Talking Writing With Brad Beaulieu

[blairmacg]

Brad Beaulieu and I met about ten years ago at the twentieth anniversary Writers of the Future workshop, where we spent a week learning the craft from Tim Powers and K.D. Wentworth.  (I still have the notes Brad made on a story of mine from that week.)  From the beginning, he struck me as a person who had an inquisitive and analytical mind that

Comments

[sartorias]

Cool! The data about secrets reminds me of the narrative tricks of surprise and tension: surprise being when the reader along with the characters get the shock, and tension being when the reader knows what's coming but the characters don't.

I sometimes have trouble diving how long to hold onto a secret--I know that when I read, I'll hit a point at which I'm feeling spinning wheels. The equivalent in romance is the Grand Misunderstanding. While it can create effective drama for a time, there comes that point when the reader is rolling eyes and wishing they'd sit down and talk for thirty seconds, like ordinary people.

[blairmacg]

The sweet-spot of tension and/or surprise can indeed be hard to hit.

I try (but don't always succeed) to think of it in the same way as magical limitations. There better be a good reason the Grand Whomever can wield Major Power, but not in *that* instance. Similarly, if two folks aren't disclosing a secret that can change the course of the novel, I want something deeper than, "We simply can't find the time to chat!"

Shared from Blair MacGregor: Talking Writing With Brad Beaulieu

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[asakiyume]

I love the way the worldbuilding (the magic and the geopolitical structure) grew out of the actual geography--that makes intuitive sense to me. The way your magic works sounds very appealing, too. Looking forward to the book!

(Also, tangentially, your maps and your book covers are gorgeous.)

[blairmacg]

Brad has a gift for finding the really cool details and connections that make a world live and breathe. :)