Jumping ship from writingforums.com to here

I am looking for a new home and figured I would come test the waters over here. I am looking for a little more up beat crowd, and one that is a little more active. I am a long time member of the other site, ".com not .org" past Moderator and Veteran and frequent writer of short stories, I do Non-Fiction and Humor along with Political Satire.

Please tell me your not all introverts who are suffering from depression with social anxiety issues. I am upbeat love to write, and read the work of others. There is nothing like a second set of eyes on a project. While my technical skills are average I am a good story teller and I am always willing to help someone with theirs.

I ran what used to be the Side Trips writing challenge in the Non-Fiction section on the other WF site. I am looking forward to entering some of you writing contests here.

I have written some stories for the local news papers, but mostly just write for anyone who needs laugh or is just interested in everyday life.

I am looking forward to meeting some new writers.

With some hopeful anticipation
Bob

 

I can already tell that I am going to like you.

-

Welcome, I'm OJB. I write adult horror and write blog series on technical devices of writing (finishing up a series here on how to write in Iambic Pentameter), famous works, and famous authors for new writers on this site.

I look forward to seeing your work and interacting with you.

Best of luck,

-OJB.

 

Totally became a member of this site by accident eight years ago when trying to sign into that other one after taking a leave of absence.

 

Regretfully I am three for three. I am therefor unfamiliar with this thing you call "up beat" and know only whines and misery guts.

 

-OJB Thank for the welcome I just checked out your blog. I really appreciate your no BS style of teaching and how through you are in your methods. The examples really helped me gain some insight into what you were teaching.

I am looking forward reading some of your work in the horror section of the site. My gut feeling is we will get along great; reading your blog, it offers great insight into how you think and view life.

Thanks Archer, I checked some of the other writing forums out there, I was impressed by how active the site is. It was no accident that I ended up here. I have over 2700 posts on the other site and looking for a new place to hang my hat is not something I take lightly. The fact that you have been here nine years says much.

 

Chementine, I get it that most writers are introverts, along with that comes the usual baggage. I promise not to act to excited or to over the top when it comes to life in general, if you promise not to drag me down in return. I figure each day we get to decide who and what we are, and each day offers us a new chance. Yesterday is gone, so why not figure out how to make the best of what cards we have been given in life. We are all dealt hands that are losers, all of us have been dealt hands that are winners, whose to say what each of us hold today. I chose to learn form the losers and just celebrate the winners. Today you and I just met, who knows we might become best friends...it could happen :}

 

Please behave exactly as you would like to, and I will do the same. No promises necessary. If it turns out we aren't destined to be best friends, that isn't the end of the world either. Welcome to the forum, please have fun, and you do you.

 

Glad you came over here. (I went over there
and it just was not as much fun, as it is over
here. Granted I started here, so call me biased).
Welcome, good luck and have fun.

 

Hi there! I am an author contemporary m/m romance and consider myself to be a relatively upbeat and congenial member of the boards here. Sometimes it can get quiet around here, but for the most part I find plenty of action and a lot of really lovely and knowledgeable folks to converse with.

I see by your avatar you've done a Spartan race! I've done the Dirty Girl mud run and a Warrior Dash - I love obstacle course racing.

 

Laurin, I do the Spartan races. I did 4 of them this year also completing the trifecta. For those that don't know that consists of a Sprint 5 miles with 32 obstacles and a 9 mile race with the same number of obstacles called a Super, and then what they call the beast which is 14 miles and 32 obstacles. That was held at Killington in Vt. this year and consisted of three runs to the top, 8,000 feet of climb. I also do the ultra marathons and have competed in three of those this year two fifty milers and one 33 miler. My daughter Cathy who is pictured next to me was on the Steve Austin Skull Challenge last Tuesday night, she made it to the end but was eliminated in the final contest. I run and work out with both of my kids, one of the best things in life that I have ever got to experience.

 

That is really amazing! I'm more of a 5K girl myself, but I love hearing about how others push themselves to the upper limits. A friend of mine who just started running a year ago just did the Chicago Marathon on Sunday - I'm in awe of her.

 

Welcome @RMBROWN

I tried .com a long time ago, but I liked it better here. I'm a M/F romance author and also write erotica. I'm usually upbeat and I think you'll find this to be a pretty cool place. We're mostly pretty friendly. I haven't been around very much lately, but I'm usually lurking somewhere. I look forward to seeing your work

 

I've not been in the UK long, but one thing I plan to do is the Tough Mudder or something similar. I'm not good in running (ankle injury) so any competitive runs are out, but I do combative self-defense and enjoy pitching myself against obstacles and insurmountable odds too much to let it go. Maybe one of these days we'll meet on the track

Have fun around here, and welcome!

 

Hmm, RMBrown, sounds familiar. Hey, weren't you the guy over there that gave Bishop a wedgie? (no, wait, maybe that was Plu).

Anyway, from another refugee to another, welcome. I'm still trying to get the feel of things over here (and Cave Troll, when WF.com is on all cylinders, it's a much friendlier place than you think, alas, it isn't right now), but everyone here seems friendly.

So, I guess we'll be exploring together. See you around on the forum

 

Well we all know for sure it wasn't me...it must have been that other guy....What's his name.

I agree about it taking some time to get a handle on things here, I am willing to give it time. Thanks for the warm welcome, you know I have always been a fan of your writing.

 

Okay, who ratted me out?

 

Interesting that you bring up depression. There does seem to be a correlation between depression and the arts, doesn't there ?

I think it's because there is generally a correlation between high intelligence and depression ... depressed people, I think, are often quite intelligent, and they feel unheard, misheard, or misunderstood by people. Perhaps they deem the average person unable to understand them at their "wavelength" ... perhaps they find ordinary communication futile, so they feel the urge to express themselves through art. Just a theory.

 

Artic, I think intelligence is the wrong word, it is defined as The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Most introverts will tell you they lack social skills. It is hard to be good at something you do not enjoy an extrovert thrives on interaction. That is not to say one is smarter than the other because it would then mean the opposite of your definition on intelligence meant that anyone who excelled at human interaction wasn't as bright as someone who kept to themselves. A writing forum maybe the wrong place for me to make that argument, based on sheer numbers of introverts verses the handful of extroverts.

I would think the correlation between those are depressed and those that aren't has more to do with their support system from others. For each it may be different. Some are happy with one or two friends or spouse others like me have tons of fiends which come in handy when things go wrong. When I look back a the tough time in my life, it was the support of others that made it bearable. It is easy for me to understand being depressed if it is you against the world.

To me this seems like a simple solution, don't fight a battle by yourself when you can have a large army. I personally wonder how bright someone is when they chose to fight their battles by themselves. That to me does not seem to represent the intelligent option.

The bottom line is that we are who we are. I will agree that those who are skilled at the arts have a higher rate of depression. This may also be the reason I am a hack writer, but really happy about it :}

 

RMBrown, yes, you bring up some good points. But, when it comes to intelligence, we seem to look at it differently.

What I was getting at was this. I see intelligence as the ability to think for oneself ... someone who questions the status quo, someone who won't just do what he is told without thinking about what he is being told to do. In other words, a person who is unhappy with the world is usually someone who has asked, "Why are things like this ? What is wrong with this world ?" And, I think most would agree that we live in an insane world It is a beautiful world in many respects, but it is easy to see human insanity (and by insanity, I'm not talking about "depression" and "Prozac" ... I'm talking about something far deeper ... our intrinsic selfish and destructive nature ... if you don't see what I'm talking about, just switch on the news or read a history book). That's why I made the correlation between intelligence and depression.

So, I see intelligence as creative/original thinking ... not just blindly following what the crowd says/does, but thinking for oneself. So, anyone who questions this world is likely, on some level, to be unhappy about it. And, those who are deeply unhappy usually don't fit in .. which means they tend to be loners. I see someone who blindly follows the crowd as not particularly intelligent. They may fit in better and have a million friends, but they don't strike me as being intelligent ... shrewd and good actors, maybe. People we see as "successful" are shrewd and good actors ... they mold themselves and play "the game" well, but I wouldn't call that intelligent. And again, this is just my opinion.

A lot of people who have contributed to the world (and I mean real contributions) were people who didn't fit in. They didn't fit in because no one could relate to their high level of intelligence/creativity. No one could envision what they envisioned.

I guess I am disagreeing with you ... respectfully, of course

 

RMBrown, I don't mean to drag on this debate, but a friend shared a quote with me this morning (I swear I'm not making this up), that so fits here

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”

― Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden

 

At the risk of derailing Bob's thread, I will say that you don't have to be overly intelligent to suffer from depression. Depression doesn't single out any race, gender, religion, social status, or even intelligence level. I know some very intelligent people who are quite happy and I know some who are not. Maybe depression is a chemical imbalance, maybe sometimes it's dissatisfaction with one's lot in life, but it has nothing to do with intelligence IMO.

 

I could not agree more with you Rob. While I think there are genetic connections I doubt your IQ is a qualifier for it. It can also come later in life, environment and circumstances are sometimes enough to put anyone over. It knows no bounds as far as income as well. I will say that people who are depressed seem to feed off of those that are in similar situations. I made my comment in the beginning well aware that depression and writers go hand in hand. But that does not mean that it is the norm, nor that it should as accepted as the norm. It sometimes only takes a few people with an upbeat attitude, someone who sees the best in things to bring up the others around them. I seek out those can do people. Seek out the people who see the best in things. Why not be honest about it right up front.