Thought for the Day

"Unsure about the world? Scared? Sad? Lemme help. YOU LIVE IN A WORLD WITH BOOKS! There are books f**king everywhere. Story containers! Idea boxes! Dead tree narrative delivery systems! Read a book! Write a book! Hug a book! BUILD AN IMPENETRABLE STRONGHOLD OF BOOKS!"

~ Chuck Wendig, author

Thought for the Day

"Being a writer is about writing. Full-stop."

~ Chuck Wendig, Author

Thought for the Day

"Writing a first draft, no matter how f*****, is more than most people ever accomplish. And a f***** story can nearly always be unf******."

- Chuck Wendig, author.

Thought for the Day

"The first steps into a novel are always ginger, tentative, like walking in the dark through a house that isn't yours."

~ Chuck Wendig, author.

What it's like to be a writer...

All of us penmonkeys have had to deal with the consequences of explaining to lesser mortals what being a writer actually entails, and it's never easy. It's why when us writerly types get together things can get a little vociferous and... enthusiastic, shall we say?

Only the other day my good lady wife asked how much longer it was going to take me to finish the first part of Time's Arrow (deadline is Monday!) and the conversation went a little like this.

"Well, I've got to finish editing* Chapter 6. And I now realise I need to add in a new chapter."

"How long's that going to be?"

"About 2,000 words."

"Which means you'll write about twice that."

"And then edit it down. And then I've got to give the whole thing a final read-through and polish."

"So how long's all this going to take?"

"A couple of days."**

"A couple of DAYS?!?"

I should point out at this juncture that my wife and I have been together for almost twelve years, but she still doesn't completely understand what it is I do all day.

Anyway, certified penmonkey Chuck Wendig has written the definitive blogpost on what it means to be a writer, just be prepared for a little profanity along the way.***

* Which in my world actually means 're-writing'.

** It's sooo nearly finished!

*** Which is good advice for life in general, really.

On Plot and Dramatic Structure

If you're not reading Chuck Wendig's Terrible Minds blog... why not?

Only the other day he posted this fantastic piece on the intricacies of plot.

And while we're on the subject, Jason Arnopp (soon to be famous the world over for writing Stormhouse) posted this little anecdote on Facebook which sums up dramatic structure as succinctly as you could ever imagine.

How a young Alan Plater's agent dismissively summed up dramatic structure: "Oh darling, it's two or three surprises followed by an even bigger surprise". Love that.