Writers Cafe Social Hour Forum What are YOU working on?

In the interest of getting a conversation going, tell us: what are you working on?

A book perhaps? Maybe you're dabbling with a little poetry? Whatever it is, let us know. As for myself, I just finished writing a short, 500-word story about a magic book store called "Gurbal's Books", and I'm really happy with how it turned out. *cough* you should read it *cough*. Sorry, I had something in my throat.... anyway....

Let's talk about what we're writing, or wanting to write.

Well, I've been wanting to try out several experimental ideas such as trying to put lores into some of my poems and build several characters to insert into my work of fiction, for example, Dan Rastley is also both an alias/persona I use to write but also is a character in the world of fiction I am building. Perhaps I'll add some more subtle hints here or there or occasional name dropping in different works to tie some works together to create a story, like puzzle pieces. Beside that, I'm mostly just stress-writing or catching up with deadlines (I always have deadlines, for several reason, like at this very moment now). And, I guess I'll try to upload the photos I took from a long time ago to upload to this site to, back when I was still travelling in certain places in the East. That's make great inspirations for more literary work.

accouple items actually....

I feel it's always good to experiment, and I've definitely done similar things with various aliases. Perhaps not dropping them in poems and expanding on their lore that way, but I do have some characters that pop up here and there. In my latest experiment project, the main character is one that I've written many times before. I'll keep an eye out for the name Dan Rastley in your work, giving a little nod of understanding when I see them.

Also, deadlines SUCK. I'm dealing with a few of those too, but they're the "open ended" kind. Today? Tomorrow? Who knows? That sort of a mess. Writing here has really helped manage the stress this year has brought.

And old adventure photos are awesome. They always hold some form of inspiration.

If you don't mind me asking, Stu, where all did you travel?

That's awesome! Self-Publication was the route I took after dealing with a publicist who was just stringing me along. But that's an entire novel in itself, I'm sure. Having the courage to put your work out there is a lot. It will never be perfect. Someone will always say that it isn't enough. Remember to drown out those voices with the ones that remind you your work IS worth reading. Although self-publication has you wearing many hats, it's nice not having to deal with all the red tape and hoops many publishers try to put you through, then don't hardly do anything other than collect a major slice of your profits. I'm sure there are good publishers out there, but I've had the experience ruined for me. Maybe one day, but until then, I'm okay being self-published. Just take your time with it, and see where it goes.

Also, the book you're secretly working on sounds like a lot of fun, with some twists and turns it would seem! If you ever feel the urge to share it to the site, I'll have to check it out.

In regards to "Leon's Old Pawn Shop for Poetry," I'm pretty sure Stu is in charge of that, but I only had a passing glance when I was skimming through all the groups. They might be able to pull a few strings to get you "hired" ;D haha.

Lastly, the rainbow bar: it's meant to be eye catching, showing the rating of the story. It's an old feature that didn't really age well or do much. The ratings you receive are not reliable. The lowest I personally ever rate a piece would be 91/100, and it would have to be close to gibberish at that point. The reviews here ARE inflated, but most of the time any real constructive criticism comes from the reviews. So don't worry about it all too much; it's really just for show.

thank you for that encouragement. 

I completely get that feeling of not needing validation, but the sense of community really does help. Just knowing that someone read you work, and that it made their life better in some way, even just a little bit. Back in the day, when I was active with a certain project, I used to get a lot of messages from people, telling me things, about how they really gained value from my work. On many occasions, I would get messages from people, telling me that my online story made them feel less alone. Those messages made me cry the most, because I came into the writing game with little to nothing. I was 9, dyslexic, and felt very much alone in a world that didn't seem to want me. I think a lot of the passion I have for writing is to help connect with others to remind them THEY ARE NOT alone, and that their work DOES matter. We don't judge a marathon by the steps, we judge it by crossing the finish line. So why should we be critical of our progress when we're on a never ending road to bettering our own art? Sorry, I'm just passionate about that sort of thing.

And I think this is a wonderful place to put your work, because in many ways, it's low stakes. This is an old website. There's a lot of mystery surrounding this place. I wouldn't trust the publishers on this site either, because I've yet to get in contact with ANYONE who runs this site. But then there's people like us, slithering through this old place, finding wonderful work we wouldn't normally read. Sure, the work could always be edited, and there are mistake, but the CONTENT within the works.... that's where the real magic is. You really get to see the creative process happen, with all these creative, amazing spins on ideas I myself would have never figured out.

I think Stu prefers the name Leon, but I haven't spoken to him much. Just something I caught when he changed his profile motto/tag. I'm not sure how up-to-date he is with his group, but it sounds fun. I was just kinda waiting to see what happened with it first before submitting my own application ;D

Although this site isn't what it used to be, and many features are now misused or overlooked, they still technically work, if you know HOW to use them. I myself am still figuring that part out, just like with the group thing here. I think the most important rule that I learned about success is this: Show up. That's like 50% of the work there. Many creatives drop out before then when they're trying to build something, even if it's a group. But if people show up, engage enough, and inspire others to do the same, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more life here. Have you recently seen the view count? This place has tripled its activity since I've been here, and now I'm questioning what's going on behind the scenes.

And you found my blog! Guess I better what what I say then?.....
Nah, probably not. Again, if you can find it, and even bother to click on it, why not send someone down a rabbit hole with my mysterious life haha. I have a feeling certain old fans would kill to have that opportunity, but I haven't really mentioned that I'm here on this site. I don't think many people know this site exists. I plan on keeping it that way, for a while, anyway.

But then again, anyone who willing reads through my ramblings deserves to know a little bit more about me.

oops - there seems to be notification about group activity or responses. {or maybe i missed it.} sorry about that.

The more I mess around with the forum option, I see how people get so confused by it. There doesn't seem to be any notifications for the forums, which just means they're "extra secret" for those curious enough to wander through the site, maybe stumbling upon the forum thread. While I know visitors who aren't members CAN read them, I set it so randos can't add to them. That's how spam bots start happening. I think if a forum gets too long, it may start to spiral in other directions, which is normal. I think my main concern is maybe someone adding to an older forum, and nobody realizing it. So long as we all keep in mind that you really have to dig into a forum to remain engaged to whatever conversation is happening, I think we'll be alright. Besides, I'm sure anyone interested enough in wanting to engage with others WOULD dig around the forums and probably get our attentions somehow. I'll probably try to start new forums periodically, just to keep things fresh. Even if personal life situations kinda suck right now, on the bright side I have more time to figure out how this place works.

And yeah, the blogs are a hidden gem. I think the forums are too, if you work around them a bit. I notice when you reply to someone, you can't really go back and double check what was said. I've had to open up a notepad, paste whatever comment I was trying to respond to, then have it open on the side so I could probably touch up on mentioned topics. Kinda forgot to do that with this one.... Well, either way, I'm probably going to start a new thread here in a little while. But if anyone else wants to, it's fair game.

That's awesome you've had the opportunity to travel and experience so many cultures. I myself have done very minor travel throughout the U.S. I was born and raised in Washington State, lived in Oregon for several years, spent some time in California, and even lived in Kentucky for almost 7 years. I've been able to see differences, even in the states, let alone different countries. Maybe one day I'll be able to do some exploring on a more grand level, but I feel called to be where I am now, for whatever reason. And if you ever manage to get them moved over, that'd be awesome to see older photos!

I feel like a lot of my inspiration comes from people watching and hyper vigilance in general. A major source of inspiration is also turning bad situations into good ones. There tends to be a subtle line of hope in most of my work, with a lot of themes of redemption and, simply put "doing better." Aspects of my spiritual practice have most certainly leaked into my work, even if I keep those beliefs pretty close to my chest. I'm also very much into playing RPGs and video games in general. I feel like a lot of amazing stories have been told and made through the games that were created and realized when I was growing up.

There are other sources of inspiration. There's a special someone in my life, and in the lives of many of my loved ones, who helps me get ideas from time to time. Her and I have had talks about being more open about her hand in my work, granted she argues I do 99% of it, and all she does it help throw ideas at me from time to time. She likes to tease me and call's me "Boss", and she's even the reason my partner and I met each other. Due to the nature of our friendship, which is deep and personal on many levels, I tend to mention her, often referring to her as "Lemon."

exactly - i agree.

You're all good, and I did see it. I started a new thread for the day, and am trying something new. Guess there's gonna be a lot of testing to see how to best utilize the group functions. And yeah, I wish there were more notifications for these things.