lot of time into it.

I remember writing a novel about a guy who had a complete psychotic break from reality and imagined he was a spy in a James Bond-style movie. It was kind of like my take on DON QUIXOTE, who thought he was a knight but was really just a crazy guy running around with a sword and his little enabler buddy Sancho Panza. The difference in my story is that he wrote his spy adventures in a journal entry.

After a certain amount of time, there would be a narrative break, and a Narrator would enter. The Narrator explained that everything the reader just read was all a crazy man's fantasy. Then the Narrator would go on to explain how he heard about this crazy guy and thought it was an interesting story, so he tracked down the family and asked if they would mind him publishing a book about their relative. They say okay. And the rest is history.

At this point, so is the book, because I could never figure out how to write it. At first I was going back and forth between crazy guy's journal entries and then Narrator explaining what really happened, but that was too boring and long-winded for me. Then I thought, "Hey...maybe write this book as TWO SEPARATE VOLUMES!" One would be the journal, the other would be the Narrator.

In the end, I just abandoned it. Maybe it is a cool idea, but for the moment I don't know what to do with it.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Jan 25, 2017)

I've written a ton of stuff; poetry, short stories, random philosophy theories I've come up with (none of them useful in any way), and the starts of about 3 different stories. For each of them I got 100-200 pages in, then decided to scrap them because I didn't like how they were turning out.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

kempodisciple said:


> I've written a ton of stuff; poetry, short stories, random philosophy theories I've come up with (none of them useful in any way), and the starts of about 3 different stories. For each of them I got 100-200 pages in, then decided to scrap them because I didn't like how they were turning out.



When you say those philosophy theories were useless, I have to ask: who was the judge of that though?


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## wingchun100 (Jan 25, 2017)

I just had an interesting idea....well, interesting to me anyway.

A couple people have already stated they have story fragments. I would like to read a summary of these ideas.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 25, 2017)

I've written a couple of words here and there.


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## Steve (Jan 25, 2017)

Im not too surprised that so many here write for pleasure.   Posting to forums kind of lends itself to that.   

I've written many short stories.   Wrote some poems in college but not great ones.  I wrote a screenplay in 30 days as a part of a challenge similar to nanowrimo.   Considered trying that, but haven't yet.   

I write and edit a lot professionally, so I don't write for fun often anymore.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> I just had an interesting idea....well, interesting to me anyway.
> 
> A couple people have already stated they have story fragments. I would like to read a summary of these ideas.


I'll look. I might even have portions of an outline. I'm not big on outlines, but sometimes I need them to organize my (oh-so-wandering) thoughts.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> I just had an interesting idea....well, interesting to me anyway.
> 
> A couple people have already stated they have story fragments. I would like to read a summary of these ideas.


Give me a couple days to find them, and I'll send you a message with them. What's the idea?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Jan 25, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> When you say those philosophy theories were useless, I have to ask: who was the judge of that though?


I was my own judge, so if your point is I might not be critiquing myself fairly, you are probably right.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

kempodisciple said:


> Give me a couple days to find them, and I'll send you a message with them. What's the idea?


 
The idea was simply to read what kinds of stories other people created. I always enjoy that because it's fun to not be so alone in my writing LOL. Plus you never know...something of yours might spark an idea in MY head. I don't mean stealing of ideas; I mean I might find your idea interesting, and it could my creative juices flowing to come up with something completely different.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

kempodisciple said:


> I was my own judge, so if your point is I might not be critiquing myself fairly, you are probably right.


 
Yes, most writers are their own worst critics.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> Yes, most writers are their own worst critics.


And those few who aren't their own, need one badly.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> And those few who aren't their own, need one badly.


 
Yes, it's kind of like when you meet someone who is really kind, caring, and sweet...and they think they are the worst person possible.

Then you meet the biggest A-hole in the world, and somehow THEY think the world of themselves.

Never understood that. Why do people who are the worst at something (writing, being a human being) think so highly of themselves?


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> Yes, it's kind of like when you meet someone who is really kind, caring, and sweet...and they think they are the worst person possible.
> 
> Then you meet the biggest A-hole in the world, and somehow THEY think the world of themselves.
> 
> Never understood that. Why do people who are the worst at something (writing, being a human being) think so highly of themselves?


The Dunning-Kruger effect, most likely. They don't understand the thing, at all, so they don't understand they're bad at it.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

Interesting. Never heard of that before.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

Aside from the story about the crazy spy guy, I am fortunate in that I am usually able to think of how to tackle  story from start to finish. My problem is not having the time to write all the stories that I have outlined.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> Interesting. Never heard of that before.


The key point in the research findings, relevant to your comment, is that the skill for recognizing competence is the same skill required for competence. So, someone who lacks that skill often won't be able to accurately assess their skill (or someone else's). Think about your Wing Chun. Someone with no relevant training won't be able to do the WC forms, and also won't be able to figure out if someone's forms are any good. Many a beginning student feels they are doing well at something, only to figure out later (when they gain the requisite skill) they absolutely were not.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> Aside from the story about the crazy spy guy, I am fortunate in that I am usually able to think of how to tackle  story from start to finish. My problem is not having the time to write all the stories that I have outlined.


For me, it's probably more a matter of discipline. My mind chases ideas rather readily, so time that's under my control is not usually as organized as I'd like. I may wish to write for 2 hours, but I'll find my mind pursuing ideas (perhaps unrelated) during some of that time, rather than productively writing.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> For me, it's probably more a matter of discipline. My mind chases ideas rather readily, so time that's under my control is not usually as organized as I'd like. I may wish to write for 2 hours, but I'll find my mind pursuing ideas (perhaps unrelated) during some of that time, rather than productively writing.


 
That happens to me these days because I can't figure out which story to work on with my limited time.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> That happens to me these days because I can't figure out which story to work on with my limited time.


At least you seem to be wandering within the confines of "writing". I'll get in the middle of developing some content to train managers on engagement, and find myself working out a teaching exercise for class the next day.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 26, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> At least you seem to be wandering within the confines of "writing". I'll get in the middle of developing some content to train managers on engagement, and find myself working out a teaching exercise for class the next day.


 
We all have our own struggles.


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## Buka (Jan 26, 2017)

I've had a couple of cups of coffee in the writing world, kind of fun. Been procrastinating my behind off since then, with a novel inside my head and plies of notes.

It's just so much easier to NOT write, than write. Especially if you like to read - which I'm guessing most of us do.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 26, 2017)

Buka said:


> I've had a couple of cups of coffee in the writing world, kind of fun. Been procrastinating my behind off since then, with a novel inside my head and plies of notes.
> 
> It's just so much easier to NOT write, than write. Especially if you like to read - which I'm guessing most of us do.


It turns out posting on MT is much easier than serious writing, too. Imagine if I put all those words from my post-whoring to actual literary use!


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## Buka (Jan 26, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> It turns out posting on MT is much easier than serious writing, too. Imagine if I put all those words from my post-whoring to actual literary use!



You know, I never though of that. Considering how much has been written by so many of us...I mean, the sheer volume of a thousand posts. Hmmm.


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## Buka (Jan 27, 2017)

This thread. You guys.

They put me on a remote guard shack post tonight. Sweet, actually, a nice rest, they knew I was hurting. I drafted notes on the novel in my head. Pages of the suckers. Probably never get back to it, probably never think of it again, probably let it wither on the vine. Or...

You guys.


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## wingchun100 (Jan 27, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> It turns out posting on MT is much easier than serious writing, too. Imagine if I put all those words from my post-whoring to actual literary use!


 
I have thought about compiling all the ideas shared in the "No Outside Game" thread into a blog post or article.

Same goes for the notes in the "2 Hour Intro to Wing Chun Class" thread.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 27, 2017)

wingchun100 said:


> I have thought about compiling all the ideas shared in the "No Outside Game" thread into a blog post or article.
> 
> Same goes for the notes in the "2 Hour Intro to Wing Chun Class" thread.


I've borrowed some posts here for my website (with permission from the authors, of course). I need to pay more attention and grab some others.


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## JP3 (Jan 29, 2017)

Bill Mattocks said:


> I've written a couple of words here and there.


I see what you did there, Bill.  if it was intentional.

If not, carry on.

I have to write quite a bit for work, but I did manage to complete a novel.  I've the follow-up going ... but it's stalled out because of the aforementioned work.  I've got a few chapters done and in the post-written, go back and edit to fit what's going forwards stage in a sci-fi/fantasy thing.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 29, 2017)

JP3 said:


> I have to write quite a bit for work, but I did manage to complete a novel.  I've the follow-up going ... but it's stalled out because of the aforementioned work.  I've got a few chapters done and in the post-written, go back and edit to fit what's going forwards stage in a sci-fi/fantasy thing.



One of my good friends is an up and coming sci-fi fantasy writer. We used to room together and we rented office space together once upon a time. He's doing well. Best of luck to you, what a tough game!


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## JP3 (Jan 29, 2017)

Bill Mattocks said:


> One of my good friends is an up and coming sci-fi fantasy writer. We used to room together and we rented office space together once upon a time. He's doing well. Best of luck to you, what a tough game!



Nah, it's not like that. It's a "thing," is all.  When I put my mind into writing, I'm good at it, but I tend to want to do other things with that talent... which relate ina  much more concrete and linear fashion to my account balance.  My wife, you see, absolutely loves long, romantic walks... to the bank. LOL!  I kid, she's not like that at all, it's self-imposed pressure.


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