Writing

[Solstice]

I noticed no one posted a thread about writing and obviously if you role-play you enjoy writing. So when did you start and do you think you've improved? Do you enjoy writing whether it be an actual story, poems, songs, fanfics, or role-playing?

I've been writing since I was about 5. I used to go to my great grandmas house and I'd write up childish stories that I read to her before we went to bed. She always inspired me to write and draw but writing flows with me better. I can think up a plot in a matter of seconds. I've been role-playing for about four years now. In fifth grade on my NYS test I scored the highest score in my school for writing/reading. I've had poems published and I've been recently working on a story that I actually find interesting and usually I hate my work. :-p So far it's eighteen pages and counting and I assume it'll end around 22-25. :nod:

[Angel Eyes]

Oh, I love writing, it's my passion and my gift. And it's saved me through so much, because it's my outlet, when I need to let off some steam.

I've been writing since I was 13, at first, they were really cheesey random stories and now, my stories are much more focused, and have plots and everything. I have gotten such good reviews on my work, it makes me want to keep writing. I have tons of notebooks of stories, and plus I have a good handful on my computer.

I'm not to good with poems/songs, but when I get a feeling, I just start writing and my poems come out so good. And I've actually written a song and go so many good feedback from it. It's an amazing feeling.

[Subversive Beauty]

This is a bad question to ask me. ^_^ I guess the right answer would be as soon as I could hold a pencil. Even before I could technically write, I would sit at my brother’s desk and scribble on a piece of paper. Then I’d rush out to the living and “read” my story to my parents. Basically, I was writing before I could write.

Afterward, I’d always spend my free time jotting down little stories. When you’re 6 those stories were usually about me and my friends. I still remember one that I turned in to my First Grade teacher Mrs. Moeser. It was about all my friends being princesses and being captured by an evil Sauron like character (blame my parents for reading LotR to me as a little kid). All the knights were useless, so I had to go save them. In retrospect, it was lame, but pretty awesome for a little kid.

Then, in the fourth grade I had the world’s best teacher (who I’m still blessed enough to have as a close family friend). She got the idea to do a little experiment on me, because she’d heard about how many stories I’d turn in for writing assignments. For the first three quarters of the year she gave me my first B ever – in writing! I was devastated, but she told my mom at the time that I deserved an A and she wanted to see if I could actually try harder and get better. And I did. ^_^ So you all can blame her for my full-blown obsession with writing.

Middle school went by, writing as normal. There was nothing so spectacular. But it’s also where I found role playing. My first online RP was a PBEM (play by email) called Imperial Secrets. It was an 18+ game, but I hadn’t read the rules and submitted and application anyway. I was only 12. But the owner of the game let me play as long as I didn’t reveal my age to anyone because my character’s biography and my writing sample were so strong. I still remember that character and game. ^_^ And all of the crazy fun it was. It makes me miss PBEMs.

Fast forward a little bit to High School, especially after I moved from New York to North Carolina. I started writing fanfiction, because I was a little anime obsessed at the time. I took a creative writing class, which was all right. But I was something of a local favorite for my fanfics. Looking back, it was kind of embarrassing to go through that crazy teen stage, but it was pretty normal. Some of the pieces are absolute trash, but a couple I still have and enjoy for what they are.

I didn’t find message boards until I came to college. It made me rediscover role playing in a written form. My first message board character, I’m still lucky enough to be actively playing – and I can say she’d probably my favorite. But a lot of you already know my RP history on forums. :-p Either through Kira or Kaamilee. So I won’t dwell on it.

Also in college, I became a Creative Writing minor in one of the best Creative Writing programs in the US. I really saw my abilities and my style evolve drastically over the last four years. I went from long-winded and adverb heavy to terse, flowing and just good. This past year, I decided to wrap up my minor by taking the CW course on writing fiction for children and young adults. It’s really become my passion, and I think I’ve found my literary niche. My picture book even won an Honor Award in the competition a local man has every year. No money, but I get a nice plaque and a lot of pride.

That said, writing is more than my passion, or my therapy, or my enjoyment. It is my life, my career. My professor tells me frequently “You’ve got to be more than a little nuts to be a writer. There’s no money in it, and a lot of rejection. You really have to love what you do.” And she’s absolutely right. But that said, I do have a few poems in anthologies out there. I’m currently working on a novel for Young Adults, which I hope will be picked up by an editor once it’s finished. But then, getting published is only .10% writing ability and 99.9% luck of the draw.

So there. :) That is me, and my relationship to writing.

[Nightlock]

Well... writing has always been much fun to me (minus the whole hand cramps thing) and I'd been writing ever since ... I had to write school essays. All those easy essays such as "I am a car" and stuff like that... Yeah. Brings back good memories. :D

I was never commented on my essays, until when I was ... 10? That was the only time I had an essay written out. After that, I realized that I had this ... passion for writing. After that, I not only wrote for essays, but during my spare time. I'm pretty sure *most* of my work is lying abandoned somewhere. :elol:

Hmm... I started RP-ing when I was ... 13? 14? I don't remember. I went to my first board (The Summoning) through looking for pictures of Squall (the ultimate hotness, lol.) And I got drawn to its RPG, and ... here I am, always on RPG boards. :-p

[Ichiro Nakamura]

Hmm well, when I was a child I always wanted to be an author - I was in numerous writing clubs since the age of about 8 and a lot of people expected me to go through with it and become famous and blah blah blah. I stopped really writing stories at about the age of 13, where I started writing more poems than stories, and then at about the age of 15 I got into role play, which got my creative juices flowing ^-^

Now I mostly write report/essay type things and poems - I haven't written a proper story in years. Oh well, I'll hopefully get back in to that one of these days~

[Zoot]

Hm, well for me writing is like screaming really loud I just get the urge every now and again. I RP for the characters and interaction it's kind of like written improv it keeps my brain active during boring times. I managed t' get a couple pieces published but they weren’t worthy of being paid for so... what can I say... I'm gunna stop giving those fcks my crap and try a more reputable publisher if I can get a hold of one. Right now I'm doing some freelance writing as one of my many little jobs. So if anyone ever has some interesting ideas or concepts than feel free to throw me a PM and I'd love to hear it. I like hearing NEW ideas... and I could use the inspiration at times lol

[Hilary Becker]

I love writing, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't write, I'm hoping that one day I can write a book. Maybe a CSI one to start off with. My ideas can come at the weirdest of times and in the weirdest of places, and I can be in the shower at times and I get all these ideas, and when I'm going to bed as well. I also get ideas from songs and when I'm watching tv, just about anywhere. I love it.

[poliahu]

When I was younger a teacher told me that I lacked creativity so I ended up not being interested in writing for most of my education. Now though, thanks to my obsession with RP games I like coming up with things. I also have come to a realization that writing is HARD work and have a new found respect for those that make a living.

Right now I'm taking a beginners Creative writing course and hopefully I'll further my skills and at least show that my teacher was wrong.

[Archania]

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and drawing. The problems I seem to have with both especially of late, is that when I get really great ideas, I can't always finish them, or sometimes even start them. And it sucks big time because I've had this incredible novelistic adventure playing in my mind like 3D surround sound style and I can't ever seem to get it written the way I've wanted it to be and I've had the story since the 7th/8th grade.

I didn't really like writing poetry until my junior and senior year of high school when I started seeing that I am capable of writing it. I'm actually better at writing poetry than stories these days because again, I can finish those, it's stories I can't.

I generally write third person point of view (which it amazes me to NO ends that people my age don't even know what that means, I mean seriously haven't they had at least BASIC grammar???? ) ::coughs:: sorry grammar's one of my pet peeves, I'm not perfect, but at least I know the basics.

I don't really write first person point of view unless it's for a fan fic, or a short story theme. I just think it can get a little too 'possessive' if that makes any sense at all, for a majority of the time of one character spilling out the story.

I am obsessed with great details when it comes to writing, who isn't? If you weren't then there wouldn't be great adventures of that of Mark Twain's "The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer" or Charles Dicken's "David Copperfield" and "A Tale Of Two Cities".

Details are what make the story worth living in, because when you're in a story, you're living there in their world, watching the people or beings or whatever go through the pain/horror/love/betrayal etc. as you ignore the reality of our world.

My inspirations would include the following:

K.A. Applegate (author of the Animorphs series), Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles), C.K. Lewis (Chronicles Of Narnia), J.K. Rowling (The Harry Potter Series), Laurel K. Hamilton (author of Anita Blake: The Vampire Hunter series), James Patterson (Maximum Ride series), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game series). There's more but we'd be here awhile, lol.

[One Voice]

I don't think I love writing as much as I used to. I've had a few poems and a play published when I was in elementary and junior high, but that's about it. I really love writing screenplays. Character insight and dialouge are some of my favorite aspects. I usually write in first person when the mood strikes, but I haven't had any inspiration lately.

I'm horrible at writing argumentive essays. I have to write them for my AP Lit class, and out of 9, the highest mark I've gotten was a 6.

[Firework]

I love to write. i started back when WWD was on the prophecy. i have improved big time and i am also writing a book.

[Siris]

I write frequently, mainly poetry, though one day I'm hoping to write an autobiography. I think that'd be fun. ^^

[Sobriquet]

My problem when it comes to writing is not the ideas, just putting them on the page. As my friend Melissa says, I'm the 'ideas man'. I come up with characters just like that but then what? I have nothing to do with them and no idea of a plot. Now, of course, some form plots around them but even then; my perfectionism hits. I will write something, then read it and hate it and delete it. Even if it's rather well written. I'm just a perfectionist like that and when I don't get it right, it bugs me and I lose all inclination to do anything further.

Anyway, that was a bit ranty. Despite that, though, I really do enjoy writing stuff :nod: and I agree with Vanessa, dialogue and character insight is the best. I'd take that over wordy descriptions any day :-p

[The Carer]

I think I know exactly what you mean, Tomatthew. Working everything in your hand and just putting it to words. I guess it all starts with me with a wild imagination. When I was five years old, and couldn't read or anything but I could understand English pretty well and having seen a tons of movies, I imagined this whole other life for me. And how I was adopted and how my mom was really this young woman that had me when she was a teenager or something. This Gilmore Girls, only sooner. My parents are pretty older, hence the thing.

Writing? When did I start? I can't really member. The stories in my head are always more intense. And from what I can remember, I was 11 when I joined the journalist group, even though I did stories for the school long before. There isn't anything I feel more proud of then my writing, really. I'd like to think that some day I'll reach my father's level. He was a writer and publicist (higher version of a journalist). And he was just amazing and smart. Oh, though, I think I'm a bit more creative. He was more of a serious type. Anyway, it's one of the rare things, next to English I stood out in school with. My papers were always greated with top grades and such. I even had to be the one to write a goodbye letter in behalf of my generation at the end of junior high. Which was fun but scary to say out loud in front of loads of parents, teachers and students. Not a strage, really.

Roleplay. I love. It's The Propecy, WWD and ADA that brought it in my really. When I first joined C:tP (my first board, mind you), I didn't know what board roleplaying meant. I had been roleplaying on chat rooms since I was 11 but that's baby steps compared to this. I suppose you could say it's my mother board. All the tricks and tracks about roleplaying, it's from here mostly.

And if you ask me, roleplaying sure does wonders for pratising your language and your writing.

[Iron Man]

And if you ask me, roleplaying sure does wonders for pratising your language and your writing.

AMEN TO THAT! I mean ... OUT LOUD! And with hell of a lot of exclamation marks. The average person around here will be like "I wanna speak English like you do" ... and I think "Yeah well, are you ready to put in as much work as I do?" And no, I am not trying to sound big, I work hard on my English (German being my first language). I spend time online, on MSN, emailing, and on boards to do fun stuff and RP. And usually, whatever I do, comes with some kind of learning aspect for me. Roleplaying and just hanging out on MS is one of the ways for me to practice my language. Reading loads (on- and offline) helps with that.

And I know my English is better today than it was when I came back from almost a year in Australia.

Anyway, I love writing. Always have. I started writing my first short stories when I was 13, my mind went crazy with ideas way before that. Back then I wrote in German and my influence was Stephen King (hence why until today I have that heavy reflective / foreboding style).

For almost four years now, RPing / writing in English has been my stress relief. I went through a time when I had only little money and instead of going out I'd turn to creative stuff to get my time away from the daily routine. For the past 12 months that has become more and more important for me. I still mostly RPG, but eventually I wanna take it to another level. I write fics, yeah, but I wanna extend them ... see if I can tackle bigger stories and not lose the direction.

I am an ideas person, too. There is nothing I enjoy more than develop ideas of any kind. Doing that with storylines / characters has the geek in me at her happiest. I need the proper inspiration and grasp on my English to get it onto paper, but it's been getting easier and easier. Just that I sometimes have the problem that my mind works so much faster than my fingers, and I have problems putting the moments into words.

Writing is a hobby for me at this point. Something, like most other things, I try to get better at and learn things about. Maybe someday ... I'll see to turning it into a profession in what way ever (editor? :-p even if I'd probably be the one only to consult for story-dynamics, not so much grammar). So yeah, I am no writer, or author ... I am just someone who loves writing.

[Concrete Angel]

I guess you could say that I have a love, hate relationship with writing. I’m not great and I’m the first person to admit it, but I do enjoy writing. I’ve been writing for as long as I remember, it helps with my sometimes overactive imagination. My older sister was the poet of the family, while I enjoy writing little stories and stuff. I have written a few fan-fictions over the years, but none of them really great. Then for a while I lost interest, and then I discovered RPG’s :) I thought because I always wrote stories I’d fall into the swing of things right away, but it’s taken me over 2 years to produce posts that I’m half happy with haha. It was only early this year when I thought my writing skills weren’t too shabby, and it’s made me enjoy writing a lot more.

[Unforgiving]

I've been wondering lately about this. To date the only writing I've done has been RP and the odd LJ here or there. What I'm really looking at doing now is channeling everything I know, everything I've done in the WWD in a book. I mean, I've been here five years or more and I figure if I add a bit of creativity and stuff, surely it couldn't turn out so bad?

[Iron Man]

I am sorry but you don't wanna know how many times I've heard that over the past years. At a time you had someone PM every few months or even weeks and ask for permission to use storylines and characters to turn WWD into a book. In the end, IMHO it's much easier than it looks if you snatch a certain angle of it. Because it's outright impossible (and inadvisable) to try put the whole thing into one book (you have material for like 20+ in WWD). And who knows, maybe out there someone's actually used elements of the game in a book (it's a nice thought :-p though unlikely) and we simply don't recognize them because the writer's realised that doing your own spin on WWD and its storylines is workable in much more versatile ways than actually trying to capture what's been going on in the game :chin:

[Unforgiving]

I figured as much Chrissie :-p But what I meant is perhaps putting Alexanders history and what I've done with him into a more expansive novel/story. Who knows, I probably wont even get around to it.