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A few questions for writers


  • pink polka
    Aug 8 4:56 PM
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    1. Pen or pencil when you write?
    2. Computer or paper?
    3. are the werewolf/vampire stories overused?

  • Oddities
    August 8

    Reply
    yes, yes, and yes.

    • pink polka
      August 8

      Reply
      That's not a yes or no question to the first two...

  • Barbara
    August 8

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    Whatever I grab when the thought hits. I've even used crayon before.

    I use both. Or, if I'm out, I'll voice memo myself on the cell phone, or even call home to leave a message.

    Generic ones are. It's the trick to make it unique enough to seem new.

  • CactusJack
    August 8

    Reply
    always pen, never pencil.
    I use both. I like to have a notebook on me just in case inspiration hits when I'm out and about.
    They are extremely overused. But that doesn't mean all the stories about them suck. A particular topic can become overused for many reasons, one being that so many people like to read/write them. That's never a bad thing.
  • I prefer pen.

    I like using the computer, it's easier to correct and I feel like I can type faster than I can write... Plus my hand would cramp up too much if I wrote on paper.

    I suppose.

  • scriptor
    August 9

    Reply
    #1 pen
    #2 is computer
    3# yes

  • pink polka
    August 10

    Reply
    1, pen!
    2. paper
    3. Uh, yeah.

  • Pyro Fish
    August 11

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    1) pencil instead of pen, (when possible) for writing down shopping lists/phone numbers that sort of thing
    2)word proccessor instead of paper if i'm going to do "writing"
    3)vampire stories are over used as the direct result of Anne Rice's "Vampire Cronicles" series, these books make so much money that a lot of lazy people think that they can make "easy money" just by having vampires in the story with-out going through any kind of effort to actually make the story be well-written
    having said that
    i'm gonna say that for me personnaly, i think Laurell K Hamilton's "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" series is actually better than Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles"
    as for the werewolves being over-used?
    what the hell?
    insofar as what i've seen, were-wolf fiction is really rare, especially in proportion to how much vampire fiction is out there, so i can't really see how any one can say that werewolf fiction is "over-used"

    • angellove
      November 19

      Reply
      Anne Rice doesn't even write about vampires anymore. She's working on her third book about Jesus. Major switch, I know.

  • Myryca
    August 14

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    1. Whatever's handy when I get an idea I want to jot down but pen if I have a choice.

    2. Computer all the way. For some reason I can't write for shiz if I do it by hand.

    3. Yeah probably but everyone loves a good action/kick butt type story (which is what I find rip off vampire stories are usually about).

  • yoshi97
    August 14

    Reply
    1. Keyboard only

    2. Computer

    3. The werewolf/vampire story market is highly flooded, but these stories are currently doing well. For those entering the genre late it could be a difficult sell, but the demand is definitely there.

  • Tiger-Lily
    August 14

    Reply
    1. Hate both but need them to jot down a totally random idea.

    2. I love my laptop. Much easier too.

    3. Vampires are effing overused. Look at Twilight and Lestat! They've made vampires a joke. A good series is Vampire Academy, where the vamps actually have original personalities. Werewolves are considerably less overused, but I think Remus Lupin's the most satisfying one I've yet read of.

    • pink polka
      August 14

      Reply
      I love Lupin too. Didn't he die?

      What's Lestat? And Vamp academy?

      • Tiger-Lily
        August 14

        Reply
        Lupin did die!!!

        Lestat is Anne Rice's vampire from her Vampire chronicles.

        Vampire Academy is great. XD

        • pink polka
          August 14

          Reply
          I heard Anne Rice is great though.

          poor Lupin. Iloved him...

          what's vampire academy about?

    • Barbara
      August 14

      Reply
      I used to say that I would rather shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails and light them on fire than read a vampire story. Then, I stumbled upon a Sherrilyn Kenyon book, and didn't realize it was 'vampire-ish' until I was almost done. ('cause the vampires are not referred to as vampires... they're given a different name, attitude and overall background story). And the writing was great... the actions hot, the 'other action' hotter... within the first five months, I'd read over 15 of the novels. It has werewolves, too, I guess... only they're not werewolves, but beings that can take wolf or human form, and don't do the howling, killing thing while drooling at victims. The live among us

      I can't get 'into' any other series like it, though... I've tried Laurel K. Hamilton(I think that's her name), and she bores me...Anne(Ann?) Rice, too.


  • Dun
    August 14

    Reply
    1. Pen when I absolutely have to do paper.

    2. I despise writing on paper. It's way too slow and my penmanship is terrible. I type mucho fast and love it.

    3. Big time. I would like to round up all werewolves and vampires, tie them up in a giant burlap sack and throw it in a raging river for a burlap-wrapped waterous death match where all contestants die. However, when said genre is written well I don't mind reading it. Good writing is good writing. But I sure as hell won't go looking for it.

  • Arthur-Jaz
    August 19

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    1. Pen. Black ink. Has to be black ink. Don't know why.

    2. Rough draft on notebook paper, succeeding drafts on computer. Journal in a notebook.

    3. Yeah.

  • AmethystFire
    August 19

    Reply
    1. I prefer pen over pencil. It feels better in my hand.

    2. I'll use both, but I use the computer more and as a result I'm becoming slightly too dependent on it.

    3. I think so, yes.

    --Aden

  • Terry-too
    August 20

    Reply
    1. I left pen and pencil behind years ago. Editing on computer is much easier and does not need a "clean copy." (I got clean-copied to death when I was in school. Even an erasure was a no-no!)

    Memos are another matter but they are not about writing...just as reminders added to the spittance-pile of tasks to do.

    That reminds me of one that got elbowed aside last month.
    Same fate this month with the demands on shrinking time.

    2. Computer all the way. Why do things twice when once will do?

    3. I avoid vampires so I don't know.

    --Terry

  • Bitter Irony
    August 20

    Reply
    1. Pen.
    2. Computer.
    3. YES! You know a supernatural creatures that ISN'T overdone? Ghouls. I'm a Ghoul-fangirl--mentally, every time I read a vampire story, I change the main character to a ghoul instead. It makes it a lot funnier, if nothing else!

  • wolfcub
    August 22

    Reply
    Pen.
    Computer (except when I haven't got a computer and I do admit those bits I write on paper are generally better)
    No. It's just because they're slightly popular atm. Next fantasy book that comes out, we'll all be hating stories with whatever species that uses.

  • Shikasgirl
    September 16

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    1.)pencil
    2.)both
    3.)yes. way way yes.

  • Emikins
    September 17

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    1) Pencil or black pen, and only black pen. The pencil has to be specific, which is why i sometimes use pen, easier to get your hand on. Similarly, the paper has to be specific.

    2) So sometimes, I will use the computer. But I love to write on paper, i always write on paper. But i'm neurotic. If my hand writing doesn't look good enough, I panic and can't keep writing. Computers are good at those moments. Make it easier if i'm having a neurotic attack.

    3) It is hard to make them original. I wish someone would and I love it when they do.

  • grumplestilskein
    September 17

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    1. A pen that writes beautifully.
    2. For journaling or taking notes, paper. For essays or general composition, I prefer to type straight into word.
    3. The topic still fascinates me and has potential, though not too many can make it as amazing as it could be.

  • HopelessDreams
    September 20

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    1. Pencil..It's all about being erasable!
    2. Paper!
    3. I think vampires are being overkilled. Anne Rice has a certain depth that I can't seem to see in any of the other vampire books I've read. As for werewolves, never heard of even one book so no I guess?

  • Mintzs
    September 29

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    1. When I occasionally write on paper, it's with a pencil. I get so frustrated when I have to cross mistakes out instead of just erase them.
    2. I mostly use a computer to write. There's less chance of losing it, or having it somehow destroyed. It has back up files.
    3. I think they're very overused. It's about time we see some new creatures take the spotlight.

    • Barbara
      September 29

      Reply
      Even when I write with a pencil, I cross out errors... erasing takes me out of that writing zone, and I can lose a good idea. Besides, I have to decode my 'henscratching' anyway, so erasing wouldn't actually help.

  • MorbidCupcake
    September 30

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    1. Pencial incase I mess up or wanna change things.
    2. I really like computers and typing when I'm writing because you can get what your thoughts down as fast as they come, where as when youre writing on paper you cant write as fast. Most of the time Im not near a computer when I think of something or wanna write though, but I mostly use both.
    3. They are starting to get overused but it depends on how theyre written. If you change the way people think of them or make the story line interesting it can be okay.

  • GuitarShank
    September 30

    Reply
    1- Pen. Pilots to be example.
    2- Computer. Easier to read, easier to write, etc.
    3- Probably, but I think that the ridiculousness of their predecessors has made them overused much quicker than elves and dwarfs became overused.

  • Lady Editor
    September 30

    Reply
    Pen....provded there's ink; if not, a pencil will suffice.

    I use both paper and computer; it depends on where I am when the idea strikes...sort of as random as lightening.

    The werewolf/vampire theme has been around for ages, but there are always new ways of looking at them, which will lead them to sticking around for a lot longer.
  • Neither my handwritings dreadful lawl, do all writers have messy hand? Computer, though I wish paper and yeh they are a little.

  • PorSiempre
    October 8

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    Pencil all the way. Pens are only useful for writing on yourself.

    It depends on the story. I almost always do poetry on paper, but for stories it really depends. For instance the one I'm working on right now is impossible to do on paper, but the one directly before it I could not bring myself to write on the computer.

    I hate this controversy. This /question/ is overused.
  • Pen - actually. I like the fluidity more ... pencil marks smudge.

    And actually - I like the computer much better, and only use paper for random plot musings and sketches of settings and the like. I find I edit a LOT - so Word is useful - no erasing or crossing out, just the nice backspace key.

    I wouldn't read a vampire/werewolf story unless it were really original. In the same spirit - I wouldn't write one unless Ihad a rollicker of a plot.

    RJ

  • spikeyness
    October 11

    Reply

    Interesting you should mention that...

    ...pen and paper is supposed to be one of those things every writer should try, as a break from using the pooter. It helps with writer's block, and because of the creative loop of pen to hand to brain and back again to the paper, it unlocks ideas as the writing progresses.
    I use pen and paper for all first drafts. The rewrite comes when it's all typed up for submission. It's tedious, but it pays off.

  • Zanny
    October 21

    Reply
    Pencil.
    Computer.
    Yes.

  • sarahhitch
    October 30

    Reply
    I have to say to the first two questions it would be pen, then both. I have a notebook where I have all my ideas, and notebook where all the info goes on each story. So yeah, both.

    On the last question, a big yeah. YEAH.

  • Out-Of-Eden
    November 7

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    1. I'd rather use a pencil.
    2. The computer is my writing god.
    3. Yes vampire/werewolf stories are overused..in my opinion.

  • angelaononchan
    November 16

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    1. I'd rather use a pencil because if I made a mistake, I'd rather rub it off than cross it out. But, I have quite messy handwriting so I type on the computer.
    2.If it was story writing, it would be computer. I type more because I have messy handwriting so my writing looks messy if I write stuff. But sometimes, me and my friends make plays and I tend to draft plays out.
    3.Yes, they are over used alot, I don't even like them or write them so I say to myself, why should I pick up a book about werewolves and vamprires when I hate it?

  • Werewolf Avarus
    November 17

    Reply
    1. I use pen my pencils are for art
    2. either.
    3. The typical were' and vamps storylines are over used, but give them enough of a twist and then they're not.

  • angellove
    November 19

    Reply
    1. Pen (I always get ink on my hands. The mark of my writing.)

    2. Computer (I tried a typewriter a couple times and wanted to throw it out the window.

    3. I don't read hardly any werewolf/vampire stories, so I don't know the market.

  • nekoshema
    November 28

    Reply
    1~black ink pen
    2~both, but it's anoying typing it out, so those stories [normally my best] stay in the closet filed under 'TYPE UP ALREADY!'
    3~ vampire, i guess, werewolf, i don't hear about many. i've written a few stories involving the two... but the count is really one with a vampire and a werewolf, three with just a vampire, zero with just werewolf.
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