Hello there one and all

[Tim James]

I've just joined and it was suggested I introduce myself, so here I am.

I've been writing various fiction stories, purely for my own amusement, for several years now, on and off as time allowed. Now that I am semi-retired I have now got more time to spend on such things and may decide to pursue the idea of a published book more seriously.
I like the look of this site and having "hovered" just viewing various forum conversations and posting for a while, I have now decided to join in.
The books I have started, and occasionally finished, have covered a wide range of genre as I have experimented with various ideas. But as yet they all languish in notebooks on my writings shelf or in some cases in files on my hard disk. I prefer to write longhand in pencil in A4 notebooks first and then transcribe into Word if I feel the story has legs. I don't know why but I find that trying to write story direct to the screen interrupts the flow of thoughts. With a pencil I can really let go creatively. I wonder how many other feel the same way or is everybody typing straight to screen from the start these days?
I will freely admit that the early attempts were pretty bad, but I've kept them all anyway. I'm not sure why. I've even kept all the half-starts, the ones that have a great start idea and then ... and then ... I just can't think of a way to take it further, so it just gets abandoned. I don't know whether this is a common thing or not with writers. I suspecting it probably is.

Well that's a little about me and I shall be posting more soon.

Tim.

 

[OperaDivaAlix]

A warm welcome to you Tim
Get those amusing stories of yours to Pete and submit to him.
Also we have a very entertaining and lively chat room on Discord, which we all use during the POP-UPS submission.
Come and join us this Sunday.
Also we are studying 'FINDING YOUR WRITERS VOICE' through seminars too.
Kind Regards,
Alix

 

[Tim James]

Thank you for that invite, Alix.
I wish I could find my "writers voice" (should that have an apostrophe or not, before or after the s, I can't decide?) Mine seems to be different for each story I write.

 

[ChrisLewando]

Welcome, from another oldie. But my oh my, working in longhand? I did it once, and had to type it up from my own bad writing. What a pain. When computers came in I leapt at the opportunity, and now write straight to the screen. I tend to edit the previous day's work to get me into the flow of continuing. It works for me, but I did recently go to a seminar with a well published writer who still chooses to write longhand. Horses for courses. AS to keeping old work, it helps to go back to them and know that you've progressed... and sometimes you find the odd thing that you pick up and run with.

 

[Kitty]

Hello Tim and welcome. I can certainly relate to the half starts. Sometimes I try something out and find it isn't working, so I move on to something else. It's all part of the writer's journey. And no writing is ever a waste of time. The more we write the more we learn. Sooner or later one story will grab you and insist it gets written.

Looking forward to seeing you around the colony

 

[OperaDivaAlix]

In the Litopia Live Events - You'll find instructions on how to join and use Discord.
We have a tech guru here called Chase, he will help you if you have any problems.
And LOL me either.
Your wish could come true, you never know
Regardless you've come to the right place.

 

[Tim James]

Welcome, from another oldie. But my oh my, working in longhand? I did it once, and had to type it up from my own bad writing. What a pain. When computers came in I leapt at the opportunity, and now write straight to the screen. I tend to edit the previous day's work to get me into the flow of continuing. It works for me, but I did recently go to a seminar with a well published writer who still chooses to write longhand. Horses for courses. AS to keeping old work, it helps to go back to them and know that you've progressed... and sometimes you find the odd thing that you pick up and run with.

Yes, I guess I'm probably a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to the writing, which is odd since I work in IT. But I just find a keyboard gets in the way. I've never learned to touch-type so I find writing long hand is quicker and more instinctive and therefore doesn't intrude on the "mental flow". Also it gives me a chance, when I do type it in, to do a quick edit as I go along. I won't deny it means more work, though. But I look upon the typing in process as almost a first revision sometimes.
But as you say, horses for courses.
Tim.

 

[Tim James]

... Sooner or later one story will grab you and insist it gets written. ...

You can say that again Kitty.
A couple of months ago I woke up with an idea and two weeks of feverish writing later I had produced about 80,000 words of a novel. It all came so fast I just had to get it down. Each night I would have trouble sleeping until I had written the scene I was thinking about down on paper. It was an amazing and tiring two weeks. I'm now in the throws of editing and revising it.

 

[Carol Rose]

Welcome!

 

[Barbara]

Welcome to the Colony, Tim

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Welcome to the Colony!

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Hello

I scribble in notebooks, but when I sit down to it, I do type straight to screen. I had wrist problems a little while back and someone suggested I try software for dictation. I did but I didn't like it. I like to feel my thinking through my fingers as I type.

 

[Tim James]

Hello

I scribble in notebooks, but when I sit down to it, I do type straight to screen. I had wrist problems a little while back and someone suggested I try software for dictation. I did but I didn't like it. I like to feel my thinking through my fingers as I type.

Hi Katie-Ellen
Some would describe my writing as "scribbling" anyway, not because of what I write but due its near illegibility.

 

[Louise]

Welcome Tim!

 

[Tim James]

A big thank you to all the welcomers.
I'm pleased to meet you all.

 

[Marc Joan]

Welcome to Litopia

 

[AngryPI]

Welcome to the Colony. Please tip your valet.

 

[Lex Black]

Welcome to the Colony!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Welcome to the colony! How does someone in the UK come to have a kea as their avatar? I love those cheeky birds (though I keep a good eye on my pack when I'm hiking, lest the kea haul off with my lunch).

 

[Amber]

Nice to meet you again .... as we've already talked about 2nd person and stuff...

I think writing longhand uses a different part of the brain. When I write longhand I start to think more about my handwriting -- which I am vain about -- and doodle. So ... I type. But I can imagine why someone would write longhand.

Nice to see you here.

 

[Tim James]

Welcome to the colony! How does someone in the UK come to have a kea as their avatar? I love those cheeky birds (though I keep a good eye on my pack when I'm hiking, lest the kea haul off with my lunch).

Hi Robinne
I visited your lovely, fantastic country a few years ago on a hiking tour. The kea in my picture was posing for us at the top of a mountain pass as a distraction while his mates were attacking our rucksacks
I love their red under-wings, they are very colourful birds, and very intelligent.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Hi Robinne
I visited your lovely, fantastic country a few years ago on a hiking tour. The kea in my picture was posing for us at the top of a mountain pass as a distraction while his mates were attacking our rucksacks
I love their red under-wings, they are very colourful birds, and very intelligent.

Ha! Nabbed another gullible tourist with the old I'll-pose-for-the-camera-while-my-gang-raids-the-packs trick. Don't feel bad. They outwit even those of us who know better. I was in Arthur's Pass with some work colleagues a while back--stopping off for a coffee on our way to a school on the West Coast--and the kea surrounded us. I neglected to watch my back, and the next thing I knew, I'd been bitten on the bum by one. Cheeky bastard. I can only assume he was looking for a wallet.

 

[Tim James]

.... I can only assume he was looking for a wallet.

What would he do with a wallet? Use your credit cards to buy bird seed?

That photo (I think) was taken at a place called Crucible Lake, just off Siberia Valley. A lovely high lake at the head of a glacier carved valley. In Wales it would be called a coll. Absolutely fabulous place, it took us half a day's stiff climb to get up there from the Valley.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

What would he do with a wallet? Use your credit cards to buy bird seed?

That photo (I think) was taken at a place called Crucible Lake, just off Siberia Valley. A lovely high lake at the head of a glacier carved valley. In Wales it would be called a coll. Absolutely fabulous place, it took us half a day's stiff climb to get up there from the Valley.

No doubt the bird wanted cash to by some fish and chips. Of course, he might have been going for my kidneys and missed...kea have a revolting habit of sitting on the backs of sheep (formerly moa) and pecking out the kidneys.

Crucible Lake--lovely area down there! I've not been to Crucible Lake, but have spent time hiking in the area (and one of my books is partly set in those mountains).

 

[AgentPete]

Hello Tim, very good to have you with us.

 

[Tim James]

Hi Agent Pete, it's great to be here.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

I've just joined and it was suggested I introduce myself, so here I am.

I've been writing various fiction stories, purely for my own amusement, for several years now, on and off as time allowed. Now that I am semi-retired I have now got more time to spend on such things and may decide to pursue the idea of a published book more seriously.
I like the look of this site and having "hovered" just viewing various forum conversations and posting for a while, I have now decided to join in.
The books I have started, and occasionally finished, have covered a wide range of genre as I have experimented with various ideas. But as yet they all languish in notebooks on my writings shelf or in some cases in files on my hard disk. I prefer to write longhand in pencil in A4 notebooks first and then transcribe into Word if I feel the story has legs. I don't know why but I find that trying to write story direct to the screen interrupts the flow of thoughts. With a pencil I can really let go creatively. I wonder how many other feel the same way or is everybody typing straight to screen from the start these days?
I will freely admit that the early attempts were pretty bad, but I've kept them all anyway. I'm not sure why. I've even kept all the half-starts, the ones that have a great start idea and then ... and then ... I just can't think of a way to take it further, so it just gets abandoned. I don't know whether this is a common thing or not with writers. I suspecting it probably is.

Well that's a little about me and I shall be posting more soon.

Tim.

I'm a straight to the PC type of girl (no pun intended). Welcome to Litopia.