Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic You might be a writer if...

My daughter writes original stories and fic for another fandom. The other day we had the following conversation:

Me: Are you getting sick? You don't look so good.

Her: Gee, thanks. I think I'm just tired.

Me: I don't know. You know I love you, but you look like death warmed over.

Her, perking up: 'Death warmed over'--that's a great phrase. I've got to use that in a story!

If you hear a phrase or word and think 'that would make a great story title'!

If you have dreams about the direction your current fic is going.

If you ask you NON-interested kids for plot ideas.

If you ask you son about forensics because he's an NCIS/ science freak.

If you run out of names for your characters so you start using the names of family or friends.

If your characters are patterned after the neighbors.

Sorry... just had to add my two cents.

SQD

If you carry a notepad and pen (well, I did in the pre-tech days!) with you at all times and have gotten very good at scribbling legible story notes in pitch darkness in cinemas or in the bedroom at four in the morning...

LabRat

LabRat, you stalking me? I call my notepad & pen, "my laptop" -- it goes with me everywhere!


-- If you steal ideas from your child's imagination.
-- If you would rather write than sleep.
-- If you feel less anti-social since joining the L&C boards.
-- If writing has transplated Chocolate on your list of desires.
-- If you daydream about a vacation alone with your "laptop" and some peace and quiet.

@Virginia:

I forgot the big one for me:

Your poor husband has gotten used to you barreling past him at 50 mph, yelling, "Can't talk - story! Be right back!" as you race upstairs to get the pc on and the three pages of story down that you thought of on the bus ride home from work before they vanish again....

LabRat

You might be a writer if you are suffering through some miserable experience and you console yourself with the thought that it would make good fodder for a fanfic.

Or, you might be a writer if you troll your memory for your worst experiences with an eye toward using them in fanfic.

Joy,
Lynn

Lynn, bingo. I fell down last month and achieved my first-ever black eye, along with four stitches on the bridge of my nose, and some part of my brain was busily making notes of the whole thing, for the next time I beat up Lois in a story...

PJ
p.s., I'm fine; it looked a *lot* worse than it was... I think my poor husband had a harder time of it, feeling guilty since I'd been helping him at the time I fell. And you know Clark would be consumed with guilt, too...

A very regular occurance at my house!

Some of my best friends I've never met (in person)!

SQD (who is enjoying this thread- but needs to get up to pack for vacation)

If you hear another writer describe something unreal in his/her life and you respond, "Well, at least you've got a great character for your next story" (Been there, done that)

If you see your friend or family member's life as a soap opera, romantic comedy, sitcom, or crime drama. (hopefully no one experiences the last one)

If someone you know lives through a natural disaster and your first thought is, "Wow! Wonder what L&C do in that situation?... What a great experience for a story!" (and yet you don't know how to say this and NOT sound tactless -- My apologies to those on the East Coast... and for my apparent lack of tact :rolleyes: ... Hope we get some great Hurricane stories on the boards soon <= See, there's the tactless part! )

I've been trying to convince my son to help me write the true story of our life and the lives of our family members because I swear it would be the next big soap opera hit! (We have so much... ah, stuff going on sometimes, I think we could qualify as all over the above.)

As for the crime drama... and not to sound... however this is going to sound... I definitely have a family member who qualifies there. My nephew is serving a ten year prison sentence for defending himself in a fight. Another guy, his girlfriend, and girlfriend's friend jumped on him one night. He hit the guy ONCE, guy fell and hit his head and he died. Nephew was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. No self defense law in SC! Poor guy had a rough life, but he'd really straightened up when this happened. It was surreal at the time. (And no, Virginia, I don't have plans to write a fic about it.)

SQD (who really has to go now. Have a good week all!)

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

There. One for each of your posts. Because that is exactly what my life is like right now...
Still do, Labby. Still do. It drives my family absolutely bonkers, but I always try to keep a notebook on hand or in the car for just in case situations and pens litter everywhere that I can qualify as my "living space"... My mom actually used to confiscate my notebooks because it would embarrass her that I had to bring it everywhere- that or my sketchbooks for art. As for writing at nights, well, let's just say that sleep and I are not on very familiar terms right now. Four am is a lucky bedtime.

And Lynn, you're absolutely right about that. Everything that happens in my life I find myself wondering, "Hmm, what would a character do in my situation?" or "How far would you have to push Superman to get him to take out a restraining order?" (FYI- that one is not about me, but another close family member who is being falsely accused of something he/she did not do... crime drama, indeed, Virginia. My life is far from comedy- it's a dark comedy at best.)

And one last:

If your eating schedule is as screwed up as your sleeping one. (Eat only when inspiration fails you...)

Oh, can I be in the notebook-toting club? Just a few weeks ago, I bought a tiny little notebook at the dollar store to keep in my purse so that I always have one handy to jot down story notes in. So far, the book still has nothing in it - I haven't been inspired "on the run" so everything has just be typed up on my laptop - except for the ideas I get while at the gym.

My facebook status the other day was "Why yes, I *am* the type of girl who develops story ideas while running on the treadmill and listening to the Trans Siberian Orchestra."

Also:

You have a file on your computer titled "Story Ideas" (or some variation).

You wonder how it is possible to actually write all of those stories in the next year.

You think of a phrase (or hear a phrase someplace) and think "That would be a fabulous story title!"

Even mundane tasks can inspire you - "Oh, I should write a story about Clark's mishaps while BBQing!"

"Sleep? What's sleep? I need to finish writing this chapter!"

You watch a tv show/movie and immediately start thinking about how to work it in as a crossover story. (Believe it or not, but I've wondered about writing a Mythbusters/LnC story, which I will probably never actually write.)

You've had so much fun crafting a story, that it gets to be really sad when you finally finish it and have to move on - like saying goodbye to a friend in a way.

You constantly roam the challenge boards looking to see if any fic ideas strike you.

You have officially been inducted to the notebook club... we don't have jackets yet, but the idea for them has been written down in a notebook somewhere... And the gym, as much as I love it, is the devil for me. I tend to think best and come up with stories when I'm running.
And seriously, stop hijacking my computer! *minimizes "Story Ideas" file* You've already changed my background! Shirtless Clark can't take any more!

You have officially been inducted to the notebook club... we don't have jackets yet, but the idea for them has been written down in a notebook somewhere... And the gym, as much as I love it, is the devil for me. I tend to think best and come up with stories when I'm running.
And seriously, stop hijacking my computer!

*minimizes her own "Story Ideas" file*

Mouse - would you laugh if I said that most of "What Is Eternal" shaped itself while I was at the gym and on the treadmill? Or is that just too strange, since it is kind of a dark piece?

Oooh, membership jackets! I approve! (But not as much as I approve of shirtless Clark pics!)

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Deadly Chakram:
<strong> Somebody's gotta get the ball rolling on the jackets thing...

My best introspective peices come from when I'm in a bad/uspet/sad mood. "What Is Eternal" is sort of the exception to that rule (was in a prefectly good mood the nights that I worked on it).

Yes. Yes.

And you might be a writer if ...

... insomnia is simply a wonderful chance to plot in peace.

Corrina.

Check on that one! And people always wonder why I say I'm tired... creativity doesn't give you any downtime. You're either in a creative mood and simply *have* to write or draw or do *something* mentally stimulating... or you wish you were in a creative mood and sit there thinking for hours about what you could do to get the juices flowing. No escape...

"If writing has transplated Chocolate on your list of desires."

Who says we have to choose? Writing and chocolate are entirely compatible pleasures.

I agree wholeheartedly!

Here's another:

You have a shirt that says "Will Write For Food."

You have a shirt that says "Do Not Annoy The Writer. She May Put You In A Book And Kill You."

(Yes, I own both of those.)