Has anyone ever told you this or some variation there of? "You know what you should write about?" Or my personal favorite, "You know what would be a good chapter/idea for your book?" And does it make your butt want to chew on a strand of barbed wire as much as it does mine when you get asked this?
Ever Had This Happen to You?
- Thread starter -B-
- Start date
- Status
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2007
- Messages
- 3,802
- Reaction score
- 465
- Location
- Canada
- Website
- www.linneaheinrichs.com
All the time and some people are pretty persistent. The usual one I get is, "Here's my fantastic idea. You should write a book about it." My reply is generally something along the lines of, "If you're passionate about the idea, maybe you should write a book about it."
Quite a bit. If my ball-withering glare doesn't work, I tell them to F-off.
thethinker42 posted a thread about this subject recently. How would you have responded?
thethinker42 posted a thread about this subject recently. How would you have responded?
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 19,001
- Reaction score
- 6,979
- Location
- At some altitude
- Website
- www.jamie-mason.com
Sure it happens, but it doesn't upset me. I'm always pretty pleased when someone wants to talk about writing. I've been amazed at how many people think it's 'cool'. I am not, by default, very cool.
I'm happy when creative writing is treated as a vibrant, current topic. It makes me feel less pointless.
I'm happy when creative writing is treated as a vibrant, current topic. It makes me feel less pointless.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
- Messages
- 12,326
- Reaction score
- 4,292
It's usually one of my husband's relatives (**cough**an aunt in particular**) who seems to think I should write about their crazy family.
I smile and say, "I would, but I don't write horror."
To everyone else, I say, "Hmmm.... that does sound fascinating..." (imagine the condescension in my voice.)
Yes. I am a bitch. ANd proud of it.
I smile and say, "I would, but I don't write horror."
To everyone else, I say, "Hmmm.... that does sound fascinating..." (imagine the condescension in my voice.)
Yes. I am a bitch. ANd proud of it.
Every time my dad and I discuss writing he always fixes me with a certain look of mischief and sincerity and says "Hey, I know what you should write about! It's about an island and a plane crashes there...and there's zombies..."
Now we have this conversation:
Dad: I have an idea for a book...
Me: Does it have an island?
Dad: Yes!
Me: Plane crash?
Dad: What a great idea!
Me: And zombies?
Dad: Now that you come to mention it...
We must have had this conversation fifty or a hundred times and it never gets old.
Now we have this conversation:
Dad: I have an idea for a book...
Me: Does it have an island?
Dad: Yes!
Me: Plane crash?
Dad: What a great idea!
Me: And zombies?
Dad: Now that you come to mention it...
We must have had this conversation fifty or a hundred times and it never gets old.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 6,072
- Reaction score
- 4,324
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2008
- Messages
- 471
- Reaction score
- 59
- Location
- California
- Website
- talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com
I had another author at a convention tell me that eventually I was going to write an alien romance story. I said, "I'm not sure..." to which she replied, "Yes, you will." So I went home and designed a story that I call my "alien unromance." She mightn't have been right, but she did give me a good idea of another sort.
My partner read one of my MG novels and then she told me, "It's good, but it should be about X, and Y, and Z." And I said, "Well, I intentionally didn't make it about any of those things, because I didn't want to." So she said, "But that's what your book should be about." And I said, "OK, why don't you write the book about those things?" I was really annoyed by the idea that she thought she knew better than I did what my book was about and what the themes in it ought to be.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2005
- Messages
- 4,827
- Reaction score
- 336
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Website
- home.comcast.net
I actually like hearing random suggestions from other people, even better if they actually have some basis in what I'm already writing. If I don't like the idea in my current story, but the idea itself is interesting, set it aside for possible use in another story. Sometimes the idea is so absurd I get a good laugh out of it. If I just don't like the idea, I ignore it, no harm done or reason to get annoyed.
Yeah, it's generally annoying to me. I think the most befuddling one was when someone that I didn't even know thought I should write about her crazy family. Before I even thought, I said 'why the fuck would I do that?' The woman looked at me funny. For some reason.
Like Perks, I generally like talking about my writing and I appreciate it when others want to talk about it. But there's a difference between talking about my writing, and talking about what they think I should write. It would be like me walking up to someone and randomly telling them how I think they should do their job. That would not be acceptable, so I don't understand why it's acceptable to do it to a writer.
Like Perks, I generally like talking about my writing and I appreciate it when others want to talk about it. But there's a difference between talking about my writing, and talking about what they think I should write. It would be like me walking up to someone and randomly telling them how I think they should do their job. That would not be acceptable, so I don't understand why it's acceptable to do it to a writer.
It isn't. And I'll show the next person who tries to tell me what to write the sharp end of my tongue.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 19,001
- Reaction score
- 6,979
- Location
- At some altitude
- Website
- www.jamie-mason.com
I think the difference is in intent. If I told the cashier at the supermarket how to do her job, or a surgeon, or a cop, there wouldn't be any way to do it without intent to assert that I knew better than they do.
When it comes to floating ideas for writing projects, I've never seen it where it wasn't just conversational. It may happen, but it hasn't happened to me, so that's all I can go on. They want to talk about writing and it reminds them of some element in their lives that could, in their minds, make a nice story.
All of the edges of my tongue are sharp, I think.
Oh, yeah, it does have a lot to do with intent, to a certain extent. Almost no one who does this has bad intent, and I try to keep that in mind. But I guess what it is for me is the tendency people have to think writing is easy, where they would never think that--or at least they'd never readily display that attitude--about the cop's job, or the surgeon's job, or even the cashier's job. It isn't socially acceptable to do so.
They approach writing with an attitude of 'oh, you could just bang that out in five minutes'. Like it's a kid's finger-painting to go on the refrigerator. It get's old.
Another reason it gets so old to me too is that I co-run a writers' group, so I get this stuff A LOT. Hobbyists stopping by the group constantly (we welcome hobbyists, but they are a different breed of writer) and people who are just curious, etc. I come in contact with the 'I'll-just-bang-out-this-novel-in-5-minutes-and-make-a-quick-million-dollars' crowd quite a lot. It gets old.
I usually hear it from some friends X3
"You know what's a REALLY good idea for your book?"
I usually listen just to be polite, though. And who knows? They might have some good ideas ^-^
Even if I don't like thier idea, I still find it kinda flattering that they like my work and think I'm a good writer~
"You know what's a REALLY good idea for your book?"
I usually listen just to be polite, though. And who knows? They might have some good ideas ^-^
Even if I don't like thier idea, I still find it kinda flattering that they like my work and think I'm a good writer~
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 19,001
- Reaction score
- 6,979
- Location
- At some altitude
- Website
- www.jamie-mason.com
I've heard this type of interaction in these threads over the years and I guess I'd have to admit I don't know how I'd handle it.
No one who has ever talked to me about writing or ideas has ever spoken to me like this, so that's a big difference, granted.
Oh, I certainly wouldn't say it's the majority of people who I come in contact with. Most people are supportive, think it's cool, say they don't know how writers do it, etc. But every once in a while there's just this attitude like you're working on your cute little hobby. Or the 'Oh, I've thought about writing a book' crowd--like banging out the quick book is something anyone can do with little to no thought; all you have to do is 'get around to it'. :/ Yeah... I come into contact with these people quite a lot.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 6,072
- Reaction score
- 4,324
To be honest, that's exactly what I thought when I first decided to write. I was quite surprised when I bought my first how-to book and saw the craft involved.
Same here - I've wrote a lot my whole life, not really paying much attention to grammar and spelling.
Now that I'm actually writing a book I plan to have published, there's a LOT more to it than what I thought at first.
It can be hard work, yes, but I love writing and it's totally worth it
You learned, though. Because you went and bought a how-to book.
You did some research and discovered what writing is. The people I'm talking about didn't--and generally don't--yet they assume they know something. Evidently you weren't too know-it-all-ish since you felt the need to go get some literature on the subject. I do try to be patient. To an extent.
- Status