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I'd like to become a professional writer in the next decade.

7 (29.2%)

Less than videogames.

6 (25%)

I am a professional writer.

3 (12.5%)

More than my health.

2 (8.3%)

I'm not sure.

5 (20.8%)

More than videogames.

0 (0%)

Not at all.

1 (4.2%)

Total Members Voted: 24

Voting closed: April 23, 2012, 11:42:36 pm

[fqllve]

It depends. Are you trying to write a full 80,000 word novel or just about half that?

I dunno what would make a good project, but I wouldn't try anything over 40,000 words.

e: Gimmicks would probably be fine for that since your goal is to make something chemical not literature.

[Supermikhail]

Silly, as it may sound, I'd still prefer the story be literature. And I hope that's possible based on a couple of facts: Harry Potter is considered literature despite its magic "gimmick", and Sherlock Holmes is considered literature despite its heavy reliance on random facts collected by a protagonist to further our interest.

-

So, despite myself, I've actually written some fanfiction recently. In screenplay form. You can check it out in this thread

[Supermikhail]

Started another thread to help forum writers.

-

And got an idea - possibly weird, hopefully good - that the guild could use a wiki. The Library has failed in its purpose, it appears, so I've got an idea to transfer it to a wiki. I see immense benefits to it - not the least of which is that it would be much easier to search for and illustrate them. And possibly the layout could be made more readable.

Another benefit, debatable, I must admit, is that stories would be easier to edit, or transfer or distribute editing rights to other people than the original author, as some of them suffer from bad grammar and the original author either doesn't know how or doesn't want to correct it.

Yet another benefit is in the special fitness for community stories.

I've had my eye on Google sites for some time, and would be hoping to use their wiki preset for this purpose.

[Talanic]

Sorry I've been out for a while - I was really sick for a time, then really busy making up for it at work.  Speaking of, I have to be there in ten minutes, but I thought I'd throw it out...

The only story idea I have regarding chemistry is the tale of a chemist in a world full of superheroes.  His keen observational skills allow him to actually defeat villains with his knowledge without resorting to brute strength (which often fails). 

[Repulsion]

Woah. I barely noticed this. I'm a aspiring writer myself, and wondered why there was a art guild/thread but no writing thread.

  Anyways... about the chemical thing... A chemist rediscovering the secret to turn lead into gold among other things in the modern world? Or expand on that superhero idea that Talanic posted. Say... a chemical scientist living in a city overrun by crime, that builds some kind of module/suit/whatever that you wear on your arms or all of your body or whatever that actively allows you to combine chemicals and use them?

What I'm thinking of is hard to explain but imagine this: A thing that covers your arm and hand, and at the hand part is a active mixer that if you give some kind of signal, sends chemicals to your hand that can mix and be stored in a small storage container that is also around the hand, that can then be launched/fired/whatever out of a thing that is also on your hand... I don't know.

For the record, I know not much of chemistry, at all, and when it comes to writing I write mainly fiction, so if you want to write a chemistry book that is actually realistic and whatnot... not sure if I can help you there. But I did my best.

[Don Blake]

My instinct with chemists in a superhero environment is to make him a villain.  See Fu Manchu, although if you're doing this for a school project, you'd need to do a lot of research as to whether all he did was actually possible.

[Willfor]

My goal to write 5,000 words a week this month was a little naive. Luckily, going right back into 10,000 words a week starting next week isn't going to be a very large problem.

LJ is doing a good enough job of keeping this out of google's cache, so I figure I might as well open it up for the time being. The first chapter of my NaNo. Promoted from prologue because I also promoted the main character of the chapter from "likely to be only survivor" to "leader of a new band of adventuring-type people."

There are lots of outline changes to be made.

[Talanic]

I was thinking more 'The one normal man in an insane world'.  A person with resources but nothing ridiculously outlandish.  No chem-power suit, but enough understanding of the chemical properties of matter to figure out what to do.

Things like, if facing creatures like those from Alien, making bullets that deliver a bead of baking soda (or a more powerful base) to the target's bloodstream, blowing up the critter with one shot (or at least causing a severe embolism) AND neutralizing the acidic blood.

Think of it along the lines of, "How would a chemist with no superpowers except a moderate amount of money take down Magneto?" 

[Repulsion]

... Filter a deadly poisonous gas into the ventilation system of the main building/whatever of Magneto?

[Talanic]

I was thinking more along the lines of providing a SWAT team (or local equivalent) with bullets that are entirely devoid of magnetic materials.  If resources and planning permit, prepping an area to look like it's got plenty of sources of metal, only to have it all be aluminum and thus useless to him, would be effective as well.

Alternately, looking into creating insulating materials that can be thrown on him - if he's covered in an inch of inert polymers, he may have trouble projecting a magnetic field.

Really, my suggestion can probably be traced to a story (possibly true) from World War I that was recently in a Cracked.com article - that Canadian troops, facing a German gas attack, were ordered by a medic to pee on their shirts and breathe through the urine.  I don't know for sure that urine would actually neutralize chlorine gas, but according to the story it worked, changing the tide of the battle.  Chemistry can manage some pretty amazing things with the right materials on hand.

[Repulsion]

Quite. From what I've seen, chemistry is extremely extensive and extremely useful, and I haven't seen much.

Anyways, does anyone have any good music for writing? When I write I usually listen to techno and other stuff with a good beat, and I recently stumbled upon this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://ocrmirror.iiens.net/files/music/remixes/Tales_of_Phantasia_The_Koan_of_Drums_OC_ReMix.mp3

Which is a prime (More or less) example of what I like to listen to when writing. Basically, when I listen to that kind of music, it's like adrenaline is being injected into my body and my fingers feel like lightning.

[Willfor]

When I'm trying to get into a character's head I often try to find a theme with interesting lyrics that sort-of fit the character. Then when I'm actually writing I listen to either techno (turned down so as to not distract), or soundtracks. I find words a little too distracting when I'm trying to find words myself.

That songs does sound like good writing music to me, but for entirely different reasons. Thanks!

[Fishbreath]

I rise from my lurking!

In my two-stage writing process, I never, ever listen to music when I'm putting words to paper for the first time. It gets in the way for me. I'll put something classical on when I'm going from paper to electronic, or very occasionally something that fits the mood of the section I'm typing.

[KaguroDraven]

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this but it seems so but please tell me if I'm wrong.
I am and aspiering writer, I have two main ideas in my head for books. A fantasy novel, and something that has a little bit of everything. I'm trying to write the fantasy one first but I'm running into a road block. I have the basics of the story down. I have several characters and even key events and political movements down. I'd prefer to atleast get a rough version out before I completely iron out the details. But I just can't start the damned thing. It's a serious case of writters block, I just can't tell how I should begin, or where, or even when in the book's story.

[Willfor]

Force yourself to pick a character, and a start time. Start writing.

If at first it doesn't work, pick a different one. And then start writing again.

Continue doing this until you've got the start you want. It's okay to be completely unacceptable at first. The key to starting to write is to start to write. Writer's block is often you just not knowing what comes next. Pick something that comes next, anything, and start writing about it until it is no longer what comes next.

This is the hardest part of writing for a lot of people, and getting over the hard parts is key to being a writer.

Edit:

On a completely different subject, this can certainly be a giant kick to the crotch if you're not used to criticism. I need to work on my passive voice, it seems. Though I already kind of knew that.