Furry Writers' Guild Forum

What is your writing goal?

General Writing Discussion
#1

With the talks of change in the FWG (see this thread: http://www.anthroaquatic.com/forum/index.php?topic=905.0), there is one question that really needs to be answered before anything can happen: what are your eventual writing goals?

Now, I’m not talking about your goal that could be if everything in the stars came together for you. What is the goal that you are actively trying to achieve? (Please note that if you’ve met the highest goal that you wish to achieve that you may select that option.)

While the poll itself is anonymous, I encourage you to post your answer, why it’s your answer, and how you are working to achieve your goal. This will give the FWG a lot more information on the direction it should take to better serve its members.

#2

My goal, that I’ve mostly achieved, is to make editing a full-time job. While it is my full-time job, I still need a supplemental job on the side to help pay bills. Part of that reason is that most of my clients are in-fandom, where my potential client list is quite small. I’m looking for further expand outside of the fandom and, within a few years time, to not have to work any other job except for editing.

#3

I know the career is years off, and it probably won’t be in the realm of the furry fandom even as much as I wish it could be. I’m just not Kyell Gold. That said, I plan on submitting novels, novellas and short stories to venues both furry and mainstream, and doing e-publications.

In the mean time, I’ll drive a truck to get the money I need to not starve while I’m being a starving author ^.^

#4

My goal is to actually submitt something I can say I worked hard on. I’ve not submitted any stories, save for Fragments, which, honestly, I knew wasn’t my best work, so I’ve chalked it up as a learning experience as opposed to a “serious” attempt.

I’m writing for Roar, God’s with Fur, and Fang. If I get something in any of those I’ll be happy. Even if I don’t manage it, I’ll try again next year, and the year after, until I finally get anything out there. I’m still very young, barely a kid to most people here, I imagine, so I feel I’ve got time on my side.

Apart from that, I’ve got a novel in the works which I’d love to get back from the editor, and am taking a break from the “big” project until I fully understand it.

Though it’s not purely writing related, I’m also working on my drawing skills. In ten years time, I’ll probably be good enough to feel happy drawing the first panels of a manga. I’ve not seen a furry seinen manga, nor have I seen much manga from withint he fandom. I’d love the chance to make one.

#5

I chose “to be published” simply because I got the feeling that the “career” option implied something closer to “making the majority of one’s income from writing,” which is something I don’t believe is a realistic goal for me, since it’s not a goal I necessarily want to work toward in the sense of making all or most of my decisions based on it.

I do consider my writing a “career” in the sense of it being a long-term journey and process, though. So I guess you can take that as a vote for either one, depending on how you want to interpret it. shrug

#6

I would consider a career to involve “making the majority of one’s income”, definitely. It’s an extremely ambitious goal, though I do expect that it’ll have more votes in the end than all other categories.

#7

“To be published.”

“But pj,” you say, “haven’t you already been published? Several times over?”

Yeah, but I haven’t put out a novel yet. I’m still working up to it.

#8

I would like to bring my writing to a point where I’m either living off it or making a significant proportion of my earnings from it. According to my bar chart I’m not making much progress towards this, but I do have plans and goals in place.

(Mind you, the last time I said ‘I wish more of my income came from my writing’, the salary from my day job dropped 50%.)

#9

I am trying to publish, but that isn’t what I would describe is my writing goal. My goal is to write good stuff that are educational, inspirational, and enjoyable, even if it is entirely depressing and sad. If it’s good then it can get published and get me some money, but there is a reason why I’m still looking at further education.

#10

I marked “Career”, but I don’t ever anticipate getting the majority of income from it. Maybe when I am 60 and have a billion novels out…

I want to do more than just have a few things published and that’s that. But that’s a ways off from now.

#11

My goal is to earn as much as I can (without seriously compromising either my personal ethics or my muse) doing something I love-- writing.

#12

I’ve also selected the somewhat nondescript “to be published”; while I certainly wouldn’t mind making a majority of my income through writing, the way Poetigress put it – “not a goal I necessarily want to work toward in the sense of making all or most of my decisions based on it” – nails my feeling perfectly.

If I were going to have selected the “other” option, which I’d seriously considered, the answer would be something like “helping to bridge the gap between writing within the fandom and the larger world outside.” I want to write furry stories, and I want to get my work read by a lot of readers, but most of all I want to do both of those things simultaneously. And that’s something I’m at least trying to actively work toward.

#13

If I had to pick one writing goal, it’s to be read. It is also an ongoing goal to have at least some of my work published, as that lends my work a degree of credibility and legitimization that goes beyond anything I could do on my own, but most of all it’s to find out that my work is being read and enjoyed.

#14

Yes. This.

I want to be read in the fandom, of course, but not just in the fandom. I started writing and publishing before I’d ever heard of furry, and ideally I want to write things that appeal to but also transcend the typical furry audience, stories that can be enjoyed by people who’ve never heard of the fandom and maybe aren’t even all that into sf/f. (Which is probably one reason why I have so much trouble with “branding” and figuring out my target audience and all that, but that’s another thread.)

#15

I’ve honestly always struggled with the concept of ‘goals.’ Being shy and passive, ambition is hard for me to sustain because like a true mouse, I’d prefer a calm, quiet time of things, and questing after big life dreams normally involves tension. And social networking. Unfortunately, I’m incredibly introverted.

Generally, I use my stories as an avenue to better understand myself. I pour a whole lot of myself into them. I really try to get into my characters’ head-spaces. More comfortable with character than plot, I’ll often forgo traditional narratives entirely for a ‘French New Wave’ effect, emphasizing slice-of-life moments. Through knowing my characters, I know facets of myself. The act of creation is an act of exploration. That’s what I enjoy most about furry: the allegory of it all and how it allows for a safer exploration of topics that would be too blunt in a plain human environment.

Reception-wise, I just want potential readers to not only enjoy my stories but to feel good or uplifted a little after reading them.

I have no illusions of making any money off writing. As an art school graduate who doesn’t make any money off art, I know how difficult that road is. Compared to others, I don’t think I have the right personality for it. However, I’ve been writing furry stories for over a decade. So, it’s something I’m very invested in and want to keep doing. I’d like to get published, of course. That would be nice! But I don’t want to live and die by submissions/rejections.

If I had to fashion a goal, it would be to keep writing, to not lose my nerve, and to be open to possibilities. Right now, the journey is more valuable to me than the destination.

#16

My answer is somewhere between these two:

-To be published
-To make a career out of writing/a literature-related field like editing or publishing

I do have some work published, but I chose “To be published” because I do not intend to become a full-time writer anytime soon. If anything, I consider writing somewhere between a hobby and a second career. I already have a professional career that I love very much and do not plan to give up in order to write full-time. But I do aspire to write much, much more, get more work published and read, inspire a reader or two, contribute to the literary world in a meaningful way, and (hopefully) make some decent sales.

However, I’m a firm believer in writing for myself first. I have never wanted to do it just for money or for fame - which, of course, are hard to come by through writing anyway. I do it because I love it, and because I get crazy ideas in my head that just won’t go away. I need to exorcise those demons somehow. :slight_smile: I care more about internal satisfaction than external success or acknowledgment. Having both, however, wouldn’t hurt. n_n;

#17

I think my writing goal has changed somewhat in that past few years. To be published was one of my goals, but that has been accomplished recently with both Roar 7 and the Vancoufur 2015 con book. My new goal now is to build a world using short stories in various anthologies that fit together, but a reader doesn’t have to have read them all in order to understand whats going on. I guess after that my goal is to actually write a novel. I guess that’s everyone’s goal though XD.

#18

Ultimately I suppose it is to make a living from writing, though I understand that is some way off. However, given the changes I’ve been putting into my life lately that is the direction I seem to be heading.

#19

I put down “Career”, but that’s a bit misleading. I had once told myself to aim for “as much shelf space in every major bookstore as somebody like Brian Jacques”. I don’t mind much if I never get to “making so much money that writing literally is my career”, but I want recognition and readership and don’t feel like I can get that without either (1) hitting the lottery by writing a book that draws a slew of fans out of nowhere, or (2) getting work sold to famous pro publishers. I’m jealous of people who seem to have done #1, asking myself what I’m doing wrong, and lately I find I don’t even like much of what the pro markets are publishing.* My friends tell me I’ve got a bad attitude about the situation and they’re probably right.

I’ve achieved self-publishing – proof of hard work, but feels like buying myself a trophy – and selling a few stories to collections like “Roar”. Current plans are to continue trying to sell short stories, get two more novels complete, then try sending them to the same agents who wouldn’t give me the time of day before, and probably end up self-publishing them.

*Eg., today I read a story published by F&SF, which was an unsubtle story about the War of Martian Secession. It was written like propaganda, where the Southern Martian hero hates the outsiders solely for trying to liberate the slaves robots from his plantation. I put it down – but this is what the industry’s gatekeepers and award committees want.

#20

Replace my current day job income with selling my stories. That means both writing high quality stuff and writing it quickly. Going to be a little while longer before I’m able to do both of those at once.