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@whalekeeper Why I write?
Um….
Well, I was horrible at writing anything. Fiction, nonfiction, you name it. My parents gave me a notebook and a book of prompt when I was 8, and after much fussing, I eventually sat down and wrote a story from the perspective of an electric eel. Then I wrote another one. Then another one. Then another. They were trashy. I still love them. I need to get back to writing them.
I wrote some more. I saw a picture of a boat in a magazine and imagined some Star Wars characters hanging out and having a vacation on it. Boom, my first fanfic.
I wrote more fanfic for lots of different things. A lot of it was also junky. I made my parents read it. They said they liked it, although I’m not sure how much of that was just being nice. My mom had a few things to say about how I wrote romance. (I had written nothing inappropriate, she just was like “yeah, this is not how it works.”) I have not written much romance since. Yet.
When I was twelve, I was diagnosed with autism. The doctor called it a disorder, and I didn’t like that. “Disorder” felt like a word for either a condition that would eventually kill you, or one that prevented you from having any semblance of a normal life. I thought autism was neither of those. I wanted to write a book and publish it, and be a living example that kids can write books. People with special needs can write books. Also, I like my brain. Even though it is infuriating sometimes (I’m looking at you, newly created simp section). I wouldn’t trade it out for a “normal” one.
anyway.
So I wrote a book about a dinosaur with a speech problem. I published it using Amazon’s self-publishing system. (I should probably have the link to my books as my forum signature and not a weirdo character’s quote, but I like weirdo character quotes.)
I wrote seven more books, and there are three more I haven’t finished yet. I still write tons of fanfic, even a fanmade comic or two.
So why that whole story?
Because
- God gave me a brain that never stops working and a love for reading, and it makes sense writing would follow from that. Maybe I’ll write something really important/impactful someday. Or not. I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ll be happy with my Rexy books either way.
- I don’t know why, but that first fan fiction sparked something in me. I like writing stories in worlds already created, although I’ll happily create new ones. I almost like writing characters with personalities already crafted (supplemented with a few ocs) more than making up a cast from scratch.
Other than that…….
I don’t really know.
(wow this was a rant eheheheheh….)
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
forgive me for that bucket of nonsense, my brain is not working at 100%.
it took me like an hour to write that, mostly because I was also watching source filmmaker how to videos and playing minecraft
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
I have been stalking this topic, trying to figure out why I write, and the best answer I could come up with is because I love it. (I know, so profound.) I love my characters, I love watching them interact, (especially when it’s awkward), I love how most of them insult each other, yet love each other very deeply. Most of them have some of me in them, or are people or ducks I wish I were like. Except for when they’re being stupid. I love coming up with really weird stuff, and sticking in a fantasy world and hoping it makes sense. Genres are a bit easier. I write romance for the character interactions, and the angst, and most of all, the happily ever after. I write fantasy because I love wonder, and magic, and creating whatever I want. I’m writing a dystopian because I like learning about government, and politics, and conspiracy theories, because they make such interesting plots. And I like having my characters have to overthrow a fictional government, and I like speculating about what would happen if the Vice President tried to murder the president so that he would be president, or if congress were brainwashed, or if pizza-making or eating was banned, under penalty of death. I write teen contemporary because I don’t like that genre, but I could if there were good books in it. (I want less random personality less dork with dysfunctional family is having school problems and trying to be cool and then meets friend who might be more, and also lots of inappropriate content, and more Penderwick-type adventures with older characters. I have found one or two I like, so I know it is possible.) Hopefully that made sense. I may have been up past 2:30 reading last night, *feels ashamed and sleep deprived*, so it might just be rambling.
I also put a lot of humor in my stories. My characters lead very odd lives, some based on my own family. It is impossible for me to write a story without humor. Character interactions are my favorite. Especially when they’re awkward. Or just plain weird. 🙂
Emotional scenes are soooo hard! I quit my current wip for a while because I was struggling with that. And I had no idea what I was doing because I started with the sequel. XD I’ve started over recently. I think death/loss scenes get easier once you’ve lost a loved one, because it’s easier to write grief if you know grief. Happy emotional scenes aren’t as hard for me, because sometimes I’m just overjoyed for no real reason. Like the weather. XD.
I started writing because I’m a storyteller. My rubber ducks all have personalities, and names, and lives, and I could and did rant about them for hours. People started telling me to write stuff down, so now I do.
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
Apparently Wyoh is being mean to me again.
XD XD Yeah
Happy emotional scenes aren’t as hard for me, because sometimes I’m just overjoyed for no real reason. Like the weather. XD.
Oh my goodness SAAMMMEEE! I become overjoyed over random things all the timeee!! 😂
I love my characters, I love watching them interact, (especially when it’s awkward), I love how most of them insult each other, yet love each other very deeply.
(I know this was to Whaley, but I must remark) Haha I love watching those kinds of interactions too!! 😅
Flaz: *yawns* Did the sun just come up? In the west?
Right! You have similar themes, you just don’t press into the theme as directly.
Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.
Now I feel like I probably write more emotion than most of y’all here😂
Which is not a bad thing! You write them really well 😊 And I feel like your books, at least what I’ve read of them, focus more on characters than plot or action, like a lot of historical fiction does, and I really like that.
Speaking of! I’m almost done reading a WWII his-fic that I think you’d really like. It’s called Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin. It’s so good!! It’s not as fast-paced as some WWII fiction that I’ve read, but it’s still really good! It has three MCs (which I love :P) and it spans all the years of WWII (I think). It takes place in the Netherlands too, which I thought was pretty unique. Anyway, just a book suggestion that I thought you might like! The same author has written other historical fiction, but I’ve only read one other one called Wonderland Creek, which takes place during the Depression, but it focuses on a little town in Kentucky. That one is also really good. (It has more romance than Chasing Shadows though).
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
@everyone
Ok guys, you have to check out this article.
It’s a guest post on @gracie-j ’s blog and it’s really good!! It kinda has to do with what we’re talking about… sort of… okay, I don’t know, but it’s really good anyway and y’all should read it! XD
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
That is such a good article! I especially love what she said about darkness and brokenness being so prevalent in fiction nowadays. I see this in teen contemporary books especially. The characters all have dysfunctional families, get drunk, are cruelly bullied, tragically lose family, etc. I want more Penderwick-type adventures, but with older characters. I want more teen characters who don’t spend every waking moment worrying about being “cool”. I want more big families, games, weird inside jokes, arguments about non serious stuff like whether a hot dog is a sandwich, and earnest discussions about the love lives of stuffed animals. Yes, person who wrote that article, more happy books!
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
@whalekeeper Oooh, I love this topic – thanks so much for starting it!
Honestly, I resonate a lot with what @trailblazer said about writing because you’re a storyteller. I’m the kind of person who’s been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember. I don’t think I ever sat down and went “I’m going to write a story because xyz” – I tell stories because I don’t know how not to.
As I start thinking more about how I want strangers to interact with my writing, I honestly see it as an extension of my personality, another way to reach out to people and make them feel welcome and safe. It’s kind of like inviting someone over for a meal – the purpose is to bring people in from the rain, but the meal can vary. The book can vary.
And boy oh boy do my books vary. xD Sometimes I want to explore death and hope from the perspective of a quiet eleven-year-old. Sometimes I want to re-imagine Aladdin where lying has consequences. Sometimes I want to process something in my own life, and sometimes I want to write something for someone I care about.
So essentially, I think I write because that’s how God wired my brain to work – just like breathing, or having conversations, or sketching. It’s rarely been a conscious decision (though I have had to intentionally make time for it because consistency is hard, y’all 😅). My aim changes depending on the WIP in question, but overall, I really want my books to be an extension of how I interact with people and provide them with a safe, warm place where laughter is common but it’s okay to cry.
Or somethin’ like that. 😛
@esther-c And ooh, I love that article, especially the point about how we need both. 100%.wonder | beauty | truth | love
@theducktator haha you distilled my whole ranting story down to a few words. I also write because I love it. My characters aren’t just characters to me, even though I didn’t create most of them. It’s almost like my mind is the world they live in, and I’m just writing down what I see them do all the time (especially when I make up elaborate Lego timelines with my brother)
I want more big families, games, weird inside jokes, arguments about non serious stuff like whether a hot dog is a sandwich, and earnest discussions about the love lives of stuffed animals.
yesssss this is what my brother and I do all the time with our Lego characters lol
you’d love our character Goose. He’s some kind of all-powerful being, but completely clueless to that fact, and he just goes about his life having no idea that he can fundamentally alter reality just by saying the wrong thing. He’s kinda like the average lovable Disney sidekick character lol
@esther-c how’d you get the text to show the words and not the article link?Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
@theducktator @keilah-h @whoeverI’mforgettingi’mshortontime
I’m a lot more story-driven than character driven, although sometimes I come up with a character I really want to write make up a story to plunk them into. I love story ideas, and only AFTER I come up with the story do I come up with the characters, love them, get attached to them (is that how to spell attached?) and develop them more. I have problems with underdeveloping characters and then trying to make them come alive without success. I also try to get more developed characters to do stuff they simple will not do. This is frustrating. Sometimes I just look at the notebook and go like, why. Why did I make you like this? Because they are not cooperating.
I gotta go so I’m not going to go into more detail. Wyoh might eat this post. Whatever. (Just as a precaution…Wyoh looks like a delapidated escargot)
"Courage, dear heart." -Aslan
@stephie I get that.
and yes characters can be really frustrating sometimes……ughhh…..
Sometimes, you wanna stab one of them, but then you realize he’s already been stabbed before by someone else, and that really takes the fun out of it.(I’m kidding, I don’t stab people for fun. Don’t worry.)
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
Goose sounds amazing!😂 Legos are so fun. I have a lego guy by the name of Christopher Cornelius who has a car that is basically a box on wheels covered in random pieces, including propellers, antennas, and flowers. His poor daughter is so embarrassed.
Dilapidated escargot!? *hands you the Nobel prize for weird insults* I may use that on one of my brothers next time he calls me short.😆
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
@theducktator awesome character lol
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
Thanks!
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
Yep that’s pretty much how I am, too.
Also you’re cracking me up with all these insults to Wyoh lolol.
I love that article! I agree… We need more light-hearted books. I feel like I’ve struggled to write that way because I feel like it’s not relevant or it starts to fall flat. But I used to write stories based off of my family’s vacations… I just changed all our names. There’s no real plot to the stories, but it’s essentially an oversized journal entry in book form. Honestly those are just fun for me to read, but I find it hard to write that way anymore because I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly and crash landing, lol.
@theductator
I write teen contemporary because I don’t like that genre, but I could if there were good books in it.
Lol me too. I get so tired of all the drama and the teen romance. I’d love to see books showing healthy families, healthy friendships, and healthy romance… not perfection, but allowing readers to see the MC make mistakes and still pursue healthy relationships anyway. If I’m being honest with myself, I tend to start believing that people who come from broken homes and broken relationships won’t want to read about something that seems too good to be true, but maybe we’re seeing these cycles of dysfunction partly because people don’t realize there’s something more, something better. Maybe giving examples of how what is possible when people learn how to relate to each other in healthy ways would call people up out of the brokenness and bring hope for healing and change. I think this is something I’m still trying to figure out in my writing, how to balance not writing perfect characters, but showing the beautiful side of healthy relationships. And now I’m running out of thoughts, so I’m gonna stop before I start spinning circles.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
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