Something "The Social Spot" has done for me

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 11:03 AM

I didn't list "writing" as a hobby in my "Hobbies" thread, but I used to write a lot just for enjoyment. I participated on a writing board, wrote short stories, and some humorous pieces for contests, and I spent time critiqueing other writers and their pieces. I really enjoyed that.

About 6 or 7 years ago, I just seemed to run out of ideas, so I stopped participating there. I also took the first job I had with my current company, and my positions with this company have required a certain amount of technical writing. I thought maybe I didn't write because the technical writing used my literary energy. I enjoy the research and publishing, and even working with the editors when I'm preparing to publish, but it's just not like the creative pieces.

I think I just needed to interact with more, and different interesting people. It's coming back. I've enjoyed the writing here, but most of it hasn't been stories like I would normally write. However; interacting with you guys has stirred a few ideas, and a renewed interest in writing.

I went back to the writing site this morning, and posted a humorous article in a contest. I LOVED writing it. After posting it, I went to two stories by younger aspiring writers and read and critiqued. Their stories are not the type of stories I write, but I liked what they were doing. They had good ideas, but lacked in understanding the mechanics of how to build the suspense, or of how to bring things out in their setting. I spent about an hour giving critiques to help them with that, and they responded almost immediately understanding what I was saying, and wanting to go back and edit their stories with what I was trying to teach them. I LOVED IT!

I have a couple of longer works in progress. One is about 7 years old, and I've never gotten past about 10 chapters in first draft. The other is only about 3 months old and started with a dream. It is about 6 chapters along. The problem with it is that the dream set a great setting, and a great idea, but past the main character, it gets into a type of writing I've never done before, and I haven't been able to decide how to move the story along there because I can't figure out the details to make it not be cheezy ... It's part mystery, and that part has me mystified still.

But you've reawakened a love that has been dormant for the last 6 years. Just the light hearted fun on here has made me think, and has inspired new ideas. I don't know if I'll ever get those two novels finished (and publishing isn't really the goal, although it would be nice ... ), but I'm definitely back with the short story and humorous pieces, and with being able to share what I've learned with younger writers.

I never dreamed of that effect when I came here, but you guys are a lot of fun, and I guess I'd have to say you're inspirational. I've seen others here who are writers by hobby or otherwise. I know I'd like to see more of what you write, too.

lovesherman · 05-05-2012, 11:11 AM

So cool. I love your posts, shy_guy, and I don't mind that some are very looong! We never know where inspiration will come from.

Almostrecovered · 05-05-2012, 11:16 AM

I used to blog but it was so time consuming, had some great posts though both serious and funny

Gaia · 05-05-2012, 11:37 AM

We should make a story thread and post a bit of our work up!!

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaia

We should make a story thread and post a bit of our work up!!

Do we have enough long readers here? I'm game if others would be interested.

The only thing to caution people about is that if you post a story here that you've published elsewhere, you will give your identity away because the text is searchable.

But I'd be up for a story thread if others would like to participate in that.

Dollystanford · 05-05-2012, 11:48 AM

need a proof reader!! me me me!!!

then when you're famous you can dedicate your books to 'dollystanford off the internet'

Gaia · 05-05-2012, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shy_guy

Do we have enough long readers here? I'm game if others would be interested.

The only thing to caution people about is that if you post a story here that you've published elsewhere, you will give your identity away because the text is searchable.

But I'd be up for a story thread if others would like to participate in that.

I wouldn't post an entire story here... if I've had it published elsewhere.... but i would make a short one up for others to read for free. That or post like a paragraph or five of one I'm working on.....

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 11:59 AM

Dolly Stanford is such a cool name it may actually have to be a character in one of my stories sometime

.

Proof reading aside, having someone from the opposite gender sanity checking your characters is a very good thing. I know I cannot write from a woman's viewpoint, so when I need to include it, I will usually write from the viewpoint of a man who is observing the woman. I can do that. I've read some women who try to write a chapter or two from a man's viewpoint and ... wel ... it's almost always obvious that a man didn't write that, the character, while having a man's name, isn't really a man

.

In the 3 month old book I was talking about, I couldn't avoid writing some parts from a woman's viewpoint because she is telling part of her history. Even though I am writing from the viewpoint of a man, when the woman is telling her story, it has to come from the viewpoint of a woman. I've had both of my daughters be my sanity checker on that, and, although they're not writers, they did a great job of helping me develop a real female character.

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaia

I wouldn't post an entire story here... if I've had it published elsewhere.... but i would make a short one up for others to read for free. That or post like a paragraph or five of one I'm working on.....

Then the poster should include a comment to say whether he/she is looking for critique public or private, or not at all. We couldn't really stop someone from commenting publicly if they wanted to, but most of the friendlies on the site would probably honor the wishes for public/private or not at all.

Public comments might be helpful for the ones who read but don't post themselves since it might get into mechanics.

Gaia · 05-05-2012, 12:03 PM

I actually have a male character I've been writing about so that sounds like a great idea!! I'd love to see if it really does appear to be from a mans point of view or... a womans.... I try to exclude my own feelings and thoughts when creating a character and instead try to put myself in their shoes...

Gaia · 05-05-2012, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shy_guy

Then the poster should include a comment to say whether he/she is looking for critique public or private, or not at all. We couldn't really stop someone from commenting publicly if they wanted to, but most of the friendlies on the site would probably honor the wishes for public/private or not at all.

Public comments might be helpful for the ones who read but don't post themselves since it might get into mechanics.

I agree with that... although I welcome any comments on anything I post..

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaia

I actually have a male character I've been writing about so that sounds like a great idea!! I'd love to see if it really does appear to be from a mans point of view or... a womans.... I try to exclude my own feelings and thoughts when creating a character and instead try to put myself in their shoes...

It'd be a good idea I think.

There's something else a perspective from the opposite sex can do and that's catch different perceptions. In one of my stories, I wrote from a man's viewpoint, and the man was older than one of the female characters. When I put his emotion into the story, I intended him to have paternal feelings toward the younger female character. However; both of my daughters saw that as an emotional affair which would have screwed up the whole story ... I had to back up and re-think how to approach that so that it wasn't so easily viewed as an emotional affair by female readers. I didn't see that one coming.

Your comment about the feelings reminded me of a question. Do you have physical reactions to your writing? The reason I ask: I have to really put myself into the situation I'm writing about, as I'm sure most writers do. Most of my stories involve strong emotions throughout most of the story, and I get into the story I'm writing enough that I really feel those emotions while I'm writing. I can build the emotions in the story, but I find when I'm writing on one of those strong emotional sections of the story, after an hour or two, I have a really bad headache ... it's just because I'm so emotionally into the story.

Gaia · 05-05-2012, 12:29 PM

Yes actually I do... with certain parts I feel it requires that particular feeling/emotion to actually be able to express it vividly when writing so sometimes I've gotten headaches, other times headaches and or muscle aches ect. Of course with kids it's been hard to fully concentrate so I haven't written anything for about four years now. The book I do plan on working on now is easier for me considering it doesn't have any characters or storyline.. it's just me expressing my views on a certain subject.

Browncoat · 05-05-2012, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shy_guy

Do we have enough long readers here? I'm game if others....

Ugh that was too long, could you cliff notes the rest of that please?

Seriously though, I'd be willing to read if you want another set of eyes. I'd encourage you though shy_guy to keep your work exclusive to just the folks you want to collaborate with. No need to risk plagiarism.

My wife is also an English Lit. grad, and she is actually quite interested in becoming a proof reader to earn some extra money on the side. She really is quite amazing. I've written a number of papers and documents as part of my job, though I'm not a writer by trade. She's really helped me craft those documents into something extraordinary.

shy_guy · 05-05-2012, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Browncoat

Ugh that was too long, could you cliff notes the rest of that please?

Seriously though, I'd be willing to read if you want another set of eyes. I'd encourage you though shy_guy to keep your work exclusive to just the folks you want to collaborate with. No need to risk plagiarism.

My wife is also an English Lit. grad, and she is actually quite interested in becoming a proof reader to earn some extra money on the side. She really is quite amazing. I've written a number of papers and documents as part of my job, though I'm not a writer by trade. She's really helped me craft those documents into something extraordinary.

Good thought for anybody on here. As for me, I won't post anything that I might use elsewhere. What I would post here is actually publicly available already or else something I would make publicly available. I would describe what I'm doing with the writing, though.

I had to take technical writing as part of an engineering degree, but I never took a college level creative writing class. I have actually had one book that interested a literary agent. She assigned an editor to work with me to tidy it up. In the end, though, she couldn't find a publisher who would buy it. That was my only "close call." But I learned a number of techniques from the time working with that editor, and I experimented with different ways to use those in my short stories. Almost all of the ones I have publicly posted have an experiment with one of those techniques. I was looking for the reactions from other writers to my experiments when they offered critiques ... I didn't tell them what I was experimenting with, though. I know the reactions from those other aamateur writers, but I haven't been back with an editor in the novel industry to test out whether an editor finds the delivery better.

It would be very interesting to see what someone with your wife's training would think of our writing, though ... as if she has nothing else to do, right?