I write for the fun of it, have no real ultimate goal. I only set myself short term goals. Like the three stories I'm working on just now, my goal for them is to be a series and I've already got the first two parts written. I also want to make them as stupid and unbelievable as possible to see how far I can push the boundaries. I think my real ultimate goal is just to enjoy the writing and if someone derives pleasure from that, then it's a happy side effect.
Is it wrong that I derive pleasure from reading my own writing, as well as other people's? Sometimes when I'm writing something, I don't even realise what I've written, so it's nice to look back, even after the editing stage and see exactly what I've done and I may even learn from it. Sometimes I'll read something back and think "huh, that was kinda clever!", narcissistic as that may seem, but as I said, it's also a good opportunity to learn from it.
I like a lot of different poetry. I think my favourite is silly stuff, like "On The Ning Nang Nong" by Spike Milligan.
Of course, I also really enjoy the darker side of poetry like "Lenore" by Egar Allan Poe. Of course, I can't really say Poe without mentioning "The Raven", can I?
I can't really pick a favourite type of poem, but I like it to be dark, slightly comic and also to tell a good tale.
This I'd probably one of the simplest recipes you'll ever come across. I call it 'ghetto spaghetti'.
Ingredients:
Packet to cheap (ramen) noodles, I use 18p ones from Lidl.
Tomato (or other flavour, if you like) cup a soup.
Warm water, best from a kettle that has been boiled and cooled for a few minutes. This helps soften the noodles.
Ok, bash the noodles so they are broken up into fine bits. Bung it into a microwave safe bowl, add the flavour sachet and cup a soup, pour water so that noodles are covered and microwave for 3 minutes and 10 seconds. The soup makes a really nice thick sauce, almost like canned spaghetti, only thicker. Great in a pinch when all you have is noodles and soup. Also cup a soup makes a good sauce for a lot of things, if thickened enough. Sometimes thickening isn't even needed.
I'm re-reading Vladimir Nabokov's . Unfortunately, I don't understand French, so I have to break out the translator for the French bits, of which there are many. He even writes a whole paragraph in French. That's gonna be fun to type into a translator.
A plane ticket to Glasgow and a guided tour around my favourite haunts.
I've done loads more writing than I expected I would. I even had writers block, but talking to people and not letting it get me down was key. Really helped. I think I've improved as a writer, actually and it was because of the help of my friends and one very helpful moderator in particular, please ladies and gents give a hand to the wonderful Gypsymoth. A very special and thankful honorable mention goes to Daisy for helping me with the punctuation of my poetry, without her, it may have turned into an even more incoherent mess.
I didn't go into this year with many clear writing goals, but they just kinda happened. I had the fortune to meet some great people who challenged me, so that was fun. What I did learn was to take a step back, especially when editing and just take my time to make sure everything is just right. Sure, I should have known about all that, but I got cocky and sloppy.
One of my more clear goals was to start writing non-erotica, which is why I made my account here. Well, actually I made my account here to score and comment on a story that I read and loved, but I decided to start writing non-erotica again, too. I think I've managed to succeed in the goal of writing non-erotica and hope to improve more.
I have a few works in progress and they seem to be going well enough. I always wanted to do a story with two narrators and I did that. I even wrote a poem in the same vein. OK, so I didn't quite nail it, but I tried and learned some lessons from it.
I even entered a writing competition on the other site. Didn't win a damned thing, but I didn't expect to, for reasons that I just won't go into here. Still, it was always an ambition of mine to enter a writing competition and I finally worked up the courage and confidence to do so.
Another thing I did was explore my feelings. Lots of them. Hope I didn't come off as too emo, but even if I did, I don't really care. Catharsis is the thing that I was trying for and succeeded in that, at least.
I can't, no matter how many times, or how hard I try, finish Bram Stoker's Dracula. It always gives me weird dreams, not exactly nightmares, but just weird to the point where I wake up confused and swearing. Yes, swearing, because I'm confused.
The lesser spotted guest. He or she, nobody really knows, lurks around and scopes the forums to see just how much fun we, as members, have. Some are actual members, just not signed in, some are just too shy to sign up. Or maybe they think that they don't have the writing chops to post stories. That's not true, anyone can write, it just take some practice, but once you try it's easy to learn to carve a niche. The guest is a strange creature, on the outside, looking in, they never really get involved, but in some ways know the members better than the other members. They are quite valuable to the site because they get site traffic up. Some even become members, eventually.
By her side. Her? I'm not telling who She is!
What's your favourite punctuation mark? (I'll tell you mine: the comma. It's a cute wee thing and ever so useful.)
Simple really. Apart from writing, what are you passionate about? I'm passionate about music and food.
I love music for the way it can evoke so many feelings, how a certain song or piece can bring back memories. The way it makes me feel when I'm playing one of my instruments is pretty amazing as well. When I come up with that perfect riff... that's what all the effort was worth.
The same goes for cooking, I guess. I love how a certain dish can evoke emotions and memories, even just the smell of the dish, or the look of an empty casserole dish, waiting to be filled can make me smile. The eating of a lovingly prepared meal and the look upon people's faces when they are appreciating it is all the thanks I need when I prepare a meal, which admittedly isn't very often, but it's nice when I do, to be appreciated and praised.
Blast! I just hit the wrong button there. Was trying to get to my profile and my finger went wild and hit the wrong button. Whoopsie.
Yeah, we should get more money for being twice as kick arse! If I had got a pay rise, I'd have been slightly rich.
Some uncut amethyst because it's pretty when it sparkles.
As the subject says, how many of you still write letters? In this increasing e-age, people rely on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and even e-mail to keep in touch but how many still write good old fashioned letters? I'll be honest, I do. I find it satisfying to write a letter and post it: the satisfaction of going into the post office, paying for a stamp and putting the letter in the letterbox is an often underestimated one. The waiting for a reply and finally getting the reply is exciting. Yes, it's still satisfying to write an e-mail, but it doesn't stand up to the excitement of letter writing.
I also wonder how many young people actually know how to write a letter. I think letter writing is a valuable skill that should still be taught and fostered. Even though I hate writing by hand - I have terrible handwriting due to being a left hander who was taught by right handers and being constantly told that my writing was "atrocious", I still enjoy the simple pleasure of writing a letter.
Yup, I've done that, too. I've also neatly hit the delete account when I was changing my forum signature. It's fun being ham-fisted, eh?
So, as you can tell from the title, how the hell do I capitalise the danged things? Is the title of this thread capitalised properly? It's something I've always been a bit fuzzy on, really. Do I capitalise all the initials? Which bits shouldn't be capitalised? Help is very much appreciated.
I love her so much.
"In love" wouldn't be a bad way to put it.
Will I ever tell her? Probably not.
Does she know already? No idea.
I'm a lovesick wee Kitty.
I just really want her so much.
To be there, in the moment with her,
To dispel her fears and spend every moment with her...
In perfect peace and harmony.
Is that too much to ask?
Cocktail time!
Ingredients:
Lady Vodka, a good Lady is essential, as much as you want.
A good handful of Brambles, blueberries, raspberries or a combination of both. The fresher the better, wild ones are great too.
3 Oz Gelatin.
6 Oz water.
Method:
Pour boiling water onto the gelatin sheets and stir until it's all dissolved.
Crush or roughly blend the berries but leave some whole, pour into the dissolved gelatin.
Pour your Lady Vodka in and stir.
Refrigerate for at least two hours, overnight is recommended though.
Eat and be merry!
Note: I prefer my Lady straight, but this is a nice alternative.
- I have far more dexterity when using my right hand than most righties have when they need to use their left. When I work in the kitchen preparing food, I use a knife in my left hand to pare, chop, peel etc, but at the table, I keep my fork in my left hand, knife in my right and don't switch the knife to my left hand to cut my food. I do have use my left if I am spreading something like butter or jam on a slice of bread, which is why those darned butter knives are a nuisance. I have to use a spoon in my left hand though, or I would not manage to get the soup to my mouth, I think. It would be slopped all over me I suspect. 