I would talk about my work to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, most people zone out after character names. But I have a few friends I love talking to about my WIP. They always seem to see what I miss, helping me fit things together just right. Sometimes just talking about it to someone who's actively asking questions about my characters and plot is enough to get the gears in my mind turning (they tend to stop, damn things) and figure out how to improve the work. So yeah, I'm with you. Contact me if anyone wants to chat about their work.
What kind of stuff do you like? I also love discussing. . Also trivia you share the name with one of my favorite characters! Lol
It's also the reason I ask people to email me issues / questions etc. It forces them to think about what they want to ask / discuss, rather than just picking up the phone and babbling on and on about things. Some people take more training than others... Plus paper trail, of course. Always a good thing to have
Hi, I'm firmly in the I don't like talking about my work camp. It's embarrassing. But more than that whenever someone knows that I'm a writer there comes the instant question - where do you get your ideas from? Grief I hate that question? My standard answer is the bottom of a cornflakes packet! Cheers, Greg.
While I'm writing, at the end of each week, I give my new pages to my wife to read. She does a preliminary edit, makes notes, etc. but I don't look at any of that until the draft is done. As for talking about it, I try very hard not to. Like others have noted here, once it's told verbally, I don't feel the need to write it down any more, especially with a first draft. But once that's done, I talk to my wife about it extensively. She's a non-fiction editor as part of her work, so she's good at spotting things that don't make sense. She also knows a fair bit about writing fiction, so I can bounce ideas and synopses off her. But talking to anyone else? No. Doesn't work for me.
I'm not big on fantasy or romance—pretty much anything else is fair game. At the moment, I'm on a Stephen King/Gillian Flynn kick. That is a high compliment, my friend!
I don't know any other writers, except of course for everyone on this forum As a rule I don't like to discuss it and I keep it very private. Initially because I wasn't very confident (about my writing skills, not the storyline - and the confidence part is still a work in progress) but mostly I guess that's just the way I like to work.
Alright, I admit it. This thread backfired big time. I've been shown to be a pompous windbag who loves talking about himself. Maxwell Smart: Missed it by that much . . .
I figured the split would at least be fifty-fifty, but darn it. People just hate talking about stuff, I guess. The irony of the results is delicious for this WRITING forum though.
Why do you think we all bother to come here and type away to people we don't even know? We want to 'talk' about our writing, but don't want to actually talk about it!
Hilariously I don't actually like talking about my writing that much here because I prefer being able to guess what kind of reaction I'm going to get. So I mainly talk to people I do know.
Yeah, there's that. There are definitely people who are more than happy to judge your writing based on whatever they think is good or worthwhile or whatever else. So I prefer to discuss the abstracts, rather than the specifics. Sorry if my silly little romances aren't up to your standards, folks!
Part of the problem for me, I realize, is that so much of writing is about the presentation. Almost any plot can sound silly when described outside the work itself. It's like discussing a movie plot with someone who hasn't seen the movie.
Yeah. I get where you're coming from. I've reached the point though where I wouldn't care if someone told me my story was the dumbest thing ever. I might even get a little thrill out of it. I just talk about it for kicks, whichever way the listener thinks. But that's just me. I'm a real weirdo.
Yeah, definitely. A lot of the time I feel like when I talk about my work I usually need to add a little disclaimer of "it's not as dumb as it sounds, honest, I just explained it badly" afterwards, hahah. That's is why I like talking about it purposefully hyperbolically, actually. No one can make fun of you if you're already saying "and then all the robots become sentient and they're like 'aaaah' and all the humans are like 'oh no!' and there's a big space war and it's great"
It always makes me anxious when someone asks: 'how is your book going?' My usual response is 'alright' and then I try to elaborate but it's exhausting. All I keep thinking is 'leave me alone.'
It's great to to discuss writing issues (such as the prologue controversy, publication issues) with fellow writers, and to share insights into general writing problems (such as how you get 'unstuck' if you find yourself stuck.) Sometimes it's good to have feedback on style, to discover if you're getting your meaning across to the reader. A forum can be a wonderful source of information for these kinds of issues. In addition to that, it's a place for people to get together who share a common interest. We discuss lots of non-writing issues here as well, ranging from related things like favourite books and movies to topics that come from all over the place. This is fun, and a nice way to take a break from writing, if that's required from time to time. This is a lot different from seeking out other people to give you story ideas. Or constantly asking them to pass judgement on your (unfinished) story ideas, your characters' names, your plot development when it's still in the thinking stages, etc. Is this a good plot? Is this the good name for a werewolf? That's asking people to help you create your story. Not everybody agrees with me, but I think this is a very bad habit for a writer to get into. The forum becomes a crutch for these writers, and keeps them from learning to walk by themselves. I think most of the forum members who responded by saying they're not keen on talking about their own works-in-progress are in the first group above—not the second group. It's not a reason to not join and/or enjoy being on the forum!
