Have you ever written any fiction?

Have you ever written either short stories, or a long novel, or anything in between? Is your writing related to your political ideas?

 

I've written non fiction and yes for me it needs to be of interest and something I am passionate about or I get writers block

 

Most Liberals and even some Conservatives find many of my ideas offensive.

But then in USSR 50 years ago criticizing Communism could be not only offensive but also criminal.

 

You could ask someone who's opinion you value to read them before you post/publish them. The truth is in the current environment there are too many trolls, the odds of having your articles trolled is very high especially if they are controversial. Even if you disable comments, they may still be republished elsewhere and trolls may well rip your carefully crafted work to shreds. I'm hoping things will get better as Google and Facebook manage the trolls better, certainly as things are atm I wouldn't do it... not if it's controversial.

 

Yes, I got lots of practice with short stories and novellas on Zoetrope. Then self published three westerns and a Sci-fi on Amazon kindle. All fiction and none dealing with politics.

I have another fiction one ready based on my personal experiences in Southeast Asia, but this one I want on paper so I am keeping a close hold on it.

 

Definitely -- I have Moderate Autism and Moderate Depression, thus I avoid high profile which would put me in the mix of a flame war. Thus, I post on relatively small forums rather then on large Social Networks.

 

WOW. Did you make any money?

 

Not really, I usually get between 10-15 dollars a month put into my bank account from Amazon. It was a hobby. A friend of mine introduced me to Zoetrope where I basically learned how to write. Then I expanded on the short stories to a Novella and finally into a novel. Once in novel form, I self published. I was just interested to see how they would do.

I think I could have made a lot more if I had taken the time to promote the books like Amazon said I should. But it was break time. I started a couple more. Another western and one about lost treasure. It's probably time to get back to them. Break time is over. But I basically did them for fun and for the learning experience. The whole idea was to get good enough to write my memoirs of my time in Southeast Asia. Then I found out the Army would have to approve it. That's why I went to a fictional account.

 

I do. I was encouraged by positive reviews when I spontaneously entered the Ian St James new writers competition about 12 years ago - I love 'words' so thought I'd give it a go. I too only did it as a hobby, wrote 18, and I sold one to a tv company (I have no interest in selling any of the others, nor have tried to). The only criticism I had from the judge(s) of the competition was that I spent too long setting the scene and establishing the characters, so it was suggested that novellas were my forte. And my piece de resistance is a trilogy which covers three generations of two families, and loosely, but fairly accurately, autobiographical.

Oh and none are political.

 

I have written four short stories and am currently writing a novel.

 

Are there any good forums where I can post short stories to get feedback.

 

Are there any good forums/networks where I can post my short stories and get feedback?

 

Has anyone ever written fiction about revenge?

 

Yes, two, but the denouement of one of them (revenge against a serial rapist) was so violently graphic I decided to scrap it. Shame because it was a really good story-line. The second was violent, too (retribution against a habitual (as they always are?) paedophile), but I mitigated it with a beautiful closing scene for the erstwhile victim and, on her behalf, the avenger.**

** No prize for guessing the title of that one?

 

Yeah, never published.... Well, outside of say 10%+- of my online postings.... Purely for Teh LuLz I assure you.

 

Just the stuff I make up { as if whole cloth } about my real life.
Is all.

 

What was the revenge? How many pages did you write?

 

It was about 180 KB. The 'revenge' is too graphic to relate here.

 

In .pdf? The good thing about text is that it takes literally thousands of times less space then video. Where can .pdf files be hosted?

 

I wrote a tragic piece of historical fiction set in 18th century Louisiana; French settlers versus Native Americans. Good and bad guys on both sides.

My thought was that the "western" genre had already been done to death, while few books if any deal with the tensions between whites and Indians in the lower Mississippi. There were millions of Indians in the south and east, but the Comanches, Cheyennes and Apaches always got all the attention.

A disillusioned French priest who left the priesthood tries to help resolve the problem. I think it's a great story, and closely grounded in reality, but I've had no bites from publishers yet. I am letting it marinate on the shelf for a while, and then I'll maybe hire an editor to help m tighten up the dialogue.

 

No, MS Word.

 

Interesting. How many pages were in your story? Did you receive any formal education in writing?

 

MS Word can be easily saved as a .pdf file.

 

I used to, but after a couple of promotions at work, life became much more hectic, so I've never had the time to revisit it.

It was a passing hobby, really. I've always been a good writer, but never really interested in writing. Tried my hand at it to see if it would spark something.

Wound up publishing a mildly successful sci-fi book with a small publisher. They wanted more, but, I just didn't have the time.

 

Yes, six books, self-published.