Discussion Trying ot get back into writing

[RedSpiderLily]

So once upon a time I used to write an obscene amount of fiction for my own enjoyments and one day I just stopped for no reason what-so-ever. Recently, I've started again, due in part to me not being able to find stories with the content I craved in them, and I was wondering if anyone wanted to chat about writing and shit. My mood has been bad as of late due to a lotta irl stuff (which is what sparked me making an account for the first time a day or so ago despite having regularly lurked as a guest for roughly a year) and I was thinking that maybe it could be fun to chat about writing genres/projects/techs/etc with each other.

For my fellow writers:
What is your favorite genre to write and why?
What is your favorite scene you've ever written?
What is you biggest flaw as a writer?
What is your biggest strength as one?


I'll start.

My favorite genre to write is angst. I'm not sure if it's partially because I use it as a way to vent or what, but I love tearing down characters and having them slowly be built back up again. I also love to just have them in a state of not OK and have other characters accept that they're not in a good place mentally. I guess I kinda reflect my own mental state and desires a lot with that. (But this isn't the section for that, so I digress).

As for my favorite scene? It probably has to go to one I did recently where my MC was talking to his drunk friend/kinda boyfriend on the phone, and their BF was just drunkenly rambling about how he won a bet and in his attempt to emphasize how much money he won, he declares that he could buy a toaster. MC proceeds to say something on the lines of, "An entire toaster, huh? I don't know what I would do with that kinda money."

It's such a stupid interaction and I just love it. I don't know why, just that I do. apparently my readers do as well, as it's the most commonly referenced scene by those who have chatted with me about that specific story, haha.

One of my biggest flaws as a writer has varied over the years. In my youth it was that I didn't add descriptives in scenes like I should have. It was pretty much all dialogue, which made for a very short and un-stimulating read.

As I grew a bit older (older teenage years) it became the opposite. I would shove insane amount of visual details into paragraphs, and not the good kind, either. It was the kind of details that make your eyes glaze over as they don't actually provide anything useful in them. Shit like clothing brands and being overly specific about the details of said clothes. I was very bad about it in action scenes as well. Too many descriptives that left nothing for the imagination, something that a more experienced writer explained to me when I was around 20 or so and I took to heart.

Currently, I think my biggest flaw as a writer is the fact that I like to ramble, lmao. Long run on sentences that are a nightmare to to revise in post, especially if I wrote them at 4am as I often do.

When it come to my biggest strength as a writer, I think it's my willingness to experiment and try something new with every story. Different formatting, writing styles, etc. To use ideas that aren't very popular solely because I think it would be fun to at least try them out. They might not always work out, but at the very least I had fun and learned from them.

 

[suicidalloser]

i used to write a forced coping mechanism during my last time in the psych ward. i wrote 7 stories which would later be used in.
it was only to gain progress to get out of there

 

[Navi]

I write very occasionally and always appreciate some good writing when it's presented to me. When I do write though it's an escape as cringy as that sounds.

What is your favorite genre to write and why?
I also like to write angst or hurt. I've always felt drawn to it. Seeing characters process emotions differently and seeing how it affects them has always been interesting. I enjoy writing angst as much as I enjoy reading it.

What is your favorite scene you've ever written?
Theres this pair of siblings, a brother who has status and power and his sister who is a humble librarian and researcher. The brother, despite having everything he could ever want, is jealous of his sister. She is more popular with the people. She's intelligent, kind, wise. She has friends that will stick with her no matter what. In this scene, the sister is walking up some stairs to comfort her brother, who is actively telling her to stay away since he feels guilt towards his disgust and jealousy towards his sister. When she finally comes at the top of the stairs, she tells him that she has known about his feelings for a while. This causes him to snap, and he pushes her down the stairs, killing her.

What is you biggest flaw as a writer?
My pacing. Whenever I'm writing an unimportant scene I tend to rush it to get to the more interesting parts. My character dialogue isn't the best either. I also think I use too many comas lol

What is your biggest strength as one?
Don't think I have one. I've had people tell me my writing has personality or something but that sounds pretty generic. All writing has to have personality or else it's not good writing. Feels like they were grasping at straws to complement me or something.

I hope you fully get back into writing. I wish you well.

 

[nerve]

in a pretty similar boat, down to the 'no one's writing the stories i want to read so i guess i have to do it myself' thing. i miss writing but my mental state for the last however many years has made it hard to concentrate on much else besides basic day-to-day coping. i was recently diagnosed with adhd, which helps explain a lot of the problems i have with writing (and living in general!), so between knowing that about myself and being medicated for it, i might actually have a chance of getting back into writing...

these days im usually just scribbling down whatever comes to mind and dont think much about genre, but romantic horror has kinda always been my ultimate goal/ideal. idk how good i am at either but "love and fear are two sides of the same coin etc. etc." so maybe thats where the fascination comes from. ...or maybe im just a creep!

structure and pacing are definitely my biggest weaknesses :( i became a nerd for story structure mostly out of necessity, but ive had trouble doing something similar for the pacing part. everything comes out so...zippy? rushed? like theres a lot of empty air to fill? idk if that makes any sense lol

kinda boring, but my main strength might be plain ol vocabulary. in addition to the adhd paste brain, i have pretty serious aphantasia and my brain is incapable of any real visualization so ive had no choice but to think entirely in words. it still really bums me out sometimes but i cant honestly say there haven't been any upsides to it!

aaaa thanks for starting this thread, it was good for me to sit down and think about it all for a bit c:

 

[Celerity]

I have also recently returned to writing after a long hiatus. I am so glad that you that you have been able to find that creative spark again!

• Favorite genre: I'm not sure if I have one. I know I do have a least-favorite - comedy. I tend to be interested in dramatic stories with high stakes and serious characters. When I was younger, I wrote a few humorous stories I really enjoyed writing, but for better or worse, that inspiration has just left me.
• Best scene written: Since I haven't written much fiction in a long time, this is hard for me. I would say my best recent work was with a character exploring a tomb. I was able to maintain the creepy atmosphere and feeling of tension/anxiety while also moving the plot forward and revealing some of the character's motivations.
• Worst writing flaw: Though I find writing chases and fights really tedious, my biggest problem by far is writing compelling dialogue.
• Best writing strength: I like to think it is my ability to set the mood for a scene and to really delve deep into how a character is feeling without getting over-the-top.

 

[suicidalloser]

i used to write a forced coping mechanism during my last time in the psych ward. i wrote 7 stories which would later be used in.
it was only to gain progress to get out of there

keep your mouth sealed.