Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 523 Location: Upstate New York
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:46 am
I'm not sure how much the internet has changed the way I write, but it certainly has changed the way I submit, and the results of those submissions. Prior to having the internet I basically had nothing published. Now that I primarily submit via the internet, I have had 60-70 poems published in about a year.
I am able to send out far more material at once, which may have forced me to increase my productivity. So, in some ways, the internet may have influenced my writing by prodding me to write more.
Also, I do use the net for quick research. And I often use dictionary.com when typing in my poetry, to check definitions and syllable count on certain words. Still, I prefer referencing paper books and dictionaries when initially composing my work. _________________ "I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"
One big thing that has changed... I feel a responsibility to look up my made-up names on search engines to make sure that they're not being used by another author already. _________________ Violet "Violanthe" Kane
[email protected] ARWZ.com: A Magazine of Alternative Reality Fiction
Before the wwweb, it was very difficult to make contact with the 'community'.
Small Press mags would spring up, run a dozen issues, then fold as I discovered them. UK mainstream mags seemed limited to an exclusive club of 'house' authors. Analog, Asimov's etc were an unattainable pinnacle, like climbing Everest...
Submissions were wearily photocopied, posted 'surface', and weeks would pass before my 'received' card returned. Then, nothing for many months, followed by a form letter of rejection. 'Overstocked' ? How was I supposed to know when I wrote it last year ? Poor grammar ? Hey, I used the Queen's English, not Shakesperean Sonnets or Bronx Vernacular. Technically flawed ? But I checked the math thrice-- Oh, they meant my writing style ?? D'uh...
How do you learn when a tale's only readers are a clan of delighted cousins plus one or two harassed slush-pile trawlers ? And your only feedback is either, 'When's the next ? PLEASE ??' or 'REJECTED [X]' ?
I did enter several writing competitions. I got such wildly different responses to the same tales, I stopped submitting myself to such torture...
Unfortunately, local writing groups had no idea what to do with me or my writing. The 'Hard SF' technical aspects were *always* beyond them, several had a 'hidden agenda' of writing screen-plays or for 'women's weeklies'. The only SF EasterCon workshop I attended was an unmitigated disaster....
I can't claim that my writing has improved. At least now I can post to a familiar forum or a specialist group found in minutes with eg Google, get moderated, reasoned replies, explain myself if necessary, prompt debate, suggest re-phrasing, have that dissected, offer a subtle change etc etc, all in the ten minutes while a pot of tea brews...
The Internet has made researching sooooo much easier.
You can Google almost anything. Find exact dates of an event, the names of people who were there, what the place looked like. All of your necessary reference books are online. And, while you're writing in one window, researching in another, you can contact your editor, agent or collaborator in a third.
However, there is a huge detriment to the Internet while you write...chat rooms. I find that if you're not disciplined, you can waste major parts of many days checking news (and gossip) of the industry. If you allow yourself to get caught-up, it takes far too much time away from actual writing.
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:05 am
The internet has become a big time-waster and way for me to pretend I'm doing somehting writerly related by posting on boards like this or doing "research," but it certainly hasn't helped my productivity any.
And it helps me get rejected a lot faster than snailmail ever did.
I agree. The internet gives you a huge temptation right on your writing space. I agree it's convenient for research, but I also agree the internet can be a big downside unless you're super disciplined. _________________ Violet "Violanthe" Kane
[email protected] ARWZ.com: A Magazine of Alternative Reality Fiction
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