[INFPGuy]

I was wondering if any INFP (or other!) authors who have had work published grace these forums?

If so, what type of book was it? Sci Fi, Fiction, fantasy - what?

I once wrote a pretty decent bit of fan fiction. Currently writing for an online magazine once a month.

But my dream is to write some real fiction. Something fantasy-like, set in the future, but with a twist. I have been toying with the idea for 5 years now, but tonight I finally sat down to start writing some good ideas, a story line and developing my characters a bit.

Do you have any tips/ideas on how to stay focused and on target?

 

[Uncouth Angel]

Last year, I finished my MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts, and I am in the process of working on a Historical Fantasy novel set during the early 19th century. It explores the complex interplay between magic, religion, and science.

My writing tends to be genre-busting. I introduce fantastical elements into non-fiction pieces, for instance, exploring the inner world through literalized metaphor. The editor of Samizdat said that I write "like the lovechild of J. R. R. Tolkien and Woody Allen, creating worlds in which swordplay and sexual humiliation frequently co-exist."

My work has so far been published in only two meager literary journals--The Bridge and Samizdat Literary Journal.

There is one unlisted video of a public reading of mine available at youtube, though I won't post it here in this thread. If you're interested in seeing it for yourself, send me a private message and I'll share it with you.

As for advice for "staying focused and on target", I can only say that it's all too easy to build something up in your head for years and write none of it. You should avoid the mistake of telling too many people about your ideas before you write them. If you do, you may find that once you sit down to write it, you've lost your energy, since you've already satisfied your need to tell the tale.

Outlines and index cards can help you plan your plot as well. One of the most misleading things you'll hear other writers say is that the story in question "wrote itself" or that the character "wrote the story for me". This is nonsense. Yes, inspiration can and will occur to you during the process and not before, but phrases like these just make the writing process sound so much easier than it actually is. Also remember that If it isn't on the page, it isn't in the story.

And of course, read everything you can, not just fiction similar to the sort you want to write. Research every topic relevant to your story. You'd be surprised at how inspiration you'll get this way. And know the market you're sending it to.

 

[Marimeli]

Do you mean specifically published authors of FICTION?

 

[WardRhiannon]

Does being published in my school's literary journal count?

But I do hope to have a book ready to publish in a few years.

 

[telepariah]

Not published but have an idea for a novel that I want to write. The hardest part for me is what @Uncouth Angel is getting at. I have a pile of blank 3x5 cards on my desk at the moment, but the only time I have been working on it has been late at night in bed. So it's all in a composition notebook. I am just writing out a stream of consciousness right now about the major characters and how they drive the story. I just had an epiphany about the voice and point of view of the story the other night that I hope will help me generate some momentum. Because for the longest time I had this great idea, but telling the story from the main character's point of view was leaving me kind of meh. Now that I realized that his story is a lot more interesting in the context of the lives of the other characters, and that he makes a much better antagonist than protagonist, I think I am on the verge of making it come together.

I did just have the lead article published in a professional newsletter, for what it's worth. I was invited by the editor and the executive director, so I was honored to say the least.

 

[Marimeli]

I sort of wish I could do that. When I was younger I used to write rich stories with interesting plots and even wrote a 150 page novel that has since been lost (I was 12 so I'm sure it's no REAL loss lol), but nowadays I just can never think of anything to write about, or any characters or situations that would make a good story. I am a novel theorist, so I read novels and analyze them for a living. But I don't think I can write them. What I publish is scholarly articles ABOUT novels, and I'm working on my first book now

It bothers me, though, when people say I have no real authority because I'm not a novelist myself. Just because I don't write them doesn't mean I don't know a lot about them; I've read more novels personally than anyone I know except my professors. I see patterns and symbols and all kinds of interesting aspects of them that I think help us to read novels more deeply and really interact with the text instead of treating them like textual television to be absorbed passively.

 

[Lune]

Thread-bumping.....I want advice toooo

 

[Sily]

Just one poem about Mosby's Raiders and one review of Wuthering Heights, both in high school literary magazine. Oh yeah, some letters to the editor printed in local papers. :tongue: That's *published*...lol.

 

[Uncouth Angel]

Does being published in my school's literary journal count?

Yes. But don't stop there! Try to get published in other magazines. Read the issues to get a sense of what they want, because the editors love to know they're being read.