As a writer we keep our mouths shut and our mind open. (Quote By Maltos)

Just wanted to be apart of the writing lounge as it is the biggest forum in the writing section

Going to attempt to update the Forum Highlights Thread soon. Keep an eye out.

This is my first post on the Writing Forum Lounge. I'm an aspiring author just bursting at the seams with ideas to write about. I wish there was more time in the day. I returned to Newgrounds a few weeks ago and was inspired to write something as a tribute to the site. After doing some research, I developed the intoxicating idea of Newgrounds being a city in cyberspace, and thus Cybercity Newgrounds: A Cop's Tale was born. Developing this story has become a major focus of my life and I'm loving every second of it. Not an hour goes by that I don't think of ways to take this story. Well that's just a little bit about me as a writer. Is the Writing Forum Lounge basically a forum group exclusive to writers? I'm trying to find a place to fit in now that I've learned the Newgrounds Police Dept. is dead, and that I don't want to join The Elite Guard Barracks anymore.

Hello there.

I'm new to the writing forum, but not writing itself. I just thought I would introduce myself so I can get more comfortable around here. Most of the writings I do are rather ... far from the norm, so to speak. I won't divulge further because I understand that the subject can be rather irritating to most people, however.

When I am not writing for actual projects, I do tend to enjoy reviewing things as well. Most of my pursuits in writing remain simply as a hobby, not sure if I will ever start to make a financial gain from it at all.

Sorry for disappearing but I'm back now. Hm, seems like nothing has changed, however. Anyway, let's keep going.

Hello! I currently go by MeatRay; More specifically, Meat~Ray where t's allowed.

As a kid, I was always a huge reader. I love a lot of Fantasy and Horror.
...that hasn't really changed of late. What did change though, was my inherent Dyslexia set in.
I still love reading, but as I've gotten older, it can almost become a physically painful burden in novels.
My handwriting was also forever wrecked, but strangely enough, my typing still remains more or less decent.
I guess I'll attribute part of that to my studies in programming and copmuter engineering. In any case, I've also always been writing. I wrote a sixty page story in fourth grade, and I swear I still have it dancing around somewhere in my closet.

I currently only stick to short stories, because with no dishonour to anyone here...
There is no way I'm going to make a decent living as a writer. [INSERT LIBERAL ARTS DIPLOMA JOKE HERE]

So writing is part of my freetime, and of my past time. I've popped over to newgrounds, because yesterday I realized I was really lonely. I need a community and all that funky Jazz.
--and yes. I do say "Funky" and "Jazz" in my writing. Yes, I know that probably doesn't help me. :]

I know I've already placed a few comments on this thread, but I thought I'd finally go about more formally introducing myself.

As a kid, I liked hearing stories and seeing movies; my parents really encouraged me to read. While I must admit I haven't read everything I should have read, classics such as Oliver Twist or some of the more popular contemporary pieces, I like following authors who write good stories. History has also been of a bit of interest to me, coupled with documentary programs which make me curious about the subject matter and want to read about other places/things/people. After writing some fan fics of the TV show M*A*S*H about eight or nine years ago, now long since discarded, I embarked on my own project, which is still in the works. I found writing very appreciable, even when its hard to designate the effort for writing, whether due to lack of enthusiasm, time or for other reasons.

As some of you may be aware, I'm a Dungeon Master - I run Dungeons & Dragons, Werewolf, Exalted, various other games, where you create situations for your characters and they give you their interpretation of what they would like to do and you build a story around them.

I've got my work cut out for me now - five characters, each of which is "dragon blooded", representing one of the five elemental dragons (earth, air, fire, water & wood). The thing is, I allowed one of the characters to screw my game over royally and now I'm working on bringing her back into line. She is the water caste and basically she sold the others down the river, turning them in as traitors.

A bit of faff later and they are all back together and they somehow avoided killing one another. What I'm trying to do is find the compromise that will allow the game to continue, while giving me some inspiration of where to take it.

And so, I've come to a dream sequence - drawn out and underlining the points that made her decisions poor in the face of her comrades. As a terrestrial level exalt, her powers are not as great as the celestial, whom I am using to manipulate her.

Basically, the dream sequence will show portents of what may be to come for her and her comrades, including her untimely death in a gladiatorial arena. The only way for her to avoid this is to accept that her decision was wrong and that everything that she has learned about the "anathema" (celestial exalts, two of which have infiltrated the group and are working alongside them, not having killed them, despite the obvious chances to do so.)

Obviously you lot don't know much of the setting, I believe, but if you could give me any more suggestions, I would be grateful.

At 3/3/13 04:26 PM, Coop wrote: Obviously you lot don't know much of the setting, I believe, but if you could give me any more suggestions, I would be grateful.

From one DM to another I see your plight. Truth be told, I'm not sure where you should go next either while still keeping them alive. Since you are the storyteller it is your story. It could be shifted over to her, as the evil encounter, but that's all I got. We don't know much of the setting and truth be told I'm gonna need to know more about your setting to be able to help you. What has the adventure been so far, in a small synopsis if you please.

Glad to see more writers on here. I'm so swamped right now, I don't really have time to process it all. But I will take the time once my thesis is done.

At 3/4/13 09:15 AM, The-Great-One wrote:

At 3/3/13 04:26 PM, Coop wrote: Obviously you lot don't know much of the setting, I believe, but if you could give me any more suggestions, I would be grateful.

From one DM to another I see your plight. Truth be told, I'm not sure where you should go next either while still keeping them alive. Since you are the storyteller it is your story. It could be shifted over to her, as the evil encounter, but that's all I got.

Right, the issue here is twofold - I don't want to kill a player character. Nor do I wish to have a player "trade in" a character for a better one, because they messed up. I expect them to role play out of this mess, as it's what we have to do when we fuck up - you can't press the reset button on life.

Secondly, this character is that of my ex-girlfriend. I don't want to be seen as victimising her.

We don't know much of the setting and truth be told I'm gonna need to know more about your setting to be able to help you. What has the adventure been so far, in a small synopsis if you please.

Alright, the dragon blooded (terrestrial) exalts are a group of once human beings, imbibed with a magical "essence", which enables them to perform superhuman feats (see films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; House of Flying Daggers and Kung-Fu Hustle for reference. At some stage during their late childhood, or early adulthood, they exalt, taking their gifts of the elemental dragon (earth, air, fire, water or wood). Their society is ruled from the seat of power on the Blessed Isle (earth pole), where the Scarlet Empress once ruled from. The trouble is, the Scarlet Empress has disappeared, leaving a power vacuum, which her children struggle to fill.

The five players have been dispatched to fight on the eastern frontier of creation, where the world ends in a swirling mass of chaos, known as the wyld. These entropic forces strive to destroy creation and rend all life from its fleeting existence. The forces of the Fourth Legion man the Wyld Hunt, where they strike down creatures of Wyld taint and with them, "Anathema", the remnants of powerful exalted culture before the Dynasty took control. Solars and Lunars mostly comprise these Anathema and indoctrination from an early age has taught the dragons to kill these powerful agents without thought.

On their journey, they (unwittingly) killed their commanding officer, allowing him to burn to death in a house that they had set alight in order to subdue the villagers who had captured him. One of their number was arrested and when he breaks out of jail, with a relatively young man, they are happy to see one another. Unbeknown to them at this point, they are harbouring a shape-shifting Lunar exalt. Quite capable of dispatching two of these dragons before the rest overwhelm him, they remain unaware of his presence.

Aura (Air dragon) threatens Tarvant (Lunar) at one stage and his act is that good, that she believes she could willingly have spilled his life blood unless he gives some answers. Tarvant confides in Aura that he is Anathema, but he is unwilling to kill her there and then. He does not say why.

Tesuli (Water aspect) hears this and reports to the commanding officer of a Fourth Legion patrol. The Wyld Hunt returns and Tesuli reveals her ploy, garnering a promotion in the process. All hell breaks loose and many men are slain by the traitors, in their bid for freedom. They escape and Aura chases Tesuli for a long while, Tarvant loping after her.

Tarvant calms the situation, claiming that a premonition that he has had requires five fingers of the hand, adorned with silver and gold. These portents would indicate that each element, coupled with a Lunar and Solar exalt would be able to save creation.

The group at large now deeply mistrusts Tesuli and Nenret (Wood aspect archer) has a crisis of faith, relinquishing his title "The Unrelenting". Tarvant introduces the group to a few friends of his and their suspicions are confirmed, when Selavar eventually is forced by a hostile situation with bandits, to click her fingers and bring forth an eight foot blade of burnished gold, seemingly from nowhere. Her demonstration of power is quick, merciless and brutal.

Finally, the seven make their way to a massive mountain, where Nenret's compass indicates a powerful source of essence is located. Like the crossing of ley lines, there is an intersection here, where a hearthstone grows. A powerful artifact gemstone, which enhances an essence users abilities somehow. Granite (Earth caste, in case you had not guessed) claims the manse as his own and the series ended in a volcanic cataclysm, caused by a massive fight with a hostile essence user.

Now the team must decide where to go. The Fourth Legion mission is out of the question, as they are traitors, as sanctioned by the Scarlet Dynasty.

That's about the scale of things. Any questions?

Well, seeing as its the proper thing to do, I'm gonna introduce myself before I make my first writing post.
I am a sophomore in high school, and writing has always been a passion of mine, even though I can only write short stories, I've always enjoyed writing them, and many people find them quite compelling and enjoyable. I know for one writing them to me isn't about anything more than putting my imagination into things seeing as how I'm a terrible artist its really helped me show my creativity.

If you really want to see some of my works you should check out my Google Drive.

Hi.

I'm a twat with a poor sense of humor and direction who probably should'a introduced hisself before posting a story but, well, that's all said and done and there isn't really any going back, is there?

I write crappy short stories about things that don't matter. Really, blue-ribbon quality piles of shit, just you wait and see.

At 3/5/13 04:12 PM, Coop wrote: That's about the scale of things. Any questions?

No, I don't have any questions. That is a tricky situation that you're in. From the looks of things a character is going to have to die off. You could bring in the possibility of bringing them back to life somehow. As for emotional problems with your ex-girlfriend, if she knows that you're a fair player then there is no victimizing. Remember, when you get down to it, it's just a game.

At 3/6/13 04:12 AM, The-Great-One wrote:

At 3/5/13 04:12 PM, Coop wrote: That's about the scale of things. Any questions?

No, I don't have any questions. That is a tricky situation that you're in. From the looks of things a character is going to have to die off. You could bring in the possibility of bringing them back to life somehow. As for emotional problems with your ex-girlfriend, if she knows that you're a fair player then there is no victimizing. Remember, when you get down to it, it's just a game.

I think that while the other players realise this, to a greater or lesser extent, my ex just doesn't realise or care. As it is, I will spend my time making a plot that gets her to do what I want, while allowing her a degree of free will.

The plot will get there, I just need to work out some way of integrating her character into it as a way forward.

Wow, it's been a month since anyone posted.

At 1/26/10 04:01 PM, Fro wrote: Feel free to chat among other regulars of the writing forum. If it's your first time posting then make sure you introduce yourself and tell us how writing has influenced your life.

hello im a new user, my name is Jose Luis Martinez. I'm writing a mash up story between the Super Mario series and Adventure Time. But I need help with ppl who can do the animation, music and whatever else is necessary

Hey im new to this, my name is Jose Luis Martinez and im writing a story between the Super Mario series and Adventure Time (the cartoon) but I need help. I need animators and other ppl who can make my story in2 a animated series. I'm sure if u help u will become popular cause ppl being wanting a story between the Super Mario series and Adventure Time.

Just a little curious here... has anyone had a dream where, within the context of the dream's events, you had come up with an idea for a piece of writing- prose, fiction, etc- but the instant you wake up in reality, you cannot remember a darn thing, or very little, for that dream idea you had? I've just recently had this experience, and wanted to know if anyone else had a similar event happen to them.

At 4/19/13 01:21 AM, Blue-SilverDragon wrote: has anyone had a dream where ...

Holy shit.

Yes! This has happened to me a few times.

I used to be really good at remembering my dreams. When I was in high school, I experimented with lucid dreaming. I would set an alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night; I'd make myself stay awake for about twenty minutes before falling back asleep. Somehow, this encouraged lucid dreams and also helped me to remember my dreams - lucid or not.

But now I hardly remember my dreams. It's really annoying, because I still have relatively vivid dreams practically every night. I'm usually thinking about writing before I go to bed, which I feel like is partially why my dreams occasionally involve writing.

Bah.

At 4/19/13 12:03 PM, Seasons wrote:

:I'm usually thinking about writing before I go to bed

Same here- I find that thinking about writing helps me get to sleep a lot better/quickly. Sometimes, I even come up with content, which I have to make note of before I lose thought of it.

Hi, I'm new here and my name's Ilumnia. I'm currently re-writing all my old stories and strugling badly with it. I have a problem where as soon as I start writing, be it the story or just a note, I'd always end up running away from the way I want the story to be. Can someone please tell me how am I suppose to avoid this?

Does anyone know if we have a "Writing Review Request" thread here? Something like the Audio advertisement thread where people can shamelessly advertise their stuff and are encouraged to review others' work so that others can pay back the favor.

Because as Deathcon7 pointed out before, I think the biggest problem we have here is everyone is posting their stories, and are sad that they aren't getting feedback, and instead of just sitting around everyone can give the other feedback.

At 4/21/13 01:39 PM, Ilumnia wrote: Hi, I'm new here and my name's Ilumnia. I'm currently re-writing all my old stories and strugling badly with it. I have a problem where as soon as I start writing, be it the story or just a note, I'd always end up running away from the way I want the story to be. Can someone please tell me how am I suppose to avoid this?

Welcome to the writing forum Ilumnia!

I've always had that, but I don't refer to it as a problem. I think it's exciting that I can start a story, and never know how it ends!

I think it might be a good idea though, to delineate a plot that you want your story to follow. A basic outline of the shape, of what should happen where and when. Like designing the frame of a cup, and then filling it with water (the water being the actual writing and descriptions and characters)

At 4/26/13 06:07 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: Does anyone know if we have a "Writing Review Request" thread here? Something like the Audio advertisement thread where people can shamelessly advertise their stuff and are encouraged to review others' work so that others can pay back the favor.

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1295117

Because as Deathcon7 pointed out before, I think the biggest problem we have here is everyone is posting their stories, and are sad that they aren't getting feedback, and instead of just sitting around everyone can give the other feedback.

The problem is that people are offering empty gestures. I've seen so many new users post in this thread saying that they want to get involved, they want to contribute, they want to integrate into the community. What this has come to mean is that they have such a high opinion of their writing we can't possibly not appreciate their value. So when they immediately post two or three threads of their writing, and receive little to no attention, they slink away with their proverbial tails tucked between their legs.

When I started the above thread I expected people would be proactive and the thread would carry itself. The premise was simple: if you critique someone else's work, you're guaranteed at least one review of your own, more than likely from me. It was win-win. You contribute, you get rewarded. Unfortunately people didn't read the rules and all the side commentary derailed the thread.

I still have faith the method can work, but it needs to be conducted in a controlled environment. For example: Lit101. If someone doesn't read the rules, or feels compelled to make an unrelated comment, it can be removed. Not so much on the forum. Until users, as a whole, learn to read and follow instructions, the forum isn't a good medium for this. Also, if people know to go to Lit101 for requesting reviews, it'll increase awareness of the userpage and ultimately its usefulness.

At 4/26/13 12:07 PM, Deathcon7 wrote: The problem is that people are offering empty gestures. I've seen so many new users post in this thread saying that they want to get involved, they want to contribute, they want to integrate into the community. What this has come to mean is that they have such a high opinion of their writing we can't possibly not appreciate their value. So when they immediately post two or three threads of their writing, and receive little to no attention, they slink away with their proverbial tails tucked between their legs.

I can see what you mean, and I do likewise have faith that this work.

What about making it extremely simple? While it's true that for an aspiring writer, the least you would expect is for them to actual read a couple of rules of the opening post, but this is Newgrounds. I don't say that as a bad thing. New writers are usually people coming from different areas of the website and want to give this writing thing a shot.

What if we were to restart this Writing Review Request thread, with one simple rule. You can post your work here to be critiqued. That's it.

You wouldn't be forced to review someone else before posting, but naturally, you most likely won't receive much attention if you just sit around waiting. And if we say it's okay to post at the end of your review "Please check out my story here" after reviewing someone else, then the whole thing could carry itself as a practice even if the review request thread sinks into oblivion again.

And I think we don't need to try making a system where we keep track of how many stories you reviewed, so you get that amount of reviews back, because I've never seen it work, even with games or movies.

How I'm imagining it is that as you become an active reviewer, even if some people don't return the favor right away, others would be more likely to review your work because they know you would return the favor.

Lit101: Journal Brainstorm

We need a journal. Seriously. With various users being able to contribute short essays offering advice, encouragement, victories, failures, recommendation of resources, and maybe even an advice column. Lit101 would be the perfect way to facilitate it.

The thought sprung up this morning when I was thinking of "Magic" and how it correlates to Physics. I was hacking away at the thought during my morning commute, and when I arrived at work I thought: "I should share this with the Others!" Then I came here and realized there really isn't any targeted medium to deliver the information, nor any way to really invite discussion.

"But Deathcon," you might say to me. "That's why Tom created forumz!"

To which I'll respond, after rolling my eyes and shrugging, "I've tried making a thread to start a discussion. One may recall Misogyny and Media. mhzinski, may he rest in peace, was the only one that formed an opinion and bothered to contribute to the conversation. The discussion quickly degenerated into an argument, however, of which I take partial responsibility. It's something we need to work on, being able to carry an intelligent discussion. This is in addition to getting writers their critique."

I'm digressing.

Magic and Physics

Ask a person, an average John/Jane, what physics is, or the first thing they think of when they hear the word, and I assure you it's gravity.

Ask a general what Physics is and he'll probably say something along the lines of it helping to make bigger bombs.

Ask a physics teacher what physics is, and when they're done grading papers, they'll oblige by providing various and sundry equations.

Ask a philosopher what physics is and before long you'll be arguing the nature of space and time, existence, and the universe.

Ask a physicist what physics is and their answer will be very complex, yet very incomplete.

There are so many ways to frame an understanding of Physics, but zero ways of truly understanding it. Nearly three millennia of study and we only recently discovered proof of the Higgs Boson. Nearly three millennia of study and we only recently discovered exoplanets. Nearly three millennia of study and we're only now cracking the surface of nanotechnology, quantum computing, virtual reality.

Magic has to work the same way. Your character understands it, this fictional science, through the limited scope of their application of it. But even as the world, as a whole, continues to push the boundary, there is still much to uncover.

The best types of magics are the ones about which a reader can theorize. Magics that have a central structure, a tenuous central identity, but expand in either direction. Like a character, a good magic system must have an arc of understanding.

The most effective arc, because it offers the most change and the most conflict between start and end, is the inversion. With regard to magic consider this: the power being used is actually your own future strength. Now, imagine the impact on a character when, after a large battle and an immense exertion of power, they discover they've effectively shortened their lifespan to a handful of years or months. It's sweet, sweet irony. Fighting for survival is what kills them. You also open up the incentive for a quest and set up questions to be answered. How can this be undone? What can be done to survive long enough to learn? What is this magic? Where does it come from? Where can information be found? Why is the magic the way it is? These questions lead to deeper questions. Questions of milieu. Not really the point of this, but definitely a benefit of this train of thought.

So what happens when the character learns they draw power through metaphysical conduits? What if their default affinity is their own power conduit, but they can pull from other conduits. Now, their magic can be powered using the energy of their enemies. And, what's more, they can refill their own power, indefinitely, granting them relative immortality. And lo, the longer their conduit is at capacity, the stronger their ability to channel the energy. So now they're effectively immortal, growing stronger by the day. Then you invert their situation again, remove their individuality and make them the weakest. When they reach the pinnacle of that, then take their power away, let them grow strength of character. Which, admittedly, is not magic, but is a type of magic: magic-less.

What I'm getting at, and I hope I didn't over do it with the setup, is that Magic, like everything else, needs to be three dimensional. There needs to be a depth to it that only grows as the story does. And that depth cannot be limited to the start and end of a story. It needs to grow beyond the pages and lend a sense of wonder to the reader. Magic shouldn't just be the fireballs flung from the fingers, or the super high jump just when a super high jump is needed. More often than not, that casual use of Magic only creates plot holes.

One of my favorite examples of how NOT to do magic: The Force. Star Wars handles the force pretty badly. I've yet to read a Star Wars novel, or watch a Star Wars movie, or play a Star Wars game, that handled the Force well. Why in some situations is it used, and not in others? I was watching the Clone Wars cartoon one day. Obi Wan was chasing a terrorist. He was maybe twenty feet behind this guy. Now, Obi Wan can Force Push, so he can more than likely Force Pull. But he doesn't. And the guy jumps a ledge to his death and they can't interrogate him. Why? Plot hole.

Disclaimer: I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but I'm not so blinded I can't see its flaw. As a fan I simply accept them. But I shouldn't have to!

If you've read Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle you'll see an amazing use of magic. The magic feels like magic even though Rothfuss explains equivalent exchange, conservation of energy, the mental Alar, Sygaldry, and the nuances of Naming. The Magic deepens with the story. It's a master study of what I'm trying to, in my own verbose way, explain.

Read it. I'm stopping here. I've been slowly writing this post over the course of the day and need to focus on other things.

How does one stay aware of the writing competitions and deadlines? I'm not really sure how people are notified of contests and whatnot, but I do want to be involved in the next (or next next) one that is held.

Thanks,
#newbie

At 5/7/13 02:06 PM, Deathcon7 wrote: Lit101: Journal Brainstorm

We need a journal. Seriously. With various users being able to contribute short essays offering advice, encouragement, victories, failures, recommendation of resources, and maybe even an advice column. Lit101 would be the perfect way to facilitate it.

First off, I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to write this gigantic post.

I've never put that much thought into how or why I could magic in a story, and what its effects could be. Frankly, ever since I've stumbled into the writing forum my focus has been on improving my writing style, vocabulary and use of words, and not so much on plot mechanics.

I especially love the Star Wars example, I think that made it really clear.

I took another look at the Lit101 account, and I have no idea why we haven't been promoting it more as a collective. I can really see it being the go-to blog of the writing forum, that every new poster gets pointed to, and it would have a newspost as an archive/landing page, linking to all the posts, all nicely categorized.

I'm curious, how do you imagine this journal would work? Would it be like an open-ended discussion as a forum thread? Or more of a closed submission kind of thing where you feature articles/posts on the Lit101 account? Maybe we could even reincarnate flash novels and submit a couple of such entries to the portal? Would be an attractive way to read the journal for sure! (And would probably be a fun project!)

I think there's a lot of things we can do to push the writing forum forward. We're all doing this voluntarily, and it may be slow, but I think we're getting there, and we can get back the old spirits of the lively writing forum, and maybe even more.

Perhaps we could have even more interactive activities for the writing forum? Things to get people more involved or even working together. They don't have to be complicated, and would have a low barrier to entry. Maybe the Lit101 occasionally has like, something where users can ask questions about writing? Or a small prompt poses an interesting question and users try to answer it? Maybe a small arbitrary prize is given as an incentive?

I don't know, just some thinking out loud. Maybe even something like the classic flash collabs. That game where each user adds a paragraph to the story? I'm not sure if that's a very serious writing exercise, but it's definitely fun!

At 5/9/13 01:18 AM, TonytheGamerDad wrote: Hey guys, kinda new here...Name's Tony aka Tony the Gamer Dad. I wrote this story over 15 years ago and was wondering what everyone thought...

Hey Tony! Welcome to the writing forum! I'm always excited to see new faces!

The lounge is more for general chit-chat, so feel free to make a new thread and post your story asking for criticism. As you might have read above, we're trying to encourage users to swap feedback. A good idea I think would be to post your thread, and then go around giving some feedback to other people's stories, and asking if they liked your criticism, if they could return the favor.

At 5/7/13 06:47 PM, Jojiro wrote: How does one stay aware of the writing competitions and deadlines? I'm not really sure how people are notified of contests and whatnot, but I do want to be involved in the next (or next next) one that is held.

Thanks,
#newbie

Usually there is a contest every month, or every other month or so. When a new contest is announced, a thread is made here, Tom announces it on the front page, and it will also be on the homepage, on the top left where there is a little calender of upcoming events. So if you visit Newgrounds every couple days you should stumble upon it quite easily.

Because I have no other place where I may "force" other people to ignore, much less read, some of my unbridled, incessant rambling, I will do so here - the fact that I could write up another news post notwithstanding, I do not feel the urge to do so again. Yes, this entire post will be off-topic, however you wish to define on-topic.

Writing has always been something that I started to do during my spare time on the weekends in which no game would satiate my desire to rid myself of bordeom - it happens seldomly, but when it does I can find myself typing for at least an hour straight, whilst listening to some sort of Goa trance, about nothing in particular. Though the topics about which I find myself writing vary in small amounts, the actual thing which I am trying to accomplish by doing so is finding a way to collectivise my scattered thoughts into a small, constrained portion of the web for "all" to see. Yes, I both want people to read it and do not want them to at the same time.

I want people to read because, yes, I have just spent the last hour or two of my life sitting infront of my computer doing nothing but pouring out my thoughts and would just like some confirmation that it had not all been for naught; no, I do not want people to read them because the whole point of my starting to write was for myself and myself alone - whoring the text out to anyone does nothing but contradict the original point with which I started to write, making myself nothing by hyppocritical, I feel. Even posting in this topic can be considered a cry of, "Look at me! Look at me! Look what I am doing!"

But I digress; when I look at the writing forum, the majority of topics I see are ones that deal with the kind in which I most have weakness. All I see are various compilations of people's poetry, stories, and &c. Every time I have tried to write myself a story to see how well I can do it, I find that it is not much better than if a primary school child had written it. Poetry is much the same; for lack of an expansive vocabulary and a much convoluted prose style, I may take about twenty minutes to write a single stanza which, too, feels as if I am only a baby.

One aspect of us, humans, is that we want to be able to do things; we want to be able to accomplish certain goals, yet, when we see the amount of time it will take and how much farther we have to go down the long, winding road of experience, trials, and tribulations, we despair in ourselves and give up. Some people say that they want to lose weight, yet give up after, perhaps, a week or so because they are not getting any results. Some people want to become better artists and stop after a few days because they think their art is horrendous. The people whom you see that do draw fantastically, the people whom you see that have lost weight all had one thing in common - they all worked for ages without giving up.

My writing is more akin to the first type of person. After all, it is only the most common type we have on our planet, and I am far from being out of the ordinary. So when I find dissatisfaction in the aforementioned type of writing, I regress to in what I am "best." That is to say, the only thing I could write "well" for hours at a time would be expository writing on any subject, though it most notably contains more opinions and personal anecdotes than anything else. Yes, the same sort of self-centred writing whose only theme is myself - the very same that is found within this post. I do not think I have tried, recently, to actually write on subjects other than my personal thoughts - I know not about what I should. Maybe it, too, will become like my storytelling i.e, a level almost entirely, but not quite, unlike a primary schooler. Actually, no; that last sentence was a blatant rip off of a well known series, and I should be ashamed for copying it so for lack of originality on my part.

So I might ask the people who read this thread a question. Is there any place in this forum or any topic which you can give to me that is suited for what, I think, I can write? Even though I feel I have still explained it unclearly, I still feel like I should ask.

Though I feel the "zeal" with which I have "interest" at this moment is only a transient feeling which will, inevitably, fade away into obscurity into the back of my mind until that day comes again where I feel nothing but the highest echelons of boredom to the degree that I feel like unleashing upon my "friends" and onto the world terrible, self-absorbed written works through which no one, not even the worst person imaginable, should have to suffer; I can say, with no doubt in my mind, that they would not even suffer its reading at all.

I feel like Kankri.

At 5/13/13 06:26 AM, Letiger wrote: Because I have no other place where I may "force" other people to ignore, much less read, some of my unbridled, incessant rambling, I will do so here - the fact that I could write up another news post notwithstanding, I do not feel the urge to do so again. Yes, this entire post will be off-topic, however you wish to define on-topic.

It's a lounge because anyone can add to the conversation. Just do us all a favor and buy a drink first.

Writing has always been something that I started to do during my spare time on the weekends in which no game would satiate my desire to rid myself of bordeom - it happens seldomly, but when it does I can find myself typing for at least an hour straight, whilst listening to some sort of Goa trance, about nothing in particular.

Brevity is the soul of wit according to Bill Shakespeare. A very important lesson to learn if you want to improve your textual communication. Another lesson: realize your thought before you commit it to words. The complex clause quoted, commodious to a convoluted idea, is a conflated, conflicted cacophony.

Though the topics about which I find myself writing vary in small amounts, the actual thing which I am trying to accomplish by doing so is finding a way to collectivise my scattered thoughts into a small, constrained portion of the web for "all" to see. Yes, I both want people to read it and do not want them to at the same time.

The first concession an artist must make is audience. If you write for yourself, be satisfied with that. If you write for others, then be satisfied with that. Being in between only makes you pretentious. Take off those frames, Letiger, the lenses are non-prescription.

I want people to read because, yes, I have just spent the last hour or two of my life sitting infront of my computer doing nothing but pouring out my thoughts and would just like some confirmation that it had not all been for naught; no, I do not want people to read them because the whole point of my starting to write was for myself and myself alone - whoring the text out to anyone does nothing but contradict the original point with which I started to write, making myself nothing by hyppocritical, I feel. Even posting in this topic can be considered a cry of, "Look at me! Look at me! Look what I am doing!"

The crux of your conflict. Most artists require some level of validation. Until your ego reaches a point where self-satisfaction is sufficient sustentation, you will always seek attention. It's natural. Accept it.

But I digress; when I look at the writing forum, the majority of topics I see are ones that deal with the kind in which I most have weakness. All I see are various compilations of people's poetry, stories, and &c. Every time I have tried to write myself a story to see how well I can do it, I find that it is not much better than if a primary school child had written it. Poetry is much the same; for lack of an expansive vocabulary and a much convoluted prose style, I may take about twenty minutes to write a single stanza which, too, feels as if I am only a baby.

The average skill of a user here is not something to which you want to strive. If that's the yardstick against which you measure yourself, your sights are set very low. Sadly so. They're all in your same situation.

Writing takes time. If it takes you twenty minutes to write a stanza, you're doing it wrong. A poem is a complete entity. How long does it take you to write the entire poem? How many revisions do you perform? How long does that all take? If you're interested in measuring time lapsed, that'll be the better figure.

In the end, it's as useless as measuring how long your shits take you. It'll be different every time.

One aspect of us, humans, is that we want to be able to do things; we want to be able to accomplish certain goals, yet, when we see the amount of time it will take and how much farther we have to go down the long, winding road of experience, trials, and tribulations, we despair in ourselves and give up. Some people say that they want to lose weight, yet give up after, perhaps, a week or so because they are not getting any results. Some people want to become better artists and stop after a few days because they think their art is horrendous. The people whom you see that do draw fantastically, the people whom you see that have lost weight all had one thing in common - they all worked for ages without giving up.

Don't be so quick to generalize humanity, or simplify our pursuits into so conveniently palatable an argument.

My writing is more akin to the first type of person...

You lack ambition, you lack confidence, and you expect more from yourself because you have an inflated self-opinion. You're immature. But so is everyone else here. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, we'd be "writing." You're no different than the majority of aspiring writers. When you stop trying to label yourself, and instead focus on your craft, you will progress.

It should also be noted that your pseudo-academic voice is not unique. Everyone uses it. I've used it for most of this post. I mean, I'm trying to prove a point here. I hope I have. You want to stack odds in your favor? Drop the farce and use your own, natural voice.

So I might ask the people who read this thread a question. Is there any place in this forum or any topic which you can give to me that is suited for what, I think, I can write? Even though I feel I have still explained it unclearly, I still feel like I should ask.

Write what you want. There are no quick and dirty secrets to writing. It's a journey of self for the betterment of others. Whatever the hell that means.

Though I feel the "zeal" with which I have "interest" at this moment is only a transient feeling...

Write for the need of it, not the want of it. If you have a story that you really want to tell-- tell it. Don't use writing as a pretense for artistry. Don't mistake an elevated diction or complex syntax for "writing." All of that, it's the verb of it. What you're lacking is the art of it. Find the art, however you can, and go from there.

I feel like Kankri.

Learn to feel like yourself and you'll be part way there.