[Tapper]

Brynjar, on 07 September 2010 - 08:12 PM, said:

Do all of you write only fantasy? Similarly to many other hear, I make up stories in my head which I personally think would make for a cracking book (or, in my case, movies). But only one of the three stories I'm toying with now is fantasy in genre.

The main problem with other genres that I like reading is that I see too many obstacles for me as a writer to deal with, that fantasy/sci-fi allows you to get past by the freedoms the genre offers.

I'm not smart enough to write police/detective stuff or noir and make the story fit or give it a surprising twist that people won't see coming after the first 50 lines. I also know far too little about police techniques to write a modern-day thingie.

For some reason or other, westerns for me are purely movie-stuff, despite me loving the genre to bits.

Superhero things, cool as they are, belong imho in comics (would require collaboration, which makes things very hard).

And if I'd do a historical novel, I'd much rather spice it up with just slightly more freedom in the circumstances than I'd allow myself if I stuck to history with just a fictional character set. I'd want to do things with the story that people can recognize and relate to in history, and then play with their expectations by giving things a twist away from historical outcomes.

[Use Of Weapons]

I write fantasy and SF. I write it because those are the ideas I have, and I write what I want to read.

[Erik Raditzky]

I write mainly fantasy and a little S/F, the reasons for this are much the same as Tapper said, these genre's offer up a greater level of freedom creatively. Basically, you can just make shit up and roll with it.

I've tried once to write a mystery/thriller, but found myself staring at the screen wondering where exactly I should be going with it, I think you need to do a lot of research for books like these, and while I would still love to do it, I'm too easily distrac.....look a helicopter.

[Use Of Weapons]

I think the thing that came as a revelation to me about writing clever plots was that you can take as long as you need to come up with the twists, and the time doesn't show in the book. You can hit readers over the head with successive plot shenanigans on successive pages, and they need never know that you took months and months of wrangling with blank pages to come up with that shit. Kinda liberating. In the same way that lots of small amounts of cleverness can eventually equal a moment of genius.

[Baudinsballs]

I write because if I don't the hatch would explode.... No seriously it's because if I don't the bad men will kill my parents.

[TheSurvivor]

I write mostly fantasy admittedly cause I find it so much easier to do battle scenes with swords and spears than with guns blazing and I suppose there's a sort of interest as guns are everywhere these days that close combat weapons are so intriguing to work with. Plus they allow for more intricate movements. However I do write Sci-Fi and, what I believe would be classified as, horror.

[Adjutant Stormy~]

I will legitimately never publish anything, not through lack of effort, but because my writing projects are always getting away from me scope-wise, or getting lost, etc.

[Fist Gamet]

I write mainly fantasy but also Sci Fi and have begun one story that is general fiction. You definitely should not be put off writing crime thrillers or such because you don't know about police procedures. Truth is you can take any idea you generate and chop and change the details so that you can write the story. For example, you have a great plot for a crime drama but you know nothing about police procedures in London. So you change the setting, you move it back or forwards in time or create a fantasy world to write a crime story. I am sure you have seen enough cop and crime stuff on TV and film to blag it.
Don't ever let let your doubts or fears stop you from writing. Have a go, try everything, experiment, don't worry about whether or not the real CSI guys will laugh at the rubbish attempt you make. Whatever cool ideas you come up with, play around with it, change the settings and characters and see what happens.
I also think you want to be sure you don't fall into the trap of thinking writing sci fi and fantasy is the easy option and doesn't deserve the same level of reasearch and respect as other genres. For me (and I am not having a go at you guys) this is the kind of attitude that has allowed so much utter drivel to be published under the guise of fantasy, which in turn allows those outwith our genre to point and pour scorn on us.

@Baudinsballs - 4 8 15 16 23 42

[Tenaka Khan]

I write because I absolutely love it. After a few years of dedicating my life to making my way up the corporate ladder, I had a bit of a crisis and I found that I would never forgive myself if I did not at least try to fulfill one of the most important points on my 'things you should have done before you kick the bucket' list: writing a book.
Thanks to my very supportive wife, I have taken some time off work to focus on writing, even if all that may come out of it is me being able to say 'I did it, here is the book I always wanted to write'.

Why did I choose fantasy writing? For the same reason I love reading the genre - the exploration and creation of new worlds, ones not bound by the strict rules of our reality. Having worked on my novel for a few months now, I can say that building the world, its history, cultures, races and conflicts before even starting to write the first story to be set within it was an utterly engrossing and rewarding venture (based on a lot of research and me devouring tons of history books ranging from roman to medieval times and beyond).

Then sitting down and discovering the stories and characters to be found in that world and sharing these stories with some of my close friends who act as proof readers to see it all come to life in their heads is pure joy.

So, to be a bit more succinct - writing was always a dream for me, and now for a blissful while I am living it

[wade]

I write because I love to read. Language and stories fascinate me, so delving into the creation of a novel with all its intricacies, witty characters, places, all of which often reflect memories of mine, is incredibly satisfying. I would one day like to be published, but that's not my focus. My focus now is to create a work of fiction that I can be really proud of.

[Lycaenion]

I write Fantasy because I love it and because I need to get those stories out of my head. I do hope to get published someday, because I'd like to share my work with like-minded people and because I'd love to elicit the same emotions with readers as my favourite authors elicit from me.

[D'iversify]

I haven't made a shot at writing anything fictional for a long time - not least as I'm trying to establish an academic career for myself. I've always been more of a worldbuilder anyway, and always previously lost patience with them. At the moment though I've got a really nice setting and some cool ideas for storylines and I'm not forcing it, just letting ideas naturally develop and making sure to write them down in my glossary/scene ideas collection. Hopefully I'll eventually have some time aside and a critical mass of good ideas to work from and then I'll give a crack at writing it. If that means not taking a shot until I'm in my 30s or 40s but have got ample material for when I do, I'm OK with that, though I certainly should do some 'practice' story writing in the meantime to sharpen up my skills again.

[Ozymandeos]

I write partly because I like to do it, and partly because I read a lot. Every single time I read a new book, I tend to get new ideas. Things to adapt and incorporate into my own stories. Once I get an idea, it won't go away until I start writing on it. Unfortunately, my mind always tends to think the ideas faster than I can write them down, ending up with me ending up with an unfinished project that feels complete in my mind. That's part of the reason I want to get published, so I can prove I've finished a story. But publishing a novel and becoming a writer has been a dream of mine for years.

[QuickTidal]

I write because I have so many ideas in my head. I also write because of a few niches of writing that I don't feel are covered in the books I read.

I would love to be published, but I don't ever want to be "famous".

I seriously doubt I'll ever write as a day job. It would be cool to do so, but I'll be happy enough to keep tapping away at my keyboard in my spare time.

[Vengeance]

I write because I lost a bet and have to punish myself by thinking. Hahahhaha published