Hello! My name is Ian S. McClure. I've written various short stories, mostly horror with hefty Lovecraft influence (both in the tenebrous, eldritch monsters that are my antagonists, and his eloquent writing style, for good or ill). I'm currently working on a compilation of short stories in this style. My hope is that, by having access to a community that can offer criticism, advice and encouragement, I can actually write more consistently; I suffer quite a bit of writers' block, and nothing I've found helps with it. I've tried different writing times, going to various places to write, writing in paper and computer, and a probably-unhealthy amount of Puerto Rican coffee (I'm actually Puerto Rican myself, though having tasted many different kinds of the stuff I can safely say we make some damn good coffee). Apart from writing, I enjoy video games, three-dimensional art (mostly the program Blender, if you're curious), the strange memetic brand of humor unique to the Internet, and hopeless attempts at drawing something I'm satisfied with. I also happen to fall under the autism spectrum, though my case is mild enough to not be noticed by most. And that's all, really. Thanks for reading, and I hope to meet all you fine writers soon!
Hello and welcome. I use to play around with digital art (had me a graphic design degree) I am more of a Poe kind of guy then Lovecraft but still common ground there. although I have enjoyed some Neil Gaiman short stories that were inspired by Lovecraft. I think of writer's block as more of writers laziness (not calling you lazy by the way, just given you perspective here) I have read many articles written by authors who simply have multiple projects going at the same time, some up to ten stories at various stages. and if all else fails I find that one of the best ways to get not only words down but ideas a plenty is to write from a stream of conciseness. I try to do that at least every other night and it filled me with memories and ideas and wormholes to follow. so welcome again.
Could you elaborate a bit on the "stream of consciousness"? I've heard it mentioned elsewhere, and I have tried it, but I can't shake the feeling I'm doing it wrong; primarily because it doesn't work for me, yet has for countless others. If you could explain it a bit more, or provide examples, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
There is no right or wrong to it. I usually pick either a time or word count (1000 words at least) and free write on either a topic or something that is on your mind at the moment. (a person, a memory, a feeling, an experience ect...)You NEVER edit yourself as you are writing and you follow any leads or rabbit holes that you may find. The important thing is to, as much as possible, do not stop writing because when you stop you are letting your conscious mind take over. When you are finished, give yourself a break and return later to go over what you have written. You will have a lot of incoherent thoughts and phrases but you should also find some great stuff too. at times I will toss 99% of mine but that 1% makes the effort worth it. I also find it liberating if you do not allow anyone else to read this. That will let you explore anything you want without fear of judgment or ridicule because the more you try to control your thoughts during this process that less likely you are to let your mind produce some truly amazing things that you never knew or had forgotten about.
Welcome, Also, Ulysses by James Joyce serves as a literary accomplishment of what Stream of Consciousness narrative can accomplish and would be my recommendation of 'a book to read' to see if you would enjoy using/reading such a style of writing. -OJB
Welcome fellow Ia(i)n, @iansmcclure, there are getting to be quite a few of us here . As for the stream of consciousness writing, a forum I used to be on was a big fan of timed writing exercises. Get a prompt, say, "failed dinner," set a timer for fifteen minutes, and pound the keys. Don't stop, don't pause, don't think, just go for fifteen minutes, and if at the end, you're still moving well, keep going. Damn, I've got to start doing that again. As a side note, I hope all of you and yours still in Puerto Rico are doing well after the storm. Our admin, @Wreybies, is still mostly out of touch, although he popped up today for a bit. Quite the mess down there, with any luck they'll be able to get water and power restored soon.
Yeah, things on the island are really rough at the moment. It's a rather jarring experience to see all the devastation the hurricane caused; I'm actually with some relatives in Arizona at the moment, because the situation is still bad in terms of water and power.
