# My Kind of Writing



## Nacian (Sep 8, 2011)

I think writing begins with one self .
It has to be.
It makes sense because writing is easier to execute.

I like reading real stories. I find them fascinating because they are related to people and are a fact of life.
So I found myself  thinking up a new movement/genre to writing.
A new idea, a different direction if you like, to make writing accessible to everyone.
So I came up with 'PROGRESSIVE' writing. 
Progressive  because it is set in the past, but written in the present.
Let me explain.

So one ,say, begins by writing down stories that happened in one's life .
Let say events from the past.
I would call it a 'compilation 'of  'Life Stories'.
I would include stories from childhood, growing up, events, incidents ,travelling, childhood friends  and plays.
Anyhting related to one's memories and life experiences.

I find writing stories  related to me very easy to do and interesting to reread because I am the main character in them.
I know how to Begin, what the plots Are and I know how they End.

These characteristics makes writing a piece of cake, a doddle!!
After I have jotted down my chosen stories,  I will then take 'Progressive' as my style/genre.
I am my own editor so I will proceed to changing the stories into something different something better. 
Let's say one incident I can think of revoke upsets  or brings back bad memorie for me to write  and for others to read, so I will introduce new facts and ideas to improve my stories.
I will give them the feel good factor.
I call it 'perfecting' my stories.
I have, with the use of Progressive concept,  in fact removed unwanted feelings, upsets  or bad memories.
I have given my stories a fresher view, MY view, and turned  down them into something sensational that would guarantee a unique read.
I can just imagine how successful the whole concept might become because it involves everyone..
A whole new way of thinking and writing will be born, and everyone becomes one in just that very simple act that is writing.
This is magical because it involves all of us, as every single person has a story to tell.
Where better to start writing then with MYSELF,  about myself, my past, present  and my better futur.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 8, 2011)

Congratulations on the effort you’ve put in to describing this concept, Nacian, however – and I’m truly sorry for raining on your parade – a large proportion of what you have outlined – not all, but a large proportion - is more-or-less the way in which a great many existing stories, including best-sellers, were written. In its simplest form, it’s called “Write what you know.” The writer takes an extract from his or her life and uses it as a basis for a more exciting piece of fiction. I do it all the time.


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## Nacian (Sep 9, 2011)

Hey thank for reading it OX.
I was not aware it was already out there..I have yet to go a library and buy popular reading by everyday people.
My idea here to encourage every single one of us to put pen topaper to write a best seller that about them set in an ideal world.
Thank you for yoru valued opinion it is very much appreciated.:joyous:


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## nerot (Sep 9, 2011)

I couldn't agree with you more about the value of writing.  I have found that writing is therapeutic and transformative for me.  For many years I wanted to write but never could get it off the ground until I started writing about what I saw in front of me and my personal experiences.  Not only did my writing take on authenticity but my life started to take on authenticity.

Thank you for your post as it reminds me of why I write and I needed a little jump start today.

Nerot


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## Divus (Sep 9, 2011)

Nacian
Like Ox, I would say that '_My Kind of Writing' i_s exactly what many of we mature writers are already doing.
What we oldies find so difficult to accept is that many young people don't really believe that what we used to do is what they do now. 
In some ways we did more because more was permissible.

As a hobby in old age, a few years ago  I started to write profusely about what had happened in my life some decades ago.    Some of the happenings  I 
still do not feel free to write about because the people who would be the subjects of the stories are still alive.     So I don't.

What would be the point for me to try writing fiction, when truth is so much stranger than fiction.

I don't have to dream up story lines, all I have to do is remember events.     Then sometimes I might add a bit of glamour, or humour or pathos.

The question is whether what I now write about my life is classifiable as_ 'non-fiction' _under which heading  I mostly chose to post the work.   
Should it, as you seem to suggest,  be called something else?

I am not keen on '_*Progressive' *_ - but for me *'Reactive*' might work.

Dv


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## Nacian (Sep 9, 2011)

Hi Divus
Writing is like painting...it depends on which mood you're in.
Also as a writer it is always good practice to write both progressive and reactive to test your waters and see what attracts more and why?
I personally would like to read stories who have a real life base but also incorporate magic..by that unusual denouement/ending becaue that is when your ability as a writer really shows.
We are all natural narrators of our own life experiences but what will make us stood out from the rest is that extra ability to turn an everday story to  something totally out of the ordinary.
This is what will keep the reader coming back for more.
That something special about one everyday story that turned into something no one ever told or written about.
Does that make sense?


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## Divus (Sep 9, 2011)

If I am to equate writing with another creative activity  it would not be painting, it would be with cooking.

The objective of cooking is to appease the appetite of a guest with an edible blend of tasty food. 

The problem for the cook is to know what the visitor likes to eat and how it should be flavoured.

The cook has no chance to appeal if he/she can't cook and doesn't know how to blend the ingredients and spices so that they produce the desired taste. 

Sometimes a feast can be as simple as a cheese omelette, fresh crusty bread and a carafe of good wine.

Success of a meal will be largely  a matter of taste - much the same as the opinion on an article by a reader.

The big problems for both cook and writer is usually that one can't please everyone all of the time.

And that some people have lousy taste.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 9, 2011)

Nacian said:


> We are all natural narrators of our own life experiences but what will make us stood (sic) out from the rest is that extra ability to turn an everday story to something totally out of the ordinary.
> This is what will keep the reader coming back for more.


No matter how you dress up the words, this is still no more than what any writer does when wishing to write realistic fiction. They simply take what they know, add a few exciting bits to it, and it becomes a new story.


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## Cricri (Sep 13, 2011)

Sir Ox and Divus,
I think you are both very wise in your comments :
Sir Ox on "write about what you know"
Divus on how "oldies have done it before"
Both of so true.

Have a nice day, 
Cricri


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## Bluesman (Sep 13, 2011)

It,s an interesting idea but i can't help thinking it's just like an autobiography - wouldn't it be simpler to simply write your life story rather than embelish it with add on,s ? 

Perhaps this mix of real and unreal is the point and i,m missing it !


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi there..
The point is to make reading surreal without the nitty gritty bits of reality.
I am sure if we were to compare all our past experiences we would agree they would be similar.
So to take out them of this similarity if you like, another create another window, a unique one which will bring these 'commonlife experiences to another level never seen or heard before.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

_WHAT? Sacr_é_ Bleu!_


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Sacre Bleu?? Haha...did I say something wrong?


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

Surreal = weirdly unfamiliar, bizarre, distorted, or disturbing, like the experiences in a dream.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Not necessarily.
Surreal mean out of the ordinary for me. Something never seen/heard before.
Not distorted just different.


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## Bluesman (Sep 13, 2011)

I think you are the Salvadore Dali of writing, perhaps you could give us an example so we can understand it better ? I know and understand we all use our understanding and knowledge of life to make stories and i guess we put ourselves into everything we write. I just struggle with the idea your trying to convey.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Ok let's explore something that we all might have in common.
Teenage anxieties for example.
Let's say that you liked this girl you have seen whilst at school.
You were very shy but you wanted to ask her out.
So you asked your friend to ask her for you.
The answer was no and that was disheartening for you and so stayed with you for a while.
Now here is  how you write about it.
Instead of telling us about the disappointment and how it did not work out,  you are going to tell us it in surreal way/magical way.
You saw this girl.
You asked your friend to ask her out.
It turned out that on that same day she had asked  her friend to ask you out too.
That is surreal because you both thought of the same thing and at the same time and in the same way.
This makes a better read because this version is surreal and unique and more interesting.
Does it make sense?


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

These are the new rules of English, are they? Just attach one's own meaning to any word. Wow. I've lived too long.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Haha...this how I have always understood it truly.
I am only telling my version of it..haha.
I am making no rules in anyhting I promise...lol.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

Anyway, we assume that the central character, the original asker and the asked, is one and the same person. Why then did the girl say No? She’d already asked her friend to ask him for her. You make no sense.


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## Bluesman (Sep 13, 2011)

Yes it does make sense and i better understand your meaning, but is that not what we do anyway ? When you write a story or a prose you use your truth and add or redress it to make it more readable more digestable. There is saying i,m reminded of a something someone said. 

                                    In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his  subject. Actually, he keeps chiselling away at the inessentials until  the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. it means to minimize, in other words to hack away the unessential.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Bluesman said:


> Yes it does make sense and i better understand your meaning, but is that not what we do anyway ? When you write a story or a prose you use your truth and add or redress it to make it more readable more digestable. There is saying i,m reminded of a something someone said.
> 
> In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his  subject. Actually, he keeps chiselling away at the inessentials until  the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. it means to minimize, in other words to hack away the unessential.



Yes that is so.
When I wrote this up I was thinking competition.
So in order for your true stories to stand out from the crowd you  have to ensure that credibilty as a writer is that of no one else.
Otherwise it is all been said before and that is when your style of writing comes in .
Ithas to be that a bit more 'zingy' if you like.
Easy but enticing if you see what I mean.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> Anyway, we assume that the central character, the original asker and the asked, is one and the same person. Why then did the girl say No? She’d already asked her friend to ask him for her. You make no sense.


The writer is the one who asked her out in his real life.
So she answered NO in real life.
Now the writer will rewrite his/her story by retouching it this way.
He asked his friend to ask her out for him and as it turned out the girl had also asked her friend to ask him out too.
Two very different outcomes.
I like the second outcome.
Do I make sense?


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

Where are my boots? I'm going outside to hill some beans.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> Where are my boots? I'm going outside to hill some beans.





:rofl:
So sorry....are you sure it the beans season???


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## Divus (Sep 13, 2011)

Constantly, when I have decided to post a new thread I am faced with the dilemma of which forum to use.   
Mostly the choice comes down to 'fiction' or 'non-fiction'.

Recently Ox questioned my placing an article, one which was very obviously based on personal experience,  under 'fiction'.    The article was not completely factual - indeed I had deliberately made some changes in order to make difficult  the identification of the participants in the piece.

In the past, mostly I have erred towards posting under 'non fiction'.     But often in such articles I have 'uplifted' a bare description of events with a little author's licence.    I am seeking to draw out from the reader that smile, or laugh or tear or pang of conscience.  

When I am writing about horses or dogs, often I am deliberately trying to pin prick the reader's memory of a similar experience in  his/her life.
But in nearly all cases the inspiration for the piece was an event in my  own life with horses.      I readily accept that when I am writing  about an empathy in my own mind towards horses that a broad swathe of readers, even horse riders, will have no interest in reading beyond the first few paragraphs.   To many humans a horse is an animal  whereas I see them as indivual creatures with unique emotions. 

As for linking writing with cooking - all I can say is that there is no point in spending a lot of time preparing a mexican dish - if the guest doesn't like chili.

With writing, in many cases the author is aiming to hit  the reader  on a sensitive  nerve which already exists in the reader.  
The writer is seeking commonality in the reader.

Once I wrote some pure fiction articles   and I found myself writing about cold, deep, dark green water and an out of world creature which looked like a crayfish.   For a ex scuba diver such as myself, that wasn't a difficult scene for me  to describe.

After giving thought to this question of: 'from where do we draw our inspiration?' - I feel it can only rarely be anything other than from our own experiences.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Divas you did your writing is like cooking and there is no point in giving something not so likable to a guest that would not appreciate it.
A dinner party for me works out this way.
Yes it is about food and guests but it is also about you preparing that food.
It is also about the unknown and what the guest is going to sample.
Hopefully it would be something he/she has never eaten before, something new.
It is also about wine and being jolly and relaxed and of course and most importantly about the good time, the conversations and stories shared during dinner.
It is all this together.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

Nacian said:


> :rofl:
> So sorry....are you sure it the beans season???



On this side of the planet, yes. We do seem to be having a spot of bother with the spaghetti vines this season, though. Aphids.


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## Divus (Sep 13, 2011)

Ah I think I live on a different planet to Nacian.

I was always told never to experiment on one's friends with cooking - give them something you know how to cook and preferably what you know your friends 
will like to eat.    Choosing to leave a half eaten plate is an embarassment for both host and guest. 

As for wine, marvellous stuff - it creeps up on the guests.   It loosens their tongue.  Encourages them to say what they really think.
Wine is also good for the host -it numbs him/her to the nasty or sarcastic comments.     Wine keeps the host smiling.
Then it becomes the excuse for the host  when bored to go to sleep in the arm chair.
Trouble is, I can't think of a literary equivalent for either the red or the white..


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## The Backward OX (Sep 13, 2011)

I think we _all_ live on a different planet to Nacian.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

> Wine is also good for the host -it numbs him/her to the nasty or sarcastic comments.     Wine keeps the host smiling


Have you been told nasty stuff whilst at dinner parties??


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Divus said:


> Ah I think I live on a different planet to Nacian.
> 
> I was always told never to experiment on one's friends with cooking - give them something you know how to cook and preferably what you know your friends
> will like to eat.    Choosing to leave a half eaten plate is an embarassment for both host and guest.
> ...



Wine means Red to me.
White means Champagne.
There is no in between for me anyway.
Do tell....why has the host fallen asleep??


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> I think we _all_ live on a different planet to Nacian.


Oh no...why do you say that haha..


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## Divus (Sep 13, 2011)

Have I ever gone to sleep at a dinner party????                               Lots of times.
Have I ever got up from the table and gone to my armchair?            Increasingly with ageing
Have I ever  gone to bed, whilst the guests were still in the house?   I have been known to.

I don't do the cooking, nor the inviting, nor the washing up.    
'Her indoors' does all that and on most occasions she does a pretty good job.
But she doesn't post on writing forums.

As for hearing 'nasty' stuff - well depends on what you mean by 'nasty'.


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## Nacian (Sep 13, 2011)

Haha...I was quoting what you had said about wine and host and how it helped keeping things smoothish.
Something about comments??


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## jim rose (Sep 21, 2011)

The structure is that of a prose poem, not a good choice for your subject in my opinion. The idea is good, but the execution incongruent in several places. I suggest you trying sprinkling in a little '2nd person' in this, using the word YOU, to draw the reader in. 
Thanks


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## Nacian (Sep 21, 2011)

Thank you that for jim rose..that is a brilliant idea.
Will put that into practice next time:thumbr:


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