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May. 30th, 2022 03:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iolosdreamMay 30: wherein our Hero runs off at the keyboard again.
Observations on Writing.
One of the most common questions writers get is 'where do your ideas come from." Followed by "I have an idea, how 'bout you write it down and we'll split the proceeds?"
No, I can't use your idea. Ideas are the easy part. It's getting the story down in a coherent form that's hard. Any writer who doesn't have a bunch of ideas may be technically competent, but they're no story teller.
Do you plot everything ahead of time, or just dive into writing?
To write stories you have to learn to daydream in sequence, then write the dreams down. There seem to be two distinct tribes of writers:
a. Outliners, who get the story line all worked out, then start writing.
b. Seat of the Pantsers start with a vague story idea and some idea where the narrative will end up. After a certain indeterminate period of rsearch, Pantsers dive in and start writing.
Research note: At some point, every writer must finish with the research and Start Writing. You don't have to know everything for the first draft anyway. So don't let endless research keep you from the story. All writers sometimes get blindsided by relevlations, so even the most rigid Outliners have to be flexible about eventual outcome. I am very much a pantser, though if I don't know the subject well, I will do a lot of research before actually beginning the narrative. During the research period, a lot of ideas get stirred into a big pot. If I am forced to do more research, there's more time for ideas to trickle down into the mix. And remember, you don't have to know Everything about a subject: just enough to write a convincing story.
The great advantage/disadvantage to writing pure fantasy lies in the freedom to create. The downside is having to make up Everything, or at least borrow ideas from elsewhere after filing off the serial numbers. If your creation isn't convincing, your readers will let you know.
If you're writing historical/alternative history/ fantasy, you get the enjoyment of making stuff up, but the historical details have to match reality... within certain limits. My sword and sorcery stories happen in a fantasy world based on Italian/Greek Renaissance society. Over the years, I have read lots of sword/sorcery and have my particular preferences. The four Giocco/Isabel stories reflect my preferences and prejudices. I can avoid irritating mistakes made by other authors, substituting my own errors in their place.
My five Aero Rangers stories take place at historical junctures... with a twist of Things that Go Bump in the Night. The historical stuff has to make sense.
There's plenty of ripping adventure in our history as a starting point. Sadly public schools make an effort to drain all the blood out before the adventure of history soils the children's minds. Real history doesn't present a lot of nicely wrapped tales of good-guys vs. bad-guys, but it's much more interesting.
So where do I find interesting characters... and can I be in your story? Fortunately good storybook actors are everywhere: historical characters, people in the news, folks you meet on the street. Though I hesitate to use friends outright (friends can be offended if you dwell on less admirable traits) Mostly I change names and mix traits. One of my fencing buddies showed up in my first story: his strengths and foibles made a wonderful character. I'm not sure Abe ever forgave me. Then there was a gravel-voiced mechanic from my local garage... an unpolished gem of a man who informed Edmund Tailor in Aero Rangers tales. On one of my journeys I stopped for gas in East Texas, to encounter one of the prettiest women I've ever met, standing behind the register. I stole her away for Cassi, in Sorcerer's Daughter.
Occasionally a friend asks to be included in a story... that's rather more difficult. I need people who naturally fit the tale I'm telling. My friend may not fit anywhere, except as victim. One of my writer friends actually killed off a whole group at one go... at their request. It was a glorious death. The easiest way to include friends is as NPCs in a tavern or crowd scene. The tavern scene usually satisfieds most requests without too much collateral damage...perhaps that's why every fantasy story must have at least one tavern scene.
That should do for now. More later. DRW
Observations on Writing.
One of the most common questions writers get is 'where do your ideas come from." Followed by "I have an idea, how 'bout you write it down and we'll split the proceeds?"
No, I can't use your idea. Ideas are the easy part. It's getting the story down in a coherent form that's hard. Any writer who doesn't have a bunch of ideas may be technically competent, but they're no story teller.
Do you plot everything ahead of time, or just dive into writing?
To write stories you have to learn to daydream in sequence, then write the dreams down. There seem to be two distinct tribes of writers:
a. Outliners, who get the story line all worked out, then start writing.
b. Seat of the Pantsers start with a vague story idea and some idea where the narrative will end up. After a certain indeterminate period of rsearch, Pantsers dive in and start writing.
Research note: At some point, every writer must finish with the research and Start Writing. You don't have to know everything for the first draft anyway. So don't let endless research keep you from the story. All writers sometimes get blindsided by relevlations, so even the most rigid Outliners have to be flexible about eventual outcome. I am very much a pantser, though if I don't know the subject well, I will do a lot of research before actually beginning the narrative. During the research period, a lot of ideas get stirred into a big pot. If I am forced to do more research, there's more time for ideas to trickle down into the mix. And remember, you don't have to know Everything about a subject: just enough to write a convincing story.
The great advantage/disadvantage to writing pure fantasy lies in the freedom to create. The downside is having to make up Everything, or at least borrow ideas from elsewhere after filing off the serial numbers. If your creation isn't convincing, your readers will let you know.
If you're writing historical/alternative history/ fantasy, you get the enjoyment of making stuff up, but the historical details have to match reality... within certain limits. My sword and sorcery stories happen in a fantasy world based on Italian/Greek Renaissance society. Over the years, I have read lots of sword/sorcery and have my particular preferences. The four Giocco/Isabel stories reflect my preferences and prejudices. I can avoid irritating mistakes made by other authors, substituting my own errors in their place.
My five Aero Rangers stories take place at historical junctures... with a twist of Things that Go Bump in the Night. The historical stuff has to make sense.
There's plenty of ripping adventure in our history as a starting point. Sadly public schools make an effort to drain all the blood out before the adventure of history soils the children's minds. Real history doesn't present a lot of nicely wrapped tales of good-guys vs. bad-guys, but it's much more interesting.
So where do I find interesting characters... and can I be in your story? Fortunately good storybook actors are everywhere: historical characters, people in the news, folks you meet on the street. Though I hesitate to use friends outright (friends can be offended if you dwell on less admirable traits) Mostly I change names and mix traits. One of my fencing buddies showed up in my first story: his strengths and foibles made a wonderful character. I'm not sure Abe ever forgave me. Then there was a gravel-voiced mechanic from my local garage... an unpolished gem of a man who informed Edmund Tailor in Aero Rangers tales. On one of my journeys I stopped for gas in East Texas, to encounter one of the prettiest women I've ever met, standing behind the register. I stole her away for Cassi, in Sorcerer's Daughter.
Occasionally a friend asks to be included in a story... that's rather more difficult. I need people who naturally fit the tale I'm telling. My friend may not fit anywhere, except as victim. One of my writer friends actually killed off a whole group at one go... at their request. It was a glorious death. The easiest way to include friends is as NPCs in a tavern or crowd scene. The tavern scene usually satisfieds most requests without too much collateral damage...perhaps that's why every fantasy story must have at least one tavern scene.
That should do for now. More later. DRW
