What does writing mean to you?

[argenianpoet]

What does writing mean to you and how did you get your start ? What inspired you to become an author?

These are simple questions, but for most of us it entails a long, complex answer. I will attempt to dillute my own answer first, and for the rest of you brilliant minds, I challenge you to give me a short but powerful answer. This thread is meant to be fun, and enlighten all of us in the process, but if your answer need be long fire away...

I was born into the world 100 % artist, and I came to these terms very early on. For years I struggled with various forms of art, such as pencil, pen and ink, paints and photography, but none seemed to satisfy the beast within. It would rage out of its cage and I would rip my artwork to shreds and walk away from my art desk time and time again. I had visions, monumental ideas and conceptions that were deep and dark and had to--must--come out in a form that the beast would approve of, and then it happened...

I was watching a movie (don't laugh guys) called Funny Farm with Chevy Chase about an unsuccessful writer who moves out in the country and falls to pieces, and by the time the movie was over, I was writing my very first story. I became so involved in the idea of being a writer that I spent all of my time and energy trying to write an original story. Although most of those very first attempts were flawed, and several times I forgot about characters; leaving them behind on page eight. I loved comic books back then and a lot of my stories were based on comic book heroes I had created prior to this stage in my life. It wasn't until I discovered Stephen King, Peter Straub and Ray Bradbury that I learned how to write and people started taking me seriously as a writer. Over time I learned to write stories and eventually novels, thus satisfying the beast within.

Writing is my life, despite I work a full-time job. What does it mean to me? It is my escape from the mundane, and it is the force that drives me through this world. I am able to vent my energy now into a form that I don't rip all to pieces like I did my early artwork. When I write I am satisfied, and that is hard to find in this life sometimes, because we are our own worst critics. I think King put it best when he said: "I write, because to not write would be suicide." and that is the truth. I don't do it for the money, but I must confess that the very real possibility of early retirement from the kind of work I am doing now sounds pretty good. I become involved in my stories and I see and feel my characters also. Writing is my job and I will not stop until I do it full-time.

I tried to keep it as short as possible, but see what I mean? I know without a shadow of a doubt that I could write a book about Writing; couldn't we all?
Now, it's your turn...

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Writing is life.

Writing is purpose.

Writing is balance.

Writing is health.

Writing is meaning.

 

[j d worthington]

Hmmm.... Brown Rat, after that pithy summing up -- jeez, what a tough act to follow!

But, yes, in essence I'd say that's it. Very few people become writers over time (I'm not talking about being published, I'm talking about writing itself); most are born with the bug. I know I was. Though I seem to be almost entirely in a non-fiction mode these days, I never know when a piece of fiction will jab the spurs in, and off I go.

As for the connection (I assume there was one; it's not entirely clear) between the movie and your taking up writing that story: as writers from Lovecraft to Ellison to Faulkner and Hemingway would have agreed, ideas can come from anything -- it's all in how that particular thing sparks an idea in that particular person's head.

Though I haven't been published save for a few very, very brief things a very long time ago, and a few scattered pieces in a local paper to boot, writing really is the center of existence for me. Take away my ability to do that, and, as HPL said, I simply would have no desire to continue the joke that is life. And doing what writing I do as well as it is in my ability to do it is a part of that, as well.

Interesting thread. I look forward to hearing what others have to say on the subject.

 

[Susan Boulton]

Seasonal bouts of insanity.

A torture akin to being nibbled to death by ducks.

Something, that now makes me wonder how I used to fill my short spans of spare time before I used to write...

That's about as deep as I go in the self-analysis. Too often, I find, if you think too much about why you do something, you either stop doing it because you become self consious about it, or you realise that it is totally a waste of time and effort and you never really enjoyed doing it anyway

 

[jackokent]

Writing is a way of producing the books you really want to read.

 

[bendoran]

writing is expressing the angst and pain in your soul and conveying those weird thoughts that haunt you in your sleep. writing is about hope and joy, showing everything thats wrong in the world and saying all that is pointless when compared to the good because thats how i see it. writing is comedy. writing is food.

 

[mosaix]

I want people to feel about me and my work the same way as I do when I've finished a reading story that I've really enjoyed.

I become so engrossed, so submerged, that I feel myself rising up through layers of consciousness back to reality. It happens mostly with short stories that I have read at a single sitting. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it is awe inspiring. I have to go back to the story and examine it to find out 'just how the author did that to me'.

If I could do that, just once......

 

[Marky Lazer]

Well, first off, I wish I were an author, but I don't think I'm one (yet I hope).

Anyway, writing to me means telling stories that need to be told. Other than the aspiring writers on the site, I'm not writing SFF. I write stories that are fiction, but there's a lot of non-fiction woven into it. I write stories that mean something, I guess.

So, what means writing to me... Writing means telling those heart-breaking stories that uneases people. Showing the line between hope and fear.

As for when it started...

As a kid when I was like 10-12 we always had to write stories, and the teacher would read them out loud. All the kids had to vote for the top story, I remember losing it only once. Then I went to highschool and we were forced to read. And with forcing I mean a lot of books you don't want to read at that age. So, I completely stopped reading. Until I stumbled across the online game Nation States, which is based on Max Barry's novel Jennifer Government. I checked out Barry's website, bought the book. Bough his previous novel. Looked at what his favorite novels were, bought them, including Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. Then, I really got stuck and wanted to read every single word Palahniuk wrote. That included essays on writing. So, I picked up my pen and now I'm getting my first story published this month. The end.

 

[j d worthington]

First story published (or first published story)? Congratulations!

 

[scalem X]

Writing means a lot to me, it's a way of letting my imagination run free.
I have grown to the part where I use it for a lot of stuff, this skill.
Yes, as you write more, you develop a skill.
-I used to use it as a way to entertain myself, to let my dreams come true. To "as 'Jackotent' puts it" be able to read the book that fully follows your own mind. It still remains the major factor.
-Now I also rely on this to write essays that'll hopefully get me through some exams. To show my love to a girl. Adding a story to a friend's birthday present. To write down my feelings when I can't express them.

Writing isn't just the unfinished novel you're working on. It's a part of one's life. Some of the people are writers, others are speakers, musicians,...
If you're a writer you'll see it in your life.

 

[Aes]

I was going to write a whole novel on this, but after a bit of consideration, it's safe to say most of it was pretty irrelevant. For me, I need some kind of creative outlet, and writing (even if I don't do it very often) is the one I'm probably best at right now.

To me, writing is just one of the many results from those of us who feel the need to express ourselves through artistic creation. While many people are content just soaking up the creations of others, there are those of us who feel the need to create something of our own, and among those are writers.

I've always been a daydreamer; as a child up to even now, I'll lay in bed and run some randomly-concieved story through my mind as far as I can before I go out. While it's much slower, writing at least saves such stories from going to waste.

Eventually, I'd like to explore many different outlets--writing, musical composition, and even (although mediocre vision makes this one difficult) visual art through drawing. I just need to get the job out of the way, first...

 

[argenianpoet]

Eventually, I'd like to explore many different outlets--writing, musical composition, and even (although mediocre vision makes this one difficult) visual art through drawing. I just need to get the job out of the way, first...

I have a large desire to create, and the visions are phenomenal. I love art, because it allows me to channel energies, I would otherwise have to repress, into various forms of self expression. I used to draw pictures, and it wasn't until I discovered Salvidor Dali that began to create art in a highly visual way. I have been a long time fan of comic books and animation and once thought that I would either work for Marvel Comics or Disney making cartoon movies. Although, I must admit that those days are long gone, and it is very, very rare that I actually sit down to do any sort of art other than writing. I still have the desire, but my problem has become time, and it seems the older I get the more it is an issue.

I also love filmography and making mini movies or music videos using footage captured by a video camera. I'm not so much into computer art, but I think it's definitely another form of art. I love to take pictures with a camera, and use that to paint pictures, and so the list goes on and on. My artistic desire is insaitable and it will be that way as long as I am here on Earth.

 

[argenianpoet]

I become so engrossed, so submerged, that I feel myself rising up through layers of consciousness back to reality.

I can relate to this because writing is very much a subconscious act. It seems almost as if I am pulled under by the weight of its inspiration and when I come back to surface I am gasping for breath, because it is that intense. Needless to say, writing is the superior art form, at least in my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions...

 

[Carolyn Hill]

writing is very much a subconscious act

I always feel as if my subconscious and my conscious mind have been talking to one another as I write. That's what makes writing = balance, for me.

 

[Chrystelia]

I write because it is the best way, the only way I know to express myself, I write because it is the only reality I know, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I write because I have stories to tell and I want to share them. I'm at my happiest when I am thinking about the story I'm writing. My friends say I'm married to my books because whenever someone ask my plans for the week end, usually it's reading or writing. I used to be embarrassed when I tell someone I'm writing a book, but nowadays I don't care anymore. I'd be lying if I say I don't care for the money, but frankly, I know I still have so very very far to go, so at the moment, I really don't care about it. My focus right now is to finish what I've started, to write it well and to tell the story well, to be true to myself, and not because of what the market wants.

 

[chrispenycate]

Why can I never answer a question with anything but another question? It would seem I require the universe to clarify itself, not sufficiently organised for my viewpoint.

When you say "writing", do you mean the actual physical act of getting words down on paper? (or into polarisation patterns in magnetic domains) Or is it the creative process of building and peopling your private universe? Would the experience lose its sparkle if you knew that after the gestation period, the result would emerge stillborn, unread? Or is there no distinction in your mind between the creation and the concretisation?

For me the creation and organisation part is just part of living; like blood circulation, or working out the tools needed to perform a particular task, it happens below conscious thought (although, las in the examples, conscious thought can be used to modify and control) Unfortunately (for me; probably not for the rest of the world) I'm aware that my language structure, my conceptual structure, is slightly skewed relative to the majority of humanity, which renders my writing uninteresting or frequently incomprehensible outside a small, very exclusive audience; me. My attempts on this forum have only reinforced this opinion.

Does this stop me writing? Merely because I've a high risk of cerebral haemmorhage, should I put a tourniquet round my neck? It just takes me out of the realms of "aspiring"; and even if the majority of my words end up on the notepads I permanently carry around with me, never to resurface, or in the depths of electronic obscurity, they've been written.

"Keep sentences short" "avoid paranthetic interventions" "don't use long words that people won't understand" (can you see me giving up my polisylabics?) I know all the rules; but as I'm not aspiring, I can ignore them, write as I want, and occasionally try and help those who might go on to publish with such mechanical details of writing as I have mastered.

 

[argenianpoet]

I used to be embarrassed when I tell someone I'm writing a book, but nowadays I don't care anymore. I'd be lying if I say I don't care for the money, but frankly, I know I still have so very very far to go, so at the moment, I really don't care about it. My focus right now is to finish what I've started, to write it well and to tell the story well, to be true to myself, and not because of what the market wants.

I agree 100% and believe me, we all know how you feel. I try not to even think about the feirce world of publishing, because it only depresses me and I hate depression; it takes away from my creativeness.

 

[Marky Lazer]

If earning money is your motivation to write... I'll leave it with that...

I get more satisfaction form writing when someone tells me they enjoy what I wrote: maybe when they tell me it made the laugh, or break their heart, or made them think...

 

[argenianpoet]

For me the creation and organisation part is just part of living; like blood circulation, or working out the tools needed to perform a particular task, it happens below conscious thought (although, las in the examples, conscious thought can be used to modify and control) Unfortunately (for me; probably not for the rest of the world) I'm aware that my language structure, my conceptual structure, is slightly skewed relative to the majority of humanity, which renders my writing uninteresting or frequently incomprehensible outside a small, very exclusive audience; me. My attempts on this forum have only reinforced this opinion.

Does this stop me writing? Merely because I've a high risk of cerebral haemmorhage, should I put a tourniquet round my neck? It just takes me out of the realms of "aspiring"; and even if the majority of my words end up on the notepads I permanently carry around with me, never to resurface, or in the depths of electronic obscurity, they've been written.

"Keep sentences short" "avoid paranthetic interventions" "don't use long words that people won't understand" (can you see me giving up my polisylabics?) I know all the rules; but as I'm not aspiring, I can ignore them, write as I want, and occasionally try and help those who might go on to publish with such mechanical details of writing as I have mastered.

Well put my friend, but I must admit I am the opposite of that. I strive to write novels that will be accepted by the masses. I spent two solid years studying a dictionary and thesaurus, and wrote with termonology that was intellectual, but flawed because most people could not understand my writing. Now, I use simple words that people can understand and it has made all the difference. Occassionally I'll throw in a big word or two, but they are very few and far between. However, in your case you write to satisfy you and there is nothing wrong with that. Try reading H.P. Lovecraft sometime or HG Wells or Edgar Allen Poe; all of which used a language that requires a dictionary on hand to comprehend. The truth is that most people do not have a very big vocabulary and they probably don't even own a dictionary, and if they do they will probably have trouble locating it and well you get the point. But I doubt very seriously that those writers were out to please a larger audience (the only exception would be Wells, because I really do think that he cared about the masses). Anyway, that's how I see it.

 

[argenianpoet]

So, I picked up my pen and now I'm getting my first story published this month. The end.

Contragulations Marky, I'm proud of you man; see you are a writer. All of us are, it's just that some of us are more lucky than others. I've heard tale of a lot of really good books being turned down because it wasn't at the right time or place, so it's like an intricate combination that is impossible to figure out consciously, and it is by fate that you break its code. Maybe getting published is like Mission Impossible, (if Tom Cruise can do it, then we can too, right)?