Any writers here on the Arena? For srs or just for fun? :)

[Lore-Lei]

As for 'Dragophobia', well, it  turns out it's quite tricky writing street racing in paper form and make it effective (and I'm afraid of using real car names, for obvious reasons).

That seems really up my alley!  I've read a number of books over the years that are more than willing to name everything from Ford Falcons to Porsche 911s (and I've never seen a trademark listed in any of them) so I don't think you need to worry too much.

Really? That's a big relief. Thank you.

[kaoskat]

@kaoskat - Wow cool! What do you write? Fanfic? Short stories? Novels? For kids, YA, or adult?

Novels, short stories, and poetry. I do not write fanfiction. Mostly children and young adult. I typically can't stand to read adult novels outside of classics so, yeah, those are likely never to be in my notebooks.

[Echo_Shell]

I do.  Less so now that I'm working more.

These are my current published works

The Hero Revision Project Volume One
https://www.createspace.com/5293750

The Hero Revision Project Volume Two
https://www.createspace.com/5544842

Two more volumes planned, but I'm working on other projects at the moment...and my day job.  I expect the next volume to be released by the end of the year.

[thesugarpuppie]

I write.  I need to write more though.  I was also an avid reader as a child and would pretty much read whatever I could get my hands on.

As far as writing, I've done it for fun and for serious.  I hired myself out as an essay writer for a bit and did the research that went along with it.  But I really like writing fiction and poetry. 

I also headed a group of artists/writers and we self published books and I edited quite a bit for them as well as people in school where I went for English Lit (I wanted to read books by people who knew what they were doing and learn how they did it) and ended up taking a lot of writing courses toward the end of my degree.  I got published a few times in the school anthology and as a child (also school stuff).  I tend to draw and write interchangeably so if I have an idea for a character, I may sketch out the scene or describe it the way I would have drawn it if that makes any sense.  I have finished a few novels (which have been lost due to digital upgrades ) and I've written comics which I published myself.
I've got a story on fanfiction.net from ages ago when I was fresh out of high school, but it's too embarrassing because I had a lot of things that needed working on as far as plot development and moving the characters forward.  I knew if I was asking why a character was doing something, or how it happened, then someone else would.  But I took in a lot of the feedback that I got back then and applied to my writing now.

Rosier  For your writing group, as far as editing goes, it really does depend.  If they can't figure out the content, then they're probably going to pick the grammar apart.  If they can't figure out how to fix the content, then they're going to pick the grammar apart.  I've seen that happen quite a bit.  The main thing that needs to be examined is whether or not the story flows well and the plot is advancing properly.  If your grammar gets in the way of that, then they may pick at it, but they should do that as they go instead of stopping to point out those mistakes.  That's what I would do when I edited for other people.

My method involved margin notes about the actual subject matter and what did and didn't make sense, suggestions, and if there was something grammatical, then I'd address it depending on whether or not it affected the story/poem.  Otherwise, I'd just make a note of it on the side so that the writer would know to get to it after the other things were taken care of. 

[Katika]

ME!! I was so excited that I didn't even see this post before just now dropping the post that I just released my debut novel this past Friday!! EEE!!

I've got to run, so haven't had the chance to read but the first couple comments on this thread (will do it as soon as my chores are done, though!), but wanted to say that last year, a couple of Arena writers and I attempted to start a FB writers group just for Arena members. We're not very active at the moment, but it's a *very* safe and controlled place and if you're interested in joining, send me a PM here and I'll send you an invite

[True]

I dont write, the closest I came was a bit of RP back when I was a teen lol. I actually enjoyed that, but quickly outgrew it.
I do READ though! xD constantly reading multiples.

One of my mom's coworkers recently self published her book "the blood of Narys" and I'm actually really enjoying it!

Personally, I've been wanting to work on a comic for some years now, I've just been trying to hammer down my style so that its more consistent, especially since I plan on doing the art protons in traditional styles, possibly watercolor. likely to be something fantasy and dark with a dystopian feel, I know its a bit over used now days, but I really enjoy those themes.

[Dragonflitter]

@Lore-Lei - Your characters sound awesome! ^_^ I agree with Rainbow Dash, it's pretty acceptable to use real names of products in fiction writing. Especially if you're reading something like urban fantasy, you'll see the characters constantly refer to things like McDonalds, youtube, etc. I remember in one book I read as a kid, the characters go to see a Star Trek movie and even describe the movie characters on the screen. For small references you don't have to pay a royalty or anything to mention them by name in your writing.

(Alternatively, since you're writing a sci-fi sort of story, you could always make up names that sound similar to real life so your readers get the point, but just different enough to be your own creations. Like a Firehawk instead of a Firebird! lol)

@Corona - Non-fiction/memoris is so cool! There's a lot of interest in that sort of writing, although it's not my area of expertise. You could also write editorials for newspaper (if you can cut back the language lol).

Editors are in high demand! And it's a profitable thing to do. I did some textbook editing in college and it paid very well. I'm not exactly sure how to get into that field but a google search might be very enlightening for you.

@Rainbow Dash - Hi there! Lovely DA page.

@kaoskat - That sounds so exciting! Any thoughts on getting them published, or are they just for you?

@Echo_Shell - Wow, congrats on self-publishing your novels! CreateSpace is a wonderful program. Sometimes Amazon is pretty cool (usually they suck though lol)

@gothicsugar - Wow that sounds exciting! I didn't know there was a field for essay writers to be hired. That's pretty cool.

Sorry to hear you lost your work. :\ That's heartbreaking. It's only happened to me once or twice in my life, since I'm super paranoid about losing my written work and always back it up in many places. I have thumb drives all over the place lol.

@Katika - Love your enthusiasm! lol. Congrats on your novel! Please give us a link, we'd love to see it! Is it on Amazon? Or CreateSpace? Or Smashwords?

You are a mind reader because I was totally thinking of posting to ask if people here on the Arena wanted to start a writing group or fb group! It might be a great place for us to get the feedback we've been looking for. ^_^

True - Your comic sounds lovely! Good luck with it!

[dashesndots]

@dashesendots - Congrats on your English Lit degree! I graduated with a bachelors in Creative Writing. It was a very interesting college experience... lol. (I'm saying that with a bit of irony. I don't know about your school, but mine looked down on people who wrote 'genre' fiction such as fantasy and sci fi. As if everyone in life should write like Hemingway! But still, I learned a lot there.)

I too found myself taking a long break from writing once I left college. I got back into it when publishing became one of my major life goals.

The people in my writing group and I all agree--if you have solid characters, the plot will follow from that! Don't be afraid to just jump in and start writing and see where it takes you!

Thank you so much for your reply and your encouragement! 

Spoiler

I see you are in Maine, so you may recognize the name of my school - I went to Middlebury.  Unfortunately, because I did a joint major with studio art, I really had to split my time between the two, and often wish I had focused more on the lit degree/creative writing aspect (hindsight is 20/20, yeah? LOL).  'Course the fact that I had an art degree is what got my my current gig as a graphic designer, so I can't complain too much!  But yes, the fact that I was super interested in fantasy, especially, didn't curry me any favors in either major.    

[DazzleKitty]

I've been told by multiple teachers when I was in high school that I have a writing talent and I should pursue it. Same for art. I wish I could merge them together and make my own comic. But I'm just kind of ..... wasting the talent.

But I do love fanfiction and read it a lot.

[kaoskat]

@kaoskat - That sounds so exciting! Any thoughts on getting them published, or are they just for you?

I've seen what happens to authors when they get published and I want no part of it. I get them printed for my mom, my 2 aunts, my grandmother, and my best friend once they are done because they demand them from me, but that's it. I used to think I wanted to have them published but then......Then I observed the nightmare that is "fans" and "publishers" and "movie rights" and..... nopenopenopenopenopeNOPE!

[Katika]

@Katika - Love your enthusiasm! lol. Congrats on your novel! Please give us a link, we'd love to see it! Is it on Amazon? Or CreateSpace? Or Smashwords?

You are a mind reader because I was totally thinking of posting to ask if people here on the Arena wanted to start a writing group or fb group! It might be a great place for us to get the feedback we've been looking for. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/Devotion-The-Afflicted-Saga-Fallen-ebook/dp/B01D6W9AP4

^This is where my novel lives online Currently, I only have the ebook available. Paperback is coming super soon, but I'm waiting on my third proof trying to get the cover just right. The first book seems to be quite a learning experience and I am by no means an expert, but if anyone's got an CS/KDP questions, I'll do my absolute best to try to help other people avoid the confusion and hassles I trial and errored my way through

Devotion's a character-driven epic fantasy, written in 3rd person omniscient, following a holy war against demons on a godless island and the immortal paladin that comes to try to save the day. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm rather fond of it

As for the FB group, I think we're only at 8 members right now? It's a closed group, so I'm not sure if it'll come up from a search, but it's called "Arena Writers". I still haven't posted any pictures for the account, so it may just pop up as the little sample of who's in it. If you're interested in joining and the search on FB doesn't turn up any results, feel free to PM me here and I'll be happy to try to get you on board

[thesugarpuppie]

I've been told by multiple teachers when I was in high school that I have a writing talent and I should pursue it. Same for art. I wish I could merge them together and make my own comic. But I'm just kind of ..... wasting the talent.

But I do love fanfiction and read it a lot.

That would be cool, why not start with a mini comic or something just to get into it and see if you like it?

Dragonflitter
It kind of fell into my lap through a friend.  His cousin was looking for someone right about the time I was thinking of hiring myself out to type and edit papers for college students as a side thing until I started working.  I might try to get back into it though.

For my work, all of my stories were on those hard floppy discs.  They'd gotten corrupted when I tried to a bunch of file transfers to newer OS systems. 

[SunnyDazeAhead]

I've written online in RPGs (role playing groups) since I was a young teen of 14-15 and still continue to enjoy the pastime today! I've been told many times over that I should write a book and one day when I have the chance and get mentally focused enough, I definitely will!!