1. Everything. I'm a very observant person, so pretty much everything I observe becomes something that I could put in a story. 2. Why don't I? In all seriousness, writing is one of the few things that I know I'm good at, so that's what I do. 3. I write what happens. I'm one of those "pantser" types of writers, which means minimal to no plotting, so the characters lead the way. 4. The ability to create, destroy, and do whatever I want in the story, at least until it takes a mind of its own and starts writing itself. That might be why I also play Sims, but that's another story. 5. Anything I like!
I only started writing a year ago, my life felt as though it was stuck in a rut; I wasn't happy with my job, I was outgrowing my old hobbies, but most of all for the first time in my life my free time had started to feel like wasted time. I've always been someone who keeps busy with one project... or ten, and I really had nothing I was working on. I started to feel moments of what I can only describe as blankness, if not depression, I started writing something close to an autobiography in my free time, I started writing down the events of the previous several years of my life and how they had led me into the situation I was confronted with. Following that I started writing about where I wanted my life to go and what I wanted to focus my energy on. I found this incredibly helpful and through doing this I discovered a passion for writing. Writing became something I started doing daily. At first it was similar to writing a journal or blog, I wasn't doing much creative writing, until I started writing short stories. Writing short stories got my creative juices flowing and after writing several, I wanted to focus my time on a bigger project. I'd had an idea for a story I thought up years ago but never did anything with. It wasn't really an idea for a story, but a collection of scenes and characters I thought were really good. I started writing and really liked what I was creating, but I hadn't done any world building, and after several chapters in, things started to feel hollow. I stepped back, and spent several weeks world building before returning to writing. My story still needs a ton of worldbuilding, but now that I have the skeleton, I can start adding to it bit by bit as I write.
These questions are really good and I hope my answers can do them some justice. I guess what compels me is this urge to share. I want to share all these ideas I have and these characters and worlds I think up in my head. I've always loved sharing with others and writing is the ultimate way to do that, in my mind. So i suppose that answers number two as well, thats kind of why I write too. I love to see what my ideas will inspire in someone else. I like to share my ideas with others and hopefully they'll share theirs with me. As to what makes me write what I write, I love to world build and make new places, so thats one of the reasons I was always drawn to fantasy and sci-fi. I enjoy making up new places to explore and seeing how my characters play out in those brand new environments. I decided I liked to write years ago when I was in undergrad and I realized that, although non-fiction was exciting what with being able to prove my point and all that, I thoroughly enjoyed envisioning new places, worlds, societies, religions, and cultures. I liked it so much that I actually picked up fanfiction again for the first time in years and started writing it as a form of practice before starting on anything original. I was so rusty when it came to fiction, after all those years of non-fiction historical writing in a formal setting, haha. I took a lot of my knowledge of history and applied it to my fictional writing. I was drawn to fantasy and sci-fi, always. But I found that my professional writing for my education really gave me a leg up in the fantasy realm. I love the idea of a Georgian-era, pre-industrial revolution fantasy world and thats what I'm working now.
1) What compels you to write? Typically, anxiety. 2) Why do you write? I write to cope with and celebrate life. 3) What makes you write what you write? A delightfully overactive imagination. 4) What Made you decide you liked to write? Trying it and receiving positive feedback from my grandmother and sister. 5) What Do You Write? Fiction. I've written a few short stories, but I've spent the most time working on a fantasy novel that is still a WIP.
What compels you to write? I don't know. I just always have. Why do you write? See above. What makes you write what you write? See above. What Made you decide you liked to write? See above. I hope you don't need to ask questions for a living, because these are terrible.. What Do You Write? Novels. #15 will be released this fall.
What compels you to write? Fun. No, seriously, I have fun doing it. Not much passion or happiness in anything else. What makes you write what you write? .....Fun! What Made you decide you liked to write? You can probably guess it by now. Lets use a different word: Joy. What Do You Write? Novels. Currently writing my own series which probably won't be finished for a few years. It'll be very, you guessed it, fun to do.
What compells you to write? Interesting characters and concepts that come to me from out the blue. A single compelling image that appears in my mind and starts moving. Things I read and see and hear about. Why do you write? Because I have stories to tell and love telling them. Because I like tinkering with language. Because writing, when I get deep in the zone and really hit that sweet spot, is just about the best thing I could be doing. What makes you write what you write? I like things that are weird, exotic, mysterious, and grandiose. At the same times, I like to at least attempt examination of the human condition and real-world issues. What Made you decide you liked to write? In grade school, we would get assignments involving short stories and essays. It was my favorite thing to do, besides anything that involved drawing. I liked it so well that I began writing in my spare time. What Do You Write? Short stories, plus one ongoing novel, plus a couple of aborted projects that I scavenge for spare parts. I write mostly in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and the grey areas between, though I've had great fun doing more "mundane" things as well. Real world, real people, real situations, all that. I guess you could call them dramas.
Life in Words! I have difficulty communicating in social/political conditions, so I find a greater fluidity when thinking about private contemplation and personal expression, so it pleases me psychologically/intellectually to convert cultural/personal problems into oratorial exercises. e.g., "I'm anxious about my school's new uniform-clothing policy" into "I could scarcely believe my beloved school-in-the-hills would require all boys to wear bow-ties!" I also find that it is easiest to write what I know or have personally experienced(!), so even if I'm writing about a fantasy-theme (e.g., vampires), I like referencing environments/conditions that are somewhat familiar to me. So if I want to write about vampires in Romania, I would reference and draw upon my experience of stopping at a Romanian airport on my way to India one summer. I've been blogging/posting on the Internet since 2003 (after graduating from Dartmouth College with an A.B. in Cognitive Science) and starting a sabbatical sponsored by my Brahmo-Hindu family (though I'm Catholic by faith-conversion), and I'm retiring soon, but I wanted to share some ideas (and learn from others) on this board about the process of understanding an individual's contribution to the written word in this modern age of media and high-traffic. For example, how do old world mythologies and ghost stories (e.g., vampire tales) fit into our modern urban world of commerce? How do we 'place' Coppola's adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel about Dracula or understand the vampire-works of Anne Rice in the context of modern-day referencing of old-world 'couture'? Basically, I write to learn about how I learn about the world around me (and I'm simply too clumsy to investigate such curiosity with formal communication or political verse --- I just prefer 'creative-writing'!).
1 & 2, because I'm having difficulty understanding the distinction between them: Because I enjoy the process quite a bit. And I always have ideas for stories I think would be cool and fun. 3: I write sci-fi and fantasy because those are the genres I most enjoy, and the ones I get inspiration for. I believe I've only ever had inspiration for 1 or 2 contemporary dramas with no fantastical elements to them, and I never was motivated to mflesh them out, or actually start creating them. Not yet, at least. 4. ...I did it, and I liked it? It's fun to see what happens and where my own story takes me as I write. I like to have a vague outline, a few "goal posts" of where I want my story to go, but how I get there is usually left up to my characters and the motivations I have at the time. There's exploration and discovery in that which I quite enjoy. 5. I'm noticing a tendency to repeat myself as I answer these haha. Science fiction and fantasy, mostly fantasy so far, though I have no strong preference.
I'm starting to suspect it's because it may be the only thing in my life I have any control over. That would explain why I only seriously got into doing it (after years of thinking about it) relatively recently, as my life became more constrained by things like a career, marriage, fatherhood, etc. It would also explain why I hate showing my writing to others--even if they don't criticize it, the fact that it exists in more than just my own head somehow makes it less-controllable.
Without my writing and artwork, I wouldn't have any other value. I am what I create and put on paper, into a word processor, or into a drawing program.
What compels you to write? I keep going back to writing. I am not necessarily compelled, it draws me. Through everything I go through, and every time I try to neglect it, I come back. Why do you write? I remember writing songs in my room as a child. I was playing with language, English especially, though I lived in France then. I wrote because I connected deeply with the music. Now I write because it makes sense to me. What makes you write what you write? An internal nod. What made you decide you liked to write? I had no part in the decision. What do you write? Anything I can: blog posts, articles for clients, emails, poems, journal entries, grocery lists, to do lists, books, songs, short stories.
1. What compels you to write? Characters in my head 2.Why do you write? My Brain will explode if I don't 3.What makes you write what you write? Don't Know 4.What Made you decide you liked to write? Decide? What Do You Write? Sci-Fi/Fantasy
1. What compels you to write? The fact that I can create stories I would really like to read, but haven't been released yet. If people aren't going to make them, I'm going to do them myself. 2.Why do you write? Because of passion and my gigantic imagination. Everyday I find inspiration in my social life, so there's no way I'm going to waste that. Also, I do want to show other people my creations, even though I have a different native language. 3.What makes you write what you write? I don't really know. The short answer would be my optimistic mind. Writing is the only thing I know I can do better than the others from my country. The previous sentence is a bit arrogant, I know, but that's me. 4.What Made you decide you liked to write? The support my friends gave me helped a lot. I began to make short stories and novels later on. Years had passed, and my writing improved so much. I kept going, seeing my stories and characters coming to life. What Do You Write? Adventure novels (and maybe other stuff in the future). I adore adventure. In my life I'm not able to embark in something like that, so I just stick to creating adventures and reading them.
What compells me to write? The need to incessantly talk about my idea. Since at best no one wants to hear me talk their ear off for an hour or more and at worst, I sound like an incoherent drink when I'm passionate about something, the only safe thing to do is to write it down. Why do I write? I enjoy writing even though I often struggle with what to write about it allows me to get out of my head what I'm thinking about. What makes you write what you write? The feeble notion that someone, somewhere, wants to read what I've written. What made you decide you like to write? My readers. What do you write? Books, short stories, essays, anecdotes. Mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc. I blog. But blogging is a mild generic fiber supplement when writing a short story is a weapons grade enema.
What compells you to write? For me I just want to tell a story that my brain thinks of. It also makes feel a lot less stressed, suffered from panic disorder, playing an instrument and writing were two methods I was advised to do. Haven't had a panic attack since. I will literally write anything from Sci-Fi to a Romantic Comedy. Just depends on my mood.
What compells you to write? Ideas. Eventually, enough ideas coallesce, and when I have the energy and the time to put them down into my keyboard, I just have to. No matter how long dinner has been on the table, or if the dog needs to be walked, I just have to get this thing out before I get it. That, or stress relief. Why do you write? Right now? It's fun, and because I'm contributing to a larger universe and helping it develop along with a bunch of other people. What makes you write what you write? Initially, it was stress relief. I took my everyday experiences and threw them down into story. It was disjointed, but raw and real. After the creator of the universe I'm writing for told me "Dude, this just sounds like an FTN blog (F*** The Navy)" I realized I had to tone it down and keep the feel, but take out about 20,000 words. Nowadays it's because I already have that framework. What Made you decide you liked to write? I just enjoyed doing it. What Do You Write? Half-Hard/Half-Space Opera Science Fiction. I've got a novel and two short stories/potentially novellas in the works.
1. What compels you to write? Characters, plots, and just general ideas that come from every day experiences/music/other books 2.Why do you write? Being a person who has frequently dealt with depression and anxiety for most of my life, I find writing to be a useful way to get all of my emotions out there. Sometimes I can get a lot off my chest when I write about what's going on, but writing about it happening to someone else allows me to separate myself from the negative emotions and allow myself to move on 3.What makes you write what you write? This crazy brain cooped up in my head 4.What Made you decide you liked to write? My 9th grade English class (more specifically my teacher) What Do You Write? Mostly YA and Thriller/Drama
1. What compels you to write? The thought of creating my own world and characters, and having other people be engaged and invested in them. 2. Why do you write? Because I love to see the ideas in my head come to life. 3. What makes you write what you write? The world building. I love creating my own worlds and characters. 4. What Made you decide you liked to write? I started with writing (really bad) poetry, and I loved it. I loved being able to put my feelings on a page and seeing the finished product. After that I moved to writing short stories, and I loved that even more. 5. What Do You Write? Mostly fantasy, but I will occasionally write in some other generas as well.
What compels you to write? I'm a storyteller. Why do you write? I swear you just asked this... But let's say that it's because my keyboard is the only soul on earth who will consistently listen to my stories. What makes you write what you write? Partly, I want to write the truth, which is not allowed. For this reason, a lot of what I write is meant to carry some kernel of reality under a veneer of nonsense. Partly, I want to go places and do things that I'll never really get to do. What made you decide you like to write? I enjoy the sense of satisfaction I get after finishing a scene where I really believe I've done my job. Otherwise, I really don't like to write; it's stressful, difficult, and time consuming. What do you write? Usually fantasy and science fiction. I dabble a little in historic and contemporary settings.
What compels you to Write? I like not having to constantly think about the real world. Why do you write? I write because in my real life I'm often stressed and frustrated from school. I constantly feel like my life is on a linear, narrow track and writing my own stories makes me feel more in control of the world around me. What made you decide you like to write? In primary school, almost all of the other kids would be off playing sport during a certain day of the year (inter-school sport is taken that seriously here so it usually runs during just one school day). Everyone who stayed behind would have to go to another classroom with a teacher, and I would always spend the time writing. It was only a couple years later that I started uploading work online and getting feedback. I would say that I found my passion in writing at the age of 11. What do you write? I tend to stick with the dystopia/post apocalyptic genre, but I've branched out a bit and tried my hand with science fiction and fantasy a few times.
1. What compells you to write? No idea. Probably a need for sleepless nights and desire to brutally harm characters. 2. Why do you write? For myself. I love to create worlds nad writing lets me do that. 3. What makes you write what you write? I'm a bit of a sadist and a masochist and don't know the word "stop". 4. What Made you decide you liked to write? I won a writing contest when I was in second or third grade. I've been writing ever since. 5. What Do You Write? Anything that calls me. I stick primarily with fiction to include horror, psychological, thrillers, romance (m/m), and fantasy. I also like to tackle problematic situations within my writings.
I write because otherwise, the voices in my head from all the stories clamoring to get out make it difficult to concentrate on anything else. No, I'm not kidding. Stories play in my head constantly, like never-ending Netflix feeds. Characters proliferate like jackrabbits. If I don't write them down, I start finding it hard to sleep for all the racket.
What compels you to write? Simply put, I have something to say. Why do you write? Obviously I write to say what I have to say. Also it is very cathartic. I am incapable of ignoring the craziness in this world. Ignorance is bliss, and I am missing that. What makes you write what you write? I am a "fact based" individual and feel the need to speak truth to BS. In life I often encounter people who do not want their blissful ignorance disturbed, so I started taking it to social media. My real life friends take me with a grain of salt. The true ones are kindred spirits, as are some of the "virtual" ones I have never met in person. I get trolled often, but my response is usually a passive aggressive fact check. Sometimes they go away quickly, or if they are hard core I hit ignore. What Made you decide you liked to write? In 2003-2004 I had a major life crisis; job loss over whistle blowing (the late ITT Technical Institute) followed closely by the death of close family and friend. (Brother to cancer, favorite educator and mentor to auto accident). I spent a year unemployed by choice, starting a business that failed, and writing an autobiography. It was then that I had discovered the cathartic value of writing. I had written in school, and rewrote much of the horrendous curriculum at ITT. I didn't mind it, and enjoyed much of it, but it did not soothe the soul like pouring my heart onto the page does. (Yes, I know that last is cliche' but it fits) What Do You Write? Rants on social media, mostly FB, and conversations in hobby forums on model planes and bicycling, and now writing. The first novel I read was Swiss Family Robinson, in fourth grade, followed closely by a science fiction novel by Poul Anderson called Vault of the Ages. I became hooked on the genre and read extensively the works of Heinlein, Asimov and Clark, then in high school discovered Kurt Vonnegut, who is still my biggest influence. My first attempts at writing were in SF, but I found it hard to put the sense of wonder into it that people must have felt in the "golden age", so I have fallen into a comfort zone called "general fiction". I have started two novels. One is semi-autobiographical about a kid struggling to fit in. It is my way of getting a "do over" in high school, I guess. The other is a historical and biographical love story. The protagonists are gay, and I am not. It is inspired by two men I knew in my youth in the 1960's and were outed in death near the end of the century. Some scant details I knew of one of them is the seed for what I hope will be a terrific and poignant tale.
