Wrting: A Lonely Life - NOT!!!!

When I was in college journalism classes, you learned to write by being herded into a typing (yes, I'm that old, and they were manual typewriters) room, given some facts for a news story, given a 30 minute deadline and set to work. Later working on newspapers and in radio stations, and eventually in academia, the collegiality of those social writing environments were both stimulating intellectually and comforting emotionally.

You could bounce ideas off each other, ask for help, or take a break and catch up on the office gossip, which sometimes was oddly refreshing. Just the knowledge of these other writers working around you made you feel not so much alone in this great endeavor to share words and ideas with the world.

I sometimes wonder why it is that I can produce 50,000+ words of fiction during National Novel Writing Month and barely get half that done any other time. But I know why. It's the knowledge that any time I sit down at the keyboard and begin that wrestling match with my characters and plot that there are thousands of other people doing the same. And they aren't just nameless, faceless people. I get burnt out or tired or need some inspiration or a question answered, I can click over to the discussion board and take part in a "word war" or give a suggestion or two about names in the future or philosophize about whether dystopic fiction is depressing or hopeful, or just share the frustration of the writing life.

One would think with all those digressions, that productivity would wane. Yet, the opposite is true. Just as that short gossip break in the middle of covering a big story or working on that course outline in a face-to-face setting can be the refreshing break you need to push through, seeing that "wordwarrior1978" didn't quite hit your high score for the day, or simply answering the question, "What is your character doing right now?" can help me get that second wind to push through to my daily writing goal in a way working alone cannot.

So, where is all this leading? Modern internet technology, what has been called Web 2.0, has created tools for us to move away from the isolation many of us can feel as writers. We are in a position to encourage one another, hold each other accountable, motivate, inspire, stimulate, assist and even provide those "water cooler" moments of diversion that refresh.

While social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife, Linked in and MySpace, not to mention more traditional networking like discussion boards and email discussion lists can become a time sink if restraint is not exercised, they also can provide the writer, especially the writer who works at home, with a social support network.

For instance, say you are on Twitter with a lot of other writers in your own area of expertise. You need some piece of information. You post your question. It may just sit there. Or someone might "tweet" back with an answer. Or while you are writing, a tweet comes through telling you a friend just sold the article they have been working on, and you have been following their progress. That is an encouragement for you to keep writing.

So, here is a proposal. Begin to build your own writing support network. One online resource is the Lost Genre Guild Discussion Board . People are dropping by there all day long. Lots of tips and encouragement and a great place to ask questions. The Lost Genre Guild Email Discussion Group is another source for connection through the day.

Twitter is the world wide water cooler. 140 characters to say what you are doing, ask for prayer, seek advice, or just share your day. Great for "word wars" and other writing games. You don't know what a word war is? It's simple, you post an announcement for writers to start writing at a certain time until a certain time. At the end, compare word counts. You can follow me on twitter at Terrimain . Also, if you think about it post some encouragement throughout the day. Quotes, jokes, praises are always welcome.

Then there are the bigger social networking site. If you want to connect with me, you can at Facebook and Shoutlife.

Maybe together we can create a powerful social network of writers that cuts across the various technologies providing support, encouragement, inspiration and help to each other. It can be like the newsroom, just without the clatter of the typewriters.

Cyberpunk Author Frank Creed to appear in Second Life

Christian Cyberpunk Novelist to Speak

Award-winning Christian Cyberpunk author Frank Creed will be appearing in Second Life, Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m. For Second Life residents the direct link to the location is http://slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Bound%20Marina/226/25/24

This will be an informal discussion in which Creed will share about his writing, his life and the state of Christian speculative fiction. Questions will be entertained by Creed. Afterwards, plans include virtual surfing and socializing.

.Creed is the founder of the Lost Genre Guild, a group of writers, editors and publishers of different types of speculative fiction with a Christian worldview.

"Christians own the copyright to demons and angels and spiritual warfare," notes Creed. "Yet, the bookshelves of Christian bookstores are almost totally devoid of speculative fiction except for some fairly sanitized young adult fantasies. Nevertheless, there is a small, but growing, group of writers and independent publishers using modern technology to make quality Christian speculative fiction available."

Creed is the author of Flashpoint and War of Attrition, both published by Writer's Café Press. Set in a future where fundamentalist Christians are considered terrorists, these books follow the exploits of a group of supernaturally cyber-enhanced resistance fighters using nonlethal weapons in an attempt to protect members of the underground church from the "Neros" or agents of the government seeking to crush the resistance and "re-educate" their members.

"I guess I created the first Christian Cyberpunk novel identified as such," says Creed. "There was a series of books published in the 1990's which might qualify as the first, but they were never marketed as cyberpunk."

In addition to writing the novels, Creed also helped co-author a role playing game based on the stories.

"I'm a gamer from way back. So, it was only natural for me to want to create an RPG where my readers could enter the world of The Underground," Creed explains.

Flashpoint has received critical acclaim and won several awards including: Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year (Elfwood 2006), CFRB Best Novel Toured Award (2007), finalist for the Pluto Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel Reviewed, and was nominated for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Clive Staples award.

"Jesus understood the power of the story to communicate in his world. We are creating the parables of a new generation," says Creed.

For more information email Terri Main at webservant2003@yahoo.com