Writing is an art, a craft, creation from a spark of inspiration. You can't force the good stuff, it has to come from within. The spark must ignite a passion which is conveyed through the writing; if it doesn't, all you have are words on a page. That spark, that passion, can come from anywhere at any time. Even from a bulletin board like this.

So what's the harm in sharing thoughts, ideas? If you've got a good idea, a spark that is flowing through you to the page, then why not share just a bit of it if you want? If it ignites a spark in someone else, aren't we all better off for it (adding to the wealth of creations)? What are the chances that your spark will manifest itself in exactly the same way in another? Slim, if you ask me.

So if the same spark creates a short, a poem, a novel, or a play, I see that as a good thing. If it happens to creat two shorts, somehow similar, I don't see that as a bad thing. We can appreciate the creations, recognize if one is "better" than another, and move one, continuing to strive to be better writers. And as we strive, don't we all benefit from helping others along?

My journey can be made easier by learning from those who have gone before me; less lonely by traveling with those on the same path; more rewarding by teaching those behind me. I feel that is what this bulletin board is all about.

Well, SiliGurl, I know this didn't answer your question directly (I'll get to that in another post later), but I felt compelled to write this. I hope you'll forgive the indulgence.

After posting, I thought others might feel the same way. I don't really mean for members to necessarily divulge their plots or anything. I guess I was more interesting in:
1- What is moving you in your writing? I'm currently working on a fantasy novel that is being planned as a trilogy. I've spent a lot time on world creation, and could even write a few prequels. BUT, what really started me off on this particular novel was two things. First, I recently read some articles about Nazi Germany, combined that with recently re-reading the Stand by Stephen King. And in that twisted way my subconcious works, made me start to wonder about people making a stand. Case in point: Most of us would decry poverty, and lament about the poor, or children living in insanely terrible conditions. I know I do. But, what do we do about it? When you're lying in front of your TV, or cuddling up in bed with your spouse, do you ever start to wonder "Did I take a stand today? Did I make a difference in something that I believe in?" We all take a stand in our hearts and our minds, but how does that move in our lives. How terrible does something have to be before you act on it? That was a theme I wanted to explore. There were also two character types that I wanted to explore... One, a character with such a twisted soul that you couldn't help but be captivated (like a car accident that you can't turn away from), and the other someone tainted by evil, who is struggling for a redemption they'll never find within themselves.
2- I also thought that this type of thread might generate discussion, and help "unfurl the wings of creativity." If I told you that I was working on a story that A led to B, and then C and D happened, you might say... Whoa there, but what about...? or Whoa there, I read that book! or even better, Wow! What happens next? It could be used as a constructive tool, or even one that sheds new light on something.

Well, here's a bit anyway. I don't know if it's what you were looking for SiliGurl, but it's all I got for you and the others at the moment. The main story I'm working on at the moment is an allegory (I think) which explores modern society and pop culture, and the tension between the simple life and the desire (obsession) for modern conveniences (or the impacts of commercialism). It's a hero's journey motif, there-and-back-again story. The A to Z to A is certainly the main tension, but there will be other minor conflits that highlight various good and bad (and shades of grey) elements of society.

Heh, I re-read this one, and it's probably not saying a whole lot. Someone will read this and think, "Well, that's about as fundamental as it gets. Glad he shared that with us. *Real* enlightening."

Well, now that the ice is broken, I'll give it a shot.

My story is a fantasy novel that deals with injustice, ethnic conflicts, and the idea of mercy. The basic premise is that a young girl's entire nation of people are ethnically cleansed and their homeland taken by a group of nomad settlers from a far distant land. The girl escapes to a another nation, where she grows up in hiding among foreign people and their strange customs. But ultimately, she can not come to accept their way of life, so she decides to journey back to her homeland years later and attempt to learn about her lost hertitage and why the nomad settlers slaughted her people.

I love to just type things and keep going then read back some of the things I type. Sometimes when I look back I don't believe I actually thought something because it don't remember thinking it. That can be some of the most honest writing.

Khav (sp?)- Equally interesting. I think that these types of ideas are the most rare, and the most fun for the reader. Taking the world, morals, life, etc. as we know it and completely twisting it on its head. For the writer, it must be very difficult to manage... what is black in this world must be made white (and believable) in the other, and vice versa. Kudos to you.

I'm working on a couple of possibilities, but they're short stories--not easy to summarize without telling the whole thing.

Fortunately, you have a lot of real life examples to draw on. It's exactly this concern of losing one's uniqueness that prompted China and I think Japan to be so "closed off." They didn't want interference, they didn't want a culture change, etc.

I have a sf story that wants to be told about a woman, who under the guise of seeking revenge, joins a team of criminals. Once in she finds a completeness for herself, like a healing of a wounded soul and learns the usefulness of the saying "Bloom where you are planted". She becomes what she accused the team of being- a cancer that destroys from within the organization. What I haven't fixed in the story yet is the dilemma of whether she destroys the criminal organization on purpose (as I had originally thought) or if because of her change within herself she causes the "downfall" by accident (a new thought I'm toying with). The accident would be the result of something she did not plan, not a fate thing that just happened, though. This story is probably coming from the many Star Wars books I've read and loved.

One of the things I use Sorloaoth's world for is to explore different moral systemss. It's very strange. Also, I use the system of deities and ethereals to create villains I can believe in, instead of the usual "no one's a villain from their own point of view" model that is so prevalent in modern fantasy, and above all to get away from the horrible idea of the tortured villain who wants to stop, but cannot. In my worlds, I do not present things as how they are, but as how they should be.

Dreaming of Desolation,