The Scholar Who Wanted to Brawl

[WriterGuy]

Brawling is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration on my part as I have no desire whatsoever to beat up people, but for the sake of this post to have an awesome title I will go with it.

 

I’m always nervous with introductions, because I tend to overshare. Bear with me though, it’s all relevant.  

 

I hail from a small country (Bulgaria) and I’m a book nerd. English has been my first love since I started school and studying it has led me to develop a passion for literature and writing. I review books, writer speculative fiction and contribute to various websites as a columnist, a slush reader or editor. My job involves writing sales web copy. I’ve been doing all this while going through my Bachelor and Masters degrees.

 

As you can see, I have this trend going on where I sit down and develop my mind, rather than my body, which is the reason why I’m here in the first place.

 

Fitness has never appealed to me, because fitness culture here doesn’t seem inclusive, friendly or open to people who don’t know squat. The nurture element is certainly missing there, but I found it here and this motivated me to join the forum.

 

For the longest of times, I’ve been dissatisfied with my life and harsh with myself, which led to a rather unhealthy relationship with food where I would eat until I felt full just so I could dull what bothered me at the time. Now food has become a go to place and I don’t want this to continue the way it has, because I love food (I get excited when I see cooking accessories).

 

I’m in a better place now and I’ve accepted myself for who I am. I’ve grown to accept my weight as a result of my decisions and not hate it as a trait that defines me. Sounds weird, but this gives me the power to seek out the change I want for myself.

 

What do I want to achieve:

 

Body: A healthier me. I want to slim down first, then build up a body that will allow me to go on proper adventures.

Mind: I want to train my resilience and reverse the bad habits that have led to unhealthy eating.

Creativity: I want to move forward in my creative writing career. Fiction has been my lifeline, so I wish to become a published author. I’ve been professionally published before, but I want to build on top of these early achievements and make writing my career.

Skills: Learn to do something with my hands. Right now I associate this with cooking.

Soul: I want to live as me, the weirdo people are not sure how to exactly react to.

Life: Move to Canada, which I think is the country I should have been born into.

 

This is me, ready to kick butt.

[sylkamaru]

Hello and welcome !

 

You're right about some of the fitness spirit.

I went to those, and have been very disappointed. (all appareance, quite judgemental, know-it-all without really knowing a sh*t...)

But not everything and everywhere is the same, and NF seems to be the better proof.

 

It's nice to have a TODO list like yours.

Greetz for your publish btw !

 

Hope all will go well !

[WriterGuy]

Thanks. I have always associated with working out with pain and never with fun. If you want to look good, you have to go through a painful regime to achieve a certain look. It has never been about feeling good on the inside and emotional growth along with body improvement.

 

This is what I do see in NF and why I have signed up. I have never done something of the sorts before, because I don't really like to involve people with something as private as my body, but I need the help.

 

Thank you for stopping by and chatting. Also, things with the publishing have been going well with several shorts out and about. I'm really happy.

[sylkamaru]

Exactly, on NF, they took a citation which is important "appearance comes from fitness"

And my experience would add "fitness comes from convenience and joy"

The greatest motivation at first will shatter at a given time if things become too complicated, too boring, or with too many constraints.

The best way to achieve it long term, is finding something that you'll like, which you can do without complication (it has yet to be smart jumping around at home do not get anywhere )

 

As an example, I just have 1/2 hour to get the gym... this little 1/2 hour would make me 3h total for a workout (1 hour transport, 1h30 workou, 30 min preparation / shower / chatting)... I last 2 months... Comes a time when I wanted to do something else with my life than fitness.

 

Then I discovered bar hitting in a park just next to my work... It ended because I changed work but I still bar-hit on a pullup bar at home...

 

perhaps you could precise some of your goal and people can help give specific steps...

[Nara]

Hey and Welcome~! No need to be nervous though, all friendly sunshine and shenanigans here~ at least I would suggest so.

Also with your love of literature it seems that "the pen is mighter than the sword saying" is right up your alley~

 

But it's awesome that you have learned to love yourself, trying to do some of that myself with my "inner nara" per say, But if you develop enough of a fondness of cooking that you try and cook Sesame Chicken with Bourbon Sauce you may have a ninja visitor pop up on your front door asking for poultry dishes inspection, just sayin' hehehehe.

 

"Soul: I want to live as me, the weirdo people are not sure how to exactly react to." <-- THIS. ALL THIS.

 

OH, (Another) Random Idea! You can combine your writing skills and do a progressive fiction of yourself trying to overcome the foods that you slowly try to work out for healthier ones :3 IT SHALL BE LIKE:

 

"WRITERGUY  I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME. YOU SAID YOU LIKED MY RAINBOW COLORED SPRINKLES." The doughnut's eyes were dripping in sugary glaze as it tried to reach out to its beloved.

"No, it is enough, my heart must go on and venture into a new wilderness. This wilderness that I can explore and find better things in, it is the place in which my hands stir for the frying of delicious new foods, WHERE THE SEEDS OF MY FREEDOM LAY IN THE LAND OF MAPLE AND THE WORD OF OLDEN FRENCH. No, my dear Doughnut, this is enough." Writerguy shifted his eyes to the rising sun of a new change, the prologue to his goals unfolding before him.

 

Yes....yes.... It shall be like this and in this way you combining two of your goals together IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS~!

[calamedes]

I can't explain how much I love the above post.

My fellow classmates are looking at me weird because I'm smiling at my laptop when everybody is talking about anemia... hahaha

[Guest Dirty Deads]

Welcome! I'm sure that you, much like myself, have a love for writing that borders on hypergraphia. I don't have your education, but the love is there.  I have "The pen is mightier than the sword" tattooed on my back even. I'm also a personal trainer and a Buddhist, so obviously ANYONE from ANY walk of life can foster a love for fitness.  It's said that exercise increases blood flow to the brain and improves thought. Anyways, what is your preferred subject when writing? I have a love for werewolves myself.

[sylkamaru]

I can't explain how much I love the above post.

My fellow classmates are looking at me weird because I'm smiling at my laptop when everybody is talking about anemia... hahaha

 

I can.

It's called the "Nara Effect"

You take almost anything, then Nara comes, pass it in her mind and put out a scene full of fun, colors, and a bit of craziness.

Definitely putting a smile on oneself.

Good writing btw there, I'm not a writing expert, and actually a quite poor reader, but this little scene made me want to read the following.

[WriterGuy]

Sylkamaru: I have two main goals at the moment. One is to break down my bad eating habits and slowly move from processed foods to a food regiment where I eat food I have cooked or someone else has cooked for me. I have been quite dependent on sugar for quite so while, so resisting sweets will be one of the bigger challenges. I have started, but it's a slow process. Temptations lurk everywhere. Second is introduce more movement in my life, which I'm doing by walking mostly as I have a weird, mysterious respiratory problem, which doesn't allow me to breathe properly and renders my circuits useless.

 

Nara: Oh dear, you are quite the handful.    I adore your comedic flair. I wish I could write quite as funny, but I instantly go for darker stuff. I have a project called The Hunger Diaries, where I write some increasingly disturbing tales that resolve around food. Now that I have graduated from my Masters, I will have more time to go back to it, but I actually have short story deadlines to keep me reading.

 

Calamedes: I'm glad you're having fun. This is the fun thread!

 

Evil Midnight Bomber: I don't have the education actually. Technically, I have no certificates or degrees in English (something to remedy). I graduated economics and now marketing and advertising, so you can say writing is my vocation. I write about bad, twisted things happening to weird people. Dark stuff - Kafkaesque to a degree.

[raggedsweater]

I’ve grown to accept my weight as a result of my decisions and not hate it as a trait that defines me.

 

I like that. 

[Nara]

I can't explain how much I love the above post.

My fellow classmates are looking at me weird because I'm smiling at my laptop when everybody is talking about anemia... hahaha

 

Hehhehehe.... HEHEHEHEHHEHE -evil laughter-

 

I can.

It's called the "Nara Effect"

You take almost anything, then Nara comes, pass it in her mind and put out a scene full of fun, colors, and a bit of craziness.

Definitely putting a smile on oneself.

Good writing btw there, I'm not a writing expert, and actually a quite poor reader, but this little scene made me want to read the following.

 

I am smiling so much you don't even know Haha~! I find it absolutely amusing you have made an "Effect" of this given I haven't been here long~!

 

Nara: Oh dear, you are quite the handful.    I adore your comedic flair. I wish I could write quite as funny, but I instantly go for darker stuff. I have a project called The Hunger Diaries, where I write some increasingly disturbing tales that resolve around food. Now that I have graduated from my Masters, I will have more time to go back to it, but I actually have short story deadlines to keep me reading.

 

>*D You have no idea, HEHEHE. OHHH So you already put Project I'm-not-gunna-eat-dat-burger into action!

But that's awesome you got that~ Would like to see some if ever the chance of course! Ooohhh Short story deadlines o3o sounds very interesting! (especially given that blush in there heheh)

 

CONGRATS ON THE MASTERS. You are now the wordsmith master that travels throughout the land search far and wide for the hidden words that lay inside! Yes indeed.

[terrormortus]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Love the goals, especially the fact that they are well thought out and seem to be the sort to make you a happier person. 

 

Cooking is a great skill to learn as it means you always have something to talk about with people and it'll serve you well for the rest of your life. In terms of your Soul and Physical Goal why not combine them? Get a weird yet amazingly fun way to get in shape. Good example, my cardio is me running away from zombies and starting in a couple of weeks my strength training is going to be learning mace fighting. 

 

Good luck and remember to keep being awesome.

[WriterGuy]

Raggedsweater: Thank you. I feared it might sound a bit pretentious.

 

Nara: YES, no more burgers. I have sworn on the grave of Grandfather Croissant to never, ever commit such sins. Oh well, you know, eventually trim them down to a smaller and smaller number. AND yes, I will post some excerpts from the Hunger Diaries within my Battle Log, which I should get into.

 

Terrormortus: Yes! I really want to get the hang of this cooking deal. I already know I can cook (I make a mean chicken pot pie), but I want to level up and write recipes in a thick, roughed up cooking book. I will give the zombie thing a spin, because I think it will really get me motivated to move. Though I will probably make muppet hands through it all.

 

Do tell me how the mace training goes! I intend to pick up archery at some point in the summer and see how that will feel.

[Nara]

Nara: YES, no more burgers. I have sworn on the grave of Grandfather Croissant to never, ever commit such sins. Oh well, you know, eventually trim them down to a smaller and smaller number. AND yes, I will post some excerpts from the Hunger Diaries within my Battle Log, which I should get into.

YAY! TELL ME THE STORIES. I shall bring marshmallows. Mentally uplifting ones filled with the encouragement of the good will of humanity. BEST CAMPFIRE EVER.

[Guest Dirty Deads]

YAY! TELL ME THE STORIES. I shall bring marshmallows. Mentally uplifting ones filled with the encouragement of the good will of humanity. BEST CAMPFIRE EVER.

 

Bring extra. Something tells me anything with the word hunger in it is going to give us the munchies...that and the fact that I am going to accidentally cut down the wrong :plants" to fuel the fire.

[Nara]

Bring extra. Something tells me anything with the word hunger in it is going to give us the munchies...that and the fact that I am going to accidentally cut down the wrong :plants" to fuel the fire.

Rainbows and drunken leprechauns are going to be apart of it, isn't there? xD Don't worry though I get the crackers made of cloud feathers and the chocolate of the laughter of many sailors and we can make smores~!

[Wolfhorde]

Oorah, friend!

 

Also, I think that was a good introduction - I actually think some people don't give enough information sometimes making it hard to have a proper picture of what they're about. Also, I'm curious: What got you into writing and did you teach yourself English and writing skills? Because your English skills (at least your writing) seems to surpass what is taught in most schools. (even here in Germany where English is pretty 'close')

 

Also, do you only write fiction or have you ever stepped out of that area and wrote short stories, fragments or poetry (or just a different genre)?

 

Cooking is definitely a good deal, while I don't know how you're going to take on it what I've observed is that people have way less of a problem with cooking when you don't hit them about the hit with a dozen recipes they don't understand so learning to cook on the basis of a recipe but being able to substitute/leave out/alter it on the fly seems to work pretty well. And hey, who knows - you might actually like it! (I like it enough to start prepping things when I'm bored and I don't have anything to read)

Plus, cooking and cleaning up is incredibly good for exercising consistency which might make habit changes easier. Personal credo: There is always time for cooking and cleaning up right after.

[WriterGuy]

Nara & Evil Midnight Bomber: Goodness gracious. Now that will be some weird smores. I can only hope we get to frolic with satyrs and swim with mermaids.

 

Wolfhorde: I tried out several other artistic venues, but I don't really have the talents, so I had to channel the energy somewhere. Ever since I was a child, I liked to say crazy things and make up stories, so this sorta happened since I got into puberty when I would write in Bulgarian. Then when I was a high school senior, I switched languages and started to write in English, which suited the stories I wanted to tell all the better. That's pretty much how I got my start. As far as English is concerned, I had a very gifted private tutor, who gave me terrific basics and taught me to love the language. The rest is passion and countless hours writing words over and over and over.

 

I have written shorts (those are what I have managed to sell). I have poetry (though it's pretty generic) and I have vignettes. Longer works are usually incomplete or in need of editing. I write speculative fiction, so fantastic dark tales are my thing.

 

I'm pedantic when it comes to recipes and I follow them to a T, which is why I can cook specific meals, but the whole experimenting thing doesn't really work for me as of yet. Later on probably. I can prepare basic meals and bake cakes, but I wish to expand my knowledge and skills.

[Wolfhorde]

Heh, quite frankly I think art and creativity is less about 'talent (as in genetically inherent/fatalist) as it is about 'skills' (learnable through life experience of whatever kind) but that's a topic for another time. Private tutor? Damn, that sounds nice. Wish I could've had something like that for anything 'artistic' (languages, art, writing, music ect) heh. But yeah, your proficiency definitely yells "writer".

I was a bit surprised to read you have degrees in econ/business-related subjects - you do seem to be rather versed on topics about writing.

Are there any insight or tips about writing you could share?

[sylkamaru]

I sooooo agree with that.

You can see every called genius... There is ALWAYS that much of a hard work. Inborn talent is such a tiny tiny part of what can one accomplish

[Wolfhorde]

I sooooo agree with that.

You can see every called genius... There is ALWAYS that much of a hard work. Inborn talent is such a tiny tiny part of what can one accomplish

Exactly. Even Mozart had hours upon hours of musical training, often effortless excellence that look like they just fell from the sky are the body consistency, dedication and 'fortunate circumstances'. Because not just explicit training but also implicit training influence our skills (e.g. certain habits and behaviors).

The way I see it is that almost everything is a skill that can be achieved - especially things that have traditionally been ascribed to a person as constant attribute which fails to recnogize that humans are changing consistenly and that our decisions/behavior inevitably influence our "attributes/personality/skillset". And this is not just a philosophical concept anymore, it's been proven by neuroscience - it's called "neuroplasticity".

[WriterGuy]

I agree with you both. Hard work can get you ahead in every field. I can't discredit this. Yet, I feel you need to have something in you that pushes you to grow better in a chosen field. To go back to arts, I have the following to say.

 

For performance arts - singing and dancing and acting to a point - genetics do play a role. Skills can be taught, but if you have small lung capacity or no vocal ability whatsoever, spending hours honing the craft won't get you anywhere. You can learn to sing in tune, but never become a voice to be remembered. It's a pinch of talent with lots of training that goes a long way and even talent and practice alone don't guarantee you will become a recognized name (it's easier for me to think of the form of evolution people usually dream about when they picture a singer or a dancer).

 

Drawing, sculpting, playing an instrument and writing demand something else and that's attunement to their craft. These arts concern creation and yes, you learn how to the chords, the elements of style, brushstrokes, but without the attunement to create within that medium, what you create is not going to be that good. That's why not every novel submitted to a publishing house is published. You can grow to the best of your ability, but it doesn't mean you don't have limitations. I write because I have no other choice (I spend a lot of my time in my own head and these stories creep on me) and I'm not sure whether I have hit my limitations or not. You never know and taste levels are always in a state of flux, so you never do know.

 

Also, these kinds of thoughts are the reason why most writers are alcoholics.

 

OK, so tips on writing.

- Find what your character wants and make sure everything he or she does falls in line with what s/he wants. Also make sure it's pretty darn hard for him/her to get what he/she wants.

- Edit once done. Like many times!

- Write what really moves you and what interests you. Write what makes you feel fear, love, joy, anger. Most often people think about publishing and try to mimic what's being sold now.

- Experiment and be bold. You can always go back and change it, if it doesn't work out.