<p>I am doing some more writing. Now, as you can tell from my posts, I am NOT a “writer,” but it’s a great way to dive into something and escape all of the pressures of the world (Example: the home we’re trying to build on a 40% grade mountainside slope. One or more of three things will happen, maybe even simultaneously: divorce, ulcer, or completion).</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, I somehow got into collecting photographs (and stories) of a Native American “celebrity” of this region. I put the stories and the photos into a small book that I self-published - not to make money, but to sort of collect everything into one place. Well, I underestimated the demand for local history books around here and sold out (local bookstores and tourist attactions) immediately. I had repeat orders, but just never had the energy to get it reprinted. But since that time, I’ve now got MORE stories and LOTS MORE old photos and I’m redoing it in a larger format and making it a pictorial history. Still haven’t decided whether to self-publish it again (I’m having a ball with the layout work, and by self-publishing I can do a four-color cover again) or to use one of the small local history publishing companies around here. I still will make no money with it, but it’s kind of fun to see your own book on the bookstore shelves. Plus, since I have an ISBN for it, it can also be sold on Amazon.</p>
<p>And now I’m writing something else and it is not designed for publication at all. But knowing that is very “free-ing.” I don’t have to write well or impress anyone else or even worry about grammar or spelling. And it is FUN. I can open up WORD on my computer, not think about anything except the story and characters, and reemerge a few hours later actually excited.</p>
<p>Weird? I think I am not the only parent on CC doing something like that.</p>
<p>I don’t yet, but I’m on the email thread from The Well-Fed Writer’s Yahoo Group. My plan is in about 15 years to bench myself and start writing seriously. This past year I actually got paid for business writing projects, without even trying to get the work. </p>
<p>I like the creative part, knowing that it’s my original work. I do not have any illusions - don’t think I’m a particularly good writer, and I know I’m seriously lacking in technical skills, but, it’s fun!</p>
<p>Speaking of, Curmudgeon always wrote the most interesting and entertaining posts. I wish he were still around…</p>
<p>Dig, I only hope your local Colorado Native American celebrity wasn’t Ward Churchill. But I digress.</p>
<p>It’s obvious that fully half of the parent posters here are inveterate scribblers of some sort or other. Your mention of your project reminded me of William Goldman’s comments about writing “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Goldman is a brilliant writer–whether he’s writing a screenplay, or an essay about writing a screenplay. But this guy, who has written so many extraordinary classics still talks about “The Princess Bride” as being his favorite, and “Butch” as being the one he had the most personally invested in. </p>
<p>I love what he has said about Butch, which reminds me of what you said, and of a personal long-term project of my own. He said, essentially, that when the movie came out and was a hit, everyone then knew and wanted to know more about Butch, Etta, and Sundance. They became famous. But, he said, for years “NO ONE else knew who they were–they were all mine.” He spent ten years on research before that movie came out, and the research was just a personal obsession of his about people he found interesting. </p>
<p>Military historian is one of the hats I wear. I’ve two projects in the works–one will probably go the peer-reviewed and then published route. The other–my “Butch Cassidy” project–has been ten years in the making, with an entire filing cabinet filled with arcana that nobody else knows but me. The National Archives has referred researchers to me as the “expert” on this fairly obscure but fascinating subject. I still can’t get enough hard facts to put together a comprehensive historiography. But I have uncovered letters and diaries, located descendants, and I have the historical context to put it together in a work of historical fiction, if I can switch gears and tackle that genre. We shall see. I might have to stop poking fun at you guys for a while, though.</p>
<p>I’m about a third of the way through a novel, for whatever that’s worth. I also write essays, short stories, and poetry. Very little published. I’d love to quit my job and write full time, but I can’t afford to till I make money from it, and I can’t seem to get published because i don’t have the time, yadda yadda. But the actual plowing ahead with no real possibility of a prize has been a great learning experience for me.</p>
<p>I’ve been writing for pleasure, and also editing manuscripts, for ten years, and I’ve just begun an MFA program in creative writing. It should help ease the pain of empty nesthood come fall! I manage to publish an article just about every year, no big success, and I’m working on a longer manuscript.</p>
<p>Writing is great for self-understanding and healing.</p>
<p>I write for the joy. I sold a couple of novels not too long ago that I wrote in my spare time. It took years because I never had much spare time.</p>
<p>dig, you are by no means the only parent on CC with a story like that. :)</p>
<p>Every year for the past four Novembers, I have spent that month along with thousands of other similarly-inspired crazies around the world writing 50,000+ words in 30 days: National Novel Writing Month (fondly known as [NaNoWriMo](<a href=“http://www.nanowrimo.org%5DNaNoWriMo%5B/url%5D”>www.nanowrimo.org)</a>). While I have not written anything cohesive or publication-worthy during those Novembers, every single time I have jump-started my creativity juices for the rest of the year. I’ve written a lot of drivel and some days my word count was more important than my word quality, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world. It got me back into writing again. </p>
<p>mootmom, Does it have to be novels for adults? My latest book attempt is a chapter book of 8,000 words… I do write quite a bit and occasionally sell a short piece, but I have yet to sell a book (and have only written two children’s books). Some things I have written I will probably never even try to sell, as they are venting pieces or my thoughts on the kids growing up, meaningful to me, but not print-worthy. But it still feels good to write them. I WOULD like to sell my children’s books!</p>
<p>Sadly, the writing I do that pays the best is test question writing for statewide assessments. Hard to “escape” into THAT kind of writing! (although I do sometimes learn some fascinating nature/science/social studies facts while researching…)</p>
<p>Doesn’t have to be any particular style or genre: anything fiction-y that your little heart desires! (… making a mental note to ping you again in a few months… )</p>
I know what you mean. I’m not a good enough writer to do much more that pass stories on with little embellishment. I just can’t “pad” things out enough. That’s why the book is a “Pictorial History of…” Ebay has been a godsend in my collection of photographs of the person I was researching. I have about 60-75 photos of the man and if I had only been looking locally I would have zero. I was also lucky enough to trace down the man’s great grandson, who is now a professor at the University of New Mexico.
LOL again! You could never do that. Plus, we’d miss the poking!</p>
<p>mootmom, After studying the site and reading FAQ’s and such, it seems that children’s books would not work, since the word count would be WAY below 50,000. And it has to be one novel, not a series. Oh, well, if I think of an idea for an adult book, maybe… 50,000 is a lot of words! That’s about 1,667 words a day! Yikes!! I’ll have to think about that…</p>
<p>There are large groups of writers who do young adult fiction during NaNoWriMo. And oh by the way, no one is “judging”, just you: you’re competing against yourself, not anyone else, and if you decide, and say, that the work you’ve done in Nov. counts, and it’s over 50K words, then it counts and you are a WINNER. (Believe it or not, 1667 words a day becomes almost trivial after doing it for a month. It’s… weird! I’m already rolling around some ideas for this year. Stay tuned…)</p>
<p>Good luck with your writing, Susantm and everyone! Very exciting to see there are so many among us with the bug.</p>
<p>That sounds like a wonderful hobby. I hope you will actually make some money from it. There are many hobbies I have but none ever result in a real profit. There are occasional payouts which leave me optimistic and inspired, but I have not become a millionaire yet, or anything close to that!</p>
<p>No I do not escape into writing. But I do have many other hobbies and one does involve writing a book of sorts.</p>
<p>That is wonderful you found something you like to do for fun and have made a profit! They do say creative people live very long happy lives.</p>
<p>My great-grandmother wrote a book when she was 90. It was a memoir beginning with an account of their voyage from Germany to America in 1865. She told of her early life, meeting her husband, raising her children (working mother of 5), their education in various schools in Chicago, which colleges they attended (even the 2Ds) Holidays, parties, trips home to Germany. How the wars affected their lives. Grandchildren. Even some of the great-grandchildren.
I am in the process of embellishing it with more of the historical happenings and hope to bring it more up to date with additional stories from my generation.
Also in the works: writing my own memoir for my own children/grand & great through journaling (almost) daily.</p>
<p>My father wrote an autobiography which I surprised him by getting it printed into book form (10 copies). He thought it was the best gift he ever got.</p>
<p>So now the question (which some have already answered). WHAT are you writing? For me, it’s a screenplay. Well, not exactly a screenplay, but something called a “Step Outline,” which allows you to just mind-dump and then organize later. What a blast, especially when you know that no one else will ever have to slog through it!</p>
<p>But I’ve just started the second draft…and it’s going very fast, on a 134K word novel that took about 12-1/2 months to do a first draft of. (Started on June 6, D-Day, 2005.) Goal is to have second draft done by October, third & final draft by January. Meanwhile, the query letters to agents should hit the mails next week.</p>
<p>I worked as full-time freelance writer before going in to real estate but the vast majority of money was from non-fiction of various types. I’ve sold about ten short stories but this is the first time I’ve completed a novel. At least a couple of others are in a queue. I share a birthday with Stephen King…I’d rather share his bank account. (I don’t <em>do</em> horror.)</p>
<p>Well, dig, what if some of us <em>WANT</em> to “slog through it”??? Send me a copy when you’re done…I’d <em>love</em> to see it! And congrats on this cool hobby~ Enjoy! ~berurah</p>
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