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Imagination and writing

yoffi

Scribe
Hi,
How do people feel about getting carried away in their imaginary worlds?
Do you find it positively ominous when you start writing that the fairy world will soon be where you're living?
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
Already there. I live in Seahaven, Washington, which is the fictional city my writing team has set our urban fantasy series in. Plus, half of my best friends are imaginary and we do terrible things to them. It's fun! :D
 

yoffi

Scribe
You have a writing team? Interesting, I never imagined a team creating fiction stories together. (I mean, for business books fo'sure I can imagine that.)

That's cool! I guess your book people can all venture into / create the same imaginary world together. That's cool!

May I ask how many people are in your writing team and what kind of structure the team has?
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
You have a writing team? Interesting, I never imagined a team creating fiction stories together. (I mean, for business books fo'sure I can imagine that.)

That's cool! I guess your book people can all venture into / create the same imaginary world together. That's cool!

May I ask how many people are in your writing team and what kind of structure the team has?
We are always happy to answer any collaboration questions anyone has. There are three of us, so I use "we" a lot when I post here. My wife and I have been writing together for 30 years, and for the past several years we've had another writer (who we met here on Scribes) who is our development powerhouse. I'm the drafter, and my wife is the plotter, so we're pretty balanced in the amount of work we put into any project. One of us is in Texas and the other two are in Missouri. We see each other a few times a year, but mostly we work online in both Skype and Office and right now we're about 50K words into our third book with a couple other projects on the back burner. It's a challenge, but it's also a lot of fun.

Sorry if this is a little rambling. I have bronchitis and it's sapping my brain power.
 
That world/worlds I've created have been my salvation since childhood. The mindset saved my life, on more than one occasion, quite literally. As in many stories, I think there's no more than a thin veil between what most believe to be true reality and the created worlds so many of us dwell in, if only part time. I like to remember someone like Henry Darger when that idea is called into question. I function quite well in the outside world so it was never an escape brought on by terrible trauma, social anxieties or fear. . . only preference. I held many intensely social jobs/owned businesses, lived in large cities. . . but always retreated to the other world every chance I had. I'm fortunate to have been able to dwell in a shared, created world, full time, for almost ten years now, only deepening it further. Life, I believe, is a path made of twists and turns that arise from our own choices. I am fortunate that I made many, unconsciously, when I was younger that allowed me to maintain that world into and through my adult years.

I believe it's far worse when people get carried away in the "real" world. :)
 

yoffi

Scribe
We are always happy to answer any collaboration questions anyone has. There are three of us, so I use "we" a lot when I post here. My wife and I have been writing together for 30 years, and for the past several years we've had another writer (who we met here on Scribes) who is our development powerhouse. I'm the drafter, and my wife is the plotter, so we're pretty balanced in the amount of work we put into any project. One of us is in Texas and the other two are in Missouri. We see each other a few times a year, but mostly we work online in both Skype and Office and right now we're about 50K words into our third book with a couple other projects on the back burner. It's a challenge, but it's also a lot of fun.

Sorry if this is a little rambling. I have bronchitis and it's sapping my brain power.

I hope you feel better soon. Lemon, lemons and more lemons!
wow that's a lot of words, do you by chance, drink coffee?
 

yoffi

Scribe
That world/worlds I've created have been my salvation since childhood. The mindset saved my life, on more than one occasion, quite literally. As in many stories, I think there's no more than a thin veil between what most believe to be true reality and the created worlds so many of us dwell in, if only part time. I like to remember someone like Henry Darger when that idea is called into question. I function quite well in the outside world so it was never an escape brought on by terrible trauma, social anxieties or fear. . . only preference. I held many intensely social jobs/owned businesses, lived in large cities. . . but always retreated to the other world every chance I had. I'm fortunate to have been able to dwell in a shared, created world, full time, for almost ten years now, only deepening it further. Life, I believe, is a path made of twists and turns that arise from our own choices. I am fortunate that I made many, unconsciously, when I was younger that allowed me to maintain that world into and through my adult years.

I believe it's far worse when people get carried away in the "real" world. :)

You say you "held many intensely social jobs/owned businesses, lived in large cities"... perhaps writing creatively is catharsis.

It perhaps can also help us to make sense of the real-life situations we're in. An explanation of sorts if our minds can't make a more 'rational' explanation/answer
 
You say you "held many intensely social jobs/owned businesses, lived in large cities"... perhaps writing creatively is catharsis.

It perhaps can also help us to make sense of the real-life situations we're in. An explanation of sorts if our minds can't make a more 'rational' explanation/answer

Mmm, I think that was probably true when I lived in cities. Urban life can be an overwhelming energy, And the same energy that people say is the thrum and lifeblood of those cities, I found to be rather heavy and lacking. Passing by a noisy, crowded bar at night felt dark and tumultuous, not happy and alive. It seemed disjointed and chaotic. But that's just me. :) I might have been a hermit in another life. . .
 

yoffi

Scribe
Yes, I found when I lived in the middle of nowhere I enjoyed the noisy, crowded bars more. Now I prefer shooting stars and green trees to the bursting city.
I just wiki'd Hermit, aka eremite.
Eremite f
eels like it's the name for a socialist's kryptonite. And will try and get it into my next story! Thanks for the inspo.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
I hope you feel better soon. Lemon, lemons and more lemons!
wow that's a lot of words, do you by chance, drink coffee?
I drink a truly unholy amount of coffee. I'm drinking it right now. I also drink caffeine water, and I won't turn down caffeine pills if I'm pushing hard. It can be a real party around here some days. :D I'm also a relatively slow writer, but when I get rolling with a good outline (my wife writes awesome outlines) I can put out about 250 words every 20 minutes, or 750 words an hour.
 
How do people feel about getting carried away in their imaginary worlds?
I'm a procrastinator (in pretty much all aspects of my life...). I somehow don't mind an empty page (though the first couple of sentences I write are usually in need of a lot of rewriting), but getting started takes a bit of effort. But once I sit down to write then after the first couple of sentences the story starts rolling and I get drawn in. Time flies by and my imaginary world unfolds around me.

I'm also a relatively slow writer, but when I get rolling with a good outline (my wife writes awesome outlines) I can put out about 250 words every 20 minutes, or 750 words an hour.
I've noticed the same thing (though my wife doesn't outline for me...). I usually get around 500 words an hour. And then there are parts which just flow naturally and I double that amount for that passage without too much issue. With these kinds of passages I noticed that they usually are also some of the better written parts and they require a lot less rewriting and tidying up then other parts. Funny how that works...
 

yoffi

Scribe
That sitting down thing is starting to become easier. I think if I have music on in the background it's also easier to get words on the page.
I'm trying to do a really thorough outline for the bit I'm writing at the moment. Hopefully, it'll all fall into place at it is 17 pages of bullet points right now.
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
I could also claim to be a binge writer. I will plink out 500-1000 words per day, and in one month knock out 100k to finish the book. And all my writing time includes editing and tinkering with previous work. In this way, I’m pretty much ready for the editor by the time the book is finished. After pub, I have a ubrn out zone, plink out low word count, build to 500-1000, and seem to repeat. I’m not sure if it’s just me, or how my schedule works out...

Note: these aren’t hard numbers, I don’t really do daily counts.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
I could also claim to be a binge writer. I will plink out 500-1000 words per day, and in one month knock out 100k to finish the book. And all my writing time includes editing and tinkering with previous work. In this way, I’m pretty much ready for the editor by the time the book is finished. After pub, I have a ubrn out zone, plink out low word count, build to 500-1000, and seem to repeat. I’m not sure if it’s just me, or how my schedule works out...

Note: these aren’t hard numbers, I don’t really do daily counts.
I've noticed that I also have a bit of a burn out period after finishing a book, and if I let it go on too long I have real issues getting back into the work flow. I've also heard other writers talk about this burn out period. My theory is you get to a point where the creative well is tapped and needs to be replenished before starting the next project.
 

blondie.k

Minstrel
Hi,
How do people feel about getting carried away in their imaginary worlds?
Do you find it positively ominous when you start writing that the fairy world will soon be where you're living?
I do that every day and I love it! It's my escape and hiding place from stress and negative emotions. IT helps me to calm down enough so that I can come back to whatever it is that is stressing me out or upsetting me with a clear mind. It makes it easier to face and solve those issues without having a fit or meltdown. :D
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
I think there's several elements... usually the next book isn't as primed to go in my head, plus I have to revert from full editor mode, and just need to deal with real life, LOL. My well doesn't deplete until the writing is done, so, not sure it's so much a well as the coming down period of the binge, heh heh.

I've noticed that I also have a bit of a burn out period after finishing a book, and if I let it go on too long I have real issues getting back into the work flow. I've also heard other writers talk about this burn out period. My theory is you get to a point where the creative well is tapped and needs to be replenished before starting the next project.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I think about Altearth in general and whatever is my current project. I think about them frequently, every day. The same was true when I was writing history. Writing takes up a lot of mental space, whether it's goblins and wizards or it's pilgrims and shoemakers. But I don't live there. I live in Idaho, in a subdivision, next to a sugar beet farm.
 
I never get too sucked in and I don't get emotional over my work. I tend to keep a line. I think about my novel more than I write it but I never really "live" in that world. But it depends how much the story requires. My novel is set in a place like I have never lived in, nobody existed today has so it really requires me to think more. Sounds. Sights. Smells.
 
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