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Post by veryblessedmom on Aug 4, 2009 7:25:20 GMT -5
My family's calls me a flake. I've had a dozen jobs, none of them a good fit.
I've always wanted to write, but never could finish something until I discovered spec. I've tried to write something normal because my family won't read my weird stuff. The thing is, the normal stuff bores me. I sit down to write and jump up to clean the toilets.
What does it say about me when writing a human romance novel seems silly but writing about fantasy creatures is my serious work?
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Aug 4, 2009 7:30:20 GMT -5
One of the Christian speculative fiction groups I'm part of is a Yahoo group called SquarePegs.
Yes, we're very weird. And I think we think about things differently than how most people think about them. I think that makes us creative (shows off our creativity, rather). But if you're too different, people start calling you defective and giving you medicine...
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Post by JenLenaMom on Aug 4, 2009 7:45:10 GMT -5
I know my family thinks I'm weird. My mom has read a few of the books I like, in the fantasy genre, but she doesn't get why I would rather read about a farmer learning he's destined to save the (made up) world than a foul mouth detective set in the real world. She doesn't even listen when I say "I wrote X number of words on my book the last few weeks."
My sis asks me about it from time to time, more in the vein of "so are you ever going to actually finish that or is it just a thing you talk about, like so many other things you talk about doing."
But I can't stand the sappy romances my sis reads or the lawyer or detective dramas my mom reads so we just don't discuss books, lol.
But I love them and they love me so we find other things to talk about, lol.
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Post by veryblessedmom on Aug 4, 2009 7:55:13 GMT -5
Not ready for meds yet. LOL.
I love romance, but to me romance is two people getting to know each other and loving who they are. I hate the ones where there seems to be a formula where she tries not to notice his strong jawline and he tries to listen to her without thinking she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. (gagging now)
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Post by JenLenaMom on Aug 4, 2009 8:36:06 GMT -5
Right there with you on the gagging, lol.
Actually my sister (suprisingly because she's not much of "a church person" as she would describe herself I'm sure) reads stuff like Terry Blackstone and other Christian "Women's Fiction"
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Post by veryblessedmom on Aug 4, 2009 9:27:18 GMT -5
My stuff might not be for you then either. But that's OK.
I write fairy tales for women. Romances set in strange other-worldly settings and situations. (No damsel in distress though)
See, that's why I say my stuff is weird even among the weird.
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Post by torainfor on Aug 4, 2009 9:29:28 GMT -5
My mom and my sister love my stuff, but my husband is all Louis L'Amour, all the time. (Although, he is currently re-reading the sixth Harry Potter.) He likes sci-fi movies, but if he's gotta read it, it'd better have a few horses, a noble-but-troubled gunman, and a feisty Irish girl trying to save her cattle ranch against ruthless, over-confident villains. Still, he doesn't think I'm weird for writing SF; he's very supportive. He just thinks that what I write probably indicates a strained mind and warped imagination.
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Post by JenLenaMom on Aug 4, 2009 9:36:12 GMT -5
My stuff might not be for you then either. But that's OK. I write fairy tales for women. Romances set in strange other-worldly settings and situations. (No damsel in distress though) See, that's why I say my stuff is weird even among the weird. Actually that sounds right up my alley. There's a big heaping of romance so far in my WIP. In fact those are nearly the only scenes I've written, lol. Doesn't sound weird to me I would read it, believe me I can live with no damsels in distress. In fact the gals in my WIP are really the ones who save the day, because they had the knowledge and the tools to make Mr. Big Bad Indestructible Demon, destructible by the magic weapons their fellows were wielding, lol. Have you ever read the Rhapsody books by Elizabeth Haydon? Sounds similar to what your describing. Torainfor: LOL  |
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Post by veryblessedmom on Aug 4, 2009 9:50:39 GMT -5
[/quote]Have you ever read the Rhapsody books by Elizabeth Haydon? Sounds similar to what your describing. Torainfor: LOL [/quote] NO, never heard of it. I'll have to look for it online. I never get out with three little boys. My husband can draw, but has very little creativity. He's Asian and they don't really encourage thinking outside the box in his culture. He loves me and encourages me, but doesn't want any details about my characters. He said if people were talking in his head he'd go see a Dr, not write it down. |
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Post by JenLenaMom on Aug 4, 2009 9:56:08 GMT -5
LOL, My husband wants me to succeed at writing, when I can twist his arm into reading it he says it's good, but can't really help much in the way of critiqueing (I think I mangled the spelling of that word, which is something my hubby helps with) so I have some wonderful online friends (especially one who is a character first guy to my plot first persona and has helped me round out my characters some). But he does push me to work, he found this chance to be in an anthology, it doesn't pay much ($3 plus $3 more after a certain number of books are sold) but it would be a pub credit, if I can get the darn story finished, lol.
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Post by morganlbusse on Aug 4, 2009 10:35:55 GMT -5
First, I love the heading  I look normal, but then people get to know me and realize I'm weird, or insane (if they meet me on a long day of taking care of my 4 young kids... the drool seeping from the corner of my mouth and the disoriented look usually gives it away ;P) I agree with you guys, I'm not interested in stories about real life. If I'm going to read, I want to go somewhere new, see a new world. A friend and I were once talking about how boring some of those stories are and he gave the example of a couple coming to grips with an unexpected pregnancy. I agreed, thought about it a bit longer, and realized it could be a really interesting story if the said couple found out they were pregnant... and the baby inside was not a human (I now have an outline for this story, not sure if I'll ever writer it, especially since I've never considered doing a sci-fi novel, I'm mostly fantasy So if that kind of idea isn't weird, I don't know what is ;P Fortunately for me, most of my family is into the weird too. My hubby is an avid sci-fi fantasy lover, my dad is the one who got me hooked on the genre, my sister loves fantasy... and now I have you guys too |
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Post by Christian Soldier on Aug 4, 2009 11:47:43 GMT -5
I must say that if I'm weird, then I'm glad that I have such weird friends to be weird with.
I'm lucky, I guess, when it comes to friends and family. Of all my family, my wife, poor dear, is the only non-reader, but she likes what I write. Most of them have at least read some speculative fiction, even if all of it is on the New York Times best seller list.
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Post by veryblessedmom on Aug 4, 2009 11:50:29 GMT -5
If I wrote for Bass Master, my husband would read my stuff. LOL.
He kept threatening to hijack my last ms and write a chapter of fishing tips to make it more interesting.
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Post by beckyminor on Aug 4, 2009 12:11:14 GMT -5
Hey, hope you don't mind if I pop in on this one. I have to agree with what people are saying. Generally, the outside world doesn't "get" my attraction to fantasy. I know I am pretty weird, but I guess I've just come to grips with it. When people like us do make a committed friend, you know it's really something! Most often, though, I find myself keeping the company of those who can "talk geek shop" with me. Fortunately, my hubby is one of those folks. The rest of my relatives? Notsomuch. |
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Post by JenLenaMom on Aug 4, 2009 12:14:13 GMT -5
Maybe what this thread show is we're not so "weird" after all! |
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I look normal, but then people get to know me and realize I'm weird, or insane (if they meet me on a long day of taking care of my 4 young kids... the drool seeping from the corner of my mouth and the disoriented look usually gives it away ;P)
