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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/3892
Fantasy: August 04, 2010 Issue [#3892]

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Fantasy


 This week: Staying Put
  Edited by: Robert Waltz Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.
         -John Ed Pearce

When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home
         -Thornton Wilder


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Letter from the editor

Not Traveling


         In my last newsletter, I waxed eloquent about the joys and benefits to the writer of traveling to strange and exotic locales.

         This time, I'm going to soliloquize about not venturing out into the wide world.

         Where traveling exposes you to adventures you might never have considered, the best way to put it in context is to spend some time at home, writing about it. (This, of course, assumes that your home is relatively free of distractions. If you have lots of kids and pets and spouses, you should modify this advice to write someplace with less noise fewer demands on your time, such as the floor of a steel mill.)

         As with most things in life, balance is good. If you never go anywhere, the imagination can be stifled. If you are always on the road, you might never find time to write and put things in perspective. After all, most of the great adventure tales, fantasy included, are only told after the protagonist has a chance to rest from his or her travels.

         I suggest creating a place in your house or apartment, and a computer or other device dedicated to writing and only writing (I need to do this, myself). If the computer also has internet access, I find myself spending more time researching than actually writing, and even more time finding jokes on the internet than researching. By a factor of at least 10 to 1. Research is great - both the traveling I referred to last time, and for general knowledge about a topic - but when it comes time to write, write.

         Your writing place should also contain things that inspire you or keep you focused - which can be hard to come by if you're writing on an airplane or in a hotel room. Motivational posters are good for keeping your spirits up. Or, if you're contrary like me, demotivational posters are more likely to keep things in perspective for you. But my purpose in life is to inject humor into everything, which is hard to do if the only messages you get are about perseverance, consistency, teamwork, and crap like that.

         The important thing, of course, is to write. And if that means you have to write in the between-times on a commuter train or late at night in a hotel, then so be it. The bottom line is going to be what works for you, not advice from articles whose authors are rushing to meet a deadline. Find the balance that works for you, and work toward keeping it.

         And if your motivational items include Hello Kitty themes, I don't know you.


Editor's Picks

A few recently created or edited fantasy writings for your reading pleasure, at home or on the road (but not while driving, please):

 Haven: Prologue Open in new Window. [18+]
Men of ethereal powers are the last line of defense against the invading X...
by Stefan Popov Author Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


 Counting Cars Open in new Window. [13+]
A man driven mad by obsession and jealousy.
by J. P. Davis Author Icon


Limbo. Open in new Window. [ASR]
What will Andy discover as the lights flicker on and off inside a dark, unknown world?
by techno_twistedd Author Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


 Ring Without a Stone Open in new Window. [13+]
Published by A Fly in Amber, September 2010
by Michael Author Icon


 Summer Snow Open in new Window. [13+]
When your guardian angel is your lover, prayers get answered in the most romantic way.
by BeElleGee Author Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (July 7, 2010)" Open in new Window., I had something to say about exotic, and not-so-exotic, locations.

Ladyoz Author Icon:
I cheat. I bought some of those huge coffee table type books full of big, glorious color photos of landscapes of all types from all corners of the globe. Got them cheap at a book sale. Since it's highly unlikely I'll ever be able to visit most of these places in person, these books are a fabulous substitute for hoofing it in the wild. Inspiration galore.

         That's not cheating. That's "research." *Wink*


Crys-not really here Author Icon:
What a great reminder to everyone (no matter what genre they write in) that seeing different locations and going out in the world is beneficial to your writing. Some of my best "writing" is done while observing new places and things, and then using those memories later.

         My memory's not what I think it used to be, so I take pictures *Bigsmile*


And that's about it for this month - have a great August and

DREAM ON!!!

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