Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with writing and writers

Perhaps a chair coated with glue?

BitterOldPunk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:09:03 -0800

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. Realizing that the point is to get 50,000 words written, I've jettisoned all illusions of producing quality, publishable prose. My only goal is to finish without having to copypaste "All work and no play makes BOP a dull boy" five thousand times. I have a (rather vague) outline, I have some preliminary character sketches, and I have every expectation that the first ten thousand words will flow fairly quickly. But. I suck at follow-through. I have the attention span of the common housefly. So, writers: how do I stick with it, fight through discouragment and ennui, and produce 50,000 reasonably coherent words?

Note: I'm not looking for tips like "prepare moar" or "work your plan". I'm looking for how to stay motivated when the fun stuff stops and the hard work begins.

Where is the best writing course in London?

King_Wang — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:12:33 -0800

Do you know of any excellent writing courses in London? I want to start developing the writing I've been doing for the last year, particularly a play I'm developing. I've been granted a scholarship to take an ARVON course, but it's only a week long, and I'd like something more substantial (without going back to a damn university) before going on to the Royal Court young writer's group in December.

My research has turned up a few tasty-looking courses at various colleges in London; London College of Journalism, CityLit, Brunel, Central St Martins, among others. Do any of you have experience or recommendations of places which are of particularly high quality? Suggestions for writers groups or workshops are also welcome.

I already have a portfolio of work I can show; I'm not a complete beginner, just very self-taught and looking for guidance as I get further into my play.

Any help would be hugely appreciated,

Michael H

"Based on a story by my pal Shecky"

TheSecretDecoderRing — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:02:38 -0800

How often are the stories of a comic, novel, play, TV series, movie, or song conceived by the writer's friend, relative, acquaintance, neighbor, mailman, dog, etc? Writers get all the credit for their works (except in movies, where the director often ends up with a lot; and TV is often collaborative), but just how often is a given story entirely their own idea?

I remember some old anecdote about how Charles Schulz refused to accept story ideas from fans. And for legal reasons it's probably a smart choice for professional writers. But like a lot of people, IANAPW, but still harbor ambitions of coming up with the concept for the Great American Movie. (A lot of people in America, anyway.)

Not that I plan on hounding my friendly neighborhood screenwriter, but out of sheer curiosity, do you know of any instances where the premise behind a well-known show, movie, book, etc was conceived of in detail by someone other than the credited writer/creator... just an ordinary "civilian"?

A close example would be "Lost," which was roughly conceived by a then-exec at ABC, before being fleshed out by JJ Abrams and company. Now, if the general story arc of the entire series had originally been pitched to JJ by, say, his optician... that'd be even better.

Active writing forums?

Ugh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:57:59 -0800

Anyone know any active writing forums they would recommend? The last time I had time to devote to writing, I was a member of Writers Write but it appears they have since closed down their forums. I enjoy the forums at NaNoWriMo but they're not as active this time of year as I would like. Google results are overwhelming. Any suggestions for active discussion boards? I'm mainly interested in fiction (novel-length), but also in memoirs.

Bonus question, there was a forum I was part of at some point which had the author of Look Me in the Eye as an active participant. At the time, his memoir had been picked up, but not yet released. Anyone know which forum this might have been?

Are there successful multi-genre authors?

wackybrit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:31:28 -0800

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? It's very easy to find authors whose writing is predominantly in a single genre - horror (King, Koontz), fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling), crime (Crumley, Christie), romance, and the like. But are there any famous (or at least semi-known) authors who jump between genres regularly?

Variety doesn't seem to be a remarkable attribute in musicians (Sting, for example), but while I can think of writers who straddle or work with two distinct genres (Ballard, Dahl), I cannot think of any who have produced significant works in, say, all of horror, crime, romance, and sci-fi - and I would like to look into the works of any who have.

Best book publication methods?

jdroth — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:56:35 -0800

I have a web site. I want to write a book based on the topic. I have publishers/agents asking to talk to me, but I don't know if I'm ready. For one thing, I'm not convinced traditional publication is best — I'm intrigued by self-publishing and e-books. I'm looking for general advice: What are the pros and cons of each method? It seems that unless I'm lucky, traditional publishing offers the lowest dollar return. But are there other, intangible benefits I'm missing? Exposure? Having somebody who knows what they're doing guide me along? And how do I approach a discussion with agents/publishers so as to get the best deal? I'd love some hard numbers from real e-books. Have you published one? How many did you sell? How much did you make? Would you do it again? Same with self-publishing. John Reed has a great book with detailed information about the economics of self-publishing, but I'd like to know more.

What are the advantages of traditional publication? How much can a first-time author expect to earn, both in advance and in sales? Is my web site large enough to give me negotiating leverage? (42,000 subscribers, close to 750k monthly pageviews)

My current thought is that self-publishing in some fashion (probably an e-book) would grant me complete control over the design, layout, and content of the book. If that did well, I could still promote it to a traditional publisher. Is this an acceptable approach?

Basically, I'm looking for anecdotes and advice from people who have done this sort of thing before.

I'm sure I'll have more "how do I write a book?" questions in the next few months.

Best places to write in Venice, CA?

np312 — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 12:26:52 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations on best places to write in Venice, CA. Mostly in the realm of coffee shops or writer-friendly cafes, libraries, or anything else that comes to mind. I've just moved to Venice, CA from Brooklyn to work on a major writing project for the next few months. I don't like to write from home, and would prefer to walk to places on Abbott Kinney or Main Street to spend a few hours writing on my laptop. (So outlets are necessary.)

Free Wifi is nice, but mostly I'm looking for places with a cool vibe, other writers working there too, etc, where you can park yourself for a few hours without having people giving you the hairy eyeball. (I always buy a lot of coffee, but I don't want to feel like I'm being timed.)

Any suggestions? Thanks to all!

Is there a social networking site for writers?

kingtaj — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:03:17 -0800

Is there a social networking site for writers? There are lots of general social networking sites, like myspace, linkedin, etc. I have also seen some more specialized sites like dogster. Is there something along these lines for writers?

Books on Writers and Alcohol?

Gnostic Novelist — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:39:08 -0800

I'm looking for books dealing with writers and alcohol, or writers writing about alcohol. I own four books on the subject: The Thirsty Muse: Alcohol and the American Writer Alcohol and the Writer A Drinking Companion: Alcohol and Writers' Lives The Muse in the Bottle: Great Writers on the Joy of Drinking

Famous Writing Habits?

Gnostic Novelist — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:46:38 -0800

Famous Writing Habits? I come across sites dealing with a few here and there but there is no great collection I can find. Common examples: Hemingway's habit/belief of 500 words per day, Faulkner drinking whiskey whilst writing, Balzac drinking 10+ espressos a day, Thomas Wolfe's habit of writing standing up and his prolixity (so much so that Max Perkins had to substantially edit his work). Certain writers lived philosophies on first drafts/revisions, words/hours per day, etc etc. I have no problem locating famous quotes, but I'm more interested in info about actual behaviors. Hope that sounds right. Thank You in advance.

Are "office"-type businesses for writers a good idea?

Manhasset — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 08:05:12 -0800

Does anyone know of spaces (offices/cafes/whatever) geared specifically to writers? I know of theOffice in Santa Monica. Any others you know of? Links? Also, if you've frequented such a place, what were your impressions? If you're a writer, what would get you into such a place? I've been offered a cafe/retail space at a very good price in a hip part of Toronto. Owning a "regular" cafe doesn't appeal to me but converting it to something like this does.

So, I'm asking: if you're a writer, does such an establishment seem like a good idea to you? If not, why not? What would it need to make you change your mind?

rubbing elbows with the gods.

exlotuseater — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 06:29:41 -0800

How to (tactfully and successfully) get some major names to look at some of my writing? Of course there is I am going to be involved in a big-name writer's conference, though not as a paying attendee (no workshops, just the hobnobbing); I am there in more of a logistical/support sort of capacity. Nevertheless, I am going to be meeting with major poets and authors that I admire greatly, in a social setting. Is there a tactful way to pass on a manuscript or collection of some of my current work to them for perusal? I'm doing this primarily because I would like feedback from them, not because I am so foolish to believe that they'll say "omg this is wonderful I will pass it on to my editor/publisher tout de suite".

Related question for bonus points: how much is too much? When does a manuscript or collection get too big for someone to consider looking at? I want to err on the side of caution- I'm thinking of ~10 poems and a short-short story in one packet. Too much?

(I couldn't decide whether this was "Society and Culture" or "Writing and Language")

thesis writers block

garethspor — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:35:23 -0800

Thesis writers block: So I have until thursday to get a first draft of the discussion section of my thesis written. I've been working on it for the past few weeks at a snail's pace. I showed my advisor what I had come up with last week and surprisingly enough, he was ok with it. My problem is I just simply cannot muster up the motivation to get any more work done on this. Basically this project had been painful from the start. My advisor has never really been happy with the direction it's taken and as a result, I've never really had any positive motivating feedback. I know exactly what I need to do to write it, but every time I start, I get a whole bunch of anxiety and end up doing other things on the computer/internet. I only have a couple days left before my next thesis meeting, I know it's just barely enough time to get this done, but every day I get no work done, I feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot.

I know the obvious answer is for me to just stop whining and buckle down, so you don't need to tell me that. Basically I'm just looking for anyone else who has been in this situation, how you overcame it, whatever. Just a bit of good ol' AxMe therapy!

Oh yeah, and it's my birthday today, which in this case, just adds to the suckitude of the whole situation.

Where can a new fiction writer find some help?

shallowcenter — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 17:26:06 -0800

Tell a wannabe fiction writer where to find support online. So, yes, I'm one of those lame-o's with a handful of unfinished short stories sitting on his hard drive and, I think, a novel or two lurking in the dark recesses of his mind. I'd like to find a good online support group for new fiction writers -- supportive, constructively critical, ass-kicking when necessary, etc. Any recommendations?

What are some good, free, online writers' forums?

BackwardsCity — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 11:06:58 -0800

Looking for good, free online writers' forums to try and promote a magazine project I'm working on. Where on the web do poets and short story writers tend to congregate, and how can I reach that audience (preferably without spending any money)?

Help me finding a writing group

billybunny — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 15:23:32 -0800

In a variation on the first question I posted to AskMe, I'm looking for a resource that'd help me find local, actually-meet-and-talk-to-people writing groups. My searching skills are apparently flaccid and small. I mean, I live in a freaking college town, I should be innundated with such activities. And yet no luck. Any ideas on where I might find these elusive groups?

Techniques for beating writer's block?

COBRA! — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 08:57:27 -0800

Does anyone have any good techniques for beating writer's block? The particular flavor of it that I'm going through is a total deflation of my writing confidence. I used to be able to sit down and crank it out, completely convinced that I was awesome and this was total gold I was creating. But for the past year or so (during which I've started doing a lot more writing for money, which may or may not be a factor, I'm not sure), I've had a lot of trouble with doubt. I'll start a project, and before I'm even a thousand words into it, flaws on both the macro and micro scale become really apparent to me and I'll decide that it's just not worth pursuing.

At this point, I can still spit out an (uninspired) article if there's a deadline, but actual creation has pretty much ground to a halt. If anyone has success stories on getting through this sort of feeling, I'd love to hear them…

What is the professional life of a travel writer really like?

Irontom — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 15:00:54 -0800

Do we have any travel writers in the house? Is it really the life of glamour and ease that thetravelwriterslife.com claims?

Since I suspect it's not as easy as one might suppose after digesting that page, I have more questions: Can you tell me what it's like? How you got started? What kind of money you pull in? Any advice for a day-dreaming prisoner of "the man" who thinks he can write and wouldnt mind travelling more often than he does? Anything?

Jump-start my writing process!

klaatu — Wed, 14 Apr 2004 04:58:05 -0800

OK, I'm trying to write my latest masterpiece, and I'm doing everything but... Any tips on writing routines? Not blocked, as such. Plain lazy is a definite possibility. But seriously, anybody have a fail-safe way to get up in the morning and get going?