Question for the Writers

[Geoff Thorne]

Write.

Don't talk about it. Don't daydream. Write. And write your own stuff, your own worlds.

My rule is only to write books, stories, screenplays that I want to read or see. If I don't like it, there's no point in continuing. And, as a fan of the various genre lits, I am also a member of the audience. It's a good bet that the things I like will be liked by others. Which is not to say that DURING the process there aren't irritating and even boring moments. Of course there are. But I only start things I feel I have to complete.

Which wasn't always the case.

 

[Greg Cox]

A practical tip. Sometimes I find it difficult to write dialogue and description at the same time; I want to concentrate one or the other. So I'll just write all the dialogue first and go back fill in the description and physical business ("He took another sip of coffee.") later on.

Thank god for modern word processing! You can just add stuff in layers.

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

Write.

Don't talk about it. Don't daydream. Write. And write your own stuff, your own worlds.

That's my problem. I need to get my butt in the chair in front of a keyboard and... hmmm... stop browsing forums?

Or win a million bucks and quit my day jobs...

 

[MarianLH]

Write.

Don't talk about it. Don't daydream. Write. And write your own stuff, your own worlds.

That's my problem. I need to get my butt in the chair in front of a keyboard and... hmmm... stop browsing forums?

Or win a million bucks and quit my day jobs...

Do what I did upthread. Make it hurt if you miss a deadline.


Marian

 

[TGTheodore]

A practical tip. Sometimes I find it difficult to write dialogue and description at the same time; I want to concentrate one or the other. So I'll just write all the dialogue first and go back fill in the description and physical business ("He took another sip of coffee.") later on.

Thank god for modern word processing! You can just add stuff in layers.

Description is also a problem for me, but for a different reason. I wrote plays and screenplays for over 25 years and, compared to fiction, it's much more of a "shorthand" format because the final product will be visualized by the director, the cinematographer and the actors. You can skip a lot of details because they're really not your job.

Primarily stage directions and dialogue only. Only description where it absolutely enhances the scene. Writing too much motivation and descriptions into the script tend to piss off the actors and art directors.

In fiction, you're creating the entire environment and mood. (Although tie-ins help a lot because the regular reader and viewer already know what a lot of the environments look like.) Still, it's a much more detailed job writing them.

I think I write fairly decent fiction description -- I just don't have the patience for it. That's why I think short fiction was the best way for me to become indoctrinated.

--Ted