Discussion topic: Rewards and Motivations.

[C James]

I thought it might be fun to have a free-for-all discussion thread, on Rewards and Motivations.

This is for both writers and GA members who post.

 

What is your motivation? What compels you to either write and post stories online, or to be an active member of a board or forum such as GA?

[Tiger]

I think I can answer both. What inspires me to write is not simply one thing. Sometimes, an idea will hit me, whether I'm reading or watching TV or coming across something in my daily life that inspires me. I also have an overactive imagination, and if I don't have writing as an outlet, I have to find others that aren't really constructive. As for posting, I often come across a topic (or think of one) that inspires me to say what's on my mind. I also like being part of the community.

[Graeme]

What is your motivation? What compels you to either write and post stories online, or to be an active member of a board or forum such as GA?

Simple questions with not so simple answers

 

Compels or compelled? My motivation has changed over time. My initial motivation was to see if I could write something original that was of decent quality. Educating my readers with some tidbits about Australia was a bonus. Today, however, my motivation is more in that I want to write something interesting. For example, I had some ideas for the recently released anthology but I never wrote them up because I just didn't feel that they would be interesting. They would have been okay, but they would have merged into a sea of similar stories. I don't want that.

 

A similar thing affects my posting on the forums. I find it hard to make a post that I don't think is contributing. I'll occasionally make a post to reinforce a point that someone else has made, but most of the time I won't post if I don't think I'm adding to what the thread is about.

 

Recently, I'm also finding my 'real-life' commitments are taking precedence over both my posting and my writing. I suppose that's a natural consequence of my boys getting older, but I do find it frustrating. I'd like to write more, but when I find the time I often don't find the motivation. The longer it is since I last wrote, the harder it is to get back to it, because I know I'll have review what I've already written before I can restart.

 

A question you didn't ask, but I'll answer anyway, is what inspired me to start writing in the first place. It was having what I thought was an original idea. I had been reading a lot of quality gay fiction, and Drake Hunter in particular (his site is, sadly, not longer on the Internet). In one of his stories, a character reflected on how he lost two friends when he came out -- one because he came out, and the other because he hadn't told them beforehand. It made me reflect on what the impact on a coming out would be on those around that person. There were lots of stories at that time about coming out, but only from the perspective of the person who came out. I decided to write a story from the perspective of one of that person's friends. Given David's initial attitude in New Brother, I was blown away by the response from the readers. I fully expected to get some flames, but even now, several years later, I've not had a single flame about that story. I've had people disagree with David (which is fair enough), but they've always been polite emails and willing to discuss the subject.

 

I no longer aim for the same level of originality that New Brother presented, but I still try to aim for something a little exceptional. There is so much variation in the human experience that the narrow focus of so many stories still irritates me (to varying degrees). Of course, I grew up on a diet of Science Fiction and Fantasy, so looking at things from an obscure perspective is something I've experience for a long time

[MikeL]

I am not an author, but I have posted a few poems on GA. Motivation? Beats me. It seems to come from strange places. I have written poems about:

 

1. A Bible passage on love (1st Corinthians 13: 4-13) which my friend Kit also used in one of his stories.

 

2. An unexpected reminder of a couple I know who split up and then tried to rebuild their relationship.

 

3. A brief phrase in a medical report which really jumped off the page when I first read it.

 

Upon reflection, those seem to be an odd combination of things which would provide inspiration for poems. The limericks? They reveal a real hodgepodge of motivators, including current events (a politician's success, a golfer's excess, a big political mess) and a few whimsical bits of philosophy.

 

There's another poem - my first poem in fact - which remains unpublished after 15 months of effort. It's just not quite right yet. It combines personal experiences reaching back more than forty years with anticipated experiences which lie ahead. It will be published...when the time is right.

Edited March 14, 2010 by MikeL

[JamesSavik]

For me it's all about the great sex I have with my thousands of fans.

 

Once we shake the paparazzi, it's off to the beach house and Woo-Hoo!

[C James]

I think I can answer both. What inspires me to write is not simply one thing. Sometimes, an idea will hit me, whether I'm reading or watching TV or coming across something in my daily life that inspires me. I also have an overactive imagination, and if I don't have writing as an outlet, I have to find others that aren't really constructive. As for posting, I often come across a topic (or think of one) that inspires me to say what's on my mind. I also like being part of the community.

 

That's well said! I'm pretty much the same; things occur to me, and nag at me if I don't write them down.

 

Simple questions with not so simple answers

 

Compels or compelled? My motivation has changed over time. My initial motivation was to see if I could write something original that was of decent quality. Educating my readers with some tidbits about Australia was a bonus. Today, however, my motivation is more in that I want to write something interesting. For example, I had some ideas for the recently released anthology but I never wrote them up because I just didn't feel that they would be interesting. They would have been okay, but they would have merged into a sea of similar stories. I don't want that.

 

A similar thing affects my posting on the forums. I find it hard to make a post that I don't think is contributing. I'll occasionally make a post to reinforce a point that someone else has made, but most of the time I won't post if I don't think I'm adding to what the thread is about.

 

Recently, I'm also finding my 'real-life' commitments are taking precedence over both my posting and my writing. I suppose that's a natural consequence of my boys getting older, but I do find it frustrating. I'd like to write more, but when I find the time I often don't find the motivation. The longer it is since I last wrote, the harder it is to get back to it, because I know I'll have review what I've already written before I can restart.

 

A question you didn't ask, but I'll answer anyway, is what inspired me to start writing in the first place. It was having what I thought was an original idea. I had been reading a lot of quality gay fiction, and Drake Hunter in particular (his site is, sadly, not longer on the Internet). In one of his stories, a character reflected on how he lost two friends when he came out -- one because he came out, and the other because he hadn't told them beforehand. It made me reflect on what the impact on a coming out would be on those around that person. There were lots of stories at that time about coming out, but only from the perspective of the person who came out. I decided to write a story from the perspective of one of that person's friends. Given David's initial attitude in New Brother, I was blown away by the response from the readers. I fully expected to get some flames, but even now, several years later, I've not had a single flame about that story. I've had people disagree with David (which is fair enough), but they've always been polite emails and willing to discuss the subject.

 

I no longer aim for the same level of originality that New Brother presented, but I still try to aim for something a little exceptional. There is so much variation in the human experience that the narrow focus of so many stories still irritates me (to varying degrees). Of course, I grew up on a diet of Science Fiction and Fantasy, so looking at things from an obscure perspective is something I've experience for a long time

 

I'll start out by arguing with you: I think you're wrong. IMHO, quite a few of your later works exceed the originality of New Brother. I'll cite The Price of Friendship for one, and Heart of the Tree for another. I think several of your short stories certainly qualify as well. I'm by no means knocking New Brother, it's definitely original and well done, but I think you've surpassed it in that regard since. You are by far the best writer I know for originality, and even when you tackle a more standard subject, you throw in twists that are jaw dropping when you unveil them. (Price of Friendship comes immediately to mind).

 

I am not an author, but I have posted a few poems on GA. Motivation? Beats me. It seems to come from strange places. I have written poems about:

 

1. A Bible passage on love (1st Corinthians 13: 4-13) which my friend Kit also used in one of his stories.

 

2. An unexpected reminder of a couple I know who split up and then tried to rebuild their relationship.

 

3. A brief phrase in a medical report which really jumped off the page when I first read it.

 

Upon reflection, those seem to be an odd combination of things which would provide inspiration for poems. The limericks? They reveal a real hodgepodge of motivators, including current events (a politician's success, a golfer's excess, a big political mess) and a few whimsical bits of philosophy.

 

There's another poem - my first poem in fact - which remains unpublished after 15 months of effort. It's just not quite right yet. It combines personal experiences reaching back more than forty years with anticipated experiences which lie ahead. It will be published...when the time is right.

 

You forgot to mention of your biggest motivation: you just like writing cliffhangers.

 

I've never been able to do poetry; well done to you for doing so, in a format I consider the most difficult of all.

 

For me it's all about the great sex I have with my thousands of fans.

 

Once we shake the paparazzi, it's off to the beach house and Woo-Hoo!

 

Huh?? You get sex? Hrmmm, I get imaginative death threats and people plotting my painful demise...

 

*******

 

Hrmm, my own motivations are complicated, often differing, and to be honest, I don't understand them all that well myself in some cases. :wacko:

 

Writing down ideas and plot outlines; that's a compulsion for me. Things just pop into my head, and nag at me for days until written down.

 

Picking what to work on and write out in full is harder... Some of the ideas I have get tossed back into the pile because they aren't IMHO original, or are unrealistic in too many ways, etc. Some just plain stink, but I can't bring myself to delete them. I've got a directory full of such awful things. The ones that I feel might be worthwhile go in a different directory, and some of those end up getting picked. I'm not fully sure how I pick one to work on; it's usually just what I feel most compelled and interested to work on, though I often have no idea why.

 

For me a big part of my motivation, and the one that gets me past writer's block and pushes me to write even on those occasions I don't really feel like it, is the forum and other forms of feedback, good or bad. Or just plain fun and silliness. I love it.

 

Another reason I write is to learn; I'm always trying to improve, and by writing, I learn a lot about writing, and also whatever I'm writing about (due to research).

 

And, I'll save the best for last: For me, one of the biggest joys of writing is working with my wonderful team; they are the best, and I think the world of each and every one of them.

[Nephylim]

Motivation eh? Hmm... I don't have one at least I don't think I do. I write because I HAVE to write, simple as. If I have a story inside me it burns until it gets out. I don't have a moment's peace. Whenever I am doing anything else it is taking me away from my keyboard. I write on the bus, the train, when I am supposed to be working, when I am waiting to see my son't teacher, when I am supposed to be making tea... any time, all the time. Recently I have taken time off writing to paint but that is only because the painting absorbs me as much as the writing does. Call it my OCD

 

What sparks of an idea? Absolutely anything. Death by Dreaming was sparked off by a mannequin in a shop window. The story has absolutely nothing to do with that but I am prone to extremely circuitrous thinking.

 

As for what motivates me to participate... well it's the fact that I am nosy, loud mouthed and opinionated... and I just love people... especially when they will talk dirty to me

[hh5]

I think one of the motivations is kinda like the movie "Somewhere in time"

 

There's two realities there ...

 

the past -> the story and the characters you create

the present -> the harsh reality that the writer lives in -> No food - No Room - you die -> no story

 

Its so easy to live in story to story (for the adventure of writing) - you the writer navigates the flow and life of the story

but runs the risk of a harsh brush with reality -> the starving abused artist

 

 

Gosh - if I could just live in a good story -> I not wanna come back