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Hobbit Hole XII: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1160687/posts |
Posted on 06/17/2004 7:09:03 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
I promised my friend today that I would try to finish something before next Tuesday - we've been having Tuesday work-n-chat for the last few weeks; get caught up as we sit at our computers and do what we're doing... I told her she had to make some progress on a piece she's been doing for over a year, and she said I need to write something. (Her final deadline is Christmas, as the story is called "Advent")
So I need to write something. First-person POV, short story, something I don't usually write... and interesting.
But before I do that, let's procrastinate and spend money buying those Card books...
Description (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Monica Wood
Scene and Structure (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Jack M. Bickham
Plot (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Ansen Dibell
Conflict, Action and Suspense (Elements of Fiction Writing) by William Noble
Setting/How to Create and Sustain a Sharp Sense of Time and Place in Your Fiction (The Elements of Fiction Writing) by Jack M. Bickham
Dialogue: A Socratic Dialogue on the Art of Writing Dialogue in Fiction (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Lewis Turco
Manuscript Submission (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Scott Edelstein
Theme and Strategy (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Ronald Tobias
Revision (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Kit Reed
Voice & Style (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Johnny Payne
*tsk*tsk* I know what you're up to.
No, and my list of books to get is getting quite long. :(
I shall look for it!
"So I need to write something. First-person POV, short story, something I don't usually write... and interesting."
In the early 20th century a lot of mystery stories were written in first person POV like that. How about a short mystery? Maybe you could describe one of the magic-related cases Cas has to handle--like he's sitting in his office and someone walks in and puts him on a case, so you're writing from his viewpoint as he's trying to solve the case.
"But before I do that, let's procrastinate and spend money buying those Card books..."
That's one of my favorite ways to procrastinate :)
There's a good one called The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. A what-happens-after? story
Oooh ooh- a magic gumshoe film noir!
Out of those, I have the ones by Wood, Bickham's on "Scene and Structure", Dibell, Turco, Edelstein, Tobias, and Payne. The ones I'd recommend most are Bickham, Dibell, and Payne; and Edelstein is a good reference to have on manuscript format though doesn't really give writing tips per se.
Looks at floor sheepishly. . .
"Oh... do you have John Gardner's The Art of Fiction Writing? You must. So useful!"
Don't think I've ever heard of that one. What does it cover that you found useful?
Ooh, ooh... found some old notes I wrote down to get stories out of my head. How's this: 1. A comic SF piece, written reminiscent of Connie Willis. A college student, English major, has a dimensional traveler appear in her apartment. He has been trying to get home for several weeks, keeps ending up in the wrong world. She has to help him break into the physics department to get his hands on a piece of equipment.
"There's a good one called The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. A what-happens-after? story"
Thanks!
"Oooh ooh- a magic gumshoe film noir!"
Exactly :) "Maltese Falcon" with a twist :)
LOL!
It covers pretty much everything. Very solid book. Not aimed at SF, but rather general fiction. Helpful in depressing sorts of ways - makes me realize how I don't measure up.
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