Like many of you, I'm sure, I've always been something of a writer. Spare time, school time, whichever, I have a tendency to make on a start on a thousand stories (and actually finish a couple). Anyway, I thought that we might see the kind of writing the board gets up to.

So - what's your masterwork so far? When did you write it? Why did you write it? How long was it? What was it about? Did you use any writing techniques?

My longest piece so far has been The Tachyon Journal, at 20000 words. It's about a teenager from the late 20th century who gets hurled forward 150 years in an accident, and the world in which he finds himself, written, as the titles suggests, as a diary. Probably the most interesting writing technique I used was interspersing the journal text with commentary and computer notation, as if from a reader accessing a text and reading as you do. I completed it four years ago and haven't finished anything major since, though I do have 18000 words worth of a sequel (far from completed).

Your turn.

(Incidentally: Attempts to divert this topic will be met with punitive measures)

I write some stuff for my creative writing class at school, but only in five to six hundred word range. I'm pretty good with words, but my imagination sucks, which prevents me from writing on a larger scale.

Also, the last story I wrote was entirely too derivative of Douglas Adams.

I once started on a daily journal of a moderately wealthy individual and his enormously wealthy associates who spent a good portion of the time traveling around, drinking tea, and sitting about in a private club owned by the hero (think a Socratic dialogue involving the types of folks in The Great Gatsby, written in the spirit of Douglas Adams with the witty conversations of a Robert B. Parker novel). I worked on it for four or five months, but came to the realization that I'd end up continuing the storyline ad infinitum without anything of substance ever happening, I also couldn't bear naming the characters, so they were referred to as animals (wombat, parrot, walrus, polar bear, etc.).

For the most part though, I'm more of a short story type of guy and have a number of stories floating around. Recently, the extent of what I write on a daily basis that doesn't have to do with work or school is contained here on the boards. Kinda sad really.

-Pufer

I've never written anything outside of school.

Let's see...I wrote a news article about one of GD's posts if anyone remembers that .....

I write alot of poetry, and alot of story's (rarely finished), but I do have one shrt story that I wrote, that Im actually quite proud of, called "The Writer". I have one Major work that I was working on, big in a wordcount way (especially if you count all the different versions), but I kinda ditched it. Writings a great way for me to release, but during school I dont have as much time to do it as I would like.

*3T

I remember, znorty!

I wrote a lot in Spain, because I had nothing to do in school. Nothing big, though

I used to write monsterous amounts. Some of it was good too. But, none of the big stuff was. I havn't written much in the past year or so and what I have written has been really crappy.

Interesting. So, what does everyone write? Sci-fi? Fantasy? Thrillers, Dramas, Detective novels?

The majority of my work is either sci-fi or fantasy in flavour, though I do have a couple of surrealist pieces under my belt. English teachers often have a thing against fantasy as a whole, but there's a lot you can do with the genre. You don't have to write shallow, derivative good-vs-evil rehashes.

Just joined. I never have enough time to write something interesting. But when I do, I prefer War or basically anything really. Can't think of a genre I don't like. I might think of one, but I can't right now. I like War the most. Fictional War.

I used to start stories, but I've never finished anything. My writing these days is in solid history papers. I do them rather well, but usually only under pressure (class).


Nice.

Ironically, I have never written anything of any value that I can think of.

I've written 2short stories I like, 1k and 2k words, and I'm in the middle of a few others.

I'm in the middle of a sci-fi futristic story that if I may say so, it's very good. I like writing a lot. It's something I find relaxing and something that I am good at. I write more than anyone will ever know.

I used to be a fairly high level story writer at school, second highest in my class, but got out of the habit of it after a while. I got the flare again when doing my English course at college, but once again, got out of the habit.

Since leaving I've started writing several, but none have gotten anywhere. the furthest I've ever got on a novel to date was my Star Trek one, which got quite a long way in...

Other than novels, I write a lot of stuff for church. Especially liturgy, which I'm told I have a flare for. I've also written a few GURPS campaigns and characters, with fairly lush back story and descriptive writings.

-H

Awesome topic SA..really...

I thing writing is such a cool thing...You can do whatever you want with it. I think it's an art in itself.

There's no question about that, µ. Literature, Art and Music have been the three pinnacles of culture since well before the Enlightenment. Writing just happens to be the one of the three which I have the touch of.

Some of the best known intelligence just came from writing. Writing is absolutely one of the best things around.

[Punitive measures employed -SA]

I'd comment, but I don't know what to say.

Hah, I found out where all the missing posts went.

Sometimes its better simply to split them into a new topic, but given the post content, it probably wouldn't have been worthwhile in this case.

Hrm... creative writing. I wish I had the time...

But when I did have the time, I wrote FFF (65k words, or something like that), there are several bits and pieces relating to FFF which are probably languishing on a hard drive somewhere, and then I write random bits and pieces that I start and never finish.
I still have the inspiration, I just lack the time to sit down and write it when it comes to me.

-jdp

What other kinds of writing are there besides creative writing? Isn't all writing creative?

Well, I guess that depends on your definition of 'writing'

For me writing involves sitting down with an idea, and making something of it. Be it a short story, novel, poem, liturgy, whatever. And all of that is creative as you are coming up with it yourself. Things like essasys and informative writing gets a little cloudy in my mind. You are being creative to a point, but only by commentationg on someone elses creation. I guess you could class it as creative, but a different kind of creative

So to answer your question, you could say it is, but it's a different kind of creative...

-H

Well, there's the kind of writing you do when it comes to papers for your degree... but then again, I'm pretty sure that mine qualify as 'creative' as well.

Never mind

There's destructive writing too, you know. Just look at any art critic's column.

Ah...Good point.

I creatively wrote an arguement why we should mass forcefully with non-violent missionaries convert everyone to one religion through the Un, it permeates evil from it's hellhole of my closet. Don't let it touch you.

Nor do I condone any of the lies that it tries to spread while I'm not looking.

Riiiight...

We've already established creative, academic (essays, research papers, and any other types of "papers for your degree," as Jon said) and critical (SA's "destructive" writing and other varieties of critique) writing, but I'd like to add persuasional (political, religious, self-help, or any other type of work whose intention is to convince someone of something) and technical (one can hardly claim that a shop manual for a Volkswagen or a meatloaf recipe fall into any of the above categories even though they are written works) forms of writing to the list. Anything else we've forgotten?

-Pufer

Junk writing; ie 99% of Trash Talk.

And, of course, celery.

But if you think about it. All writing is creative. You have to think of what you're going to say, and that's creativity.

...

Welcome to the ATT...

Why thank you. I've run the joint for four years now.

Well, nobody's perfect...

And nobody "runs this joint". Except for the wise and munificent Sundered Angel who in his great providence does not usually use his moderator powers merely to demonstrate that he does, indeed, "run this joint".

I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective...

We don't...we have a queen.

QUEEN SAXOPHONE!

*bows down to Queen Saxophone*

<desperate attempt to get back on topic>

I'm supposed to be creative writing right now, but am struggling to concentrate. Anyone fancy writing a church service for me?

</desperate attempt to get back on topic>

I'm good at that...What's the subject?

Freedom, my talk is written, need to think of some kind of ritual or meditation...

Oh..I think we had a conversation about that...

Indeed we did.

I'm thinking of using that question as the basis of the ritual. Not sure where to go with it though...

Compare freedom then to freedom now..and how in ways it has changed and stayed the same..but go deeper than that to...how is the freedom we have now worse than then...

Well, in terms of creative writing, I hardly ever do that anymore. Even though I'm suppose to be writing a piece of Genesis right now. :kryptik grin: Mostly I write essays about Shakespeare and Dickens for AP English now. Pretty boring.

Shakespeare is definately not boring.

*3T

Well, define 'then'... and remember that 'better' and 'worse' are incredibly subjective at the best of times.

As it's a church service and not a democracy rally, I'd talk more about what freedom means to us as Christians... the responsibilities that it brings, the questions that it addresses... that what you perceive as 'freedom' may not be what someone else wants or needs (why do I look at the US every time I think that?).... stuff like that. I don't know... this is the result of a brain that's more than half-frazzled.

-jdp

(don't worry, µ... this post is more addressed to H, I just wanted to comment on what you posted. Or something)

Good points. I hadn't really thought about the whole 'reponsibilities' of freedom, I might have to have a think about that...