Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
Groucho Marx (probably)
If you’re a cat person, then sorry, I really don’t know what to tell you.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
Drafts are a vital part of any writing project. Very, very, very rarely is any book released on its first draft. You need to pour over your work many times to make sure it’s ready for publication. But, the question often arises: How many drafts should you write? Three? Four? Eleven? How many is enough?
There’s no hard and fast answer. It depends on the author. Different strokes for different writers.
Even so, I’ve come across a few general tips that can help you decide how long to spend in the drafting stage.
Some people love the drafting stage, other people don’t. I find it a useful and interesting process. I not only clean up the chaos of my first draft, but also discover new things about my characters, new storytelling techniques, and just plain mature as a writer. However many you find necessary, remember the most important tip of all: Have fun with it!
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
How would you design the city of the future?
Well, for starters, I’d figure out what the heck is meant by “city of the future.”
I mean, hypothetical, futuristic cities designed in the 1950s look a lot different from what we 2020ers think they should look like . A lot less art-deco and a lot more Apple aesthetic. Lots of white and curved corners. In fifty more years, the city of the future will probably be imagined as made of recyclable plastic or something.
But this is my city, right? I can do what I want. So, futuristic means pretty, practical, and maybe even a little sustainable.
First thing’s first, its streets are based on a grid system. I want a city that’s easy to navigate with no silly, loopy streets going every which way. If we live in the future, we should be able to make our own cities easy to drive in, a least. Also, wide streets. My city will acknowledge the existence of heavy traffic and anticipate it. Wide streets that can accommodate, oh, let’s say six lanes.
But I’m also going to offer incentives to not drive cars everywhere. Because we’re in the future, right? And cars are a thing of the past. Well, they might be. It’s the future, who knows what’s going to happen?
So, I’ll have elevated rail lines for the train and also lots and lots of rental stations with electric bikes. Just put in a quarter and ride your rental for an hour or so. Also, I’m bringing back trolleys. Trolleys are a great idea, and I’ll fight the gas companies to make my city’s public transportation system the best in the world.
Since my city is on a grid, I’m thinking it’ll be shaped like a big square or rectangle. In the center is where all the skyscrapers will be located; the major businesses and corporate headquarters will have their places in the center, and they aren’t going to be big blocks of glass. I want some curvature to these buildings, something a little softer on the eyes. No hard corners. Also, solar panels. I’ll coat the upper floors of these skyscrapers in solar panels. Fancy, futuristic solar panels that are transparent or something, so you can still see out the windows. Not possible? Well, guess what? It’s the future!
Ah, speaking of power, I’m also going to install revolutionary new generators under the city center sidewalks that convert the kinetic force of footsteps into electrical energy. That’s right, I’m going to design a city that generates power from people walking down the sidewalk. Impossible, you say? Need I remind you? Future!
The most vital part of my city design is trees. Lots and lots of trees. The streets will be lined with trees, and there will be dozens of parks. Big parks, little parks, flower gardens, all scattered throughout the city. The very center of the city, smack dab in the middle, will be the biggest park, with a lake, a sports field, a walking loop through the woods, and more. Trees are important. They provide fresh oxygen and help calm people who otherwise are trapped in an artificial world. My city of the future will have nature in it.
That’s about all I can think of. A nice, pretty city that’s livable. And preferably cheap to live in. It needs lots of incentives for businesses to come in and employ people, but I’m just the designer, not the economist, so I can’t answer that here. But I’m sure my revolutionary sidewalk power generators will cut down on costs somehow.
I took the time to describe my basic idea to AI and got this image spat out in response.
Not bad, actually. I was expecting worse from AI. The buildings aren’t quite what I wanted, but I like the distinct lack of traffic and lots of bicyclists. Also, trees. Yes, that many trees.
There you have it. My city of the future.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
We as human beings don’t like to hear about “limits.” We want to do our own thing without anything holding us back. But consider the breadth of human imagination and all the choices you have as a writer and ask yourself, “How do I even know where to start with my story? Where do I go with it? How do I keep it organized?”
The truth is, stories need boundaries. That’s the difference between a story and rambling. Stories have a point, and they stick to that point. Telling a story about shopping at the grocery store is not going to include what your kids did at school that day. And a story about grocery shopping isn’t going to take as long to tell as, say, the history of Great Britain. Different stories have different limits. But they do need limits.
Some of us like to meander. We have so many ideas and we want to shove them all in. It’s fun to type away at your computer and watch the words flow. But knowing when to stop – ah, there’s the rub.
Here’s a metaphor for you: Imagine your story is like the human body. It’s made of many different complex parts. But all those parts are able to stay together and function properly because of the skin. Skin covers the body and keeps it in place. If we didn’t have skin, we’d just sort of … ooze all over. And who wants that?
It’s the same with writing. You have an idea, or two or three. Great! Now stop. Organize those ideas, don’t add to them. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end. A triggering event, rising action, climax, and epilogue. In other words, stories have structure. And structure, by its very nature, is defined by boundaries and restrictions. They aren’t bad things. They’re necessary for anything to make sense and have form.
Outlining your story ahead of time is a great way to know what your story is about, to know what to put in and what to hold back. Yes, things will shift and change as you go through drafts. But don’t keep adding and adding and adding. Know when to stop and refine what you already have. Put a skin on your story.
If overwriting is a major problem for you, then put a limit on your word count. Something miraculous occurs when you suddenly have a ceiling you can bump your head on.
When we are deprived of the freedom to do everything, we discover a new well of creativity. We choose our words more carefully. We find focus. Words matter more, so we experiment until we find the right ones. We cut away cumbersome paragraphs and sentences. Knowing there’s a cap on our writing makes us pay extra special attention to dialogue, plotting, pacing, and everything else.
Limits are good. They force us to be better writers.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
It’s so easy to look at the writing community and be amazed at the writers who churn out novels like nobody’s business. A novel per year, two novels, even three! How can anyone hope to compete with that kind of productivity? For those of us just starting out, we may feel a burden being placed on our shoulders. We may feel that we have to “keep up” to be considered good writers.
Well, I say “Phooey” to that. Every writer is different, and we all have different paces at which we write. Some write slow, some fast. And not everyone has a dozen stories to share, or even two. Some people only have one good book in them for their entire lives. My respect to those who publish that one book.
Comparing yourself to other writers, using the accomplishments of others as the measure of your own worth and talent, is a flawed notion. What do you know about the life of those writers? How long have they been writing, and how much time do they have with which to write? And even more importantly, what sacrifices have they made to achieve their output?
I have a day job and other responsibilities. I have friends and a social calendar. As much as a part of me would love to write 8 hours a day every day, the simple truth is that I can’t. I make deadlines, I make an effort to write something every day, but I’m no book-making machine. But I can still be content with my work.
So, if you feel that your worth as a writer is measured by how prolific you are, take a breath and relax. Don’t rush your writing, and don’t seek quantity over quality. A rushed product is messy and rarely 100% of your potential. There is no race, except maybe against the deadlines you set for yourself. Don’t rob yourself of the enjoyment of what you do.
We’re all different. Our writing journeys are different. Figure out what works for you.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
What is a word you feel that too many people use?
I have … several … words that I believe have seeped into the social fabric as overused and overrated vocabulary. Words used so often they don’t have any meaning left except as placeholders or hollow props to push a point. But one word I, as a storyteller and writer, really, really, really, really tire of seeing used at the drop of a hat is this:
Genius.
I see it everywhere online.
“Look at that camera shot! Genius!”
“Did you read this cool one-liner in this comic book? It’s awesome! Genius!”
“Look at what she’s wearing! I love it! The designer is a genius!”
“This music pumps me up! It must be genius!”
No, it’s not. It’s not genius. It’s likeable and memorable and probably technically very skillful. But it’s not genius just because you personally like it.
If I’m coming on strong with this, it’s because I don’t like it when people’s vocabulary is reduced to a handful of expressions and words to communicate a vast and varied array of feelings and situations. It cheapens words. Wait, what am I saying? Words are expensive. They must be, because so many people can’t seem to afford to learn any more.
Genius is a word with a history. The ancient Romans believed the genius was a type of spirit. Genii watched over people and resided in objects and locations. They were entities that guided and assisted people. They were an abstract, animistic concept with concrete benefits.
Genius evolved to mean an individual possessing remarkable and unique creative or intellectual ability. Geniuses are singular in their talents. They are rare, and often leave a significant impact on the world beyond that of simple aesthetic or crowd pleasing. Their minds are quantifiably beyond that of others.
Note that I said “rare.” Geniuses, true geniuses, don’t sprout up like dandelions. And yet, somewhere down the road, society lost the plot. It loves to attach the word to anything. And, I suspect, not because one truly believes the person or the work has intellectual or creative worth, but because of personal gratification. Genius is whatever you want it to be. Genius has become relative.
Maybe it always was? Maybe. But were Einstein or Turing or Leonardo da Vinci merely relatively smarter than the average joe? Or were they actually making remarkable and unprecedented achievements in their fields through learned and innate skill that is extremely hard to match? There’s nothing relative about genius. It is either present, or it isn’t.
This is not to tread over the achievements of others. Not everyone is a genius, but there are many, many skilled people in the arts and sciences who have produced amazing things for people to enjoy and benefit from. They should not be put down. And geniuses work hard, too. It’s the hard-working ones that we know about. But for the love of apple pie, please stop throwing the word around like confetti! Let it hold some meaning.
On the other hand, linguistic drift is a thing. Tragically, “genius” may very well go the way of so many other words with rich histories and meanings and become just another toy in pop culture’s box.
But not for us bloggers, right? Right?
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
As writers, we are doing something that we love. We also know that writing comes with wearisome but necessary tasks, such as budgeting. This is especially true if you’re self-publishing. As annoying as managing your budget can be, it is vital to getting your book onto the market. Here are a few tips I picked up in the course of publishing my first book.
Money is a pain. It’s not why most of us write. But it’s a necessary evil, and it’s worth it in the end. The light at the end of the tunnel is seeing your book up for sale and available to the world.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
Let’s assume for a moment that we’re talking about a story featuring classic good versus evil. There’s a hero and a villain. They struggle with each other for victory.
What makes the story good? Lots of things, but interest is a biggie. We like interesting stories. Inversely, we avoid boring stories. What makes an interesting story? Conflict. The hero has to struggle to reach her goal. She must overcome obstacles great and small, and in so doing display character growth and maturity. At the heart of that struggle is their nemesis, the story’s villain.
Good villains go through their own struggles. Does that surprise you? The hero isn’t the only one who must overcome. After all, the best villains are the heroes of their own stories.
Like heroes, villains have goals. These goals run directly counter to the hero’s, hence why they clash. Now, a villain may be stronger than the hero, or smarter, or generally more intimidating. Which is great! It makes the hero’s victory all the sweeter. But if the villain always wins and succeeds in all their schemes right up until the last hour when the hero finally, conclusively defeats her opponent, well … It’s not a bad thing, per se, but it’s a tad predictable, and rather repetitive.
But what if the conflict becomes a ping-pong match?
The hero wins one round. The villain wins the next. They trade blows and barbs; they’re evenly matched up until the last. Now that’s a good story! It keeps the audience on their toes. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. You’re dangling in delicious suspense. “What if?” you ask yourself. What if this story doesn’t end happily? What if the bad guy wins? After all, the villain is a match for the hero. It’s just like ping-pong, which can get really intense if both competitors are skilled.
Okay, we know that good overcomes evil 90% of the time, but the illusion of doubt is introduced. Disbelief is suspended. We are caught up in the moment of the story.
Meaningful conflict is driven by a question that any good story should prompt in the audience: What happens next? It doesn’t matter if deep down we know the answer. The question should still be whispered on our lips.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
My friends and family know I’m a writer. They know that I’ve published one book and am currently working on a second. That arouses interest, and it invites a question. It’s a question I never feel I can adequately answer:
“How’s your book coming along?”
What do I say? Do I delve into the complexities of plotting and characterization or explain exactly how the story has evolved in the writing of it? Do I describe the process of drafting? Maybe we could have a chat about beta readers or commissioning cover art? Or perhaps I just jump into a lengthy spiel about how writing is so darn fun, the thrill you get when your ideas come together and your vision is realized?
It’s … hard to talk about my work with non-writers, not because of some elitist viewpoint that only writers can understand other writers, but, because I don’t have anything to show for my work until it’s done. That’s the weird thing about writing in the modern era. There’s no physical measure of progress.
I’m no artist or sculptor, whose progress is apparent from glimpsing the picture being painted or the block of stone being carved. I’m not an architect whose building people can watch being built day by day. I don’t even live in the era of the typewriter, when authors ground out their pages and stacked them into a pile. That’s progress you can see. But in this time of computers, all of my work is invisible. It’s in the hard drive, unseen and untouchable, and what isn’t there is in my head.
So, when people ask how my book is progressing, all I can really say, “It’s going good,” or “I’m on track.” Unless they want to be a reader reviewing my work, there’s nothing I can show them. The answer to their simple question – the full, glorious answer of what is going on inside a writer’s colorful mind – takes more than a quick word to fully portray. Microsoft Word documents aren’t glamorous. The writing process itself isn’t glamorous. You don’t see people lining up for tours to see authors at their desks. It isn’t fancy or visibly interesting. All the fun goes on in the writer’s imagination, unseen and unheard. It’s the result that grabs people’s attentions, and only the result.
Cal it a writer’s lament.
How’s my book coming along? Just fine, thank you for asking. But I can’t truly show you until it’s done.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
When you think of writing a book, “commitment” is a word you might associate with time discipline, writing a certain number of words per day, or setting aside a chunk of your budget for publishing and marketing. You wouldn’t necessarily think of the writing itself. After all, writing is all about making changes. That’s what drafts are for! But there is at least one piece of the puzzle on which you have to make a choice early on, and from which backing out can be painful. That is choosing your narrative point-of-view.
Now, third-person is common and popular, but what if you go for first-person? Ah, then you really have to commit, because first-person narrative has a whole set of pros and cons to it that change the way you tell the story.
The pros? Writing in first-person lets you get inside the head of your POV character, whether they be the protagonist or someone else, and really dig into their psychology and the world they live in. It’s a very personal method of storytelling. You really get to know who this character is as a person. Plus, you get to shape the story and its twists and surprises in a fairly organic way. The reader can only know what the narrator knows (or thinks they know). And the narrator doesn’t have to be honest or reliable.
On the other hand, first-person limits the scope of your storytelling. You can’t describe a distant scene two countries over, you can’t pull back and dedicate a few paragraphs to an unbiased history of the setting, and most importantly, you are restricted to the one character. You can’t jump between multiple peoples’ perspectives.
Ok, that’s not true. Crazy geniuses can write books that feature multiple POV characters told from multiple first-person perspectives, but I’m not brave enough to try it. But if you have written or read such a book, let me know in the comments. I’d be interested in reading it.
Your narrative is narrow in scope. That’s not to say the story itself has to be . It can be a sprawling epic, but you will only see it through the eyes of one person. That’s why you have to be sure of yourself before you start. You’re gonna have to commit.
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
Jake W. Powell 