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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 1:54am
Post #1 of 66
(1838 views)
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So, I know that quite a few of out fellow TORnsibs are very gifted wordsmiths. I also know that some are published authors. There are also many poets and bards among us. So I wondered just how many of them there are, and what kind of literary artists there were.
I'll start.
I mostly dabble, with bursts of activity and inaction. Lately I've been more active than not, and I am hoping to finishing my first project in the near future.
I mostly write Fiction. My main muse is in the Medieval Fantasy strain, but I my projects range anywhere from a Contemporary novel, to Children's Literature, to Science-Fiction-- I write whenever I am inspired by something. I also toy with poetry in various forms, but mostly for special occasions, or when asked.
(This post was edited by dernwyn on Jul 22 2014, 1:04pm)
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 22 2014, 2:24am
Post #2 of 66
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I write Hobbit fan fiction for now
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I've done a one shot, started another (but had to sideline that because apparently I can't do two at once), and I have about 275,000 words or so (I have author's notes that add on word count, so actual count is about that but it shows almost 300,000) on my big one (posted in fan art forum).
I've also written poetry (free verse mostly), and have dabbled in original fiction. Longest thing I'd ever written, other than my fan fiction, was an original fiction work that's about 30,000 words so far. However, I started that when I was about 13, and I don't know if I will finish it. It's not a bad premise, but as I've gotten older and more mature in my writing I've seen many things about it that drive me nuts.
I do hope to self publish a novel someday, but my writing time is quite limited as is. I haven't updated my fan fiction in over three weeks, and am very busy with my gardening, sewing, canning, yardwork, etc.
But someday, when my fan fiction is finally finished, I will try to start an original fiction piece to self publish through lulu.com.
I suppose that fan fiction is one way to practice writing skills on a subject I'm passionate about (and I research very carefully for), and it allows for feedback from readers that help future writing endeavors. I think it's not only a way to enjoy Tolkien's world even more, but also get good practice for when the time comes to write my original fiction novels (and research for them, as I prefer historical fiction).
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Elizabeth
Half-elven
Jul 22 2014, 5:51am
Post #3 of 66
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Writing well is an important skill for anyone.
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Most of my career was in the computer software business. I wrote proposals, reports, technical papers, and several technical books that are still available on Amazon (in addition to writing a great deal of software). Many programers and engineers think that writing prose isn't relevant to their jobs, but if you can't present your project effectively, your company and career will suffer.
Since being retired, I still write grant proposals for charities I work with, and articles for my church.
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Arannir
Valinor
Jul 22 2014, 7:35am
Post #4 of 66
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... and at least one major project is kind of finished.
Not quite ready to have "my heart shot at" yet, though ;)
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Angharad73
Rohan
Jul 22 2014, 8:52am
Post #5 of 66
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Mostly. There's a bit of fan fiction in this as well, and I have tried to write some nonfiction, too.
As far as my exploits in writing fiction go, I used to write historical fiction, and now I'm writing some Fantasy, mainly aimed at younger readers (I started this for my daughter). In fact, I am preparing the first of my 'Dragon Tales' for publication through Createspace, although I am getting pretty nervous about that.
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 12:35pm
Post #6 of 66
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In school, my parents never settled for any bad grade in Maths or English.
'You'll use them for the rest of your life! History and Science, just pass those--unless you want to be a scientist or historian-- but you will do well in Maths and English'.
If you can't count or communicate, you will be very hampered in life, indeed!
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 12:41pm
Post #7 of 66
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That is a lot of work for a fanfic! You must really enjoy it!
I've dabbled, (Not terribly seriously), in poetry. Mainly in short nonsensical verses such as this:
The Mother and the Moose
A mother and a moose were in a papoose
But Oh, no! One screw is loose.
So the mother and the moose fall out of the papoose
All because one screw was loose
People say something about poetry or someone mentions that I write, then they ask me to read something, so I usually make up something like the above sample on the spot! It usually puts them into a good mood for anything else I might say. 
Lately though, I've been interested in alliterative verse. In some ways, I think the internal rhyme works better than rhyming lines.
Good luck to you!
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 12:43pm
Post #8 of 66
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Fortunately, I have a writer in the family, and she is giving me pointers. I also know a couple of other writers and editors personally, so I can gradually screw myself up to take the plunge once I finish.
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DanielLB
Immortal
Jul 22 2014, 12:44pm
Post #9 of 66
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But not in the form of literature or prose which you might be getting at.
I write a lot of computer code, mainly for visualising data, as well as running my model. And I do a lot of writing, for the main body of my thesis.
I'm a second author on a paper and that has just been accepted and peer-reviewed. That should be published any day now.
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 12:45pm
Post #10 of 66
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I find that I enjoy more literature aimed at younger audiences. It seems like they are more relaxed and are not trying too hard to write a best-seller. It feels more natural and smoothly written.
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Jul 22 2014, 12:46pm
Post #11 of 66
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I have since quite early on. Unfortunately I have a bad habit of not finishing what I start, so I've only seen a couple of longer things till the end (which still leaves them light years away from being ready as I tend to get caught up with new projects before I have the time to give the old ones the polishing they need). Lately, I've been writing quite a lot of poetry, which is quite new to me; I've also tried my hand in drama, but where my heart truly lies is in prose, be it either realistic stories set in the present day or tales of fantasy. I'm not a publish author of fiction nor do I believe I'm ready for that just yet; I'm still practicing, developing my skills, getting to know my writer-self, while hoping I'll be able to really call myself that one day.
As a student of literature, I've also done my fair share of writing about literature, though I'm still an amateur when it comes to book reviews (I only had my first published last month).
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 12:49pm
Post #12 of 66
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Maybe I should get a mod to add another option for you then! We can't leave out the (in?)famous DanielLB, Protector of the Purse, Spokesman for the Sack, and Tireless defender of the rights of all money carriers to be heard!
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Escapist
Gondor
Jul 22 2014, 1:08pm
Post #13 of 66
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I write for mental / emotional well being mostly.
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I like storytelling in a wide variety of media or forms ranging from simple written stories, to poetic or artistic forms and even games.
I have a horrendous habit of continuously editing stuff. This combined with the scope of what I am trying to do in my personal story-telling project leads to things not getting done. I think I might have time left, though. I can see significant progress has been made so far. I can also see a game plan for making sure to make time for the project in the future.
However, at this point in time, I kind of have shifted priorities into finding more regular employment and hopefully moving and putting in extra time to have a good start in a new position. It's teaching that I'm aiming for which means summers off for the most part - and other holidays.
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 1:23pm
Post #14 of 66
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Finishing is the hardest part. I've learned that I have just got to stick with it, but it is hard. Good luck to you too!
Book reviewing. Wow! I know I can spell-check and improve grammar, but my hat is of to you for doing a whole book!
(This post was edited by Rembrethil on Jul 22 2014, 1:25pm)
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 1:36pm
Post #15 of 66
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I started writing during my oldest daughter's Junior year
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I had 5 kids in 4 schools, I was always in my car or between things waiting. The next year was going to be a banner year - oldest graduating, youngest starting elementary school... I started writing during those in-between times and found it helped get all my thoughts straight. It ended up being about following your dreams.
Since then I've written two stories (novels) that popped into my head during the strangest times - one was when I was crossing the Bay Bridge in Maryland during the build up to a hurricane. I got across just in front of them closing it due to high winds and rain. I crossed it with the windows open because... I don't know why. But it was exhilarating! The second started as a Toasted Cheese contest short story that I expanded into a longer piece.
So now I have 3 "novels" in various states of deshabille, waiting for their next chance to traipse through my brain. I have yet to tame any one of them into anything publishable but I haven't lost hope. 
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 1:36pm
Post #16 of 66
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I've written at times of emotional unrest, and found that it can be very liberating. Not anything to win an award, but it helps me remember what I was thinking/feeling at the time, and sort out my thoughts.
My internal editor will never be satisfied either, so I have had to find someone else to edit my work after a few drafts--that way I won't go back and re-write everything 500 times. Sometimes, by forcing myself to stop editing, and to lightly sketch the story ahead in a rough draft, it made the whole thing easier to edit. It gaves me a broader view of the story and better ideas for development.
Sadly, I don't have as much chem as I used to, either... If I had those high-school years back, knowing what I do now...  Yeah, prep for school and work are eating up a lot of time, but I still like to take an hour or two to add a few touches to my stories, when I can.
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 1:41pm
Post #17 of 66
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Those ideas come from nowhere, right?
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If only I could find that marvelous Land of Inspiration ideas, I'd be finished in no time!!
It's an up and down process for me. I'm on a down hill slope of inspiration now, but I know I'll have to work to plod up the next hill soon. It's all still very fun though, and the stories that come out of it are just the kind of tales I like to read!
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Jul 22 2014, 2:02pm
Post #18 of 66
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The one I got crossing the bridge made me think about how I feel better around water and how my friend needs to be landlocked before she is comfortable. I got this idea about a girl who could "read" these innate tendencies, kind of like auras, except I called them coronas. It's a work in progress.
I've written a couple short stories for Toasted Cheese. Two of them made the top five and I consider that a major accomplishment considering the other 4 winners were all published writers. For those contests, you have 48 hours to write a mystery story of a certain word count length and you are given a prompt at the opening of the contest to include in your story. The last was a lot of fun - a limerick by Edward Lear about killing someone with a fork. Mine was about a tuning fork. I found that a prompt like that can jumpstart my imagination really well.
(This post was edited by Dame Ioreth on Jul 22 2014, 2:03pm)
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Annael
Immortal
Jul 22 2014, 2:38pm
Post #19 of 66
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I make my living as a writer. For years I was a science/technical writer. I contributed to two books but most of my stuff was written for various companies & I was rarely credited. Had a few articles published and wrote some health columns for the Idaho Statesman when I was living in that state. Then I went back to school, and since then I have published a couple of essays and now I have a book coming out on the heroine's journey, and two more books in the "thinking about" stage.
Lately I've been dabbling a bit with writing fiction, but only for myself so far.
(This post was edited by Annael on Jul 22 2014, 2:44pm)
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Annael
Immortal
Jul 22 2014, 2:43pm
Post #20 of 66
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It's necessary to shut up that internal editor
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I do fix a few things as I go, but I've become pretty good at saying "I'll come back to this" and letting myself go ahead and get the words on paper while they are flowing. After all you CAN always go back later. And I do - my main problem is saying "okay, I'm done, no more finessing" or I'd keep rewriting forever.
Think of Tolkien, who rewrote the entire book "backwards" after he got it all down. Worked for him!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 22 2014, 3:59pm
Post #21 of 66
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for groups for which I volunteer, and brief introductions for musical pieces for a local community band.
I also write documentations and technical explanations in such a way that they can make sense to non-techie readers.
But it takes me a long time to write, I've always had trouble getting words to come together in a fluid fashion. The most dreaded thing a teacher could say when I was going to school was "Essay test"; I just cannot gather thoughts and co-ordinate them in a limited amount of time!
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Jul 22 2014, 4:11pm
Post #22 of 66
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Oh no, now you're giving me too much credit
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I meant book reviews written for media outlets, not editing. Sorry for the confusion.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 22 2014, 5:35pm
Post #23 of 66
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but not all the time. I am very descriptive, both in poetry and in writing, and for poetry I usually reference the beauty found in nature in my writing. And my poems tend to be long, rather than short.
Nonsensical definitely, but not bad at all for on the spot!
Yes, I do love writing, and enjoy my fic. Real life keeps me very, very busy though, so I don't update as often as I used to (I used to update every day, then every other day, but since I started the wedding quilt that's due in December and spring planting and such, it's gone down to where I'm lucky if I post within four weeks  ). And it's nowhere near done- part 1 almost is, and it's going to be at least three, if not four, parts.
But I do love it, though it grates on my nerves when people give fan fic a bad name, because I've read some truly incredible fics (though I will admit that probably 75% of them suck). And I want to make sure that its clear the world presented is Tolkien's world, and not some Disneyfied facsimile of it, which is why I research everything I can, both in the movies and books, and combine elements in a way that makes me feel as though it's his world. When you write about a different time period in history, or a different world, you really have to do research to get your facts straight and understand it. It will come across while reading if you don't, and read a lot better if you do, IMO. I prefer immersion style storytelling; when a lot of readers have commented that they feel like they're really there, I know I've succeeded in that
I certainly feel immersed when I read LOTR/watch the movies. So I feel that immersion style is the best way to present Tolkien's world too. To write a good fan fic, you must understand the author and the world he created, I think. That's where many fics go wrong- they don't understand it.
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Escapist
Gondor
Jul 22 2014, 6:03pm
Post #25 of 66
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I was just telling someone that I should do the same.
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It does wonders for dealing with stress.
I don't know if I will be able to clear my mind enough with significant enough depth until I have settled in a new situation. The process is taking more time than I thought, partly because of the number of vacancies and interviews I would up with. I am hoping that will settle down real soon now, but then the thing will be adjusting to a new job and moving. I will certainly get back to it but I think it is worth waiting for a time when I can really do it without feeling forced.
edit: I guess that is the beauty of not having an editor to answer to right now outside of myself! I think the whole thing will eventually be in a form that could be submitted for editing, but it's just not ready yet. There has to be enough key features and clear and settled decisions, I think, first. Otherwise it becomes more a matter of finding a "ghost writer" than an "editor".
(This post was edited by Escapist on Jul 22 2014, 6:05pm)
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