Writing group?

I don’t know how many of you enjoy writing, but I really want to get motivated with my writing. I realized that part of what’s holding me back is no one ever asks me to see my writing and so I don’t show anyone, and so there’s nothing motivating me except myself. And while I’m good at motivating myself for the most part, I really want to write a lot more. So I was thinking - how about a writer’s community? A small, tight-knit, password protected group where you can post up your work and read and comment on other people’s work. It’d be like a Wordpress blog, and anyone who’s interested would be a user on the blog, and the entire blog would be closed off to non-registered users.

I really want writers who will be pretty active, posting up at least something maybe once a week or once ever week and a half, but really I just want people at all to post stuff. I also want to keep this really small so that it’s not overwhelming and so people aren’t so afraid to post. If you’ve always wanted to get motivated, the best way is to be part of a supportive community like the one I’m thinking about.

So, anybody interested? Let me know. If I get at least three or four people, I’m going to set it up. I’ve already got one person: Stephanie, but we’d love to get more people! Let me know in a comment if you’re interested, or if you know someone that might be interested.

Oh, also, any kind of writing would be awesome - journal entries, fiction, novels, poetry, etc. As long as it’s creative writing, it works.

March 12, 2009 @ 3:41 pm . Comments (3)

Art — Tags: writing

Nanowrimo!

Nanowrimo has actually been going really well so far. We’ll see if that keeps up. I have a lot of projects and homework assignments to finish up this week, but my game plan so far is to just write during class. Also, it’s been hot (in the 80s), which is just obnoxious. I haven’t lived in Texas for too long, but I can’t remember a fall that’s been this warm before. I mean, it’s NOVEMBER. I’m tired of sweating, frankly, and I’m still very tired of air conditioning.

But I digress. So, what’s really funny is how this year’s Nanowrimo IS going so well. I’m taking more classes and more difficult classes than last year. I also had food poisoning yesterday. I’m also working almost twice as many hours as last year. AND last year I had spent days plotting out my story - my characters were all in my plotting notebook, my plot was on notecards, so I had one planned-out scene for each day, and I knew everything that was going to happen, beginning, middle, end. I didn’t think I was being really micro-management about it, but I really was. It’s funny how each year my writing gets better and better when I write stuff outside of Nanowrimo, but within it it all depends on what I’m writing and how.

This year I had done the same thing, though not quite to the same extent. In fact, I had actually planned on finishing up the one from last year, writing the second part of it (for I had, conveniently, planned it so that it would be exactly 100,000 words long). November 1st, when I woke up, my subconscious smacked me across the face with a half-baked idea, not even a plot, and told me to write it.

So I am, despite my better judgment and everyone else’s advice. And, shockingly enough, it’s working wonderfully. I don’t know how that happens but apparently you can write a story without plotting everything out down to the individual scene. Who knew?

In conclusion, everyone should do Nanowrimo. Because it’s actually more fun than even I thought it was, and I thought it was pretty fun most of the years I did it (since 2002, actually, which makes me feel really old, even though I certainly haven’t been doing it for as long as some people). So, it’s not too late to start, guys. Day 4. Grab your pen and let’s go!

ps: did you guys know Charles Stross is doing Nanowrimo? Ultimate coolness!

November 4, 2008 @ 7:40 am . Comments (3)

Art — Tags: creativity, nanowrimo, writing

Working hard

I caved - I totally bought a Power Plant which I blogged about here. I don’t have any seeds and I’m still trying to decide what to grow, but the side of the box claims I can grow things like peppers and soybeans. My original plan was something safe, like basil, but now I’m overwhelmed with possibilities!

This weekend was altogether amazingly good in general. I stayed away from the Internet, I actually had taken Friday off from work. My weekend consisted of pretty much a lot of writing, drawing, playing Okami, tons of reading, and staring off into space, which was NICE. I really needed it, trust me. I also went for cold, late-night walks with J, drank tons of tea and coffee, and spent lots of nice quality time with my parents. It was so relaxing, let me tell you, and now I feel completely and totally prepared for this coming week.

You know, I think sometimes that people really underestimate how hard it is to be a university student. I think a lot of people look at all the partying and stuff that goes on and thinks that we just goof off, but that can’t be farther than the truth for a lot of people. Of course, it all really depends on your major, and I KNOW computer science at my school is worse than almost every other major, but still - colleges and universities are tough. If you don’t work while going to school, relish it - you don’t know what it’s like to have to work and go to school at the same time.

So it’s the little things - you take what you can get, right? You have to take a little bit of time for yourself every once in awhile or you’ll go insane.

Also, as a note, Nanowrimo is coming up in a few days. Any fellow Nano’ers?

October 29, 2008 @ 9:01 am . Comments (6)

General — Tags: computer science, nanowrimo, relaxing, school, writing