Play Book Tag discussion

There is a large connection between reading and writing. Sometimes I feel I can do much better or a book inspires a story of my own.

How many of fancy yourselves as writers? How has joining PBT and reading a wider range of books and styles helped with your writing? Do you use writing in their everyday job? Anybody interested in sharing personal writings or maybe doing a collective writing project? If you are a writer, who would you say is your biggest supporter and who is your biggest influence? What is your biggest obstacle to writing? Have you taken any writing classes or read any books to improve writing such as Stephen Kings On Writing?

Okay, time for Cracker Barrel.

I have never been a writer. I was surprised (many moons ago) when I found out how many readers also write! I guess it shouldn't be surprising, though.

Always wanted to be a writer but discovered I don't have the imagination. I'd like a crack at being an editor, I could put my grammar Nazi tendencies to good use!

annipi. my be we should create a team. I come up with wonderful idea but, even though my knowledge of grammar is good, I skip it all when writing not do a follow through with writing. So I come up with ideas, someone else writes (any takers) and annipi edits. Now we need any publisher. PBT Publishing.

I'm game, Jason! Send me your stuff! :)

I'm definitely not a writer. I write a lot of stuff for work but that is science based stuff, no plot. I was really good at writing research papers in college but for some silly reason I decided to take a short story class writing class in college. I hated trying to come up with ideas. I'll stick to reading.

I fancy myself a writer. But it’s been a long time since I’ve had the space and time to indulge it. Tends to be essays, (or professional papers - that are more like storytelling with a teaching point.). My writing tends to be about spirituality and parenting, or spirituality for the every day experience. I have an essay on spirituality and technology, but that was from a while back. I write when I want to remember to hold onto something. I wrote when I lost a friend to suicide two years ago, to remember her. I wrote when my dear friend got married last year, about how special he is, and what that milestone represented. I have written a Kibdergarten essay for each of my children - to speak about who they are emerging to be as they make this transition. The last one was called Choose Joy, and it was about my little lovesong, (nickname), but also about whether happiness is a choice. I believe it is. I wrote when a Trump became elected about how we talk to our kids about this, about their ability to be leaders, and what possible healing and light is. I have an essay in my mind about the Million Woman March, called Rise Up. And it’s about the myriad of ways in which we rise, given what’s thrown at us. The titles of my essays always come first. They always have a theme.

Here’s a Goodreads story about writing. I have a non-PBT friend who loves Christmas as much as Nicole. Possibly more. Last year I sent her three essays on the meaning of Chanukah that I wrote at various times. A year later just a few weeks ago, she wrote me to tell me that she read them, and she loved them. I haven’t even had a moment to tell her what her note meant to me. Which shows you how behind I am in both correspondence and writing.

When my husband and I were desperately trying to conceive 15-17 years ago, I spent a year writing my deeper knowledge of what each of the cycle of Jewish holidays are about. I have passed those out for years. But my writing about infertility and hope led to my story of how my oldest came to be. I followed that up by writing to him (or her) while I was pregnant. I asked all the to be grandparents and hubby to write, and each did. I also told the story of how each came to this country and traced ancestry. This turned into a tome that continues. I wrote on September 11th, where there was so much loss, but our baby furniture arrived. I wrote about the birth, included the bris service which I wrote. My essays are in there. Interactions with the tooth fairy. Notes on Trump, and thoughts on everything as the aged. Interactions with the tooth fairy. The loss of my mother in law this summer. My poor daughters in law are going to have to someday comb through it. But it’s all in there. Powerful emails. My doctorate graduation speech. My husbands 50th and my parents 50th anniversary. Yes, I have an essay on marriage, I forgot. And one called the Wedding Shoes. I wrote pages and pages about my son’s barmitzvah and all our speeches are in there. It’s a tome. But it marks the moments in my life, and the things I hope to pass on. It has insight, humor, and memory - and so much love.

It’s a great question Jason. I’d love to hear if you fancy yourself a writer, sounds like you do, and what kind. I think you should go for it. I have the feeling, nay the certainty that you would be terrific.

I’m am also surprised at how many readers would like to write. I’ve never had that inclination, but my husband has. Instead he plays role playing games and makes up backstories and adventures for his characters.

I never thought I had the imagination, but I did enjoy writing a travel blog when I did my trip around the world. I used to tell people that my dream job was to be a fact checker for travel guides. I don’t think I could be a straight editor because my English grammar is not as good as it used to be since living in France.

Amy wrote: "I fancy myself a writer. But it’s been a long time since I’ve had the space and time to indulge it. Tends to be essays, (or professional papers - that are more like storytelling with a teaching poi..."

I'm not sure I can really follow you message.

I did fancy myself at one time. I have many short stories, a collection of poetry, hordes of started stories, and a googleplex of ideas. I love to play the what if game. Driving down the road and what if........ At the library and what if......... Best way to come up with plot ideas for me.

I've tried writing a few essays, but I don't seem to have the knack for that.

I'm not a great writer, I am aware of that, but I have been praised for my stories. The idea for the story and the development. The writing itself is lacking. I came in second place out of my whole school for a short story.

Also, my brain goes so fast that when I'm writing or typing a story I blow past punctuation, correct spelling, and my handwriting is beyond atrocious. Think of the worst handwriting you can think of. Looks like calligraphy compared to mine, so sometimes it is hard to even read my own stories. haha. I also don't like all the rules of grammar and sentence structure as with the sentence "Looks like calligraphy...." But I feel that is a truer sense of how I talk or how I am thinking at the time. Some dig it, some don't.

Anyway, reading always reinvigorates the idea of writing and I might invent a new plot and sketch a brief outline, but I don't really write anymore.

Side note because I did not address this earlier. My poetry is horrible. The only recognition it ever received was the local college had a poetry competition when I was in High School. I submitted an imagery poem about domestic abuse and the small child murders the parents and then is placed in foster care. The college sent the poem to my high school. The counselor calls me to her office. The first thing she says, "Do you need us to call DFACS for you?" I responded with my first thought, "No my dad will beat me." Yeah I thought it was funny too. The counselor did not. My dad did not. So my only recognition was my poetry almost lead to DFACS being called on my parents. No my parents are not abuse. The inspiration for that poem came from somewhere else.

My final self promotion, I have wrote some stories and poems that have lead to some people crying. I'm almost positive it was from the story and not the quality, but I took pride in at least having the ability to make people feel strong emotions.

OH! can't believe I forgot. In High School, 11th grade year, I got enough petition signatures to present to the school board about creating a creative writing class. It was approved and for my Senior year "Writers Workshop for Creative Writing" was an elective class. It only lasted for one year. :(

Like a couple people have mentioned, I have thought I might like to be an editor, though I'm not a writer. It's the creativity/imagination for coming up with a story that I feel like I lack!

Jason has mentioned high school. Thinking back, it must have been grade 8 or 9 (small town, my high school was gr. 8-12), I think, but we had to write a short story.

To my astonishment, my English teacher chose my story and one other to read aloud to a different class (one grade above us, I think) and have them choose which of the two to publish in the yearbook! Now, mine didn't win. The one that won was fantasy.

Although, I honestly didn't think my story was all that great - since I've never been "into" fantasy, for the life of me, I could NOT fathom the interest in the other story, either!!! LOL! I see now that, in reality, there are LOTS of people who like fantasy - who knew!!!!?

Thinking back, I remember agonizing about how to start my little mystery story. "On a dark and stormy night..." LOL! I think that is what I went with! Again, no creativity in my head!!!

I remember a ghost appearing to someone in an alley, and leaving behind (when they disappeared) a clue as to how they were murdered or who murdered them or something.

Wish I still had a copy of the story. Also wrote an essay on the history of a nearby major junior hockey team as a high school assignment (that essay was entered - by the same English teacher, I think - into some kind of province-wide competition). Also wish I still had a copy of that one.

In high school our school newspaper held a Christmas short story contest. I really wanted to enter, because I had an idea and wanted to see how well it would do. Unfortunately, because I was on the paper's staff, I was not allowed to. So I persuaded my sister to send the entry under her name. It won second place, but I was told that though most of the judges technically preferred my story, it had a white protagonist family, and they chose to give first prize to the Filipino-oriented entry. My sister felt guilty for accepting a prize she did not deserve, but I was pretty thrilled. I still have a copy of it somewhere in my high school memorabilia book.

I tried my hand at writing magazine articles after graduating from college, and sold my first two articles to magazines that had circulation in Southeast Asia. I actually had vague plans to write a series of articles reviewing dive resorts all over the Philippines in the hope they would give me free accommodations for it, but my trip to the US took my life in a different direction.

Everyone seems to be lacking the creativity and that's what I have plenty.

LibraryCin, It's a wonderful feeling when your work is singled out. I also know how it feels to be second place and not understanding how the winner won. Her story was about telling your house bye. The main character is moving from their childhood home and she walks through the house telling it bye. My story was of a rich family with 3 boys. The main character is the middle child. He feels unloved and neglected and he pushes his little brother in their lake. The little brother drowns and charges are brought against the parents for negligence.

Another of my favorite ideas, is a husband on his way home. In the car in front of him, he sees his wife in a car that is not theirs and she is alone. When they get home, she does not know who he is. She is married to someone else. To save time, he does not exist. Nothing he knows to be true is so. The plot is bases on the multuverse theory. He has a parallel universe that is very similar to his universe but also very different.

I have many more ideas also. Those are just two of my favorites.

Annapi, awesome experience. We seem to be a collection of second place finishers though. haha
Be you are technically a writer by the definition of selling a piece of work.

Jason wrote: "Another of my favorite ideas, is a husband on his way home. In the car in front of him, he sees his wife in a car that is not theirs and she is alone. When they get home, she does not know who he is. She is married to someone else. To save time, he does not exist. Nothing he knows to be true is so. The plot is bases on the multuverse theory. He has a parallel universe that is very similar to his universe but also very different. "

Jason, have you read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch? It has a plot very like this, and it's a wild ride.

Annapi, No, I have not read that. I will look into it. Thankyou.

Annaoi, I just read the synopsis. Very awesome. The basics are similar. I think we take the story different directions. In mine, he doesn't become another him but instead he is transported to another dimension so therefore there is another him with different life choices I'm this universe as well. He can meet a different him. But this does sound pretty cool. Adding to tbr.

I think it's pretty clear from my username here that I aspire to be a writer. ;) Though I don't know if I have what it takes. I've been told my whole life by almost everyone I know, "You should be a writer!" Alas, it's a lot harder than most people realize.

Do I fancy myself a writer? Yes and no.

Like Tessa, I've always dreamed of being a writer. I've always had loads of imagination, told myself stories and wrote down stories as soon as I knew how to. I always hoped I'd grow up to make a living out of writing.

Then in my early teens I discovered fanfiction (Harry Potter fanfiction to be precise) and starting writing that. One after the other, I churned them out, I had all sorts of ideas, and I enjoyed it immensely. But I was telling myself it was just practice for writing my own stories. I did write my own, but I actually liked it less than fanfic. I thought the results weren't as good, I wasn't as good. But I kept hearing comments about fanfic not being real writing, and my mom kept asking when I was going to write "for real", so I still told myself eventually I'd "graduate" from fanfic.

Then a few years ago I read Fangirl and I saw so much of myself in Cath. I decided that if what made me happy in writing was HP fanfic, then that was what I was going to write, and if that meant I was never going to publish and it would always be a pastime, then so be it. Maybe I'd never be a writer on my resume, but I'd be a writer in my mind.

Count me among the people who have a fantasy about writing a novel (someday), but who doesn't have creative ideas. Sigh. I tried once. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Jason, I think your ideas sound great! You should give it a shot. A good editor could fix all the issues you mention about grammar and so forth. If you can write a story that brings people to tears, I'd say you have what it takes. That's a lot better than being a strong writer mechanically who has no ideas and/or doesn't know how to tell a story (ahem, me me me).

I did take a great fiction writing course through the Gotham Writers Workshop. Their courses are online (but will real live instructors), and I did learn some great things . . .they have a novel writing one too that I keep thinking would be fun to try.

In other news, I've cleared out about half my books (for the move) and found three books about writing. I kept those. And On Writing by Stephen King is phenomenal - - inspiring and helpful to a new writer.

Anita wrote: "Count me among the people who have a fantasy about writing a novel (someday), but who doesn't have creative ideas. Sigh. I tried once. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Jason, I thin..."

I will give it a shot. You, Amy and others have convinced me to, at the very least, start. Now which idea to start? haha Thank-ya'll for the vote of confidence.

I loved On Writing. The in the Creative Writing class in High School we studied parts of the book, mainly the writers toolbox. I recently reread the whole book. The books we studies were The Things They Carried and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

As I work, would it be appropriate to share chapters here in PBT, especially since I'm not great at self motivation?

Jason wrote: "Anita wrote: "Count me among the people who have a fantasy about writing a novel (someday), but who doesn't have creative ideas. Sigh. I tried once. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.
..."

Sure . . .just set up a Footnotes thread, and you can link a Google doc with your work to it.

If we have other writers who are interested in sharing work, we can consider a folder . . .

Anita wrote: "Count me among the people who have a fantasy about writing a novel (someday), but who doesn't have creative ideas. Sigh. I tried once. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Jason, I thin..."

Same here. Anita and I actually met online when we were attempting to write novels; I didn't finish mine and don't remember if Anita did. We both had young children at the time (two of hers are similar in age to two of mine or one of mine, I don't remember, but we each had a child turn 22 in 2017).

I tried a second time, but then got Very Busy. Plus loaded with too many ideas at once. It is sitting here. My other I foolishly destroyed because I actually did okay in a chapter contest (didn't win, but was happy to be a semifinalist). But note it was ONE chapter, the first, which had been worked and worked and worked. The novel fell apart in the middle..