Writing a Novel

[toomuchtv47]

27 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

What a beautiful post, Toomuchtv :) As to this specific part of your post, I wouldn't call it physical, but more a mental/emotional urge - for me it usually happens with a new story or a block I'm having with one in process. Sometimes I wake up on a dream that I find insightful to the knot I'm facing, and I'm super irritated that I have to  take care of mundane things before getting down to it. It feels like "positive anxiety", meaning an urge that you know won't get away. I think that's the best feeling, and I wish it would happen more often :) Because when you experience it, the writing just flows!

Thank you NutMeg.  'Positive Anxiety' is a great way to describe this feeling!  It's my own sort of validation.  I don't think anyone's complements can come close to what I experience when this happens.  It's like my body and mind are reassuring me that, yes, I AM a writer.  

I'd be interested in reading a synopsis of what anyone here is working on or, if you have a blog that you post your writing on, share a link.  As long as anyone is willing (I know my nerves get on edge whenever someone I know reads something of mine).  We're a pretty good community here and insight, tips and suggestions from each other could be positive in so many ways.  There is so much negativity in the world and we all suffer from our own insecurities that a safe place to express ourselves might be beneficial in many ways.

To share something personal, I've suffered from depression my entire life.  It's affected me negatively where I've lost jobs and people in my life.  Two things got me through it; my mom and writing.  I always liked writing but when I was in school I got steered away from it because the pressure to be like everyone else was too great.  I went to university, got the corporate job and was miserable.  At a low point I started writing again.  Fan fiction at first because I couldn't come up with an original idea to save my life.  I still have those stories that I wrote 15 years ago and I actually made them into books for myself.  After years of hard work, I know how to deal with my illness.  My point is, writing, and sharing it even though I was terrified helped.  If I'm able to do that for someone else that would be terrific.

I also wanted to mention something that I forgot with my previous post.  I always make sure I have a beginning, a middle and an end.  Each time I read a book with a crappy ending pisses me off lol.  For me, when I know what the end is, the rest kind of falls into place.

[aradia22]

Quote

I'm now working on my own stuff, mostly supernatural, Harry Potter meets Buffy. But I tend to get bogged down in the details. Like, I spent months making a map of my town. I have written an extensive history of the town, how it got it's name, how it was founded, the history of the guy who founded it. None of which is really in any way relevant to the story I'm trying to tell mind you, but it was such a delightful tangent.

Unfortunately, since that is the way I write, I am likely to never finish an actual story that has an actual beginning, middle and end, or any coherent flow to it at all. But I am enjoying myself so that's good.

Don't give up. You might be the next Tolkien or Melville. ;)

[Mabinogia]

Thanks aradia22. I try not to give up, I just lack discipline. I admire those writers who set aside a period of time a day to write. I tend more towards writing on whims. Sometimes I can go weeks without writing anything other times I'm spending countless hours a day pouring my soul into my stories.

I think I worry that if I set a time or time limit that it will become like work and that will take all the joy out of it.

Do those of you who do set goals, how do you get yourself inspired if you are not quite in the mood to write, or do you find that as soon as you sit down at your desk/computer/notebook/typewriter, that it just comes to you?

[aradia22]

@Mabinogia Go where your inspiration takes you. It's personally not my cup of tea, but what you see as procrastinating from writing might be of a great deal of interest to a reader one day. That's why I bring up Tolkien and Melville. I couldn't get through it but those dudes loved going on idiosyncratic tangents and now people wax poetic on how brilliant they are. (Of course it helps to be a white guy admitted into the canon of Western literature where other white guys will praise your genius but that's a conversation for another day.)

As I've said, my process changes. Lately, I've been getting little sparks from time to time. Depending where I am, those result in notes tapped out on my phone or scribbled in notebooks or scrawled out at 3am on a post it note by the bed so I can fall asleep. Those are mostly story ideas that I might let gestate further down the line. My writing process is similar to what it always is. When things come to me, they come and I write in one great stream of consciousness burst. Often times I will leave blanks just so I can get out everything before I lose it. And then later when my head is clearer, I go back and edit and polish and add the fancy stuff. It's less that I'm suddenly struck by inspiration (though sometimes that's the case) and more like some part of my brain is always working through the problem, particularly with an ongoing story. When I solve whatever is blocking me (for instance, how do I get these two characters in the same place) then it's like the floodgates just open. 

For me, writing is also really tied to my emotional state. I need to get better about not writing the characters as me (they're not my avatars but I use a lot of myself so for instance if I'm angry, then I'm more likely to want to write an angry chapter... it can work either way, sometimes I'll wait to feel a certain way if I know that's the emotion I want to channel) while still keeping the stories engaging. I find that if I take myself out of things too much I get to a lazy place where the writing is either flat or way too trope-y and melodramatic. 

I'm just curious... how does everyone get their work out there? So far I've used fanfiction but that's meant writing on my own horrible (I'm talking chapters posted years apart) schedule and honestly not committing to my best work. I'm thinking about self-publishing some romances under a pseudonym just to test the waters. I know my writing isn't bad but I have no idea if it'll sell.

[toomuchtv47]

8 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

I'm just curious... how does everyone get their work out there? So far I've used fanfiction but that's meant writing on my own horrible (I'm talking chapters posted years apart) schedule and honestly not committing to my best work. I'm thinking about self-publishing some romances under a pseudonym just to test the waters. I know my writing isn't bad but I have no idea if it'll sell.

I started a blog that I put a couple of stories up on but then I stopped posting.  Everything else I've done I've self published on lulu.com.  It's one of those sites that allows you full control of everything, doesn't charge you until you actually order a book and they have showcase where people looking for books can browse the different genres.  They allow ebooks too.  Everything is there, templates, paper choice, hard/soft cover, cover design choices if you can't do your own and all these services are free.  

[aradia22]

@toomuchtv47 Did you find that lulu was a big help with the e-books? I was looking into self-publishing on amazon and the formatting requirements didn't seem so difficult that I'd require a third party app/site but I wasn't sure.

[toomuchtv47]

9 hours ago, aradia22 said:

@toomuchtv47 Did you find that lulu was a big help with the e-books? I was looking into self-publishing on amazon and the formatting requirements didn't seem so difficult that I'd require a third party app/site but I wasn't sure.

The first time I published on lulu, they were just introducing ebooks and they did everything for me at no cost.  In fact, I didn't know it was done until a friend of mine did a google search and saw that I was on iTunes.  Shortly after that, they had a do it yourself template but I found it complicated.  I believe they've simplified it to make it easier to use but what I like about lulu is there is also a forum for writers to ask questions about all of the technical aspects of self publishing.  I'd recommend checking it out and reading up on topics in their forums.  The people who use the service a lot know their stuff and you'll get a lot of help.  I haven't used the ebook format since the first one.  I'm one of those who prefers actual books.

[psychoticstate]

On 11/21/2016 at 11:01 AM, toomuchtv47 said:

One thing I would like to know from anyone here is, do any of you get a physical sensation when you want to write? When I get on a roll or get an idea (and it doesn't happen all the time) it's like there is a need to get it down on paper somehow and it won't go away until I do.  I almost want to say it's like anxiety but that's not exactly right.

I definitely get what I equate to a "high" when I'm in the zone and writing what I hope is well.  I do worry sometimes that I won't remember everything.  I need to keep better notes. 

On 9/22/2016 at 8:32 AM, NutMeg said:

I loved, loved, loved this part of your post: "what's it about?" I dunno. People. Places. Stuff. Might be a story in there somewhere. Totally how I write. I guess some people start with a block of clay and see where it'll take them, when others need to map the whole adventure first, but not many people get that, so your post made me smile a really big smile.

I don't tell people what I write is about. First, they usually ask just out of politeness but with no real interest, like they think they ought to ask. Second, they tend to hijack my process with jumping on a word or idea (butter, therapy, countryside...) that they take as a segue to explain how the farmer's future daughter in law is seeing a therapist because issues. The weird thing is that if they told me the same story in any other context, I would probably soak it up, sponge that I am, and store it for potential reprocess and later use. 

I love the bolded part in this.  Sometimes I don't know how to explain what I'm writing.  Sometimes I don't even know where it will go.  

FWIW, I don't tell anyone what I'm writing about.  The more I say it, the quicker the magic seems to go.  I want to keep it as special and new as possible.

On 9/27/2016 at 0:48 AM, mamadrama said:

I am a published author. It's actually how I make my living. :-) I write paranormal books, both fiction and nonfiction. I have 7 true hauntings out and a 7-book series about a woman who sees the past through her camera. It's a paranormal mystery series. I also have a supernatural cozy mystery series about a witch who moved back home to the mountains. It's on the humorous side. 

I have a very large audience of readers. My family and friends, however, could care less. :-) I don't talk shop with any of them. I'd say the biggest portion of my family and friends have never read any of my books, and yet I get invited to horror and paranormal cons as the "celebrity guest." It's kind of funny. Used to hurt my feelings but I got over that eventually. 

I just had a new book released this week. I am always nervous about book releases. This one is about a haunted school and it was kind of personal. In the future I want to release some of my literary fiction. I have a few written, but they don't sell as well. Right now, with a lot of medical bills, I am sticking with the paranormal books because thy pay the bills. And, since it's fall, it's kind of my "season." :-) 

Thank you for all this info, @mamadrama.  I know this was a couple of months ago but I hope your newest book release went well! 

On 11/6/2016 at 2:39 PM, aradia22 said:

I have wanted to do NaNoWriMo for a while. Basically since I heard about it from John Green. November's not a great time for me, and even losing a couple of days feels like too much to catch up to now. But I have been feeling like I want to write lately. I wasn't struck by any inspiration exactly but I've been in the mood to do that grunt work of writing. Just getting some thoughts out every day. My personal affinity is romance. I thought perhaps I'd plot out a generic story and see where that takes me. I'll keep you posted if anything develops.

I have tried NaNoWriMo twice.  Failed both times.  First, November isn't the easiest month.  Second, logging in and seeing how many words I'm already behind is not the best motivator for me.  Major kudos to people who participate and succeed. 

[OtterMommy]

You know, I've been on this site for ages and I just now scrolled down to the bottom of the forums page and discovered a BOOKS forum.  I'd like to believe I'm more observant than that, but apparently not.

I still need to catch up on the other threads here, but this one caught my eye.  I've spent my life writing about various things in various ways, but I'm now serious about getting that book out.  I had a couple false starts--in 2015 I tried Nano and realized that there were some pretty major flaws with my original idea.  I took some time to procrastinate and then retool things and tried Nano again in 2016, not being quite ready and ultimately realizing that Nano, while an excellent tool, is not one that works for me.  So now, I'm plotting things out while reading "Story Genius" by Lisa Cron.  There certainly is no one right way to write a book, but her approach does seem to work for me.  I'm not quite to the actual *writing* part yet (I'm definitely a plotter, not a pantser...as I've discovered with my Nano mishaps), but I'm hoping to have at least a first draft done by the summer.

[IrishPirate]

OtterMommy, if you're on Facebook, look for a group called 10 Minute Novelists. Great support and information there. Katharine Grubb wrote the book.

[OtterMommy]

10 hours ago, IrishPirate said:

OtterMommy, if you're on Facebook, look for a group called 10 Minute Novelists. Great support and information there. Katharine Grubb wrote the book.

Thank you so much!  I'll go check it out now...

[toomuchtv47]

I finally finished my novel. Can't remember how long ago I posted in here, but it's done. It seems the work to get it out is more time consuming than the actual writing but it keeps me busy and doesn't feel like a job. I'm proud of what I wrote (scared shitless too) but I'm going to do my best to get it out there. It's a YA dystopian science fiction story about a group of five who join forces to go against the only medical company in the world because they're testing on humans. I hope that all the writers on here keep up the great work and don't give up. 

[LucidDreamer]

I am a published author. I started out in YA Fantasy and scifi, but switched gears at my agent's suggestion (after a bad experience with a YA publisher). 

I write mysteries as Victoria Gilbert.

My experience with publishing has included some heartbreak, but I have found my genre now and have a great agent and publisher, so I feel very blessed. Hang in there -- it can be a tough business, but if you keep working and learning and if you are determined to see your books published -- it can happen.

[Anduin]

I have something I've been working on, on and off, since 2016. I can bang out the plot summary up to a certain point, but after that I never like what I come up with. Do people here think it might be a short story, rather than a novel?

[Black Knight]

Would the "certain point" work as an ending?

It certainly doesn't hurt to write it out as a short story, since a short story is by nature short. It can always be expanded into a novel at a later date. A lot of authors have done that, actually, even published a short version and then released a novel later. Nancy Kress comes to mind - Beggars in Spain was first a novella and later a novel.

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Would the "certain point" work as an ending?

It certainly doesn't hurt to write it out as a short story, since a short story is by nature short. It can always be expanded into a novel at a later date. A lot of authors have done that, actually, even published a short version and then released a novel later. Nancy Kress comes to mind - Beggars in Spain was first a novella and later a novel.

Yes, I like to think so. It's kind of where one section ends and I could open another section if I wanted to. If I had anything good, which clearly I don't.

[Steph J]

I finally (last night) finished the story that I started writing for novel writing month. Except for three days where I didn't write at all I wrote a bit every day for 152 days, some days writing under 200 words and others writing over 3,000.  I don't know if I'll ever actually try to do anything with it, but it's the first time I've ever actually finished something I started during NaNoWriMo so I'm pretty stoked to have seen it through.

[Anduin]

It's my birthday today. So I decided to put up a couple of stories I've written. Sarah and the River is a short fantasy story. It might not take you an hour to finish. The Adventures of Tommy Sutherland is a large space opera, probably a multi-day project. It's very wonky, but I like it. Please don't go sharing these links around to all and sundry. If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it.

https://www.4shared.com/office/GhkdjNDYea/SarahAndTheRiver4.html

https://www.4shared.com/office/Gd8NTZw7iq/Sutherland6.html

Edit: Just remembered a couple of things. First, I apologise to any black women who may read this. I never meant for Rebecca to be so annoying. It just turned out that way. It's not any kind of statement about anything.

Second, I came up with the Asari long before I heard of Mass Effect. Mine look more like LOTR elves. I keep planning to come up with another name for them, but nothing has yet occured to me.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Anduin

[Anduin]

Another short story, this time in the cyberpunk genre. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ed3hqrtQsIsd8K8qs93niW23Wvc5RNN_/view?usp=sharing

Any takers?

[Spartan Girl]

I've written two manuscripts, and I actually had an agent for the first one, but despite many close calls, we never got a publisher. Because of the lack of success the agent didn't feel confident enough to take on my second manuscript, which I'm still trying to find an agent for.

I really thought I'd have a better shot with the second one because the subject matter was pretty relevant to MeToo -- and I started writing it BEFORE all that stuff came out. Sad to say there's no such luck so far. I know I shouldn't give up, with this fucking pandemic, I feel my chances of ever getting published are lower than ever. 

You know what I really hate? When my parents and other people are like "Write something else" or "What are you going to write next?" It's so annoying, like they expect you to pull a new idea right out of your hat. Not to mention I've been so depressed and anxious that I don't know if I have it in me. Sometimes I think "Why don't YOU write a book if you think it's so fucking easy?!" Don't even get me started on my dad nagging me about self publishing. Not ragging writers that do that, I just don't want to have to do all the work and cover art, etc.

I did have an idea regarding rewriting my first manuscript, but when I started to sit down and write out my ideas, my enthusiasm waned and I just felt burned out again. That's happened a lot with story ideas I had and lost interest in; never with manuscripts I've finished. But later my revision idea comes back, it's like it would rather live in my head unseen than on paper. And I know this sounds like I'm already shooting myself in the foot, but after all the failed attempts to find an agent to take me on, my confidence isn't that strong. Most agents seem to be more interested in other subjects.

[Spartan Girl]

So since my last post...I actually got an idea for a new story that takes place in, well, this hell year. I never thought it would inspire me, but it did — and no it’s not any kind of sci-fi dystopian one. And...I’ve started writing it. I’m still trying to find an agent for my other one. What can I say? Hope springs eternal!😃🤞

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

So since my last post...I actually got an idea for a new story that takes place in, well, this hell year. I never thought it would inspire me, but it did — and no it’s not any kind of sci-fi dystopian one. And...I’ve started writing it. I’m still trying to find an agent for my other one. What can I say? Hope springs eternal!😃🤞

That's great!

[Rushmoras]

I started writing a novel when I was finishing high-school on to my first or second year in university, but stopped, because I lost my inspiration. I actually wrote two drafts of the novels: one was historical fiction about a vampire (I, know, trite, ain't it?) set during the Crusades, would have eventually ended up in the 21st century, and the other was a detective novel. I think, I still have them saved on my HDD somewhere along all the other useless crap I do not use anymore. I think, I had written 40 pages for one book and 60 pages for the other book.

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

I started writing a novel when I was finishing high-school on to my first or second year in university, but stopped, because I lost my inspiration. I actually wrote two drafts of the novels: one was historical fiction about a vampire (I, know, trite, ain't it?) set during the Crusades, would have eventually ended up in the 21st century, and the other was a detective novel. I think, I still have them saved on my HDD somewhere along all the other useless crap I do not use anymore. I think, I had written 40 pages for one book and 60 pages for the other book.

The vampire one sounds interesting.

[madmax]

Just found this topic.  I really enjoyed reading about others' experience writing.

I've been writing since I was 8 or 9.  My first story was about a girl that found a fawn and made it her pet.  My mother typed up a bunch of copies for me.  Wish I still had one.

From then on, it was poetry, romantic suspense, mysteries.  I had about 8 "finished" books, but I never had the courage to do anything with them.

About 10 years ago, I started writing a different one, a horror novel, since I like horror.  I have a friend who was my first reader and found all my wonky parts.  With his encouragement, I shopped it around, but got nothing.  The genre was dead, everyone said.  So I self-published.  No, it didn't break any records and no, I didn't make any money, but I did make some fans.  I've since self-published 2 more novels in the series and am working on a book of short stories in the same universe.

I don't work with an outline.  I used to write everything longhand in a notebook that just fit in my purse, but for the last few shorts, I've done them on the laptop.  I find that I get most of the ideas for my series when I'm in the shower.  Weird, huh?  When I'm stuck, I just put it aside and do other stuff (like reading forums) until something hits me to move the plot along.

Question, if anyone's still paying attention:  Do your characters ever do things you don't expect?  I mean, I know the characters are essentially the author, but one character in my series is constantly not doing what I originally envisioned for her to do.  

[andromeda331]

7 hours ago, madmax said:

Just found this topic.  I really enjoyed reading about others' experience writing.

I've been writing since I was 8 or 9.  My first story was about a girl that found a fawn and made it her pet.  My mother typed up a bunch of copies for me.  Wish I still had one.

From then on, it was poetry, romantic suspense, mysteries.  I had about 8 "finished" books, but I never had the courage to do anything with them.

I know the feeling. i have stories that I lost and some that I threw out as a kid and teenager that I wish I still had. 

I tried publishing a couple different stories in my early twenties but that never went anywhere. I stopped trying as work and things became more important. I still write and finish stories. I don't have any courage to do anything with them either. I just keep thinking well I like them but no one else probably would.  I have a cousin who keeps trying to convince me to try again. I know I should but keep talking myself out of it. 

Quote

About 10 years ago, I started writing a different one, a horror novel, since I like horror.  I have a friend who was my first reader and found all my wonky parts.  With his encouragement, I shopped it around, but got nothing.  The genre was dead, everyone said.  So I self-published.  No, it didn't break any records and no, I didn't make any money, but I did make some fans.  I've since self-published 2 more novels in the series and am working on a book of short stories in the same universe.

You self-published? That's wonderful! Congratulations. What gave you the courage?

Quote

 

I don't work with an outline.  I used to write everything longhand in a notebook that just fit in my purse, but for the last few shorts, I've done them on the laptop.  I find that I get most of the ideas for my series when I'm in the shower.  Weird, huh?  When I'm stuck, I just put it aside and do other stuff (like reading forums) until something hits me to move the plot along.

 

I think it varies for everyone. Some don't need an outline and just write the story. I tend to stick with an outline. It helps me sort out what's in my head.

I've had a lot of ideas that come to me in the bathroom. I don't know why. I can be sitting looking at the screen for hours and nothing. But go to the bathroom or take a shower and it just comes. It also happens a lot when I'm about to fall asleep or riding in the car. 

That's what I do when I'm stuck. Sometimes rereading and trying to force it just doesn't work. I try working on another story or reading.  
 

Quote

 

Question, if anyone's still paying attention:  Do your characters ever do things you don't expect?  I mean, I know the characters are essentially the author, but one character in my series is constantly not doing what I originally envisioned for her to do.  

 

That's one of my favorite parts of writing. Its really fun when it happens. 

[madmax]

7 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I tried publishing a couple different stories in my early twenties but that never went anywhere. I stopped trying as work and things became more important. I still write and finish stories. I don't have any courage to do anything with them either. I just keep thinking well I like them but no one else probably would.  I have a cousin who keeps trying to convince me to try again. I know I should but keep talking myself out of it. 

You self-published? That's wonderful! Congratulations. What gave you the courage?

One day, after the 20th or so rejection, I just thought why not?  I saw some of the not-so-great stuff that was being self-published and thought I could do better.  I wouldn't have done anything if it wasn't for my friend that kept encouraging me to write at all.  He was kinda like my muse.

You should try it.  If you do your own cover and editing, you can e-publish for free.  

I never really told anyone outside of my husband and sons that I was writing.  When the rest of the family found out, they were all very happy and most of them purchased the books.  My brother-in-law took one of my ARCs out of my bag at lunch where we work and showed it to some of my office mates.  I don't know if it inspired them to go out and buy it.  I'd like to think so.

[JustHereForFood]

4 hours ago, madmax said:

One day, after the 20th or so rejection, I just thought why not?  I saw some of the not-so-great stuff that was being self-published and thought I could do better.  I wouldn't have done anything if it wasn't for my friend that kept encouraging me to write at all.  He was kinda like my muse.

You should try it.  If you do your own cover and editing, you can e-publish for free.  

I never really told anyone outside of my husband and sons that I was writing.  When the rest of the family found out, they were all very happy and most of them purchased the books.  My brother-in-law took one of my ARCs out of my bag at lunch where we work and showed it to some of my office mates.  I don't know if it inspired them to go out and buy it.  I'd like to think so.

Congratulations, that sounds great!

[Black Knight]

On 6/28/2021 at 6:13 PM, madmax said:

Question, if anyone's still paying attention:  Do your characters ever do things you don't expect?  I mean, I know the characters are essentially the author, but one character in my series is constantly not doing what I originally envisioned for her to do.  

To me that's the sign of a fully fleshed out character!

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, madmax said:

One day, after the 20th or so rejection, I just thought why not?  I saw some of the not-so-great stuff that was being self-published and thought I could do better.  I wouldn't have done anything if it wasn't for my friend that kept encouraging me to write at all.  He was kinda like my muse.

You should try it.  If you do your own cover and editing, you can e-publish for free.  

I never really told anyone outside of my husband and sons that I was writing.  When the rest of the family found out, they were all very happy and most of them purchased the books.  My brother-in-law took one of my ARCs out of my bag at lunch where we work and showed it to some of my office mates.  I don't know if it inspired them to go out and buy it.  I'd like to think so.

That's awesome!

[Cloud9Shopper]

Not sure if anyone is still reading this but I’ve been writing fanfiction again after many years away from it. I have two works in progress up on Archive of our Own, one for ER and the other for New Amsterdam. I never really planned to get back into fanfic, but I was doing my ER rewatch a couple months back and felt the show missed out on an interesting storyline, and I just randomly thought “Hey I should write a fanfic about this!” So I did, haha. 

I just started grad school a few weeks ago, though (certificate program) so it’s been a bit challenging finding time to work on fic now. Once my longer WIPs are done (one is 13 chapters, the other is four and a short story) I’ll just do a couple of one shots to accommodate my limited schedule.

I don’t write my own novels though. It was never really something I was interested in. I like fanfiction specifically because I can keep it as a hobby and not have to worry about sending queries or marketing myself or worrying about rejection letters. Granted, I wish fanfiction had a little more fan interaction and commenting but I still prefer it to trying to be a novelist. 
 

[Annber03]

I like to write fanfic, too :). It's a lot of fun. I know some forums on here have fanfiction threads for the shows in question, but it would be fun to have a general fanfiction thread, too :). 

I've loved to write ever since I was little, and I've long wanted to write something original and get it published. I used to write stories all the time as a kid, but I haven't done so for a while. I would like to get back into doing that at some point, and maybe someday still try and publish something. Self-publishing seems to be the way a lot of people like to go nowadays, so if I do go that route, I'll need to research how to go about that, 'cause I know it's not always easy, especially depending on where you publish. Plus, I'm not good at promoting things, and don't really have any kind of social media presence, so that's another aspect I'd need to work on as well.

But that's stuff I can worry about once I actually, y'know, write something :p.

[Anduin]

I'm not opposed to fanfic. Certainly read enough, and even done a little of my own. But these days I prefer my own style and themes. I certainly borrow bits and pieces from other people, but I prefer to change them in the process.

[Cloud9Shopper]

15 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I like to write fanfic, too :). It's a lot of fun. I know some forums on here have fanfiction threads for the shows in question, but it would be fun to have a general fanfiction thread, too :). 

I've loved to write ever since I was little, and I've long wanted to write something original and get it published. I used to write stories all the time as a kid, but I haven't done so for a while. I would like to get back into doing that at some point, and maybe someday still try and publish something. Self-publishing seems to be the way a lot of people like to go nowadays, so if I do go that route, I'll need to research how to go about that, 'cause I know it's not always easy, especially depending on where you publish. Plus, I'm not good at promoting things, and don't really have any kind of social media presence, so that's another aspect I'd need to work on as well.

But that's stuff I can worry about once I actually, y'know, write something :p.

ER is an older show by now and fanfic has kind of slowed, sadly. (Which is too bad. There’s so much that could be explored!) New Amsterdam is still a smaller fandom on AO3. I watch Glee too (which is HUGE for a show that ended six years ago) but I don’t write fanfic for it or care about shipping wars. 

I would love a general fanfic thread too! Would we post it here or would it have to go in one of the other forums? I only started posting here a few months ago so I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

ER is an older show by now and fanfic has kind of slowed, sadly. (Which is too bad. There’s so much that could be explored!) New Amsterdam is still a smaller fandom on AO3. I watch Glee too (which is HUGE for a show that ended six years ago) but I don’t write fanfic for it or care about shipping wars. 

Yeah, that happens with older fandoms sometimes, unfortunately. There are some that are still pretty active, for a whole host of reasons, but there's others that get kinda quiet after a while. I'm in a few of those as well, along with a few smaller ones. On the plus side, sometimes the older and smaller fandoms tend to be more free of a lot of the drama that currently active fandoms tend to have, which can be nice :p.

Quote

I would love a general fanfic thread too! Would we post it here or would it have to go in one of the other forums? I only started posting here a few months ago so I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs. 

I've wondered where a good place for a thread like that would be, too. Maybe in one of the "Everything Else" sections or something?

I think anyone can start a thread, but I've never done that myself. And I don't know if one needs to check with mods first or anything on that, too.

[Ceindreadh]

4 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Not sure if anyone is still reading this but I’ve been writing fanfiction again after many years away from it. I have two works in progress up on Archive of our Own, one for ER and the other for New Amsterdam. I never really planned to get back into fanfic, but I was doing my ER rewatch a couple months back and felt the show missed out on an interesting storyline, and I just randomly thought “Hey I should write a fanfic about this!” So I did, haha. 

 

 

ER was my first dive into fanfiction back in the day.  Back then it was all about the newsgroups and fanfiction.net was only just starting. 

I got back into fanfic earlier this year when I started picking up CSI NY reruns.  There's still a bit of action on the main sites, (Archive of our own and Fanfiction.net) but nothing compared to when the show was airing.  Which is a pity, but that's the way it goes. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

7 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:

 

ER was my first dive into fanfiction back in the day.  Back then it was all about the newsgroups and fanfiction.net was only just starting. 

I got back into fanfic earlier this year when I started picking up CSI NY reruns.  There's still a bit of action on the main sites, (Archive of our own and Fanfiction.net) but nothing compared to when the show was airing.  Which is a pity, but that's the way it goes. 

I remember the days of alt.tv.er myself. And TWOP of course, along with some other random ER message boards. Those were good days. I’m on the ER subreddit and it’s semi-active as people rewatch. It seems like ER fic today is dominated by Luka/Abby stuff (which you’d either love or loathe depending on what you thought of the Luby ‘ship on the show, although I don’t write that pairing) but I can understand why it’s a small world these days regardless. I have never seen CSI NY so won’t comment on that. I just try to enjoy writing no matter what and the people who want to read will read. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Made us a fanfiction thread. Not sure if the mods will move it yet, but here you go! 
 

 

[Annber03]

Hooray :)! Thanks!

[PRgal]

I wrote a book many moons ago (published in 2007).  This was before good social media, so while I tried promoting on my own, it was NOT successful.  Self publishing really sucks, but I have no choice.  I'm currently working on a children's book and hopefully, things will be better this time.  Only thing is, I have zilch connections in the children's publishing industry!

[Cloud9Shopper]

I would like to try and write an original novel this year. I thought of myself as strictly a fanfic writer who would never write an original but after I got some nice compliments on my fics last year and joined a writing Discord open to both fic and original writers, I thought hey maybe I can try an original story. I just need to get going on picking a genre, plot, etc. 

[Ceindreadh]

21 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I would like to try and write an original novel this year. I thought of myself as strictly a fanfic writer who would never write an original but after I got some nice compliments on my fics last year and joined a writing Discord open to both fic and original writers, I thought hey maybe I can try an original story. I just need to get going on picking a genre, plot, etc. 

Go for it!

I always thought that the hardest part of writing original fic would be finding somewhere to post it, but there's a lot of sites around that issue regular prompts and have writing courses and competitions.  

Good luck with it!

[Anduin]

I think I was writing at the stroke of midnight. Pretty good sign, huh? I only made it this far through large amounts of caffeine, so happy new year everyone, and I'll see you all at a sensible hour.

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Anduin said:

I think I was writing at the stroke of midnight. Pretty good sign, huh? I only made it this far through large amounts of caffeine, so happy new year everyone, and I'll see you all at a sensible hour.

A very good sign. Good luck with your writing.