Hello All, I have spent 60 years of my life wanting to be a writer. Other things in life somehow always managed to "get in the way." I have finally managed to get past that hurdle. I started in late October of last year and my first book is almost complete. Word tells me that I have spent 263 hours editing it. I guess the real figure is rather higher once I allow for all the research that went into getting the facts right. I have always been a writer of sorts, in a Walter Mitty kind of way, so I have scores of book ideas that I have developed in my head over the years. The inspiration has always come from real-world events (the dotcom bubble) or from books I have read (The Wind in the Willows, Moby Dick, Jude... ). I want to try my hand at writing various genres. I am happy to e-meet you all. I will have a few questions to ask here before I eventually publish the book on Kindle.
Welcome. The beauty of writing, especially now, is there is very little barrier of entry, have an idea write it down suddenly it exist. Unlike say movies or TV shows were you need a cast, crew, expensive equipment and lots of money. With writing you just need a pen, paper (ugh... or a computer) and a willingness to get it done. But that is a double edge sword, because you can do writing at anytime it is easy to "do it later" and if you're busy today you can do it tomorrow, but those add up. Soon tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, next month becomes next year, and before you know it a few years have gone by and while you're older you're no closer to your writing dream. I commend you, it is never too late to start your book(s), you are near the finish line keep going and good luck.
Welcome Inessa, looking forward to seeing you in the forum, and also reading some of your writing. The workshop and the writing contests are both great experiences.
In a Walter Mitty way, what is the fantasy that excited you the most? Something drove you to the long hours of editing and research. I am a noted expert on everything, my personal fantasy while being interviewed on a late night talk show. I Hold the audience spellbound, their silence only to broken with raucous laughter at the conclusion of my insight and wit. I am sure yours is better and I am looking forward to reading about it. Welcome Bob
Congratulations on figuring out the sheer magic required for a 26-year-old to have spent 60 years wanting to be a writer. And welcome to our little home here on the interwebs.
Welcome Inessa. I waited too long to get serious about my writing. No one warned me of the hard part, but if you love to write, you will work your way through all the difficulties.
H No magic involved here. I just selected a birthdate at random without paying much attention to what I was choosing. Spinning dials, choosing dates etc starts getting tiresome when you have to go back several decades.
Hmmm... . I have not been here for a while. For starters, thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I am overly meticulous about most things I do. Writing is no exception. I have spent the past few weeks proofreading and refining my manuscript off and on, with breaks to ensure that I don't get too jaded doing the task. I am now just a few days away from publishing my first book on Kindle. To answer your question, @RMBROWN - What fascinates me is my own perception of the people around me as tapestries of six-dimensional beings. The three physical dimensions in which we live each instant require little explanation. The fourth dimension is our own journey through time. We are the products of our past and are continually working at weaving our own future. But we are not in charge of things. The events and the people we encounter make their own contributions to the tapestry we weave. The event that spurred me to first think of writing was the dot-com boom. I could sense the folly of it all and wondered what Mr Toad would make of it all. Given his nature, he would almost certainly have been captivated by the Internet and the prospect of making a quick fortune. However, that is a thought in progress - the book only exists inside my head. One day I will put pen to paper and turn it into reality. In the meantime, the book I am now about to publish is based on a subject that is rather more mundane.
Hi, I'm Susie, I'm a newbie, but I have a lot of desire to start writing and publishing new books! Love relationships are one of the most fundamental aspects of human experience, and as a beginner writer, it can be an excellent topic to explore. Love is an intense emotion that can evoke a wide range of feelings, from elation and joy to heartbreak and pain. Writing about love relationships can provide an opportunity to delve into the complexities of human interaction and emotion. Need to be in a relationship if you want to write about relationships? I know there are dating sites, articles about it, for example [spam link deleted], but I doubt it. One way to approach writing about love relationships is to focus on character development. Explore the motivations and inner workings of your characters, and how their past experiences and personalities shape their behavior in their romantic relationships. Consider the conflicts that arise, the misunderstandings, and the tensions that can arise when two people are trying to navigate the complexities of their relationship. Another approach to writing about love relationships is to examine the different forms that love can take. Love is not a one-size-fits-all emotion, and there are many different ways that people can experience it. For example, some may find themselves in a passionate, all-consuming romance, while others may experience a deep and abiding love that grows slowly over time. By exploring the different ways that love can manifest, you can add depth and complexity to your writing. Ultimately, writing about love relationships is about exploring the human experience in all its complexity. By exploring the intricacies of human emotion, you can create stories that resonate with readers and capture the essence of what it means to be human.
I take it you didn't notice the included link? Or do you just like to be welcoming to bots and spammers?
Nice piece of AI driven writing there with an included link for mail order brides... thankyou xoic for your vigilance
Yeah, it seemed AI-level generic. Of course, lots of people's writing does feel that way. But when I saw the link I knew.
No, I didn't see a link. I still don't see a link. I just thought Suzie was a terrible writer, pendantic as hell, and I felt so bad about judging her based on my dislike of romance as a genre that I overcompensated by being nice to her. Can I come back and play in the sandbox now?
The weird thing about ChatGPT which Suzie clearly used is that it always ends with an "Ultimately" closing statement when its trying to explain something. That's a good way to spot it if the generic-asf text isn't enough. I suspect the OpenAI guys trained it like that to avoid legal trouble or something. It'll be interesting to see what solutions are developed to filter AI-powered bots. The captcha test was enough once upon a time but I suspect that it won't be for much longer.
