The fiction of Jessica A. Weiss comes in all forms-horror, suspense, fantasy, and erotica.

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Speculative fiction writer and editor. You can find links to her published work and current projects on the left side of the page.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009

On-line or Real Life Presence- Is There a Difference?

Sometimes I get the feeling I'm more of a someone on-line than I am in the real world.

On-line I can be anyone or anything. On the computer, I get along with people better because I can choose to ignore them. I find that I am a nicer person on-line, I can give myself time to stop, think, and calm down before I let my Irish temper fly off the handle; or just remain silent.

In the cyber world I'm known as a writer. People concentrate on that aspect of who I am. Some even ask for my advice or opinion, in regards to writing.

In the real world I'm known for my organized life, discipline procedures, and love of animals. I'm asked for advice about kids, animals, spouses, and my views on various other things. All of these are important, as they are parts of a well-rounded me. In the real world, my writing isn't as important to everyone else as it is to me.

It's hard for me to separate all the aspects of who I am. There are times when I can't find the writer in my day-to-day life. To make my inner writer come out and play, I've made some changes.

These changes are in the form of a writers forum and the relationships I've made there, reading and commenting on other writer's blogs, carrying a tiny notebook and pen everywhere, searching weekly for writing contests, and lastly, started this blog.

What do you do to make your inner writer come out and play?

5 comments:

  1. If I had to draw a bright line, it would be real life = non-fiction/on-line life = fiction. I draw inspiration and motivation from the writers I interact with online.

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  2. What do you do to make your inner writer come out and play?

    To be honest, I don't do anything. My stories haunt my mind all the time, which can get a little frustrating when I'm writing one, but can't keep thinking about another.

    I've been writing on and off for close to 25 years. I say on and off, because even though I wasn't physically writing, I was plotting, thinking, being creative, and to me, that's just as important as writing the story.

    Now I work on editorials, which adds a new dimention to my writing. Having to pull myself out of my fantasy world to write about everyday things, I think, deepens my skills, and the more I learn, the more I grow.

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  3. Jannette - Me too! I like to think of my characters as annoying imaginary friends that follow me around. Keeps my mind occupied when I'm driving though! (Wait... maybe that's a bad thing... :)

    One thing I've done is take up writing music reviews... which kind of links back to my job. (I work at a radio station.) It's neat because my co-workers see me as a writer now, and it kind of brings my two worlds together.

    Other than that... I always carry a small notebook (don't really use it nearly enough!), read a variety of blogs, follow writers on Twitter, and (of course) try to check out Editor Unleashed often! :)

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  4. Tony,
    For me:
    Real-life= stranger than fiction.
    On-line= the darker side of human nature.
    Unfortunately, all of the above haunt my dreams, causing me to wake up and jot notes. (Notes and ideas not bad, loosing sleep awful.) :)

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  5. Jannette and Jen,

    Sometimes stories just come to me, other times I hunt through my dream piece. Even go through my diaries from 20 years ago (oh yeah- kept every one of mine! Weird things there....)
    I don't use my notebook nearly as much as I should, but when I do use it, I use it a lot. In fact wrote this blog post while at dinner with my in laws! (Bad habit? or Bad Manners?)

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