Writing the right thing

12/21/2011

I'm still looking into setting up a group blog for the Cloud City Wordslingers. If I can get folks interested in it, I think it could work out pretty well. Not to mention, one blog article a week shouldn't be too much of a burden for most folks. I just need to decide if I should go with a blogger/blogspot account or pay hosting for a website we own. The latter is perferable but the former is cheaper. Hmmm.

That aside, I've been struggling with my short story writing for the past month or so. I've finished only a couple stories and I'm starting to get worried that I'm falling into my old habits: Starting a lot of things and not finishing them. Before Smooth Running, I'd never finished a novel before. That, more than anything, proved to me that I could not only be passionate about writing (which I was and still am) but that I could perform. Now I'm getting performance anxiety again and it's all the fault of the 'hot young thing' over in the corner.

See, I've actually been getting some writing done, despite Star Wars: The Old Republic launching. (not as much as I could if I stopped..er didn't start...playing, though) But what I'm writing is yet another sexytime novel that has 0 chance getting published under my own name.

I feel like I should be working on short stories that I can send off to the pro markets. Good for my career, good practice, all that. But what I'm enjoying writing is (currently) dark, sexy science fiction or dark, sexy fantasy. Fun to write but not good career-wise. I also have editing to do, which I'm avoiding because writing > videogames > editing.

So I'm worried I'm backsliding, becoming a hobby writer instead of being a focused professional-to-be. I know which I want. But acting on that...aye, there's the rub. I don't know what the answer is, this time. Except to keep trying, keep moving forward. I do have some short story ideas. I just need to force myself to sit down and write them. Maybe I'll try using a timer, Luna, one of the Wordslingers, uses an online timer to force herself to keep focused. Might be worth trying. Plus, I can reward myself with SWTOR if I sit and write (or sit and edit) for an hour without 'cheating'.

4 Comments

Tiyana link

12/20/2011 10:42:13 pm

Yeah, SWTOR looks pretty darn cool... I can totally see why it would override one's need to edit! :D (Too bad it's an MMORPG or else I'd be playing it, too. I'd prefer something like Bioware's earlier RPG, Knights of the Old Republic--addicting!)

Also, I feel like you should write what you wanna write. There's no guarantee any publisher will pick up any of the stuff we write, and even if they don't we've got the self-publishing route now, right? Still, it's a tricky dilemma.

Luna Lindsey link

12/21/2011 12:28:39 am

FYI, Blogger lets you point a domain. So you only need to register the domain and have forwarding services. Super cheap.

Tiyana,, you can totally solo most of SWTOR, and aside from a near-lack of romance options if you're playing a female character, it's almost exactly like KOTOR. The story lines are great.

Mark Andrew Edwards link

12/21/2011 12:40:14 am

Thanks Luna, good to know. I'll look into that today or tomorrow, assuming there's interest from the Wordslingers.

Hey Tiyana, thanks for commenting. I may end up self-publishing some of this stuff under a pseudonym.

The writing in SWTOR is pretty darn good, you can solo a lot of the game once you get your first companion (level 7-10). I don't group much so I basically play SWTOR as a single-player game.

I THINK the female smuggler and female trooper have early romance options. So far as I can tell, a lot of the romance options happen later in the game, though; surprisingly, you can 'hook up' with some NPCs in non-graphic ways. And I'm done nerding out. For now. :)

Tiyana

12/23/2011 05:14:23 am

Oh sweet! Thanks, y'all. I may just have to give it a try, then. I was completely mesmerized by the short movies on the homepage. (I mean when's the last time you saw a Jedi hold off the blade of a lightsaber with her bare hands?! :D)

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Writing the right thing

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