posted
What inspires you guys to write? What helps you to sit for hours in front of a blinding screen and slowly develop carpel tunnel syndrome as you hammer out a story that may or may not ever be seen by the world at large?
I have to write if I didn't have a computer it would be a typewriter, if none of those--pen and paper--pencils, sheesh a chunk of coal and the back of a shovel--ect.
Inspiration--almost anything--I have my little note book wiht me all the time.
Shawn (editied becasue I wrote that way to early in the AM.)
[This message has been edited by srhowen (edited August 29, 2003).]
posted
Hmm. We might have. Now that you mention it, it does sound somewhat familiar. Nevertheless, it'd be nice to get some new input from newcomers.
Posts: 552 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I write because it's fun. It's nicee to jot down my ideas and share them, because when it's on paper you can fine-tune and perfect it. When I write I forget about other things in my life like those god-awful taxes and can focus, REALLY focus on something I enjoy.
posted
A change came over me recently. And, I’d have to give some credit to the catalyst that brought it about. I’d been miserable for so long, it got to feeling like it was normal. Then my wife picked up a copy of an old favorite movie for me. As I watched the DVD of Joe Vs The Volcano, it spoke to me in a way no person could. I realized the reason I’ve been so unhappy is that I’ve been too scared to live the life that I should be living. I, like Joe, have been selling my dreams for a lousy three hundred dollars a week.
I woke up and I can’t go to sleep again. I’ve been living in a state of constant amazement. I’m amazed at the beauty of the Earth and the sea and the sky. I’m amazed at the way people walk through their lives trance-like, not noticing the world around them. I’m amazed at the kindness and wickedness I see all around me.
I had always enjoyed writing as a hobby, but now it’s become a passion. I’ve started carrying a notebook with me to keep track of the ideas I have and the amazing things I see. I’ve realized that writing may be the most important thing I can do. After all, my life was changed by a work of fiction. If I could do that for someone else, my life would have real meaning.
My inspiration to write is my desire to get my dreams back. Just working towards the goal accomplishes it. If people enjoy my writing, I will be happy. If they don’t, I will continue to write and follow my dreams. And, I will still be happy. Because, I’m finally doing what I should have been doing all along.
I did not grow up with a burning desire to write. I have discovered an interest recently, and am writing to see if it could be an alternate career. My inspiration is two-fold - 1) The potential to stay home with my toddler twins - just thinking about them helps keep me in front of the screen, or reading about writing, or researching details for stories, (of course, the babies don't actually give me much time to write or even read!) and 2) My dreams. Over the past couple of years I seem to be having more vivid dreams which I remember on waking. It feels like someone is stuffing stories in my head, and I have to get them out. It is a relief to type and get it down so I won't forget. I don't have many yet, but it's a start.
One of my current blocks is relearning how to write creatively. However, as much of the advice I've read is to "just sit down and do it", I'm trying not to worry about what I know or don't know, but to just write. I subscribed to Writer's Digest and use their calendar of exercises to fill journals with practice - they often provide great inspiration. I also subscribed to The Writer. I checked out some books on writing, and have recently bought some, after much research. They also inspire me with new ideas.
I do physical therapy for my carpal tunnel - stretches, weights, and my husband bought me an appropriate chair for my desk (I've been sitting in a $6.00 white plastic deck chair for years!). I don't think about the fact that what I write might never be seen. I'd probably stop trying. I won't get to spend enough time with my family or maybe even move back to Hawaii with my current income!
quote: I realized the reason I’ve been so unhappy is that I’ve been too scared to live the life that I should be living. I, like Joe, have been selling my dreams for a lousy three hundred dollars a week.
--wow, Nexus, that's great. I don't remember that movie very well, but what you said is amazing.
The strange thing about me is I knew this. I'm already working only part time so I can write. I won't even say I'm barely making ends meet because my fiance is supporting my dreams, too, but even without him I don't know how long I would have stuck with a "real" job after college.
But some of the people around me (my mother) need to hear this. I've been trying to explain to her for months why it is that I've chosen this life. She keeps thinking it's temporary, and that soon I'll go off and get a job like all the normal people. I even have a degree that could make me quite a bit of money if I followed it, but I won't even sell my dreams for $1,000 dollars a week with options for raises, promotions, and benefits!
But I'm not sure the original question has been answered. Dreams are a big aprt of my general motivation, but when I sit down in front of the computer and have to write, it's not the dreams the motivate me. Are you sure it's what motivates you on a daily basis? Me? I'm motivated by story. If I don't have a good story I can't write. Sometimes parts of it gets dull and I have to push my way through them, or I'm really excited by a scene coming up and I have to make myself write the leadup first, but in the end I want to tell mys tory. It's not the dream, it's making the dream a reality.
posted
I suppose I could still be considered a newcomer.
I am inspired 24 hours a day but I reject a lot of the inspiration and am often too lazy to carry a small notebookm around with me for catching it. I keep it in my head and there it meshes with new ideas and slowly over time forms one wonderful idea. I am writing a novel as we speak which involves elements from story ideas I've head for a number of years. Details that enrich it in a way that I never could by trying to think of things to fill the holes on the spot. I suggest taking your time to write an dto think, and to never rush your story. That si what works best for me.
quote:sheesh a chunk of coal and the back of a shovel--ect.
Just for clarification, I believe the abbreviation is "etc." (please correct me if I'mw rong.) I am under the impression it comes from the latin, "et cetera."
Posts: 295 | Registered: May 2003
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I'm sure that I am still considered a newcomer, since this is only my second post...
Why do I write? In my lifetime, I have lost two grandmothers, one grandfather, two great-aunts, one great-uncle, one uncle, two aunts, one cousin and one father. All of these people led fantastic lives full of amazing stories -- and all of them departed without leaving those stories behind. I write because their lives inspire me... and because I don't want to leave this world without sharing with my unborn descendents the gifts that my ancestors have left in my head.
Now, if I could only be more successful in moving those stories from my head and onto paper, I would really be getting somewhere...
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