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Location: Hidin' out on the Mexican border;about to move to the Canadian border
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Sounds like there's something in there that you need to get out. Writing is a good outlet. In particular, if there are things that you can't or don't want to talk to people about, try journaling. That's one of the methods a lot of teachers use to teach students to express themselves through writing. An advantage to it is that if you don't like what you read, you don't have to show it to anybody. After I became a journalist, I kept writing fiction. Still do. It's a great way to keep your mind working the way it needs to in order to write.
I was wondering if some of the good writers here could give me some advice. My background in school has been very technical courses, electronics, math, basic physics.
I've never really thought of myself as that type of "writer" guy. I always poo poo'd the idea. But lately I'm discovering a side of myself in just the last couple of yrs that I never really knew I had. I've seem to develop a witty sense of humor and many times people have said to me that I have a way of using certain words to make things funny meaningful in some way.
So I guess my question is how would I develop that side of me, being a tech head my whole life...
Any suggestions on how to bring out the writer/poet/comedian in me???
Best way to become a better writer is simply to write (as much and as often as you can).
Sounds trite I know, but that's the long and the short of it in my experience.
I know this is probably a stupid question but how important is having a really strong background in English for a writer. I posted earlier about being a "tech head" and not having the whole English background for being a writer.
I suppose that's what editors are for??
I feel like I have stories/poems in me. I'd hate to be hindered by not having strong grammar skills.
Best way to become a better writer is simply to write (as much and as often as you can).
Sounds trite I know, but that's the long and the short of it in my experience.
Ken
i agree w/ u. that's why i try to work on my novel @ least a couple times a wk. the first few mins are always the hardest just to get back into my charaters heads.
I've never called myself a writer but I guess I am. In television I wrote hundreds of commercials, and some pretty good radio spots too. Every year for the past several years I have written a short Christmas story for my friends. Now if I don't send one every year I get yelled at. I've had a few things published in newspapers too. I've even written a short novel, and now I want to make it longer so it sits there waiting for me to stop procrastinating. I just posted this on another thread, but here's my book pitch...if I ever get to pitch it:
Though he may be helpless against adults, both those that nurture him and those that seek to do him harm, ten year old Bobby Flynn is still a male, and being male implies looking out for one’s self, defending one’s honor, defeating one’s enemies, and if necessary, exacting revenge. Regardless of his age, it’s inherent, inborn, innate…it’s a ‘guy’ thing.
It is1950; a small town in West Virginia; a 10 year old boy from a poor family is raped by someone he thought he could look up to, thus devastating his already low self-esteem. Too afraid and embarrassed to report the crime, he resorts to boyish fantasies to make up for the loss of childhood innocence and to regain his self-respect. When a local coal miner is accidentally blown to bits, little Bobby Flynn, with the unsuspecting help of his three best buddies, literally stumbles upon a way to exact revenge. But as he discovers in this poignant but darkly humorous tale, revenge is not always sweet, and a childhood lost is never regained.
I've never called myself a writer but I guess I am. In television I wrote hundreds of commercials, and some pretty good radio spots too. Every year for the past several years I have written a short Christmas story for my friends. Now if I don't send one every year I get yelled at. I've had a few things published in newspapers too. I've even written a short novel, and now I want to make it longer so it sits there waiting for me to stop procrastinating. I just posted this on another thread, but here's my book pitch...if I ever get to pitch it:
Though he may be helpless against adults, both those that nurture him and those that seek to do him harm, ten year old Bobby Flynn is still a male, and being male implies looking out for one’s self, defending one’s honor, defeating one’s enemies, and if necessary, exacting revenge. Regardless of his age, it’s inherent, inborn, innate…it’s a ‘guy’ thing.
It is1950; a small town in West Virginia; a 10 year old boy from a poor family is raped by someone he thought he could look up to, thus devastating his already low self-esteem. Too afraid and embarrassed to report the crime, he resorts to boyish fantasies to make up for the loss of childhood innocence and to regain his self-respect. When a local coal miner is accidentally blown to bits, little Bobby Flynn, with the unsuspecting help of his three best buddies, literally stumbles upon a way to exact revenge. But as he discovers in this poignant but darkly humorous tale, revenge is not always sweet, and a childhood lost is never regained.
All too familiar with the procrastinating thing. In the same boat myself. Sounds like you have a serious story to tell. I say you should go for it.
i agree w/ u. that's why i try to work on my novel @ least a couple times a wk. the first few mins are always the hardest just to get back into my charaters heads.
I write an online column for Examiner.com. I moved from New Jersey to Arizona twelve years ago and write for "transplants". And there are a lot of those in Arizona!
It's mainly about the culture shock I experienced after leaving NJ, whose tremors I still feel to this day.
My latest column talks about the main reason we moved here and is called "The blizzard that broke the transplant's back". Does anyone here remember the blizzard of '96? I'll wager that if you were alive then, you do.
Susan
Last edited by NJ2AZSusan; 07-11-2009 at 10:37 AM..
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