Let's Talk Writing: Issue 15

Let's Talk Writing: Issue 15

Let's Talk Writing is my news article featuring five different writers that I've discovered here on deviantArt. It will be published every Friday. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to note me. I will take them into consideration. Now, Let's Talk Writing!

Writer #1: SCFrankles

HermaphroditusAphrodite's hair.Helen's face.Adam's apple. Musical ChairsThree women.Three bladders.Two toilets. Lime Green (the Shop Girl's Lament)Lime greenis the colour of contemporary chic,the new spring lookand rotting vegetation."So fresh and clean! Isn't it gorgeous?"Use: "I'm glad you like it"As an alternative to "No."We can't have the sweet colours of youthbut I refuse to swallowthis version of good taste.The shirt is swapped for crumpled notes;in daylight lime green leads to pain.I knew it wouldn't suit you.And you're not bringing it back without a receipt. The Sphinx

What inspired you to start writing?

When I was a child, it was because I was surrounded by books. Everyone who enjoys reading wants to write. I did give up writing though for many years. I started again because I made a younger friend who was doing a BA in English with Writing. I felt the urge to have another go.

How much do you feel you've improved in the last few years?

I don't think my writing has improved to a huge extent but I feel that I'm perhaps a more versatile writer now. I'm bolder and more willing to try new things.

Why do you post your writing to deviantArt?

I have an acute need to show off. I love having readers and I like getting comments on my work. Because a lot of my work is humorous, it needs readers: it's not strictly speaking complete until someone else has laughed.

Do you write with pen and paper or do you type on a word processor?

The majority of my work is very short, so I often simply write in my head. With regard to physical writing: until recently I wrote entirely on paper and then typed everything up at the library. Now I've got access to a laptop I tend to go straight to the typing. I used to find it difficult to put my thoughts directly onto a screen but I've adapted.

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

I'm over 40 so the early years are a bit blurred now. I do remember writing plays for our toys with my siblings. Which I realise makes me sound like I grew up in the 19th century.

What room is your favorite to write in?

What we rather grandly call the dining room - it's the warmest room downstairs and has a good table for working on.

What is your favorite place for thinking?

Slightly embarrassingly, my bed. I suppose it's because the body is safe and comfortable - I can forget about that and concentrate on what's in my mind.

How do you beat out your writers block?

I'm not sure that I do. Every time I finish something it feels like I'm never going to write anything ever again. Something has always popped up though so far.

Do you listen to music when you write?

No, I can't concentrate on more than one thing at a time. I like silence.

Writer #2: featherback

:thumb326968860: :thumb304355647: :thumb322922381: :thumb320802568:

What inspired you to start writing?

Whew. Now that's a difficult question which I don't entirely know how to explain the answer to. I don't think I could pinpoint it on one thing. I've always loved reading and daydreaming, and I suppose I wished to try creating stories and characters for myself. It wasn't ever anything I actively thought about or decided upon, it merely... happened. One day I was writing and it's been a journey since.

How much do you feel you've improved in the last few years?

Very much. When I look back on things I've written in previous years, both poetry and prose, it's awful. I think I've improved the most with flow, characters, and dialogue. Conversation between characters has always been tough but the more I observe different archetypes, actions and reactions, and cliches to avoid, the easier it becomes.

Why do you post your writing to deviantArt?

I'm always nervous about putting literature up on dA, but I do it in the hope and or knowledge that there may be someone out there who can relate to or experience some kind of emotion in those words. I want to share things - understandings, perceptions, with other people, regardless of how difficult that can sometimes be.

Do you write with pen and paper or do you type on a word processor?

Most of the time I use a word processor, commonly Google Docs, but every once in a while I'll scribble down bits of poetry in a notebook. Poetry first drafts are often what gets written on paper.

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

Oh, wow. I'm not even sure I can remember. The first proper piece? It would have to be something done a long time ago entitled 'You', though I don't distinctly recall what it was about (other than, well... a 'you'). Way before that, the first thing ever that I can clearly remember writing was about a cat and its walk through a yard.

What room is your favorite to write in?

I don't really have a particular favorite. Usually I write in the living room on the couch, though I like anywhere that's a bit secluded, cozy, and most importantly quiet.

What is your favorite place for thinking?

Probably outside in the back yard, in this amazingly uncomfortable old white deck chair, with the woods behind my house stretching out ahead of me. It's beautiful on a good Summer's day, and very peaceful.

How do you beat out your writers block?

Well, when I'm lucky, I wait. There's really nothing else to do. There will be periods where I'll write myself into a frenzy and then run out of words, and I'll take a few days filled with many walks, lots of music, and lots of reading. After this passes I'll try again and it usually works, but there's really no telling with writer's block. It comes and goes so sporadically. A muse will be easy to find and then gone the next day.

Do you listen to music when you write?

I do! Not all the time, but often. I'll bring up Pandora and put it on the Ludivico Einaudi station, or 2Cellos.

Writer #3: vespera

vespera requested that I feature the deviations of four deviants that she chose, and I agreed. Each of these following piece are all marvelous reads

Sleepy CatSleepy Cat 14-1-13 A disgusted cat nibbles at my paintbrush While making holes in my tablecloth; Time to stop painting for today And let the sleepy cat lie. :thumb347015387: :thumb346585190:

What inspired you to start writing?

I honestly can't remember. I grew up reading a lot, getting in trouble for not going to bed on time and the such. At some point near the end of gradeschool or beginning of middle school, I started turning to poetry. I remember reading a Dorothy Parker poem, which is to this day the only poem I have memorized (including my own):

By the time you swear you're his,
Shivering and sighing.
And he vows his passion is,
Infinite, undying.
Lady make note of this --
One of you is lying.

That left a big impression on me and probably helped interest me in poetry as a medium.

How much do you feel you've improved in the last few years?

I feel like I improve more in the periods in which I'm most active reading and writing – which has been the last 8 months and then there was a period back in 2006-2007. This is why I'm a big believer in practice, practice, practice.

Why do you post your writing to deviantArt?

Free proof readers, dude. No, but seriously, it's great to have a test audience and to in turn read other's (which often influences my work.)

Do you write with pen and paper or do you type on a word processor?

Both!

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

I don't know what my first piece I ever wrote, but the first piece I wrote for dA (and I still somehow miraculously like!) is:

What room is your favorite to write in?

Outside on the porch!

What is your favorite place for thinking?

The graveyard in Bodega Bay, California.

How do you beat out your writers block?

I try to read a lot of other people's work, get influenced. I also will often spend that time going back and editing poems that need additional attention – this sometimes helps get me back into a space where I can write.

Do you listen to music when you write?

Yes, very often. Usually pandora is on in the background – although the station changes often!

Writer #4: lalaith913

They Say I'm GuiltyOf the nearly eighty female prisoners that had answered my request, I had narrowed my choices down to two of them.  The first was a voluptuous, porcelain-skinned brunette that would make my brother drool in seconds.  The second was a golden-haired, frail little piece of work, and normally I would have dismissed her during the first round of eliminations, but something kept her there.  Maybe it was the way she stared at me with her venomous green eyes, but I couldn't be sure.  In any case, I had my two choices set before me, each isolated in separate cells on opposite ends of the jail so that I might observe them more personally.I t... :thumb319950992: TS719"Here are your contact lenses."The man behind the counter, whose nametag says TS719, slides a small box the size of his palm to the woman, who introduced herself as JA466.  There is a third person in the shop, another man, who hasn't said his name but flashed an identification bracelet that read HN021."I thought they don't do retinal identification," JA objects nervously, reaching eagerly for the small box."They don't," TS agrees, grabbing the box out of JA's hands.  He opens it and pulls out two round containers.  Taking one in his hand, he unscrews the lid and passes it to JA to look inside.  "They're more cosmetic than anything....

What inspired you to start writing?

I remembered seeing the Disney movie of Pocahontas when I was a little kid, and I thought, "Wow, this ending is completely impossible. The Chief would have totally killed John Smith." So since I couldn't actually write yet, I had my mom write down the words while I retold the story the way it should have ended. Things just kept growing from there.

How much do you feel you've improved in the last few years?

I've been devoting a lot of my time to a singular project since the summer of 2009. It's taught me a lot about the faults in my writing that I don't notice until I go back and edit, and I've just finished the third edit of the novel. I think it's finally getting into good shape, and given that I was actually able to reach the end of a story means I'm definitely improving. I'm starting to look into publishing options so I don't want to say too much about it, but if I get good news, I'll let you know.

Why do you post your writing to deviantArt?

Strangers are more likely to be unbiased. There's no social obligations to someone you've never met and if something is just plain bad, there's a deviant who's going to call you out on it. Maybe constructive criticism isn't a constant wherever you go on dA (and that's a shame because it's incredibly useful), but when you find a few people who really are willing to help you out, it's the best thing.

Do you write with pen and paper or do you type on a word processor?

I more or less stick with a word processor right now. I used to use a notebook since I was away from a computer more often than not, but pen and paper has become my emergency medium as of late.

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

If you don't count the retelling of Pocahontas, I wrote a complete and total ripoff of The Lord of the Rings after I saw the first movie when I was eleven. It was horrendous. They had to destroy a phial instead of a ring. Female equivalent of Aragorn. All that.

What room is your favorite to write in?

My bedroom mostly just for convenience's sake since I never unplug the laptop charger from the wall.

What is your favorite place for thinking?

This is very weird to be revealing to the internet community, but really the shower is the best place. Unless you're a parent of young children, you don't have to worry about someone interrupting you in the shower.

How do you beat out your writers block?

I don't think I've found a way yet, since I can tell you that I'm in the middle of a bout of it right now. If a word or phrase catches my fancy, that can usually bring me out of it. I've been thinking of "itchy veins" today, but nothing is coming of it so far. Stay tuned!

Do you listen to music when you write?

Rarely. I find I get too invested in whatever I'm listening to, but if I do have something on, Breaking Benjamin is usually the writing music go-to.

Writer #5: intricately-ordinary

Skeletal Foundationsit's the city that makes you, she says when her industrialized eyes start to flicker. her heart rushes like a subway falling late and the patterns in her skin remind you of striated architecture (reminds you of how everything's human in its own way)we're precarious concrete skeletons crafted by men praying we won't fall, and we yearn- you know- we ache for a sense of vitality and being to enter us and make us more than a pale ghost of an engineer's dreams andmaybe we have our own shadowy corners, too.commotion exists betwixt her ears and she's a destination, a place to rest and catch your breath but not to settle down because the moment yo... Nighttime Ramblings and InsufficiencyYou drop your jaw, and you pull words out from hiding, deep in your throat. You wretch up a mass of unfiltered, unedited, reality because you believe that's what it is to be understood.You leave a trail of mutterings wherever you go        no one will ever want me        it's not enough        and i'm sorry,  i'm        so so sorry Do you remember the difference between a shadow and a ghost? (the world ends the day the sun won't shine)Instead of sleeping (maybe tomorrow won't come if you don't say goodnight) you wait; you will not be remembered, and that is the scariest part- you were never loud enough.    ... Comatose myths and the things that really matter

What inspired you to start writing?

I started writing to express myself. My inspiration has always been how I felt or things on my mind. Over time, I've gotten better at articulating the things that go through my head, but it had originally started with that desire to make something of myself beautiful, like the other poets I'd seen.

How much do you feel you've improved in the last few years?

Yes. Yes yes, oh gosh yes, I have improved so much in the past few years. I was so awful even last year. Writing constantly has helped me, and guidance from those with more experience has strengthened my skill so much.

Why do you post your writing to deviantArt?

I post to deviantART for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest is that without it, I wouldn't be writing. It keeps me motivated and on task. I also get feedback on my work which helps me improve and grow. The biggest reason, though, is the sense of community. There is no other place in my life where I am able to interact with so many like-minded and fantastic artists, and I am so grateful for it.

Do you write with pen and paper or do you type on a word processor?

I write with pen and paper. Even though my handwriting is awful, I need to be able to scribble and cross out.

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

Wow. I don't even remember the first piece I wrote. I never kept track of them. The oldest I can recall is a dippy one I did in middle school called Eyes that I adored for the longest time because I thought I was so deep.

What room is your favorite to write in?

I write anywhere. I mean, honestly, I've written in a lot of weird places. As long as I know what I want to say I'm fine. My room is probably my favorite place to write in, though, because I'm so comfortable in it.

What is your favorite place for thinking?

My favorite place to think is outside and alone. I am able to channel my thoughts without any distractions and fresh air always helps me clear my head.

How do you beat out your writers block?

Do you listen to music when you write?

I don't listen to music while I actually write. I'll listen before and write to it, but I am so easily distracted that if I listen while writing I either stop altogether or unintentionally mimic the song.