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Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 12:05 am

So, who else writes short stories? I write short stories all the time, but not lately. Non-nonsensical I know, but if you also write, what do you write about? I myself write a lot of comedies, dark comedies mostly.



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20 Mar 2011, 12:53 pm

I used to write stories when I was in elementary school. They were basically cheesy little fantasies, one of which I actually included my parents as main characters in.

I can't say that I write stories anymore. The last time I wrote a story was when I took a creative writing class during my senior year in high school, which was almost two years ago.


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Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 1:27 pm

Elementary school is what inspired me to write in the first place. In first grade we were made to write stories for class, mine were about a page, or a few paragraphs, and they weren't usually original ideas, and they weren't good, (but what else can you really expect?), but it started that spark in me, and occasionally I still write things. My longest story so far, is unfinished, but it's nearing the end, at about 23 pages typed, 7,262 words.



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20 Mar 2011, 3:30 pm

I began writing one as of recent.


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Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 3:43 pm

What's it about?



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20 Mar 2011, 8:51 pm

I've worked on short stories in the past - and I must admit, those who say writing a novel is easier are right!
With a novel, you have room and time to unfold the story, flesh out the characters, and ramble on about whatever tangent you want (within reason). Short stories on the other hand - you have to be concise and to the point. Edgar Alan Poe, who has arguably been called the father of the short story (not that there weren't any prior to him) said the story should begin as close to the end as possible. I find that I enjoy writing about characters and situations so much that I find it difficult to do that.
I've worked on short fiction, in which I tried to discipline myself to come immediately to the point, but it's not that easy (at least, not for me). So, I've gone back to working on a novel I had put away over a year ago.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer



Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 8:58 pm

I just can't stretch my ideas out that much for a full length novel. Maybe if I created a really complex idea, but i've never gotten anywhere close to even a novella.



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20 Mar 2011, 9:34 pm

Jacob12 wrote:
I just can't stretch my ideas out that much for a full length novel. Maybe if I created a really complex idea, but i've never gotten anywhere close to even a novella.

It certainly takes time to collect all the ideas necessary to write a novel, or even a novella. It's taken me the better part of probably almost two years now to come up with enough ideas to fully flesh out my current post-cyberpunk novel beginning-to-end.

On topic, I occasionally write short stories, when I come up with an idea small enough to use for one. Usually, I just write out scenes for my major project(s).


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Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 9:45 pm

What genre would you consider it? And what's the premise? I'm thinking of writing a story about two college kids who start robbing convenience stores (including one they frequent) to pay for their education, since their parents cut them off because of the economy, and they end up committing a multiple homicide. It explores the pressure for college education, taken the extreme, at least, that's what I'm hoping for. Setting off the chain of events for the rest of the story.



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20 Mar 2011, 10:33 pm

Jacob12 wrote:
What genre would you consider it? And what's the premise?

You asking me?


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Jacob12
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20 Mar 2011, 10:39 pm

Yes please, lol.



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20 Mar 2011, 11:59 pm

Jacob12 wrote:
What genre would you consider it? And what's the premise?

Well it's a solidly post-cyberpunk story, which I basically tell people is like cyberpunk, except the characters have a definable social lives and a place in society, and may come out better off at the end of the story than when they started, along with working to better the status quo, or at least maintain it.

Anyway, it's about a group of hackers in future Los Angeles who become involved in a series of domestic and international events that eventually lead to a huge catastrophic event in the United States that really, only they have the information and key resources to be able to help stop. It's written mostly in first person, from the point of view of the unofficial leader of the group, Damien Rutherford. And as a side note, I'm writing it for a mature audience; there's a substantial amount of strong language, brutal violence, and (tasteful) sexuality throughout the whole thing.

Here's my 'official' synopsis/blurb thing:

Damien Rutherford is all too familiar with the criminal underworld of the Sprawl, a nearly unbroken region of urban and suburban jungle stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco and the Bay Area; home to over a hundred million people. As a member of a small, close-knit team of data thieves, he and four others make a lucrative living breaking into corporate and government computer systems and stealing information to sell to the highest bidder. But when a chance encounter leads to a job gone horribly wrong, and attracts the attention of the ever-present totalitarian megacorporations to their operation, he knows it's time to be afraid. Caught up in a far-reaching conspiracy more sinister than they ever imagined, the team quickly finds they have nowhere to run and no one they can trust but each other- and maybe not even that. As the stakes rise and the collateral damage begins to hit closer to home, the team just wants out. The question is: how- and at what price?

I'm currently up to over 30,000 words so far, just writing whatever I think of to tie into the story. My goal is 100,000.


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Jacob12
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21 Mar 2011, 12:14 am

That sounds really good! It sounds like it has a lot of potential. If you give your characters conflicting values and stuff and make a good story I bet you could get it published. Have you ever thought of publishing, or have you published before?



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21 Mar 2011, 12:44 am

Jacob12 wrote:
That sounds really good! It sounds like it has a lot of potential. If you give your characters conflicting values and stuff and make a good story I bet you could get it published. Have you ever thought of publishing, or have you published before?

Thanks; and there's definitely a good amount of moral conflict and questionability going on, especially within Damien, when it comes to violence and sexual situations, due to significantly plot-relevant reasons (and not actually because he has a history of violence and/or promiscuity- he's actually quite the opposite, really). A lot of stress is put on various relationships (and not just exclusively his) as well, because of it. Along with that, there's all the ethical questions and arguments that come with your standard of cyberpunk themes- invasion of privacy, cybernetic augmentation, information availability, etc.

I've considered publishing before, but not seriously. Nothing I've written so far, I feel, is really worthy of publication before this. Post Black (the novel's working, and probably final title) is the first thing I've written that I'd seriously consider sending to a publisher.

That, and (yet another side-note) with all the work I've put into it, I even know exactly what each of the characters look like, and even have photos of people who look almost exactly like them on my computer. Kind of creepy, in a way, but it helps me visualize the story and character interactions a bit better.


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27 Mar 2011, 12:13 am

I write a lot of short stories, some as short as 300 or even 100 words (drabbles). Mostly fanfiction! I tend to write darker stories, with themes of self-discovery and redemption. Also, I like to write erotic stories.



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27 Mar 2011, 5:43 pm

Jacob12 wrote:
What's it about?


It's about a guy who is stuck in a somewhat haunted beach house after escaping from a bonfire he got tricked into attending. He imagines an actress he likes is there with him through his MP3 player.

The story does refer to three actresses I will admit to having crushes on.

Hint 1: Red hair, green eyes, raspy voice


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