Serious writers?

[DriftwoodJames]

Are there any serious writers here, and if so, what is your inspiration?

[DanteAzrael]

I am a serious writer. It is my main goal in life and has been since I was in middle school. I've tried to take every step towards becoming better and better.

My inspiration comes from three places: The other authors I read, my life, and my heart.

The other authors I read inspire me to become better and better at writing.

My life inspires me to write because it is my goal, my dream, my desire, my want and I will do anything to be a writer. I also use my life to develop ideas or storylines.

My heart inspires me because it gives me the emotion, the strength, the pride, and the determination to carry on with my writing to go even higher. Without my heart and my love for my life and my writing, I probably would just be a living corpse.

[kaytie]

I'm a serious writer.

I went to graduate school for fiction, and have an agent for my novel. We are polishing the manuscript now to try to sell it to publishers.

Dunno what you mean by inspiration, exactly--I began writing to capture the stories I was already telling myself in my imagination. I decided to give it a serious go after my divorce, when I was 24.

Now, some of the skills I use include the severe self-reflection that has plagued me since childhood, the near-paralyzing empathy that gets me thinking about and feeling the emotions of the people I meet or read about, and the dogged perserverence of writing every single day for a few hours a day (I had to work up to that, btw--it's a habit just like practicing a musical instrament).

I hope that makes sense. I'll clarify any weirdness if someone points it out to me...

[LoveHatesYou]

I actually consider myself a very serious writer, but one without the time to write, as I have medical bills piling up due to a medical condition. I do keep a notebook with me at all times. People are my inspiration, and the abstract. I also like the darker side of things, and actually find it a little funny, kind of a black comedy. Everytime I end up in the hospital I write a little sketch comedy about it. I did go to school for writing, and was one of less than 10 student admitted to an honors program for writers. I plan on pushing my stuff out there soon, but as I am a perfectionist, the most I get done is small shorts in mags. Then again, I am very young...

I don't think getting published is what makes someone a serious writer though, I mean yes, it brings prestige and helps pay the bills and makes writing a career, but I think a serious writer is a writer who continues to write. About everything. All the time. And wants to learn from their mistakes.

[sleepydumpling]

I have a question... does writing have to be serious? Do writers have to be serious?

My point is, do you think one can be a dedicated writer but be irreverant and light hearted about it? Or is it something that must be taken seriously?

When I think of some of my favourite writers, I can't think of them being "serious" about their craft, yet they are prolific, dedicated and devoted.

Just some food for thought.

[kaytie]

I think professional writers take even their light-hearted, irreverent writing seriously, especially when it comes to publication. You can bet that Christopher Moore, for example, is serious about his novels as they are making their way from manuscript to galleys to finished product. And you can bet he is serious when he is reading contracts before signing them.

A better way to pose the question might have been--are you serious about your writing.

The choices I've made regarding my writing and my life have made me serious about it. It's a pretty risky thing to give up a lucrative but non-creative career for one that may or may not pay out. It's risky to take on debt to further education in the arts. So even though my novel isn't heavy-handed or of a serious tone, yeah, I take it very seriously. I have fun with it, but I approach it with the same care I would take with a business decision.

Dedication (to me) can also describe the hobbyist writer, one who doesn't write for publication, one who writes for no pay, one who writes for family and friends. I'm making no judgment here--there are lots of people who write stories with no intention of publishing them, ever.

So to answer your question, does writing have to be serious? No.

Do writers have to be serious? Depends on what they want out of it, and being serious doesn't have to mean being somber or grave about it.

[daclawson2]

I agree Dante, but my initial interest in poetry and fiction came from my heart, then I found a place for writing in my life and now that I am in school for writing it is my reading and analyzing of published as well as amateur writers (as in peers or unpublished writers). My goal as a writer is to first communicate what I feel to readers, then to grow through the discovery of myself in my writings, and my ultimate goal is to be published and somewhat accepted by my contemporaries on any level. My greatest interest in writing is to understand myself and my world through the process of writing, to bring out my subconscious self to thrive with my rational self.

[DuchessAngel37]

Along the lines of what dumpling and kaytie said, what exactly is a serious writer? Is it the content? Is it how much time you dedicate to what you do?

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and with the exception of one non-fiction piece and a bunch of semi-autobiographical fiction pieces, most of it is light-hearted fiction. But I work hard on it, and when I'm writing, it takes me to a different place. I consider myself serious because I write mostly for myself, not for other people. I do it because I want to.

I've had my own website for my writing (if you're interested, click the banner below) for almost 8 years now. For the first few years it was pretty lame, but recently it's been picking up. I have a lot of dedicated readers, I've won some awards, but I haven't updated anything in awhile. It's been too stressful.

What I find, for myself, is that when feels like a job (unless, of course, it IS your job), it's not good. My updates to my site are few because I'm just not feeling it. My worst pieces were ones that felt forced, where I felt like I had to write something. That's why I always had a love-hate relationship with any writing class I took. I can't write on cue. It just comes out horribly.

That being said, who can really decide what a serious writer is?

[sleepydumpling]

Interesting Duchess that you should bring up writing feeling like a job losing it's appeal for you.

I personally feel that way about any "career". For me, if it's not challenging and fun (even though it has it's dull bits), then it's just a wage, it's not a life, a career. So if I were to consider myself a "serious writer" I would have to have a passion for it, to be able to love doing it.

How do others feel about their writing? Do you love it, despite it's challenges? Do you enjoy it, or is it something you feel compelled to do for other reasons?

[Hybrid.Rainbows]

It is kind of hard to define the line between a serious writer and a non serious one. But, I know that still being kind of young compared to most writers. I most likely wouldn't be taken as a serious writer by most. But, that doesn't mean that my work doesn't reflect almost everything that I am. Or stand for.

True, that I can be light-hearted and write the most ridiculous things, just because I can. But, that doesn't mean that I'm not a serious. But, then again it gets hard being too serious on one thing being only a teen. But, I'm sure that it is something that will pass.

I've known that I've wanted to be an author since the 5 or 6th grade. And then it kind of, became a fad with my friends. But, I believe that is getting off topic from what everyone else is talking about.

I think that you can be both a serious and a non serious author. It just depends on what your view on serious is. I suppose it really just depends on the person, and the reader.

[DuchessAngel37]

I know I'll always love writing...and it'll always be something I do for myself above all. It's only when people demand things of me that I hate it, I get into this "I AM NOT A MACHINE" mode.

One of my favorite fanfic authors of all time quit her entire site a couple years ago, because of that. In fact, she was in the middle of a story and was getting to the good part, the part where all the drama was just starting to take place, and everyone was getting so antsy they were requesting more updates (the woman was already a full time teacher and recovering from surgery from her carpal tunnel), and they drove her to the point where she was just like, I'm not doing this anymore. She said she'll still write, but not fanfic, and not for anyone else to read.

And I gotta say, I've gotten to that point a few times, but then I think about the time and energy I spend working on the site that I can't do it. And then I sit back and realize that even though, yeah, the site is up for others to enjoy, it's really all about how much I like it, so it all comes down to doing it for myself in the long run.

[giftedpen]

I agree with a lot of what Kaytie said. Stories come from inside. I never went to school for writing but I figured out that the stories and "what to write" comes from everything that I feel passionate about, inside. Whether I love it or hate it, it will stir me in some way. I take that, along with being in touch with other people's feelings and struggles, and I create my stories. And what Kaytie quoted and said about writing a novel is true. Even if you are writing about something you love, you have to have edurance for the long haul. Writing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint.

[Rowan]

I am a serious writer. I am also a former journalist. My inspiration comes from everyday life. A lot of times, the kids I teach, the cars I race, events in the world, my own personal psychosis etc. Everything is an inspiration.

[LoveMusic_AK]

I love writing. For as long as I can remember I've always loved doing it. It has always been the one subject I enjoyed, the one I aced, and the one I wanted to go to. My inspiration comes from the people around me. For example, a huge inspiration is my family. I also find a lot of inspiration from music.

[W-Harbinger]

I'm a serious writer. I have one book currently for sell. My inspirations are my friends in my online writing circle and NaNoWriMo November. I love trying to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days every year.