Dragon Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonjournal) wrote2009-05-23 11:19 am
dragonjournal) wrote2009-05-23 11:19 am
Entry tags:
Writing Groups
With the internet, writers do not have to sit in lonely corners alone, hunched over their manuscripts. No longer do they have to trudge from place to place, looking for that elusive group that might just be the right fit.
Unfortunately, the internet does not mean that you will immediately find that perfect place where you will get that delicate balance of encouragement, decent feedback, and that occasional kick in the pants that all writers need.
Today, I was looking back over my bookmarks, and had begun deleting the ones I no longer needed. The one thing I noticed was that quite a few were writing sites where I just never felt either welcome, or comfortable.
Well, and to be honest there were a couple I was "kicked out" of, because disagreements with those that ran the comms.
However, those make no difference.
The best thing a writer can have, though, is support. Support from family, friends, and others going through the same trials and tribulations as you are.
Finding that support, however, is a very hard thing to do. The key point, as was pointed out to me not long ago by a friend, is to keep trying. Eventually, you might find that group that doesn't mind the fact that you're writing about dragon lesbian sex.
I finally found that group, that also runs the word wars in which I participate. Some of them find some of my subjects uncomfortable. However, they realise that what I write about is not what I personally feel, or practice.
They truly understand the disconnect, do not judge me by my writing, and don't mind the random "Oh, hey, I figured out how to get this pair where they need to be, with tails."
The other thing I think that helps is that before, I tried to connect my personal life, and my writing. As I have learned in several different locations, apparently, I am not one that can do that. I need to keep the two separate.
It is possible for things to go from writing, to friendship. It just depends on the writing. I have several people I met through my writing (mostly fandom) who have stepped up as friends and understand that though my mind might generate random crack at any interval, that is not constant, that there is a disconnect between me and my writing.
I am not, for example, a polygamous bisexual dragon, who has two male lovers, and a single female lover. But, if that is what I write about, most just say "Okay, what are you smoking now?"
Unfortunately, in my travels throughout the web, I have met some who see me as one thing and one thing only.
I have to admit that their rejections of some pieces of me do hurt. No matter how long ago it was, I, sometimes, in moments of silence and worry, look back on those instances and go... "Why? What was wrong?"
I've learned, though, that perhaps, we were just not a good fit, because I see nothing with feral dragon bisexual sex, and they seem to be unable to disconnect that with the woman who happily watches Star Wars (The original trilogy thankyouverymuch) for the fiftieth time, even though she's able to say the lines by heart.
So, still, I keep looking. I keep looking for that one, elusive, group where I can begin settling in, and perhaps begin getting some real feedback on this monstrosity that has been eating at me for so long.
I hope to find it soon.
Unfortunately, the internet does not mean that you will immediately find that perfect place where you will get that delicate balance of encouragement, decent feedback, and that occasional kick in the pants that all writers need.
Today, I was looking back over my bookmarks, and had begun deleting the ones I no longer needed. The one thing I noticed was that quite a few were writing sites where I just never felt either welcome, or comfortable.
Well, and to be honest there were a couple I was "kicked out" of, because disagreements with those that ran the comms.
However, those make no difference.
The best thing a writer can have, though, is support. Support from family, friends, and others going through the same trials and tribulations as you are.
Finding that support, however, is a very hard thing to do. The key point, as was pointed out to me not long ago by a friend, is to keep trying. Eventually, you might find that group that doesn't mind the fact that you're writing about dragon lesbian sex.
I finally found that group, that also runs the word wars in which I participate. Some of them find some of my subjects uncomfortable. However, they realise that what I write about is not what I personally feel, or practice.
They truly understand the disconnect, do not judge me by my writing, and don't mind the random "Oh, hey, I figured out how to get this pair where they need to be, with tails."
The other thing I think that helps is that before, I tried to connect my personal life, and my writing. As I have learned in several different locations, apparently, I am not one that can do that. I need to keep the two separate.
It is possible for things to go from writing, to friendship. It just depends on the writing. I have several people I met through my writing (mostly fandom) who have stepped up as friends and understand that though my mind might generate random crack at any interval, that is not constant, that there is a disconnect between me and my writing.
I am not, for example, a polygamous bisexual dragon, who has two male lovers, and a single female lover. But, if that is what I write about, most just say "Okay, what are you smoking now?"
Unfortunately, in my travels throughout the web, I have met some who see me as one thing and one thing only.
I have to admit that their rejections of some pieces of me do hurt. No matter how long ago it was, I, sometimes, in moments of silence and worry, look back on those instances and go... "Why? What was wrong?"
I've learned, though, that perhaps, we were just not a good fit, because I see nothing with feral dragon bisexual sex, and they seem to be unable to disconnect that with the woman who happily watches Star Wars (The original trilogy thankyouverymuch) for the fiftieth time, even though she's able to say the lines by heart.
So, still, I keep looking. I keep looking for that one, elusive, group where I can begin settling in, and perhaps begin getting some real feedback on this monstrosity that has been eating at me for so long.
I hope to find it soon.