Raven's Scribblings - Latest Comments

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Raven O'Fiernan — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:06:17 -0000

You're right, it was Alfred Noyes! I will update my post with the correct information. Thank you for pointing that out. And yes, I have read the text, and love it just as much as the song version.

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:44:22 -0000

The Highwayman is by Alfred Noyes. If you like the song version of it, I recommend reading it yourself from the text.

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Raven O'Fiernan — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:25:46 -0000

That last verse gives me the shivers every time. I think I've always known there was a story in it. Thanks for stopping by!

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Redhawk — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:42:27 -0000

I LOVE that song! And it does inspire the muse, doesn't it? I wrote my take on it a couple of years ago. Have a fun time!

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

Raven O'Fiernan — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:14:11 -0000

Whatever works :)

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

Michael E. Walston — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:47:23 -0000

On the other hand, blogging is certainly nonfiction for consumption by readers, so in that way, of course, way it IS writing...

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

Raven O'Fiernan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:18:37 -0000

I can see how that would be useful. I'm far too literal for that to work for me, though. To be sure, storytelling is a part of almost all my writing for publication (although I did write a NaNo essay once, which is my only actually published work), but I do see them as different skill sets. I also don't want to say that essayists or other non-fiction writers are not "writing" just because they aren't storytelling, and it would be awkward calling oral storytellers "writers" if they don't write anything down. But the main thing is that your definition works for you and helps you with discipline. I definitely need help there, too!

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Raven O'Fiernan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:14:52 -0000

This is the second novel idea I've come up with due to a song. It's odd; listening to music used to distract me, especially if they had lyrics, but now, it seems more inspiring than distracting. Thanks for the luck!

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Raven O'Fiernan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:13:49 -0000

It's always nice to find others who know of her, and yes, I find that song very powerful. Thank you for your comments!

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Zette — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:17:59 -0000

I love her music and that particular song is very powerful. Great post about the process!

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

michaelewalston — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:45:21 -0000

These days I'm looking at writing as storytelling. So blogging can sometimes be a way of avoiding writing, from that point of view. I don't usually outline, but when I do it's definitely part of the storytelling process--though no one will ever see it but me...

Re: The Highwayman Came Riding . . .

Dawn — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:10:29 -0000

Cool. I think music is the one place I haven't directly gotten any ideas from. Good luck with the story when you do get around to putting it together. :)

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

Raven O'Fiernan — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:19:04 -0000

*grins* Glad I'm not the only one!

Re: Writer vs. Author: What is writing?

Bonnie R. Schutzman — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:10:02 -0000

I'd have taken your mother's comment just as literally in that context :D

Re: Daily Pages of Inspiration

Raven O'Fiernan — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 01:12:34 -0000

You're right about the beans. What I find interesting is that if I use exactly the same coffee in a mechanical coffee pot, it just doesn't taste as good. I haven't figured out why yet.

And yes, I love going out on the deck when weather permits. Mine hasn't been going well the last couple of days, but that's because I'm in some kind of weird slump.

Re: Daily Pages of Inspiration

Bonnie R. Schutzman — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:37:52 -0000

I use the Melitta filter too. Such good coffee, but you have to h ave good beans.

I've recently gone back to writing first, as well. On the back deck, weather permitting. It's going well.

Re: Books on the Nightstand: Chess

Raven O'Fiernan — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:28:03 -0000

Thanks! I no longer really have a story for that title, but maybe I'll come up with something.

Re: Books on the Nightstand: Chess

D. Anthony Brown — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:57:26 -0000

Chess is one of those games I wish I could get the hang of, except I've never played it enough to figure it out. "En Passant" is an awesome title for a story. :)

Re: Books on the Nightstand: Chess

Bonnie R. Schutzman — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:34:42 -0000

That's a very interesting insight into your writing process.

Re: Books on the Nightstand: Chess

Erin Hartshorn — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:30:32 -0000

That's great. I love the idea of structuring a novel around a game. I could even see a series of books done that way, although--wow, would that be a lot of work!

You know, I now want to write a short story titled "En Passant." (Side note: the first chess program I played against would do en passant moves but always told me it was illegal if I tried to. Very annoying.)

Re: Books on the Nightstand: Chess

Brett (aka Gilroy on FM) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:24:14 -0000

Interesting that Chess is the draw for you. Archery tends to have that style draw for me. It helps that I try to write Fantasy stories too. :>

Great Post!

Re: Starting back up

ekcarmel — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:32:48 -0000

Oooo, mixing and matching endings! I rarely get that many ideas for any particular scene, so I think that's fantastic.

When I went through HtTS I started off using her methods. Some worked for me, others didn't and I modified those. When she did the How to Write a Series course, I used it to finally come up with a good beginning and climax and it got me excited to keep going.

Happy Writing!

Re: Quick Update

ekcarmel — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:22:27 -0000

It's a great feeling when you get those kind of shivers. Congratulations and good luck with the writing!

Re: Starting back up

Brett — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:05:56 -0000

I find that sometimes, what others offer as "the way" is a good starting structure, but you need to develop your own muscles to their skeleton.

Though that's just my opinion. :>

Re: Come Sit With Me Awhile

Raven O'Fiernan — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:01:08 -0000

Yes, it does. I'm getting better at commitment, though. Thanks for the luck!