G'day Friends
I belong to an internet-based writers’ group called Forward Motion for Writers. I have gained much from belonging to this group and improved my writing from the advice and most importantly from the critiques given within the group. This group also has a Chat, an area where writers from all over the world get together and chat about anything.
We talk about stuff; food and writing being the most popular topics. Sports comes close behind those topics, at least American sports, since most of the chatters are American, but not all. We challenge each other to writing wars, encourage each other with the words that we write, help each other when the words don’t flow or we have questions. Our questions range from grammar (yuck), to techniques of sword fighting, to plot hole fixing, to plot bunnies and how to cope with them.
And we learn about each other, who we are in real life, beyond the author within. We range in age, gender, backgrounds, education and experiences, but it doesn’t matter. To me real friendships have grown. These chatters are people I care about, even though they live in another part of my country or in another country, even thought the likelihood of ever meeting face to face is unlikely.
For the past few months I have entered Chat and opened with a ‘G’day friends’ and I mean it. These people are people who I value in their opinion and their advice. They are people who, if they have a real life problem I’d like to think I can offer support, albeit from a distance.
I had a problem a few days ago. A serious family problem. I hoped onto Chat in an attempt to find something to take my mind off the turmoil it was in, but discovered that light chatting wasn’t what I wanted, nor could I cope with it. So I made my apologies and said goodbye.
And received many questions as to my state of mind, many offers to talk, many hugs and supports. It seems that my belief that these chatters were my friends is reciprocated. Thank you.
My real life problem wasn’t quiet as dramatic as I had feared at the time (it’s amazing what the mind will conjure up with little information) but it was serious enough to warrant a continued change to my and my family’s life. And part of that, from my point of view, is to spend less time on the PC, and more time with my family. On that aspect my Hubby was right, writing and the consequent chatting has become an obsession that I need to control. It’s not the only change, nor am I the only one that needs to change. But change is necessary.
It doesn’t mean I have to stop writing, I couldn’t, I just need to allocate time evenly, organise better, and share more. In response Hubby promises not to get jealous of my characters and my chatting friends and to even participate in some aspects of my hobby, just as I do with his.
So this LJ have a few points. The first and most important is to thank my chatting friends for their support and friendship when I needed it, and of course their continued friendship.
The second is to state that I won’t be on chat as often. As sad as that is, I want to write and if I have limited time I need to write, not chat. Yet I know that I don’t want to lose the friendships so I will endeavour to make time for chat too.
I will continue to LJ, as often as I have something to say, and those who know my email and wish to talk through that medium, I will do so. I also know I need the valued help of my regular critters and plotters as I hope they value my merger help with their writings, so I will continue to correspond with them. I also know that if I’m stuck or need advice Chat is always there. I just have to be disciplined and restrict my time.
So back to the writing I go.
Thanks friends.
We talk about stuff; food and writing being the most popular topics. Sports comes close behind those topics, at least American sports, since most of the chatters are American, but not all. We challenge each other to writing wars, encourage each other with the words that we write, help each other when the words don’t flow or we have questions. Our questions range from grammar (yuck), to techniques of sword fighting, to plot hole fixing, to plot bunnies and how to cope with them.
And we learn about each other, who we are in real life, beyond the author within. We range in age, gender, backgrounds, education and experiences, but it doesn’t matter. To me real friendships have grown. These chatters are people I care about, even though they live in another part of my country or in another country, even thought the likelihood of ever meeting face to face is unlikely.
For the past few months I have entered Chat and opened with a ‘G’day friends’ and I mean it. These people are people who I value in their opinion and their advice. They are people who, if they have a real life problem I’d like to think I can offer support, albeit from a distance.
I had a problem a few days ago. A serious family problem. I hoped onto Chat in an attempt to find something to take my mind off the turmoil it was in, but discovered that light chatting wasn’t what I wanted, nor could I cope with it. So I made my apologies and said goodbye.
And received many questions as to my state of mind, many offers to talk, many hugs and supports. It seems that my belief that these chatters were my friends is reciprocated. Thank you.
My real life problem wasn’t quiet as dramatic as I had feared at the time (it’s amazing what the mind will conjure up with little information) but it was serious enough to warrant a continued change to my and my family’s life. And part of that, from my point of view, is to spend less time on the PC, and more time with my family. On that aspect my Hubby was right, writing and the consequent chatting has become an obsession that I need to control. It’s not the only change, nor am I the only one that needs to change. But change is necessary.
It doesn’t mean I have to stop writing, I couldn’t, I just need to allocate time evenly, organise better, and share more. In response Hubby promises not to get jealous of my characters and my chatting friends and to even participate in some aspects of my hobby, just as I do with his.
So this LJ have a few points. The first and most important is to thank my chatting friends for their support and friendship when I needed it, and of course their continued friendship.
The second is to state that I won’t be on chat as often. As sad as that is, I want to write and if I have limited time I need to write, not chat. Yet I know that I don’t want to lose the friendships so I will endeavour to make time for chat too.
I will continue to LJ, as often as I have something to say, and those who know my email and wish to talk through that medium, I will do so. I also know I need the valued help of my regular critters and plotters as I hope they value my merger help with their writings, so I will continue to correspond with them. I also know that if I’m stuck or need advice Chat is always there. I just have to be disciplined and restrict my time.
So back to the writing I go.
Thanks friends.