FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Emily on October 02, 2008, 12:56:21 AM
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Hey FOT,
I was just wondering how many of you are writers?
Either professionally, or if you just write regularly or have a blog.
No real reason for asking, I don't think - just curious.
Thanks,
Emily
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I have a creative writing degree. However, I haven't written anything since I graduated in May.
I'm starting to get worried.
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I write music criticism. That's... kinda like writing!
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i write movies that kick fucking ass.
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i write movies that kick fucking ass.
um...what he said.
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I write things on this message board.
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I write stuff.
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I write stuff too.
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I write contracts.
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I write it on the ice.
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If you'd have asked me 6 years ago, I'd have said I was a writer. Now I am not so sure, if pressed I would say I am not, but I enjoy writing. I keep a blog and am nervously awaiting the results of a national short story competition - I don't think I'll win, but the first thirteen get shown to an agent and are published. I never write on the internet the way I do in prose either because I have quite a weightly, declarative style that would be pretty humourless to read. I have had journalism published that I was paid for but I don't do that anymore either.
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Blogger.
Not really a writer.
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I write code.
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I write movies that gently massage the ass, thus releasing the tension in the lumbar spine. Also, plays.
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I write movies that gently massage the ass, thus releasing the tension in the lumbar spine.
Porno movies have writers?
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I've written academic papers and chapters in the field of psycholinguistics.
I also write those annoying prompts that you hear recorded voices say when you call a company (e.g. "Sorry, I didn't understand. Please say or enter your ten digit phone number starting with the area code."). In my defense (if there is any), my job is to make them more tolerable.
To escape from that horror, I am also trying to write a book. It is fiction that is supposed to feel like non-fiction...under the pseudonym Kenneth Balderdash. I have written 60 pages in five months...not toppling any speed records.
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I am really really hesitant to post in this topic because I know I know I know, I'm a 17-year-old girl so it's suspect. But. I've been paid to write plays, and I've sold a few stories. So...me? I am?
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Music criticism as well, but I'm a bit green.
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I also write those annoying prompts that you hear recorded voices say when you call a company (e.g. "Sorry, I didn't understand. Please say or enter your ten digit phone number starting with the area code."). In my defense (if there is any), my job is to make them more tolerable.
Whoa, huge fan of your work! I'd actually kinda like to hear more about this. That's a weirdly specific thing to do.
I used to write boring press releases and annual reports. Now I just write Best Show Fan Fiction. And a ransom note or two, but that's just cutting out letters, really.
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Hey FOT,
I was just wondering how many of you are writers?
Either professionally, or if you just write regularly or have a blog.
No real reason for asking, I don't think - just curious.
Thanks,
Emily
I write a blog about the inside of my head.
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I write blog stuff a lot more than fiction stuff. But I do both.
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I wrote (pretty obviously fake) "I Saw You" ads in the local alt-weekly for almost ten years. They didn't win any writing awards, but I won at least 5 free dinners from the editor for "ad of the week".
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I write movies that gently massage the ass, thus releasing the tension in the lumbar spine.
Porno movies have writers?
There's a book about it called Fast Forward.
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Small-town reporter.
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I've written an opera libretto and electro-pop lyrics and the usual amount of shitty poetry.
I'll be published soon in the Journal of Telecommunications & High Technology Law here at our school for a law/computers/software/economics paper.
In 2nd grade I wrote a report about Uranus.
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I have written several longform recaps of "The Best Show on WFMU." I also wrote this other thing that was ok and someone liked it but then this other person didn't so that whole thing didn't really work out too well haha.
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Used to write music crit pretty regularly - I still do every now and then but I've kinda lost interest/come to the realization that I'm not all that good.
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I also write those annoying prompts that you hear recorded voices say when you call a company (e.g. "Sorry, I didn't understand. Please say or enter your ten digit phone number starting with the area code."). In my defense (if there is any), my job is to make them more tolerable.
Whoa, huge fan of your work! I'd actually kinda like to hear more about this. That's a weirdly specific thing to do.
I used to write boring press releases and annual reports. Now I just write Best Show Fan Fiction. And a ransom note or two, but that's just cutting out letters, really.
Wow, Wes. Your response was more positive than I expected. I was waiting for death threats.
It is indeed a strange line of work. If there is ever another Best Show get together, I will tell you all about it over some glasses of Gentleman Jack.
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I write movies that gently massage the ass, thus releasing the tension in the lumbar spine.
Porno movies have writers?
Ahem, Mr. Judgment. It's not porn, it's a celebration of the sensual glory of the body by, for and about the hirsute. All body types and smells welcome and embraced!
I am really really hesitant to post in this topic because I know I know I know, I'm a 17-year-old girl so it's suspect. But. I've been paid to write plays, and I've sold a few stories. So...me? I am?
I think the only reason you're even self-conscious about this is because you're 17. After a while, you keep saying it, then eventually it becomes true, then you're like, shit, man, why did I choose to do this with my life? Enjoy! You've got a lot to look forward to.
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I write poems, mostly. I'll soon have a literature degree, but I don't think it's going to get me very far. I write a blog, but I don't know if that counts. I write simple sheet music, but only because my cello instructor makes me.
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I am really really hesitant to post in this topic because I know I know I know, I'm a 17-year-old girl so it's suspect. But. I've been paid to write plays, and I've sold a few stories. So...me? I am?
I think the only reason you're even self-conscious about this is because you're 17. After a while, you keep saying it, then eventually it becomes true, then you're like, shit, man, why did I choose to do this with my life? Enjoy! You've got a lot to look forward to.
i agree with JG. i write as much now (maybe more) as i did when i was 17 and thought nothing of it because i was merely a teenager. even as an adult, i barely take myself seriously enough to think im any good at writing to make a career out of it.
although, i did meet some delightful FOTs last week who encouraged me to expose my writing despite my fears. i say, chin up to both of us. if anything, emma, you have plenty of FOT support and undoubtedly, you do have something worth saying.
turn it into grocery money.
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I write full-time from my home office; I have written for encyclopedias on political and social history, I write book reviews for academic journals, etc. I also write for a blog about hybrid vehicles and make (most of) my bones copywriting for different websites. I am trying to find time for fiction/poetry writing but I have too much other junk going on.
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Also, I feel the need to add that I am currently working on a book that will become The Most Talked About Book of 2009. (At least over here.)
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I also write those annoying prompts that you hear recorded voices say when you call a company (e.g. "Sorry, I didn't understand. Please say or enter your ten digit phone number starting with the area code."). In my defense (if there is any), my job is to make them more tolerable.
Whoa, huge fan of your work! I'd actually kinda like to hear more about this. That's a weirdly specific thing to do.
I used to write boring press releases and annual reports. Now I just write Best Show Fan Fiction. And a ransom note or two, but that's just cutting out letters, really.
Wow, Wes. Your response was more positive than I expected. I was waiting for death threats.
It is indeed a strange line of work. If there is ever another Best Show get together, I will tell you all about it over some glasses of Gentleman Jack.
I always press zero until they finally say, "I'll get you over to someone who can help". But that's cool, and actually very interesting, Jon! Wow, I never think about who actually writes those. Fascinating.
Kind of on that topic, I've noticed lately that my internet company's customer service reps got some new training that requires them to flirt with me on the phone. At first I thought it was one of them, but I've called a few times, and they're definitely reading from a script. Sad, really. They don't really think I have a beautiful name, or care what the weather is like here.
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By the way, Jon, do you think you could slip the word "yutzknuckle" into one of those prompts?
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I write death warrants. Well, it's more like signing than writing, but it does involve a pen.
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I write death warrants. Well, it's more like signing than writing, but it does involve a pen.
Do you mean you "sign" the bodies by driving a bic pen into their flesh? Because that's gross.
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oh, Julie....
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I write memoranda, reports and emails. But I aspire to create great works of literature in my next life.
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Also, I feel the need to add that I am currently working on a book that will become The Most Talked About Book of 2009. (At least over here.)
A Sven Nykvist tell-all?
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Not I.
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By the way, Jon, do you think you could slip the word "yutzknuckle" into one of those prompts?
"Please listen closely, as our options have changed, you yutzknuckle." It's going in my next design!
And for all of you zero-pressers out there, fear not. I am your advocate! I say to my clients that they should always offer their callers the agent option right away. REVOLUTION! I'M CHE ! ! !
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In the 4th grade I wrote a detective story akin to Incognito Mosquito. I told myself I'd finish it over the summer vacation but then lost it.
For a solid 10 years after that, I composed long verses of Bathroom Stall Philosophy in schools around New Jersey.
Then at Rutgers my comedy writing professor gave me a 'D' because I "took advantage of the class." I won't go into details.
Then I started an MFA at Jack Kerouac's School of Disembodied Poetics. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. And left.
Now I write for the non-profit urban equivalent of School House Rocks.
They pay me so I can sit here and compose my fan fiction.
I got 90 pages into it when Tom said it was on "ice". So I stopped.
In other words, no I'm not a writer.
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I used to write long consulting reports, now I pay other people to write long consulting reports, market long consulting reports, and sell long consulting reports.
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Any thoughts on workshops?
I took one at the 92nd Street Y. The instructor was a former SNL writer and I believe the first female prez of the Harvard Lampoon.
It was okay. It was oddly satisfying to read your work (if for any other reason than to build confidence), but also mortifying that people with completely different senses of humor sat around a table discussing what is funny and what isn't.
The first assignment was to write your own obituary, which was kind of fun. I suggest that to anyone.
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I have an ISBN
dfk 1, Tom 0
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Also, I feel the need to add that I am currently working on a book that will become The Most Talked About Book of 2009. (At least over here.)
A Sven Nykvist tell-all?
I've said too much.
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I have an ISBN
dfk 1, Tom 0
ISBN-10 or ISBN-13? Big difference.
I'm just kidding, I have no clue.
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The first assignment was to write your own obituary, which was kind of fun. I suggest that to anyone.
new thread!
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The first assignment was to write your own obituary, which was kind of fun. I suggest that to anyone.
new thread!
I think old obituaries have a lot more style than obituaries have nowadays. Don't you think "turned her face to the wall" is much more personable than "passed away?" You should all start working on your obituaries now because you don't want to end up letting some funeral director write it and you never know when the bus will hit you.
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I think old obituaries have a lot more style than obituaries have nowadays. Don't you think "turned her face to the wall" is much more personable than "passed away?" You should all start working on your obituaries now because you don't want to end up letting some funeral director write it and you never know when the bus will hit you.
That's true. The celebs already have their obits written for them, why shouldn't I have mine written too.
I sprinkled lots of quotes from Janet Maslin and Larry David in there, you know, to get some primary sources in there.
Basically, the premise was that I died because I couldn't handle the fact that Dane Cook is such a successful comedian. My entire ethos hinged on the belief that you can't be both funny and good looking--it's just not possible. When Dane Cook came on the scene it was just too much for me to handle and my immune system faltered. Oh and the syphilis, that didn't help either.
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I don't consider myself a writer but I co-wrote a production in Seattle called "UFO the Puppet Show". It was about Michael Jackson being an alien / human hybrid and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Kalifornia seceding from the union to defeat him.
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I think old obituaries have a lot more style than obituaries have nowadays. Don't you think "turned her face to the wall" is much more personable than "passed away?" You should all start working on your obituaries now because you don't want to end up letting some funeral director write it and you never know when the bus will hit you.
That's true. The celebs already have their obits written for them, why shouldn't I have mine written too.
I sprinkled lots of quotes from Janet Maslin and Larry David in there, you know, to get some primary sources in there.
Basically, the premise was that I died because I couldn't handle the fact that Dane Cook is such a successful comedian. My entire ethos hinged on the belief that you can't be both funny and good looking--it's just not possible. When Dane Cook came on the scene it was just too much for me to handle and my immune system faltered. Oh and the syphilis, that didn't help either.
I write a lot of suicide notes which basically outline my most daring plots to end it all, but I've never given my own obituary a shot. Now I'm inspired.
But Dane Cook isn't funny and Dane Cook is ugly. Is that what was funny about your obituary?
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I write a thing and sometimes will make it a thing
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I write a thing and sometimes will make it a thing
Slogans for T-Shirts?
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I have an ISBN
ditto. still wouldn't call myself a writer, though.
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I write a blog and then I also write scripts and things that pretty much stay on my hard drive.
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I have a couple of blogs, so, no, I'm not a writer.
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Follow up question, hope it's not too corny:
Why do you write?
Just curious about those of you who write out of personal motivation (not exclusively for financial compensation) - is it an effort to articulate, or to form your thoughts? Or are you overflowing with ideas you just have to get them out somehow? Or is it more like you sit down and force yourself to get something done? Or something else?
Just curious.
Thanks!
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Follow up question, hope it's not too corny:
Why do you write?
Just curious about those of you who write out of personal motivation (not exclusively for financial compensation) - is it an effort to articulate, or to form your thoughts? Or are you overflowing with ideas you just have to get them out somehow? Or is it more like you sit down and force yourself to get something done? Or something else?
Just curious.
Thanks!
I can't help it.
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Follow up question, hope it's not too corny:
Why do you write?
Just curious about those of you who write out of personal motivation (not exclusively for financial compensation) - is it an effort to articulate, or to form your thoughts? Or are you overflowing with ideas you just have to get them out somehow? Or is it more like you sit down and force yourself to get something done? Or something else?
Just curious.
Thanks!
Jeez, I don't know. I just sort of failed into it. I wrote my first play as an undergrad and it got a 3-day production that was pretty successful, and it felt good, more satisfying artistically than anything I'd tried before. As for how it turned out to be my career: I studied acting as an undergrad and did a little stand-up comedy, but quit both almost immediately; I wound up not moving to L.A. after school because at the time I didn't know how to drive and I didn't want to be a production assistant; I directed plays for a while but I couldn't really take the tedium of that job. That left playwriting, so I went to grad school for it. Obviously I, like Julie, can't help it and feel a compulsive need to express myself through writing, but it's more like I drifted into this and my personality gradually solidified around it.
Great question, though.
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I do it to pay the rent. But also: I've always had a need to express myself, whether through text or film or music. Since my mid-twenties I've tried to become more practical and realistic in what I decide to pursue, which sounds horrible on one level but is a must if I want to make a living out of it. This means, basically, to ditch vanity projects that have little or no chance of making it to an editor/publisher/producer, and focus on stuff I know has potential outside my cadre of friends. I'm also desperately trying to find my ideal kind of writing and concentrate on that; I am in awe of people who have found their calling, and can focus on that specific form of writing, such as plays, or movie scripts, or novels. I want to do it all at once, and I fear it's hurting my overall output.
Ironically, this post took me forever to write, and I'm not sure it even makes sense. I rarely try to explain/rationalize/defend my writing to anyone but me.
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i like this question.
i like to write because it (apparently) is a very hard thing to do and ive been told im good at it. i take a lot of pride in the fact that i can do something that not a lot of people can do. especially since there are plenty things out there i wish i could do but can't.
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Just curious about those of you who write out of personal motivation (not exclusively for financial compensation) - is it an effort to articulate, or to form your thoughts?
When I graduated from high school with straight C's and no real tangible talents, I realized I better pick up an unattainable dream and just roll with it. People told me I was good at was sounding rather pathetic, and also at making people laugh. So I tried to combine the two by writing.
I don't share my work, other than an occasional workshop. This helps with my motivation because I haven't been properly beaten into submission. I also spend considerable amounts of time pondering how I can get published or land a job on SNL, Adult Swim or CC. The key to this strategy is to take away anything that remotely resembles productivity, such as submitting work or building connections. This is so crucial, because as long as I don't know that I can't do it, I'll continue to do it.
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Thanks, I really appreciate your replies. It's interesting to hear what you have to say, so thanks for being so forthcoming and sincere.
Hope to read what you're writing sometime.
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i like this question.
i like to write because it (apparently) is a very hard thing to do and ive been told im good at it. i take a lot of pride in the fact that i can do something that not a lot of people can do. especially since there are plenty things out there i wish i could do but can't.
Wow, IABVT, you are a good writer, because you just nailed my thoughts eloquently!
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
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Who are you, exactly, Raad Man? I have my suspicions.
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
Write what you know, Raad Man.
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
I can't imagine such a film getting made! Oh wait
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/gaughin/dunne.jpg)
1987
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
Write what you know, Raad Man.
Beautiful, Jon.
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
Write what you know, Raad Man.
Beautiful, Jon.
beautiful is right. now ive got milk ALL over my computer.
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i like this question.
i like to write because it (apparently) is a very hard thing to do and ive been told im good at it. i take a lot of pride in the fact that i can do something that not a lot of people can do. especially since there are plenty things out there i wish i could do but can't.
Wow, IABVT, you are a good writer, because you just nailed my thoughts eloquently!
admittedly, im also pretty lazy.
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i'm witing a new movie about a talking dick. it is going to be pretty damn sweet.
I can't imagine such a film getting made! Oh wait
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/gaughin/dunne.jpg)
1987
fuck! hey do they allow you to do remakes in hollywood?
mine is different anyways because the penis goes to europe to back pack and find itself.
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I think they made that one too - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367652/
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I used to be a prolific writer, more so than now. In college I published a zine, wrote for the newspaper, and compulsively kept a journal. The other students on my dorm floor would complain about hearing my typewriter at all hours of the night (this would be the '80s, when computers were expensive and I had to go to the library to use them). These days I mostly write legal opinions and emails, but I do have a blog, and I continue to do reviews and previews for the local alt-weekly.
I don't know why I keep writing, so I guess I "have" to as well. I'm far more comfortable expressing myself in print than verbally, so that's a big part of it. I've often wished for a delete button in conversation.