Amazed!

[CharleyH]

I've been a part of the AH since 2003. What amazes me, every time I have visited the AH since I left in 2008, is how utterly non-creative this board has become. It amazes and baffles me that this wonderful venue of author talk has plunged so deep into general board discussion that there is no possible escape.

 

[oggbashan]

A welcome sighting, even if you are disappointed with the AH.

Perhaps you are missing the sub-forum - Writers' Exercises, the on-going Contest Threads, the Seldom Used Words thread?

There are other threads that come and go, but many of them re-visit themes we have discussed at length in the past and can be answered in the library thread.

The AH is still much more civilised than the General Board which is infected by US election insults.

Edited for PS. At present I count 16 writing or writing-related threads on the first page of the AH. That is more than at most times in the past, even though some more are now resident in the Writers' Challenges and Exercises Sub-Forum.

 

[Trinique_Fire]

I don't come here very often any longer either, but I did today, and noticed a similar observation by another poster. If you're bored, you could try DryerLint (if it still is in existence).

*shrug*

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I've been a part of the AH since 2003. What amazes me, every time I have visited the AH since I left in 2008, is how utterly non-creative this board has become. It amazes and baffles me that this wonderful venue of author talk has plunged so deep into general board discussion that there is no possible escape.

I don't write enough anymore, and hardly read the writerly topics as a result

 

[oggbashan]

Another thought:

When one becomes disappointed with the lack of writerly topics in the Authors' Hangout, perhaps the reason is that you have matured as a writer and no longer need to seek the basic advice on POV, dialogue techniques or plotting that make up many of the 'writerly' threads.

Newbies who have come to the AH from other sites are often surprised by the amount of useful information contained in the history of the AH - another plug for the Library thread. Before that thread was set up, we often answered the same questions week after week e.g. 'How long until my story is posted?'.

 

[TinyBeth]

Hmmm. I'm new around here and actually generally impressed that this forum has as much to do with writing and as little nonsense as it does. The library thread is a fantastic resource. I'm sure it was more focused at one time, or else all of those library threads wouldn't be there. Yeah we go off-topic some on here, but not so much I haven't learned a lot in just a couple of months.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I was conversing with a user on another forum about writing. He is writing a sci-fi book with dragons, and he was wondering how to convey all of the exposition that was building up. I told him to ask himself some questions, and answer himself honestly:
How much of this exposition is needed?
Why is it needed?
Are there parts of this that I can cut and no one would notice?
Is there a way I can introduce some of this naturally through another conversation?
Can some of this be mentioned in passing by seemingly innocuous characters that are more important than I have lead the reader to believe before now?

Supposedly, that was very helpful for him.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've been a part of the AH since 2003. What amazes me, every time I have visited the AH since I left in 2008, is how utterly non-creative this board has become. It amazes and baffles me that this wonderful venue of author talk has plunged so deep into general board discussion that there is no possible escape.

I could do as others have and explain how this is not the case.

I could say we still discuss writing and tout how creative we all are.

But that would make it look as if I cared what you thought.

So sorry you think we're boring, why don't you start posting here and wow me?

As Anthony Hopkins said to Jodie Foster, "Thrill me with your accumen"

So allow me instead to simply say, fuck you too.

Sorry if that wasn't very creative.

 

[jomar]

LC doesn't know your history here, Charley.

I think a slice of the issue is that we moved the writerly challenge/exercises to a sub forum (seemed like a good idea at the time)...and for me they are out of sight/out of mind because I scroll down past the stickies to the top of active threads...never see it anymore.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I was conversing with a user on another forum about writing. He is writing a sci-fi book with dragons, and he was wondering how to convey all of the exposition that was building up. I told him to ask himself some questions, and answer himself honestly:
How much of this exposition is needed?
Why is it needed?
Are there parts of this that I can cut and no one would notice?
Is there a way I can introduce some of this naturally through another conversation?
Can some of this be mentioned in passing by seemingly innocuous characters that are more important than I have lead the reader to believe before now?

Supposedly, that was very helpful for him.

I love it that you have a friend who can USE that advice! i have a friend who just... won't. So much potential, too. But every chapter is 50,000 words of stuff no one needs to know, with a few thousand words of plot movement and character development tucked in there somewhere.

 

[TxRad]

I love it that you have a friend who can USE that advice! i have a friend who just... won't. So much potential, too. But every chapter is 50,000 words of stuff no one needs to know, with a few thousand words of plot movement and character development tucked in there somewhere.

It's most likely hidden in behind the Technicolor Easter Egg that hatches Bunnies instead of baby Chicks. I have a friend like that also.