guys

[piano moths]

sorry i thought it'd be funny lol. once i was with my friend sophie and she kept calling this girl jessie "jesgirl" and it is really funny to me

[snoorkel]

Oh, I forgot the most important tip for better writing: study and know each of Bob Dylan's songs (from his earlier albums obviously), this should teach you more than anything else.  (Poetry in general, whether ancient or modern.)

Oh man this has been one of the hardest things lately. Last semester, I got a lot of reading in, and you wouldn't believe how much I enjoyed reading something different from usual. Cause you know what it was? Young adult lit. It was so refreshing, even if it's not as "substantial" as "classics" or whatever.

But lately I have had so much trouble getting into any new books. I've mostly just been stuck reading essays that bore me, or reading back through things I've already read before (like Salinger's work, always inspirational to me)...and I have been struggling to get through this one book, Under the Volcano. I just pretty much gave up on it yesterday, it's not working out.

I need to read something else.

You just have to continuously try new stuff from every genre. The best thing that has happened to me has been finding a few non-fiction sub-genres that I'm actually really interesting in. I just follow the references/bibliography from one book to the next in a never ending chain.

I was thinking to myself a while ago and realized that whenever I went into a used book store or something like that, you know what i would see? Tons and tons of absolutely dreadful romance and sci-fi novels. TONS of them. In a USED book store. People BUY that schlock.

And this is comforting because it helps me realize that even if something I write isn't well-liked by "buffs" and critics, maybe at least someone will like it. And at the same time, if I know I can probably do better than what sells, well...maybe I can do this after all.



I watched "Ed Wood" the other day, a Burton film about...well, Ed Wood. The man often described as the worst film director in history. But he had so much heart, so much optimism, and tried so hard to make his visions come to life with what little time and money he ever managed to scrape up.

It's pretty inspiring.

Don't talk shit about SF.

[Samus Aran]

I have nothing against sci-fi in general. In fact I wish to write quite a bit of cyberpunk. But it's a genre that has a LOT of bad material published because it's such an oft-read and oft-written genre.

[Samus Aran]

As an aside, I think it would be cool to also somehow write about some of my other interests for publications. But I don't think things like vidya game mags really take freelance work. Idk. Something to look into.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

I have nothing against sci-fi in general. In fact I wish to write quite a bit of cyberpunk. But it's a genre that has a LOT of bad material published because it's such an oft-read and oft-written genre.

Actually, I think I'd throw the whole fantasy genre in there as well and just tack it all together.
It seems like some of the stuff I see the most is stereotypical ancient fantasy tied together with real ropey names.
Guess everyone's just trying to emulate the simarillion?

[Thyme]

As an aside, I think it would be cool to also somehow write about some of my other interests for publications. But I don't think things like vidya game mags really take freelance work. Idk. Something to look into.

The blog option would be good for that too.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

There is like a whole section of those kinds of magazines at Barnes & Noble.

Also, have e-books progressed far enough to launch the careers of any notable writer? I haven't been too deep into the literary world in quite some time. The thing with the independent musician thing, is a lot of them still have a label. Albeit a small label. You'll still need some sort of entity that is familiar with all the ins-and-outs of the writing business. Some one with connections. "Oh you want to publish this? Ok, we'll need to promote it. I know a few people across the country that can give you a space for a reading or something."

Although the work of a publisher can be done by one's self, they can make the whole process a lot easier and rewarding.

The benefits of Internet distribution are obvious for budding writers, same as independent musicians.

I would wager that they aren't really the same. It's easier for a musician, as you have maybe a 3 to 6 minute window to capture an audience. Not many people in this day and age have the patience to sit through a book by a random guy on the internet.

I mean, there are definitely parallels in the music world and the literary world. But unlike with the Music industry, we haven't really got to a point where we can forgo publishers altogether. In a few years, maybe. I'd say the literary world is where the music industry was back in 1999/2000. There is a new way to reach people, with this e-book business, but the publishers are still trying to work out the kinks.

I hope I made some sense.

[applesauce]

As an aside, I think it would be cool to also somehow write about some of my other interests for publications. But I don't think things like vidya game mags really take freelance work. Idk. Something to look into.

I was once solicited to by a gaming website thing to write about hardware news. I bet you could find some sort of website thing that needs coverage of something you are interested in.

also if you are looking to just write about something for a little money craigslist is full of that.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

As an aside, I think it would be cool to also somehow write about some of my other interests for publications. But I don't think things like vidya game mags really take freelance work. Idk. Something to look into.

Again, this is something you'll have to send to smaller mags/sites. You have to build up a resume/portfolio for this kind of stuff.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

There is like a whole section of those kinds of magazines at Barnes & Noble.

Also, have e-books progressed far enough to launch the careers of any notable writer? I haven't been too deep into the literary world in quite some time. The thing with the independent musician thing, is a lot of them still have a label. Albeit a small label. You'll still need some sort of entity that is familiar with all the ins-and-outs of the writing business. Some one with connections. "Oh you want to publish this? Ok, we'll need to promote it. I know a few people across the country that can give you a space for a reading or something."

Although the work of a publisher can be done by one's self, they can make the whole process a lot easier and rewarding.
I would wager that they aren't really the same. It's easier for a musician, as you have maybe a 3 to 6 minute window to capture an audience. Not many people in this day and age have the patience to sit through a book by a random guy on the internet.

I mean, there are definitely parallels in the music world and the literary world. But unlike with the Music industry, we haven't really got to a point where we can forgo publishers altogether. In a few years, maybe. I'd say the literary world is where the music industry was back in 1999/2000. There is a new way to reach people, with this e-book business, but the publishers are still trying to work out the kinks.

I hope I made some sense.

I don't necessarily think this is a good turn.
The entire literary world is saturated enough and making it easier to get published is probably just going to make exposure that much more difficult.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

Kaz, you can always find work writing copy somewhere though.

[Samus Aran]

Kaz, you can always find work writing copy somewhere though.

I could but I would probably have to move down to the Twin Cities to make any sort of work within publishing a reality.

I'm more talking about the right here, right now...while I decide what to do with the non-writing part of my life, I should at least work on the writing part of it.

[silvertone]

do drugs

write words down


sober up next day. . . master piece !!!

[silvertone]

i didn't read this thread sorry .

[applesauce]

I could but I would probably have to move down to the Twin Cities to make any sort of work within publishing a reality.

I'm more talking about the right here, right now...while I decide what to do with the non-writing part of my life, I should at least work on the writing part of it.

You should consider moving down someday anyways.