 sj |
||
|
||
BS: So who here's a writer?
|
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Alaska Mike Date: 23 Nov 06 - 10:27 AM One of my songs (Little Jim) was included in an anthology of stories about the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964. The book is titled "The Day Trees Bent To The Ground". I was the only author who was allowed to contribute a tale without actually experiencing the earthquake. All proceeds from the book go to the Anchorage Senior Center. Mike |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: John Hardly Date: 23 Nov 06 - 09:29 AM I was published in Ceramics Monthly (October 2006). |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Liz the Squeak Date: 23 Nov 06 - 05:20 AM I work for a tax collector.... LTS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Elmer Fudd Date: 22 Nov 06 - 11:27 PM O thou anonymous one, Cheer up! It could be worse; Everyone here could be a tax collector. So there's a creative bunch of verbal folks hanging around in this catbox. Not surprising on a chat forum, say what? And in this day and age when people complain that no one reads, writers are a species to be celebrated. And sometimes, the only ones around to do the job are themselves. So saith Fudd. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST Date: 22 Nov 06 - 10:16 PM Well Mr. Fudd, after packin five dozen replies, it appears that EVERYONE on the mudcat is a writer.
None have acknowledged using voice-recognition to post....and patting yourself on the back is awkward and may cause a strain. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 Nov 06 - 07:09 PM Some of just can't stop trying! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: black walnut Date: 22 Nov 06 - 05:22 PM poems ~b.w. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST Date: 21 Nov 06 - 08:05 PM The dog ate one of my novels. Odd thing was, it came out better when he was done with it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: dick greenhaus Date: 21 Nov 06 - 07:47 PM Well, after pursuig professional writing on and off for some 45 years, I can only say it beats working. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,sorefingers Date: 21 Nov 06 - 05:29 PM The great critic of Internet English, Buck Mulligan, has spoken! Take heed all you wannabes there's booor in the making, ....well not really but on the internet. Bert ... barfff yole fart! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Rowan Date: 21 Nov 06 - 05:06 PM Go Don! Can't say I'm a fan of high energy ads. We've just finished a season of "The Chaser's War on everything" over here and the satire has been excellent. Particularly well shafted were the high energy ads, sometimes with parody, and sometimes with "road tests". End of thread creep. Cheers, Rowan |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: katlaughing Date: 21 Nov 06 - 04:36 PM LOL, Don. I only voiced and produced my own out of desperation when my fav. dj left the station. Jaze...I'd love to read MORE...what I have read has stuck with these few years. Keep at it, okay? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Don Firth Date: 21 Nov 06 - 04:16 PM Writing ad copy for a radio station was a real snort! But even more fun was producing them myself. I really dislike the "shouter" ads, and the station I was working for did quite a few of them. But I managed to get my licks in and, I think, struck a blow for our side. The "Acme Floor Coverings" (slightly fictitious name) store usually opted for "shouters." I got assigned to write, produce, and voice an ad for them. When I read over the fact sheet for the big sale they had coming up, I noticed that, contrary to their usual somewhat cheesy merchandise, the carpets they were offering on the sale were pretty good quality stuff. Quality names in carpets. So I took an entirely different approach. I did a "prestige" ad. I emphasized the fine names of the manufacturers and the quality of the carpets. I gave it the smooth, mellow voice, with a nice piece of classical music underneath. "Good commercial," I thought. I was rather proud of it. When it went on the air the following morning (I was board announcer at the time), Roger, the station manager, came storming into the control room and had a hissy-fit all over me. "That's not the kind of commercial Acme wants! They want high-energy spots! Whatever possessed you to do that kind of ad for them? And that music! It sounds like a goddam dirge!" At which time the telephone rang. It was Acme Floor Coverings for Roger. Merna, the receptionist, patched it through to the control room. I figured, "I'm dead. Thank God I've updated my résumé, 'cuz it looks like I'm gonna need it." Roger talked quietly with them for a few moments, then hung up. "Well. . . ." he said, a bit flummoxed. "Sorry I blew up. They really liked the spot. They want you to do all their commercials from now on." I cherish life's little triumphs! Don Firth |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,jaze Date: 21 Nov 06 - 01:58 PM Just a little memoir of my days in a Catholic orphanage. Hopefully humorous,but still a ways to go. Maybe someday.... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Bert Date: 21 Nov 06 - 01:06 AM Well I say, "If you can't do it again, you never could do it in the first place!" |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Elmer Fudd Date: 21 Nov 06 - 12:03 AM So did T.E. Lawrence. He left the first copy of "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom' at a bus stop or something. Talk about ambivalence. There's something to be said for being able to back up your files. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Donuel Date: 20 Nov 06 - 10:22 PM sorefingers, did you know that Hemmingway lost the only copy of an entire handwritten manuscript of his? He did not live long after that. ya wanna see it? :) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Crystal Date: 20 Nov 06 - 10:11 AM WHOOOO GO KAT!!!! I failed to do more than 300 words of my novel, but it rocks to hear about people who are doing well! Keep it up! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: wysiwyg Date: 20 Nov 06 - 09:19 AM Yes, of course I have been paid. I didn't see Garg's post about money, if that is where this $10,000 thing came from, but I went over THAT so early that I can't begin to think of what the total might be now, nor do I care. Writing useful material of any sort is, firstly, its own reward because if you are a writer, you must write. The money is nice, too-- don't get me wrong-- but it isn't the money that tells you when you hit a bullseye. If you think it is-- I'm sorry for you, and you need to think again. ~Susan |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Nov 06 - 09:08 AM Good to see you online, Mike! I hope you're feeling better--and keep on scribbling! SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Alaska Mike Date: 20 Nov 06 - 08:30 AM I've been known to write a few songs. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Elmer Fudd Date: 20 Nov 06 - 03:08 AM One hundred. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Georgiansilver Date: 20 Nov 06 - 02:51 AM Or better still....write it! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: M.Ted Date: 20 Nov 06 - 01:03 AM If you want to be an important writer, say something important. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 19 Nov 06 - 08:40 PM One of My Uni English lecturers always said "Show me, don't tell me!" The Virtual Fooles Troupe Here be the place that doth Chronicle the Antics of a Troupe of Fooles, seeking Recognition, Patronage and Enlightenment in a World set in time somewhere between Medieval Times and the pre-17th Century World. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: JennieG Date: 19 Nov 06 - 08:00 PM I will be published shortly, my first article for a quilt guild magazine. In the Skagway (Alaska) museum there is a wonderful quilt made of ducks' necks, tanned and sewn together; 100 years old and still wonderfully coloured. My article about this quilt is called "Duck for Cover" - couldn't resist it! Cheers JennieG |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: katlaughing Date: 19 Nov 06 - 08:00 PM I have been paid for all of my published writings. With the internet, more and more writers are going directly to their market, giving the finger, so to speak, to publishers and becoming their own pubs. That is not vanity publishing.(Click HERE if you don't know the difference.) If one frequents writers' forums, one will quickly find out self-publishing is a growing and successful trend. CafePress acts as a printer and allows one to self-publish, with their own ISBN number, without any upfront costs, which pleases me to no end. By doing it that way, it also allows me to negotiate with distributors, cutting out the costs of a middleman. I am about to sign a contract with a major one out of Boulder, as a matter of fact. Don, I used to do ad copy at a radio station, too and have done some tv ads as well as written fashion show poems for a local humane society. That was fun! Hawker/Lucy, was it you asked if anyone was doing NaNoWriMo? I am, for the first time, and I love it. The discipline is great. I have over 35,000 words, so far. The rest seems like a piece of cake, now that I have reached that first goal. Thanks for the kind words, folks. kat |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: BuckMulligan Date: 19 Nov 06 - 06:18 PM Yeah, Bert I think GUESTsorefingers was providing itself as an example of what it was saying. And a damn fine one too. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Bert Date: 19 Nov 06 - 05:34 PM ...it doesn't have to good English... Eh! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,sorefingers Date: 19 Nov 06 - 05:13 PM Hmmm now I know why I don't read newpapers any more! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 19 Nov 06 - 04:43 PM The Eagle Annual......they obviously wanted you to grow up nicely. I often wonder why they bought me a book, when I was four, about a psychotic killer who shot one his twenty one vitims through the windpipe. And they read me the story several times in case I missed the point. I think it became a bedtime favourite. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 19 Nov 06 - 03:54 PM Hey! Come to think of it, I published a book (let). "A Twig Key of Shrubs and Trees of New England." I can even prove it. I was given all the unsold copies by the Museum who published it. I don't know where the one is that they sold. Jerry Knows Twigs |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,Pelrad Date: 19 Nov 06 - 02:37 PM I cover a town beat for a local weekly. http://www.neindependent.com/ I've passed the $10k mark several times over, since even the low-paying part-time newspaper wage is about $22k a year. I freelance for local publications, and am putting together a couple of projects on local historic properties, environmental sustainability and social responsibility. They're just topics I'm interested in, and I'm waiting to see where the writing takes me before I look for a publishable outlet. I got a couple of research papers published while I was an undergrad, years ago. The Honors Colloquium prof my freshman semester insisted on finding a journal for my paper. Whatever; it was 60 pages of philosobabble. I used to write poetry and several pieces were published, but I gave that up in college. I used to write for fun, and have a couple of novellas lying around, but then came the children and the journalism job and they killed my energy level. I also have written several children's books, which have not made it any further than our own bookshelves so far. I love covering local news. It's a great job for nosy people. Kim |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Elmer Fudd Date: 19 Nov 06 - 12:39 PM These posts are very inspiring and exciting. I stand in awe of the many ways people find to express themselves. Creativity is contagious. Hey Don Firth, even radio ads can be amazing. Did you ever hear the ones on some of the freeform (or underground, or whatever you wanna call them) FM stations back in the day? They were fantastic! People used to call up the DJs to request the friggin' ADS!!!! In my opinion, their isn't anything wrong with being a "wannabe" either. Sometimes, a person needs a little time and encouragement to hit his or her stride, or to find the story that they can't resist telling. Elmer |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,sorefingers Date: 19 Nov 06 - 12:17 PM "Writing itself is too damn hard." This remains a folkie site and I don't think anybody comes here to find outstanding/talented writers. No Johnson, no Celements and certainly no Shakespear wouldv'e wasted a line on such silliness as often fills the nonBS section. How long they might spend below the line is something I am afraid to comment on! It is afterall just BS. Nonetheless, there are some surprises, and they themselves know who they are, but I am not going to ruin a good free read. Eventhough some characters have left the site years ago, there remain several who happened to be also great musicians as well. And great writers/musicians also tend to be great cooks! It gets more interesting as time goes on, because now both bad writers and bad musicians can also be entertaining in a sort of perverted way, and when the two combine, there lies a comedy. But they don't know it, and like the turk who's shirt-tail dangles behind his dress suit at a wedding, the audience is laughing AT not with him/her/them. Such is fool's lot! Over several years reading a particular member's postings, I wonder, do they realize that the same effort would have produced a fat book or two? Having gone down that road myself, yes and published decades ago but no longer in print TG, I often back off replying to some of the more offensive ( to me ) troll threads. I make no apology for the brutality of my offerings against neoNazis of anykind when/where they pop-up. and they and their sympatizers here know who they are! You ask for it, I will let you have it. Again it is not a musician's website where we host offensive dross of whatever kind, and we should have the right to expect appropriate standards be upheld. IOW If it's offensive policrap, it should be deleted immediately. The wannabes here suffer from a fish in the dark complex, they don't know who's reading them and how much they are appreciated or hated, they simply assume that because what the write is correct prose it is good. Sorry, but as Gargoyle proves, that ain't enough. You have to offer something else, even if Scrooge envies the nastiness of your spheel. And then as 'The Anal Annals' ( Harry Potter ) shows it doesn't have to good English either. You just need to be interesting, and as somebody already said, either you got it or you don't. I always think about Hemmingway when this side of the subject comes up. Like Rollingpins he was not that great of a sentence writer, but his paragraphs are like jail cells, once in you cannot get out until the last word. "Writing itself is too damn hard" sure if you make a chore of it! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Georgiansilver Date: 19 Nov 06 - 11:05 AM Wow Al...I got the Eagle Annual in 1953....wish I'd kept it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Hawker Date: 19 Nov 06 - 09:33 AM Elmer Fudd, I know theres nothing wrong with getting paid for it, infact, that would be really nice, but I have just never gone down that road.....yet - it has always been a desire of mine to write AND illustrate a book, so you never know! Cheers, Lucy |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 18 Nov 06 - 03:15 PM I once wrote to Father Christmas, but he didn't write back. I got the 1953 Billy the Kid Annual anyway. see, story with happy ending...... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Donuel Date: 18 Nov 06 - 02:48 PM I write things that will never be read like program notes for concerts at the Lincoln Center or the 1,200 poems I entrusted to my website. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Don Firth Date: 18 Nov 06 - 02:29 PM I've been known to string a few words together from time to time. My first semi-triumph was getting an honorable mention in a high school short story contest sponsored by the Atlantic Monthly (my story was written on stone tablets). I started out by majoring in English Lit and Creative Writing in college, until I fell in with questionable company, took up the guitar, and started singing folk songs. In the meantime, I made several attempts at writing science fiction, but it came to naught. Gotta actually finish what you start. During the early 70s, while working for a radio station as an announcer and newscaster, I also got assigned to writing commercial copy. I spent a year writing and producing radio commercials (God forgive me!). In the mid to late 80s, I got a job as a technical writer, writing residential weatherization reports for the Bonneville Power Administration. Really gripping stuff! Someplace about that time, I decided to write a history of the folk music scene in the Seattle area. Much of the country, e.g. New York, Boston, Berkeley, etc., didn't even know there was a folk music scene in Seattle, despite the size of the scene and the quality of many of the performers (it took me awhile, but I think I've figured out why nobody knew we were here). I soon discovered that a "history" was more of a task than I wanted to tackle (the scene was big enough that even I didn't know everything that was going on), so I decided to turn it into a "memoir" or a collection of reminiscences. So far, I've written in excess of 115,000 words, which is some pretty serious wordage, and I'm only up to the early 60s. It's going to take a bit of pruning and editing before I send it to a publisher. Everything I've written so far relates in one way or another, but the idea of reading a book about the adventures of an obscure balladeer in an obscure part of the country might be a bit intimidating if even the trade paperback edition of the book is about three inches thick. I'm hoping to get if finished in the coming year. No vanity press on this one. I already have a couple of possible publishers lined up. Published writing so far includes an article in the "Last Chorus" section of "Sing Out!" Magazine and sixteen articles as guest writer for the "Musical Traditions" column of Victory Review. I think that lifts me out of the "wannabe" category. When I finish the book, I plan to turn my hand to a couple of other writing projects. Don Firth |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: BuckMulligan Date: 18 Nov 06 - 02:28 PM GUEST Gargoyle, why are you so hung up on the notion that "writer" must needs mean "writes for a living" - or even "published" for that matter? Is it the same for any activity, or only for "writer" IYO? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Elmer Fudd Date: 18 Nov 06 - 12:22 AM Read "The Deal" by Peter Lefcourt. It begins with a screenplay about the life of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. The script goes into re-write and morphs into a buddy movie called "Bill and Ben." (Bill is William Gladstone.) It all gets weirder from there. Lefcourt's day job is a screenwriter, so he ought to know. Haven't laughed so hard in ages. Elmer |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 17 Nov 06 - 11:08 PM Doug R.
The INDUSTRY is a very tough nut to crack.
Most successful writers have been local, active for decades.
The most successful one I know began as a child actor about age 12 (perhaps age 5) ....it took three positive money procuring scripts (age 40+) before he was permitted to direct.
Scripts are a dime a dozen. They sit like coffe-table-stacks in the dens of bored consultants.
Just like a folk-performer....you need to "hook" the audience in the first three chords.
Sincerely, |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 17 Nov 06 - 10:54 PM You have it...or you...
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Janie Date: 17 Nov 06 - 10:28 PM Better watch it 'spaw, or I'll start telling Ohio jokes;>) Janie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: catspaw49 Date: 17 Nov 06 - 08:09 PM Wellgeez Doug I tried to tell you that bio-pic of yours wasn't going to sell. "Let's Boog-A-Loo Til We Drop;The Spiro Agnew Story" just isn't the kind of thing that Hollywood makes these days. Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: GUEST Date: 17 Nov 06 - 08:09 PM Any suggestions on how to push or not to push a screenplay DougR? I'm trying to generate interest in one of mine at the moment. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: DougR Date: 17 Nov 06 - 08:03 PM I have written six screenplays. None have been produced. DougR |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: catspaw49 Date: 17 Nov 06 - 07:54 PM Geez Janie......How hard could that have been? Instructions for a better life for West Virginians? I-77 North to Ohio Rt.33 to Ohio Lemmee guess.......You made a list of all bridges across the Ohio River? I really love West by gawd Virginia even though the state bird is a fly.......beautiful place. Just jokin' Janie......Just jokin' (;<)) Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: BS: So who here's a writer? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Nov 06 - 07:44 PM Gargoyle, without reference to quality or quantity, I am hired as a writer at a state institution, and have scribble away there for the last 10 years. Ten times my modest annual salary adds up to well over $10,000. I just wish I'd gotten this amount in one fell swoop. :) SRS |
