Writer Sanctum
Writer's Haven => Quill and Feather Pub [Public] => Topic started by: Tonyonline on October 05, 2018, 11:25:53 PM
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I came across this some time back, 22 lessons from Stephen King (https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/stephen-king-22-lessons-creative-writing-advice-novels-short-stories-a8021511.html) and out of the 22, the one that I totally agreed with was number 4. Write primarily for yourself. Because I do...Do you?
The main reason for this post is that for me, writing is more than an outlet. It's almost a continuation of a fact finding journey, and one I want to share. The thing is! I don't want to write non-fiction about the things I've learned along the way because...For one thing, YAWN!
A lot of those things I've learned are scientific theories but I love how they're totally way out there, from multiple universes and parallel worlds, to everyday quantum mechanics that are so damn freaky nothing really compares. Yes! I like deep down freaky stuff...anyhow. To the point.
My horror uses the question of consciousness to drive the book. My next book will question the reality we think we're part of, and I hope to continue using mind bending/twisting facts and theories among a freaky imagination I have to scare people...Hopefully scar their mind...just a little :icon_mrgreen:.
So my question is also...Do you, like me, have a freaky mind that creates the worlds you write about, or do you have a mind that would dearly love to live in the very world you dream up, maybe secretly long to be a character in your book, or, do the things you write about but would never dare do in life!!
Of course! If you secretly desire dungeons and um..stuff...Maybe leave out some of the details grint. And if you write about murder...Maybe don't post at all :police:
I'm interested in the mind of various writers and what makes them and their books...Tick!
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I'm not sure which one of your categories my mind fits in, but I live in a world of what ifs. That question is where most of my stories are conceived. That question can take scientific or fantastical slants, depending on the story. Sometimes both like in my trilogy.
I have found I am interested in beginnings. My most recent YA book looks at the beginnings of for-real "superheroes" in our world and the consequences of it. I'm working on the sequel to that and when I'm done, I'm going to start on my high fantasy series which centers around the beginning of the end, rebirth, and starting a-new...and of course, world building a high fantasy series is all about beginnings and what ifs...plotting out the history of a world from creation up until the main story.
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I spent a year writing Contemporary Romance to try to break in and hopefully make some decent money. I wrote five books in that time. Now I realize that it was a total waste of a year. The books don't sell well. Now I'm back to MG and YA, which is the stuff I write for myself. I'm much happier not desperately trying to write to market. I've lost a TON of momentum and 3/4 of my mailing list. Never again!
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I wrote to market. I did pretty well. Actually, well enough to make it my day job (Yeah, I know this number varies for everyone, but so be it) and then somewhere in the writing of it, I noticed as my series grew longer and longer, I found that I was writing what I wanted the genre to be, not so much what I'd started out writing. There's been this evolution over the books that's been interesting to watch develop, and so very satisfying to write.
The upside of this is that readers followed me on my journey. They stayed with me. I was stunned and humbled. Still am.
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If I were to write just for myself.... I'd probably pants the first 3 chapters of something intriguing then leave it unfinished and move to the next shiny thing. ;-)
My big compromise in "writing to market" is that I finish the books. LOL.
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My big compromise in "writing to market" is that I finish the books. LOL.
Nothing to do with that and not to derail the thread....
But I love your book cover in your avatar. :cheers
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I write primarily for myself. I write the sort of books I enjoy and would like to see more of. Besides, characters occasionally show up on my mental doorstep and want me to tell their stories.
I don't necessarily want to live in the worlds I write about though, because many of them aren't very nice places.
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Totally for myself...and the reader, if that makes sense. I don't write to market or any of that, but I love to write stories. So, I do.
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Totally for myself...and the reader, if that makes sense. I don't write to market or any of that, but I love to write stories. So, I do.
Exactly :clap:
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These days I write for myself, with an eye cast to some dedicated readers. The vomit draft is all mine, every horrible word of it; the rewrites I keep the readers in mind, especially the few who have stuck with me all these years.
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I write for myself. I don't actually enjoy writing for its own sake; I'm not one of those people who would be happy writing anything as long as it meant they could work as a writer. I started writing specifically to tell a certain kind of story that I wanted to tell, the books I wanted to read but had a hard time finding. I figure if I want to read them, then maybe there are others who want to read them too. So it's more correct to say I write for myself and readers like me.
However, this:
These days I write for myself, with an eye cast to some dedicated readers. The vomit draft is all mine, every horrible word of it; the rewrites I keep the readers in mind, especially the few who have stuck with me all these years.
The story is all for me, but the craft is to hopefully make it readable and enjoyable for others.
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Totally for myself...and the reader, if that makes sense. I don't write to market or any of that, but I love to write stories. So, I do.
I agree with this completely. I write for myself, but the fact that other people enjoy my brand of nonsense is just icing on the cake. :icon_mrgreen:
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I write for my readers. I love seeing them happy with my books.
That being said, I don't write anything that isn't something I also love. It's just serendipitous that what I write is what some people like to read.
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I write for peanuts.
Oh, who?
Okay.
I write for my cat. So he can eat. It's not working out. He doesn't like peanuts.
:catrun
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The story?
I like coming of age stories because young people tend to do dangerously stupid stuff for what seems like totally rational reasons. I start with a setting and character, release the parking brake and then see where it goes. If that makes sense. I just try to keep it as real and believable as possible along the way.
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I write for myself and hope that readers will like what they read and go on to read other books in my catalogue.