Why did you start writing?

[Cncrman]

This is the first topic in a short series of "New Writer" question threads. Since I have decided to try and focus on my own writing a bit more, I thought I would ask some questions of our Writers in Residence and our closet writers that lurk the forum.

So to start off: What caused you to start your writing? Was it a life event, some burning need to create, a story stuck in your mind or something else?

Sub Question: What style of writing do you enjoy? Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Drama, Comedy?


Expect more questions in the coming days. :)

[neglet]

I love words. I love stories. I love reading. I can't remember ever not wanting to be a writer.

While I get ideas "stuck in the head," it takes perseverance to turn them into novels. It's hard work! But I've finished two novels, am 1/3 through my third, and hopefully soon will find a publisher for them.

My novels are in the fantasy genre, but I've made my living at writing and editing nonfiction--I like learning and explaining things--and occasionally I get attacks of silly poetry. Poetry, even on silly subjects, is a lot harder than it looks, so it requires tweaking and polishing and more tweaking to make it sound smooth.

[kah]

I used to write a lot when I was going through the drama of my teen years. I never really had anyone to tell my secrets to, since teenagers are notoriously untrustworthy (in my experience), so I got my angst out on paper. When I look back at what I wrote, I can feel the pain I was feeling at the time, but I am struck by my naivete. Unfortunately, that feeling keeps me from putting too many words down these days, because I fear looking back in 10 years and wondering what the hell I was thinking. I've got a few outlines going that lean decidedly non-fiction, using my own experiences and realizations as fodder. The best thing I ever wrote was 3 chapters of a time travel novel, inspired by my loathing and anger towards my ex-boyfriend (still my boyfriend at the time). As soon as I slowed down and wasn't angry anymore, I tried to do research and turn it into a historical fiction novel. I railroaded myself by diverting my passion for penning my feelings into analyzing ways to write marketable material. I'm waiting for my next inspiration to hit. Sometimes it comes in a particularly vivid dream, and sometimes from having a conversation with a stranger. I agree with Negs- it's easy to get ideas, even ones you think are better than great. It takes a hell of a lot more than what I've got to get from start to finish, though. I'm really good at character development, plotlines, climaxes, endings, first pages that will grab you and get your heart pumping, but never all of those things within the same story. I'd like to fix that, but I am the worst procrastinator I know, and rarely finish anything. ~sigh~ Anyways, does that answer your question?

I didn't mean to ramble. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed by my own self-sabotage. :(