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I made this thread in Ask/Tell also, but to be thorough I'm posting it here as well. As part of an assignment in my writing class I am supposed to interview a number of writers regarding their experiences. Rather than expending the effort necessary to leave the house, I have decided it would be better to post a thread here asking people about their own experiences. You do NOT need to be an accomplished writer to answer. The interviewed do not need to be published authors, or, really, even formally educated. The assignment only requires that the interviewed are people who do regular writing even if that means business emails or simple reports. Hell, even just running a blog is good enough, so don't hesitate to answer. If a response isn't good enough I'll either ask you to clarify or just won't use it. 1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be?
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Oct 30, 2015 21:33
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1) anime fanfiction, every night, every second of my life 2) it is my life 3) i am a real life anime, so i write my experiences. i have no formal education in anime 4) waking up and realizing that im spreading the good word of anime 5) naruto writers 6) watch more anime
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Nov 3, 2015 03:48
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I primarily write short fiction, and more specifically I write bad fiction. I do it every day for some ungodly reason. I've been writing since I learned my ABCs, though none of it was salvageable until I was like 24 and started doing a weekly flash fiction contest (CC's own Thunderdome). 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I write unprofessionally, though I've been shopping a bunch of stories around to various magazines online. To call it a hobby would be inaccurate. Basically it's a part time job I don't get paid for ever. I'm going to die poor and alone. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? None. There's no experience versus education dichotomy either, IMO. You just sit down and cobble whatever life you've lived into some nice words that people hopefully want to read. There are some good writers here in CC who don't have a formal education or tons of worldly experience. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? lol at the concept of being proud of my own writing. I hope to accomplish the feat of making the dumb negative Nancy in my head shut up for 2 seconds. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? I don't have a role model because everyone has a unique process for getting over the struggles unique to writing. I'm happy to read any/all advice given by published authors, but at the end of the day, for me, getting words on the page is a super personal and slightly clammy wrestling match. But I've been absolutely, pleasantly floored by so many authors across so many genres that it's hard to elevate any one style, approach, or career path over another. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? write
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Nov 3, 2015 04:03
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i feel bad for shitposting lol nope so i'll serious post 1. I write flash fiction mostly for thunderdome. I write a piece (around 1k words) once a week usually, maybe more depending on mood or classes, sometimes less if I'm lazy or busy with real life. I've been writing since I've been in school, though that was mostly academic and boring. I started writing creatively more in my junior year of high school, more seriously my senior year when i found thunderdome, and then even more seriously freshmen year of college (for reference I'm a sophomore in college). 2. Nope, just a big dumb idiot writing dumb words, though I've submitted to some mags, never published though. 3. I started writing in a creative writing class, but I don't remember much of it. If you call Thunderdome training/education, then yeah, that. Both are equally important imo. You need experience, but also need people to yell at you and 4. When people talk about my stories and they like it. It could be a little thing, but it's great to hear when somebody says "this was a fun read" or "I really liked this." It's (part of) why I do this tbh. 5. I don't really have a role model. I don't know, I think it's because, while I write for other people, I also write for myself. I'm a fairly introspective person and really, really quiet and awkward, so it acts as an outlet for me. So, writing to me is more of a personal experience that where I feel like the only person, which is why I like it. 6. Write you. Don't try to be anyone else because people will know. Anyways, why do you want to be anybody else? You're the only you, you're the only person that's seen things the way you see them. So why not show the world what you see? That's the best part about reading. Seeing all those new ways to look at the world, it's wonderful.
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Nov 3, 2015 04:18
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I didn't really start writing as a serious hobby until about seven years ago. I write a little bit every day (I'm counting shitposts here) but I'd say I only work on something "real" about once a month. I mostly write science fiction and fantasy because I have no idea how the real world works. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I've sold some short fiction, but I won't consider myself a "professional" until I can support myself solely on income from writing. Right now I'd consider myself a serious hobbyist. There is a lot more freedom in writing as a hobby, imo, and I get to try things I wouldn't put in anything I intend to sell. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? Aside from some 101 level English courses in college, I've had no formal education in writing. I think at least a basic education in writing is vital to being a good writer, but you can't become great without experience. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? My proudest moment was when one of my erotic novellas broke sales records for the niche fetish site that published it. I made a couple thousand off that one. Ultimately, I'd love for one of my non-erotic works to be optioned as a TV series or feature film, but I'd be happy to make a self-supporting career out of writing. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? Stephen King, Robert E. Howard, Brad Alan Lewis, and Chuck Palahniuk. I love their kinetic, visceral styles of writing and admire how they can paint a vivid scene in very few words. They're not necessarily my favorite authors to read, but definitely the one's whose technique I most admire. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Read more than you write and write every day.
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Nov 5, 2015 18:15
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I write flash fiction primarily, though I've also done some longer stuff and have been kicking around scraps of a novel for a while. Most of my stuff probably falls in the "literary fiction" category, but I don't make a conscious effort to write in any specific genre. I don't have a set writing schedule, although that is something I want to work on--right now I'd say I do 2 or 3 writing sessions a week, with each session lasting a few hours. I wrote some dumb stories in middle school, but I would say I have only really been "writing" for a little less than 2 years. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I do content writing part-time (writing for blogs and stuff), and my fiction writing is probably safely considered a hobby right now. I started shopping stories around a few months ago and I've sold a couple, but I have no delusions about making a living by selling short stories. I wouldn't say the experiences affect one another--I write for myself, and if I like the end product, I send it out and see if maybe someone else likes it, too. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? I have a B.A. in English, but aside from reading the classics, I wouldn't say it had any particular influence on my writing. I didn't take any creative writing courses or anything. I think experiences are the backbone of creative output, regardless of education, but that doesn't mean you have to lead a globe-trotting life of excitement to write something worth reading. Some people end up being stifled by a formal education, and some people thrive. There are amazing authors on both ends of the spectrum. I would say that mostly you become a better writer by writing more. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? I tend to be very critical of myself, so I'm not sure I've ever felt "proud" of my writing. I feel satisfied when a story comes out that says what I intended it to say, and it's a great feeling when someone else reads it and it clicks for them on some level, but I can't think of a single thing I've written that I'm absolutely, 100% satisfied with. That probably sounds kind of miserable, but that feeling of being able to do better and dig deeper is honestly a big motivator. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? There are certainly authors that I have a great deal of respect / admiration / envy for, but actually sitting down to write is such a personal thing that I just never stop to think about it in those terms. I think most writers absorb elements of craft from everything they read, good and bad, so it's very hard to narrow down all those influences. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Write, even if you hate what you've written afterward, and read even more than you write.
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Nov 5, 2015 19:06
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? Mostly short stories and novels. Some flash fiction, but I really like novels and novellas. I participate in Nano and have every year for the past 11 years. I try to remember to at least poke words one to twice a week. I have in the most technical sense been writing stories since I was 7 or 8 but have probably been doing it on a semi-serious way since I was in middle school in the early to mid 90s. I also run a blog but that's 100% about doll poo poo and unless you care about said doll poo poo you aren't going to give an rear end. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I write "professionally" because I am formally unemployed.  3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? The closest I have to education is my BA in English, which included a semester of working for a small home press. Any other training has been me just doing poo poo and either loving it up or succeeding. And reading. Go read poo poo. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? Eh, I've had several prouds. None of them are the top over everything in the world. I could be humble, but eh. I get poo poo done. I guess maybe one of my proudest was my grandma reading my self published book and saying that it was good--and she's not one of those grandmas who lies about poo poo like that. Also in that fog of goodness was 165k+ in Nano, a personal best, on a book that is actually good but is taking time to work on. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? *kanye shrug* I dunno. Probably predominantly writers of color, especially black ones, cause I'm one of em. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Put your rear end in the chair, set a timer for 25 minutes, and don't get up off your rear end and stop writing until the timer goes off. If you can't give yourself that at least once a day then you are going to slack the gently caress off. Set goals with tangible results if you don't reach them in time. Also, get a beta reader/buddy/fellow writer who does more than say "this is good."
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Nov 14, 2015 17:23
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I primarily write short fiction, although I'm about a quarter of the way through my second first draft of a novel. I write daily, usually on my lunch break. It gives me thirty to forty-five minutes every weekday. I don't do anything but write new words in that time. I'll usually spend some time editing in the evening, although it's never a guaranteed thing. I've only been writing since February of last year or so. I used to write a lot (of bad, bad stories) when I was middle and high school. I wish I hadn't taken the decade off, but I'm glad to be back at it. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I definitely write as a hobby. I've only sold one story, and it was for token pay. I'd love to hit the point where I could support myself with writing, but that's not really my goal. I write things I'd like to read. If that gets me anywhere, great! If not, I still get a lot out of it. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? Well, I did a lot of academic writing in school, and I do a lot of legal writing in my day job. It helped a lot with grammar, but it's not much help for story structure and character building. For those, the advice I've read on these forums has been helpful, but not more so than reading a ton. I carry a book with me everywhere, I usually have a book or short story collection going on the kindle app on my phone, and I listen to audiobooks on my commute. After that, just writing everyday is some of the best ways to learn. You make mistakes - a lot of mistakes - but you'll also figure out what works and what doesn't. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? It was easily having my first story published. I'd been submitting for a little while, but I never expected to have it happen as quickly as it did. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? I wouldn't really say I have one. There are authors I really admire, but I don't think about their work when thinking about my own. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? If I had to limit it to just one piece of advice, it would probably to make time to write every day. I'd also find a way to add that you should read a ton, and don't be a shithead when it comes to critiques. If people are giving you feedback, you should be grateful, even if you don't agree with it, and there's always something to be learned.
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Nov 14, 2015 21:17
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I started off writing fanfictions, way back when. Then in 2007, I did NaNoWriMo for the first time, creating my own world in the process. Fantasy. Short stories and novels. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? Like someone above me said, I wouldn't consider myself a professional until I can quit my day job and just write. I don't consider it a hobby, though. It's more like an addiction and if I don't do it, I get bitchy. My first book came out back in July of this year (I've been meaning to make a separate post about that, actually), though I've had a couple short stories published, too. I don't have any delusions about fame and fortune but I'm trying my best. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? No training per se. My mother was an English teacher and a huge influence on my reading and writing habits but my degree is in the sciences. The education would be helpful, I suppose, but I don't consider it necessary. Writing is art: the more you do it, the better you get. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? Holding that book: the finished, physical manifestation of my imagination sitting in my hands. Nothing compares. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? Anyone who can market effectively? I hate it and you're a god if you can both write and sell. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Don't put too much stock in advice from other writers (including this). Writing is simultaneously glorious and frustrating in that there is no right or wrong way to do it.
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Nov 17, 2015 02:26
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e: prolly not helpful
take the moon fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Nov 17, 2015 |
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Nov 17, 2015 20:29
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Thank you all for your responses. This thread is really insightful, and your contributions allowed me to get a perfect grade on the intended assignment. The semester has ended, but I'm going to leave this thread open for posterity. If anyone still wants to contribute their own answers please do so, as I'm not the only one who can benefit from it. Thanks again! I really do appreciate it.
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Dec 16, 2015 22:47
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? I write fiction because all I read is fiction, and I vomit purple prose because of my traumatic childhood spent being taught how to write by public school teachers. In the last month or so, i've been writing every day minus Mondays and Thursdays, averaging about 1.5-2.5k words a day. That's picked up very recently thanks to Thunderdome and Textbroker, and over the last couple of days i've probably been averaging more like 3k. I've been writing, if you count teenage fanfiction, since I was about twelve. Now I write at the level of a thirteen year old and i'm extremely proud. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I guess i'd consider Textbroker professional, if only because it pays. Honestly, my hobby writing seems to be affecting my professional writing negatively, since i'm trimming down my word economy. On Textbroker you get paid by the word, so that can be a problem. Even so, at this point it's the difference of a dollar, so i'm dealing with it. Other than that, i'd say writing professionally can be very helpful to hone your craft - it's selling out a bit, sure, but you start treating it a lot more seriously when it's the thing putting bread on your table. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? This might sound strange, but i'd say the closest i've come to writing education would be playing MUDs. MUDs, or Multi User Dungeons are text-based online roleplaying games, so it's basically playing a tabletop game session that never ends. They range anywhere from expecting a name and a description to requiring a very elaborate backstory. They attract weirdos, sure, but i'm weird as hell so i've always been a big fan of them. Playing those games got me used to writing, even if they did encourage a lot of bad habits. What really got me into writing was when I was playing through a scene with other people and thinking "this would be way better if it was just me controlling everyone". It was a pretty meandering road, but I think it's the only one that could've led me to taking writing seriously as a craft. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? Through some fluke, the first page of one of my stories happened to be really good. I was giving it to a co-worker of mine because she wanted to use it for an animation, and since she hadn't turned up it was just left on the table. The first page was about the brutal aftermath of a war, and a lone survivor crying in the ashes. My manager, a war veteran, sat down at the desk i'd left it on and started reading it, and then he found me and said "Only someone who's been in that situation could write that." Then he and I read the rest of it on our own time, since I hadn't read it in a while, and literally right at the start of page two it went to poo poo but hey, first page ruled. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? I really, really like Terry Pratchett's writing. My grandma and I would go on camping trips when I was a kid, she'd just bring a big trunk full of all the Discworld books, and we'd sit there in the woods and just read for two weeks at a time. She passed away some years ago, but when i'm finally financially independent I plan on going on those little camping trips myself and doing the same thing. Partially in her memory, and partially because the Discworld series kicks rear end. I still actively try to avoid his style, if only because I want my own voice to take root, but it's a tough temptation to resist. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? If you're in your teens, don't write if you don't have a story to tell. If you don't have any life experience, it's just a much better idea to go out and do something than it is to smash your head against a brick wall. You might find that writing isn't for you in the first place, and that you have some other skill that you don't even know you have. And if you come back and you really do want to write, then you'll have done enough that you have a platform you can really speak from. I only noticed that this thread achieved it's purpose when I was halfway done, and at that point it was just an excuse to type some more words. I hope my keyboard's a masochist, because I guess I am.
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Dec 17, 2015 02:31
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1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? Mostly paranormal romance. I've been writing various wordstuffs for most of my life, and self-publishing fiction for about two years now. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I have a few precious darling spec fiction side projects that I tinker with once in a while, but getting paid is the motivation that plants my lazy, procrastinating cheeks in the chair on a consistent (but not consistent enough) basis. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? I have a BS and MA in Communication, so my education is kind of "writing adjacent." However, writing has been a part of my professional life since I was teenager; most of my pre-"Okay gently caress this, I quit, I'm officially a writer livin' the dream now" career has involved writing in some capacity. Scriptwriting, exhibit design, curriculum development, blogging, etc. I can't think of how to answer the education/experience question in a way that isn't a cop out. Both are important, but the ideal balance is probably weighted differently for different people depending on personal strengths and weaknesses. Also you can gain education through experience and gather experience while pursuing education, so blah blah blargle blarg 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? Proudest moments then: seeing my scriptwork end up on-screen or otherwise in front of the public. Proudest moments now: seeing nameless, faceless internet people buy my books and imagining that at least a small percentage of them are actually enjoying my work. edit: but really this: Sitting Here posted:lol at the concept of being proud of my own writing. I hope to accomplish the feat of making the dumb negative Nancy in my head shut up for 2 seconds. My most important goal is just to make a modest living by putting my imagination on the page. I want to be able to consistently pay rent without working past noon or taking off my pajama pants. The only real barrier to me doing that is making myself write more and procrastinate less. With self-publishing my successes and failures are almost entirely my own. There's a certain purity about it that I love. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? Gaiman's my childhood hero, and he always has solid advice for writers. While I don't love Sanderson's writing, he has a work ethic that I would murder a convent full of kittens for. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Make work, dummy. Write words every day, because slacking off begets slacking off and eventually you're going to look back and feel sad about all the wasted time you'll never get back. Butt in the seat, rinse and repeat. Never stop starting. Trustworthy fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Dec 21, 2015 |
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Dec 21, 2015 21:50
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Thread's purpose is long-gone, but why the hell not. 1. What do you write, how often do you write, and how long have you been writing? Contemporary romance. I write 3-5 days a week and should write 5-7 but I'm lazy. I've been writing professionally for three years and as a hobby for eight. 2. If you write professionally, do you also write as a hobby, or vice versa? And if so how do the experiences affect each other? I spend a ridiculous amount of my day-job time writing (8-12K a day is normal) and then write professionally after work, so there just isn't enough wrist strength available to keep writing as a hobby. Been there, tried that, suffered double tendonitis for it and couldn't write at full capacity for nearly a year afterward. My hobby writing is dead because my body runs out of gas. 3. What sort of training/education have you received that influences your writing? Between experience and education, which is more important for writing? I'm a scientist with technical writing training and a family who beat me silly if I used poor grammar as a child. Does that count as training? Seriously though, what I've learned from writing romance is that story and voice are more important than technical know-how. Readers don't give a poo poo about whether your comma placement and overall paragraph structure are optimal. They care what the characters are doing and that they can easily read the story. Experience is more important than education for writing, but I mean reading experience. You will learn more as a writer (especially in the beginning) by reading your genre than you will by writing it. 4. What is your proudest moment as a writer? Or, alternatively, what do you hope to accomplish as a writer? I have two here. As an individual moment, my first series received fan mail from a couple who, based on their letters, actually had their lives changed by reading it. As a more long-term accomplishment, 2015 is my first six-digit year. I hope to accomplish complete financial independence as a writer and be able to do it as my day job. Not there yet, though. 5. Who do you look up to as a role model for writing and why? If you have no role model, then why not? I don't really have a role model in my genre, but my absolute favorite writer is Ursula K. Le Guin. Get away from her Earthsea series and she has some seriously amazing stuff. 6. If you can only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be? Read. Read read read read read. Read read read. Read.
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Dec 22, 2015 01:48
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