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For the last, like, six months, writing and this game have been the two things my brain will consent to actually do most all of the time (I have bad depression and anxiety) so I've been writing kind of a ridiculous amount lately. It's really good to have something constructive that my brain doesn't shut down before I can actually do it. Mostly I've been working on my queer Arthurian thing, which I talked about in this thread, if you're interested, but I've done a couple shorter things lately too, including the first thing I've actually put out there for strangers to read, a goofy little fanfic. At the moment I'd say my "favorite" is said fanfic, because the tone worked really well and it actually came out how I wanted it to, but The Merlin Book, as it's somehow started being referred to, is pretty close to my heart.

How cool!! I'm a huge romance fan myself @Dunappy9

@Natalya1917 thats the exact same reason I write too!

I love to write, though I can't seem to force myself to buckle down and finish anything. I've been working on a very complicated book with a pretty substantial story line/character base, plus I write some really dark poetry (not for the faint of heart!) to keep me grounded. I love that I can pour all of my over the top emotions onto a piece of paper and relieve the stresses of the day. I had a few poems published many years ago. My real dream is to have a book published.

On a related note, does anyone here know a good way to stay motivated to finish a project, because I can use all the advice I get. I have the attention span of a two year old and when I truly sit down to write, I usually manage to get a page or two out before I find myself staring into space wondering if whales can get rabies or thinking about how much I love garlic bread. I work a weird schedule which leaves me with perfect spaces of time to write, but I can't focus or lack motivation to start. I don't know if it is the fear of failure that stops me or just a complete lack of discipline. Help!

I write RPG books! My first published one as co-author will be done in about a month and a half.

It's so fun to hear from all the writers we have here! I love writing novels and studying story and character structure. Genre fiction is my favorite, especially fantasy and steampunk. (Looking forward to NaNoWriMo next month!) Though lately I've been focusing on blogging and nonfiction. I took three courses from Creative Nonfiction this year and really enjoyed them. I learned so much more than I would have on my own from books. There really is no substitute for writing and sharing your work for critique with a class. I've also just started working as a proofreader and copyeditor. I've heard a lot of writers say they either love drafting but hate editing, or hate drafting but love editing; I can truly say that I love and need to do both. :)

@High Five Acres, when it comes to staying motivated, there are a few things that can help. You've probably heard all of this advice before, but starting early in the morning before you get distracted by a busy day can help. Also having a small, fixed amount of words or time that you will write every day and sticking to it. Combine short term daily goals that you can commit to easily (like your daily wordcount) with long term goals that inspire you (like visualizing your finished book!). One last thing, and this is a little bit of a theory on my part: I've heard the advice that you should tell someone your goal followed with daily updates, or even post them publicly, because that keeps you accountable to follow through. But I've found that I feel more motivated when my plans are a secret. Telling someone about them almost makes them real enough in a sense that I don't have to actually do them. So maybe think about which makes you more motivated? Do you feel accountable when others know your promise to yourself? Or do you prefer keeping it a secret and making it a reality through actions? Then you can surprise everyone when you casually mention, "Oh yeah, I just had a book published..."

PS: About whales... they are mammals, so I guess they could get rabies, but where would they ever be exposed to it?

I wrote a lot as a child - stories and poems. However, I have never felt confident as an adult to write. In my head, usually when I'm trying to get to sleep, I have plots going on for some books. Two are historical fiction based on my family history research, and another is a fantasy series (four books) but it's doubtful I will ever write them. (Helps me get to sleep though!)

I love reading every ones comments! So glad I started this discussion! I find it hard to stay motivated to one idea, I have so many coming in and I get inspired by a lot of different things that it's hard to stay on track long enough to finish one.

I had started a book and gotten almost to the end and then suddenly my fire for it died out and I just now started a murder/mystery/romance book that I'm excited about but I'm scared i won't stick with it. I get so far into a book and think I'm not a good enough writer, I know I'm definitely not good enough for published books but oh well :))

Thats beautiful! I'm a HUGE fan of art, mostly painting and graphite drawing. I almost went to school to be an art teacher but it was too expensive (now I pursue my other passion, culinary pastry arts!)

Anyway, I love poems and sonnets! They're just so pretty and flow perfectly when done well

@High Five Acres, I feel you on the motivation thing. It hasn't been happening with writing as much, but I struggle with that too.
One writing specific one that helps me whenever I get the clamming up, not good enough, fear of failure thing is this quote I read somewhere and don't remember where so I can't give appropriate credit: "All a first draft has to do is exist." When I need a push I remind myself that it's fine if it's terrible, I can revise like heck and do whatever I want with it once it exists. Just writing something, even if it's not 'right' or very good or whatever, is a very important step.

Also, according to the marine biologist I found on the internet, whales can get rabies (because any mammal can) but like @CLynnRose said exposure is a big factor. There are no cases of a whale with rabies on record, but there is one from Norway in the eighties of a seal with rabies. It's entirely plausible that a seal could get rabies on land and then bite a whale and give the whale rabies. Seals don't normally bite whales, though, because "it's a size thing", but it's rabies, so all bets are off on normal behavior