Осколки чужого ума - 2
Итак, обещанное продолжение банкета - новая порция моих выписок из того, что пишут умные люди. На сей раз - Стивен Кинг, и, пардон, на аглицком. Здесь есть цитаты и "за жизнь", и о собственно писательстве.
Итак, Stephen King, On writing.
While I believe in God I have no use for organized religion.
Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.
I bargained, because that's what addicts do. I was charming, because that's what addicts are. In the end I got 2 weeks to think about it. In retrospect, this seems to summarize all the insanity of that time. Guy is standing on top of a burning building. Helicopter arrives, hovers, drops a rope ladder. "Climb up," the man leaning out of the helicopter's door shouts. Guy on top of the burning building responds, "Give me two weeks to think about it".
Any claims that the drugs and alcohol are necessary to dull a finer sensubility are just the usual self-serving bullshit.
[What writing is - ] Telepathy, off course. All the arts depend upon the telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation.
We're having a meeting of the minds.
Common tools go on top. The commonest of all, the bread of writing, is vocabulary. In this case, you can happily pack what you have without the slightest bit of giult or inferiority. One of the really bad things you can do to writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a lottle bit ashamed of your short ones.
The adverb is not your friend.
I'm convinced that fear is the root of most bad writing.
Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation.
Paragraphs are almost as important for how they look as for what they say; they're maps of intent.
If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.
The door closes the rest of the world out. It also serves to close you in and keep you focused on the job at hand.
... for me the music is just another way of shutting the door.
A strong enough situation renders the whole question of plot moot, which is fine with me. The most interesting situations can usually be expressed as a What-if question.
Description begins in the writers imagination, but should finish in the reader's.
... the 'delete' key is on youe machine for a good reason.
Symbolism doen't have to be difficult and relentlessly brainy. Not does it have to be consciously crafted as a kind of ornamental Turkish rug upon which the furniture of the story stands.
Symbolism exists to adorn and enrich, not to create a sense of artificial profundity.
Starting with the questions and thematic concerns is a recipe for bad fiction. Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story.
With 6 weeks worth of recuperation time, you'll also be able to see any glaring holes in the plot or character development. I'm talking about holes big enough to drive a truck through. It's amazing how some of these things can elude the writer while he or she is occupied with the daily work of composition. And listen - if you spot a few of these big holes, you are forbidden to feel depressed about them or beat up on yourself.
Ideal Reader will help you get outside yourself a little, to actually read your work in progress as an audience would while you're still working. This is perhaps the best way of all to make sure you stick to story, a way of playing to the audience even while there's no audience and you're totally in charge.
2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%
THe most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn't very interesting. Stick to the parts that are, and don't get carried away with the rest.
When you step away from the "write what you know" rule, research becomnes inevitable, and it can add a lot to your story. Just don't end up with the teil wagging the dog, remember that you are writing a novel, not a research paper. The story always comes first.
Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.
Drink and be filled up.
Итак, Stephen King, On writing.
While I believe in God I have no use for organized religion.
Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.
I bargained, because that's what addicts do. I was charming, because that's what addicts are. In the end I got 2 weeks to think about it. In retrospect, this seems to summarize all the insanity of that time. Guy is standing on top of a burning building. Helicopter arrives, hovers, drops a rope ladder. "Climb up," the man leaning out of the helicopter's door shouts. Guy on top of the burning building responds, "Give me two weeks to think about it".
Any claims that the drugs and alcohol are necessary to dull a finer sensubility are just the usual self-serving bullshit.
[What writing is - ] Telepathy, off course. All the arts depend upon the telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation.
We're having a meeting of the minds.
Common tools go on top. The commonest of all, the bread of writing, is vocabulary. In this case, you can happily pack what you have without the slightest bit of giult or inferiority. One of the really bad things you can do to writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a lottle bit ashamed of your short ones.
The adverb is not your friend.
I'm convinced that fear is the root of most bad writing.
Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation.
Paragraphs are almost as important for how they look as for what they say; they're maps of intent.
If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.
The door closes the rest of the world out. It also serves to close you in and keep you focused on the job at hand.
... for me the music is just another way of shutting the door.
A strong enough situation renders the whole question of plot moot, which is fine with me. The most interesting situations can usually be expressed as a What-if question.
Description begins in the writers imagination, but should finish in the reader's.
... the 'delete' key is on youe machine for a good reason.
Symbolism doen't have to be difficult and relentlessly brainy. Not does it have to be consciously crafted as a kind of ornamental Turkish rug upon which the furniture of the story stands.
Symbolism exists to adorn and enrich, not to create a sense of artificial profundity.
Starting with the questions and thematic concerns is a recipe for bad fiction. Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story.
With 6 weeks worth of recuperation time, you'll also be able to see any glaring holes in the plot or character development. I'm talking about holes big enough to drive a truck through. It's amazing how some of these things can elude the writer while he or she is occupied with the daily work of composition. And listen - if you spot a few of these big holes, you are forbidden to feel depressed about them or beat up on yourself.
Ideal Reader will help you get outside yourself a little, to actually read your work in progress as an audience would while you're still working. This is perhaps the best way of all to make sure you stick to story, a way of playing to the audience even while there's no audience and you're totally in charge.
2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%
THe most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn't very interesting. Stick to the parts that are, and don't get carried away with the rest.
When you step away from the "write what you know" rule, research becomnes inevitable, and it can add a lot to your story. Just don't end up with the teil wagging the dog, remember that you are writing a novel, not a research paper. The story always comes first.
Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.
Drink and be filled up.