Congrats on writing, Rob! I haven't written anything for the Mayan Anthology I don't know if I will. I have so many other projects I'm working on right now. I'm not a 'seasoned veteran' nor am I anyone of importance but I do write

For me, I have to have my story plotted out. I know my characters before I even start typing the first words. On longer stories I give myself some space to weave the storylines from one point to the next but in shorter stories I tend to keep everything tight and fast moving with little room for waltzing throught the tulips as a distraction, but that's just me!

As far as posting, I don't start posting until I have atleast half the story done, so I have back-up chapters to post as I'm writing and finishing. Some chapters take longer than others and I would hate to get to a point where I don't have anything ready to go and I'm rushing and producing non-par quality or giving readers nothing at all.

Completed vs ongoing stories- It depends on what is going on in my life. I love to sit down and read a story in one shot but if I check out a new story and get super exccited I will come back for the updates, but be warned, I am a pain in the ass when I have to wait!!! I bug authors who I have to wait for with kind but proding nudges, LOL! ((More damn it!))

Writing blocks or when a story goes astray are hard. I've only had 1 GA story that I had to remove because I got about 5 chapters in and the plot went south. Everything felt wrong and awkward and I couldn't recover it. I've sat it aside and hope to come back to it one day. Just last week I wrote a short story that my beta/editor told me the beginning was great, the middle alright but the ending was awful! So I shredded it and started over from the start and let the story lead me on a brand new path, that I think turned out soooo much better.

Hope this helps you with your writing. This is just a glimps into how my crazy mind works when I'm trying to write!

Kc

I love hearing about when people enjoy writing. It is such a rush when the words start to come.

I like both long and short stories, but there is always a little trepidation when I start reading an ongoing work, because I am afraid that the writer will stop updating and just leave me hanging. Luckily, I don't find that happening too often on this site. But waiting for updates does drive me crazy sometimes

I'm not a seasoned veteran either, but I do like to write. I know that I would never post a long story until I have it complete. I made a mistake one time of posting something before I had the ending worked out and it was miserable trying to finish it. Some people find that having chapters posted help motivate them to write, for me it is the complete opposite. If I feel pressured to write because people are waiting for updates, then it feels like an obligation and sucks the fun out of it. If it's not fun to write, then that is when it gets really hard.

I usually have a vague idea of how a story is going to end and even less of an idea of how to get there, but if it is a short story, I'll dive in with no more of an idea then that. It makes it fun if I don't know how exactly things will happen and decide to figure it out on the way. Usually I just let my characters figure it out. They know what they are doing better than I do!

If it is a long story, I will sometimes use a basic outline, just to help keep me on track and help me make sure I don't wander into a gaping plot hole or such, but I always try to make sure I never have everything 100% planned out. Where's the fun in that?

The only time I've come across blocks have been one of two reasons. Either I had been hammering away at the story too long and needed to take a break. When that happens, I will usually tinker with some other story, and then come back to it. The other reason is usually because I am trying to make my characters do something that they don't like. I remember a point in a story line where my character was supposed to start doing something that was completely against his nature and no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to work and was just stuck. Then one morning, I was sitting in my car before going into work, which was where I would normally write down pieces of the story that I thought up during the drive into town. I was pissed off, because I had been hammering my head against that scene for weeks and was fuming (not a good state to be in when I was going to be facing patients in 15 minutes ). And then it just came to me, out of the blue, that I was taking the story in the wrong direction. I knew that, but I had been ignoring it because it would mean going back and deleting or revising over 10,000 words of writing I already had down. I might have hit my head against the steering wheel in frustration, I can't remember. But when I went back and made the necessary changes and let the plot follow it's natural course, the words came back. Incredible.

Anyhow, that is my strange little advice. I don't know it is is helpful, but I know it works for me (but I am a weirdo.) Good luck with your writing.

I don't have to tell you. To me, you are a very natural writer, no matter what you are writing. Can't wait to see what you are writing on the Mayan Anthology. I am sure it will be great. Hugs, and inspirtation

Jo ann

I'm with Joann, you are a very natural writer. Reading your shorts, especially the one with the race car driver, you do very well. I can't wait to read your story for the Mayan anthology!

1. Installment vs. full story-

It depends on how much I love the story. If I truly love it, I wait for the writer to finish, because once I hit the middle and there is no more chapters, it feels like I've been left hanging. So, I wait, until the writer is almost at the end of writing for those kinds of stories. Other stories I love the feeling of reading them like a show, anticipating the next week to read the new installment. I don't know, it goes both ways. I think it really has to do with the nature and mystery of the story, and will I go crazy if I can't have anymore soon.

2. Writer's block-

I put aside the story and start another one or concentrate on other things. I find if I try to keep working on the story I can't get right, things go very wrong. So, I put it aside, do all kinds of other things, like blogging, reading, research, pretty much procrastinating. A few days later, I come back read through what I already have and an idea usually pops in. Lately, I've gotten an editor for one of my stories, and I'll send him the draft of a chapter. I ask him 'is it crap?' His comments push me through the block most times, like a challenge. Love him for it. So, that's my way, very procrastinate-oriented. You know sometimes I put myself on a deadline to post a chapter, and will spend like two hours on it on the deadline day. Things flow very well when I have time constraints.

Enough about my thoughts, I can't wait to read your story, Yettie. !!

P.S. I actually love, love, love Maroon 5. Payphone is a great song.