tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post4923380305402624566..comments2024-03-10T04:29:20.044-04:00Comments on Mad Genius Club: When The Music StopsSarah A. Hoythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-46246795168593214062010-06-10T00:54:35.652-04:002010-06-10T00:54:35.652-04:00Kittens never stay where you expect them to, Sarah...Kittens never stay where you expect them to, Sarah. Don't you know that? Besides, when Daiquiri roared up in her mustang, the kitten just jumped in... and no one noticed that the door to the patio must have fallen open when no one was watching.<br /><br />No one knows what goes on offstage?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01422171964652699673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-83889973941466670972010-06-09T23:45:31.323-04:002010-06-09T23:45:31.323-04:00I think that there are times when a suggestion of ...I think that there are times when a suggestion of the bad thing that happened is effective but I've gotten dinged in a writing group for skipping the unpleasant parts and the criticism was right on. (Which goes back to the wallow-in-it nature of writing vs. reading, I think. As a reader I felt no impulse to look away from Kit's injury, for example.)<br /><br />"Going there" is a good reminder.Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-28389737770732893352010-06-09T22:13:46.066-04:002010-06-09T22:13:46.066-04:00Pam,
Zany ideas don't carry the book. You n...Pam, <br /><br />Zany ideas don't carry the book. You need to make the zany idea relevant. I always said A E Van Vogt put enough zany ideas in a page to write whole novels on. BUT in the end you didn't remember them. He made them into throwawaysSarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-54497815635363443802010-06-09T22:12:38.835-04:002010-06-09T22:12:38.835-04:00Synova and Pam,
It's not just a matter of zan...Synova and Pam,<br /><br />It's not just a matter of zany ideas. It's going THERE. And I don't mean the sex, which with one notable exception I still DO NOT write -- eh, only if I find it essential to the plot or character development, hence the exception. So, what do I mean by "going there"?<br />Well, take how much Kit bleeds in DST. My temptation was just to say he was wounded then skip forward to where he's well. I suspect he'd prefer that too. But it's cheating the reader. Or the part where Athena is cooked to a turn. Again, in previous books I'd have skipped ahead. BUT this time I went in, full force, and forced myself to stay through the squirmy, uncomfortable moments.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-59763617404172923892010-06-09T19:30:24.175-04:002010-06-09T19:30:24.175-04:00Hi, Sarah. I know exactly where you are comming fr...Hi, Sarah. I know exactly where you are comming from. Passion does not always run hot, but it always drives you. I know what you mean when you said you were well enough to want to write, but not well enough to write. That is a tough place to be! I find myself often there, exhausted by my other responsibilities.<br /><br />Regrets? Hard to pick just one. But having launched the first of the Jakirian series in Australia - The Calvanni - I would really regret not being able to reward the faith of readers and deliver the other five planned novels in this series (and the three prequals:)). What a great story. One that refused to die no matter what.Chris McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883058490702361466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-11576836152880004732010-06-09T18:22:14.167-04:002010-06-09T18:22:14.167-04:00Well, there's a point in which one must stop t...Well, there's a point in which one must stop the random injections of weirdness and start seeking a solution to the problem. Unless one is writing the next Hitchhiker's Guide. But that's a one-off, not a whole style of writing that permeates all of fiction. I hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-74430165800713031282010-06-09T16:48:32.918-04:002010-06-09T16:48:32.918-04:00Ack and did you notice? That was throttling back,...Ack and did you notice? That was throttling back, right there. Imposing order. Bleh.Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-89027542680820235662010-06-09T16:44:35.963-04:002010-06-09T16:44:35.963-04:00Imposing order. Oh yes. It all needs to make sense...Imposing order. Oh yes. It all needs to make sense and fit together, and we don't do trauma. The main reasons my attempts to do Urban Fantasy fall flat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-77185447974464251102010-06-09T16:38:24.900-04:002010-06-09T16:38:24.900-04:00( I really do like the volcano and the penguins an...( I really do like the volcano and the penguins and it all turning out to be a spaceship. Good thing Poindexter created all those monsters, eh? )Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-8901387193971343762010-06-09T16:34:31.631-04:002010-06-09T16:34:31.631-04:00Sarah, I absolutely do it to my fiction and I'...Sarah, I absolutely do it to my fiction and I'm fully aware that I do it to my fiction... or if not fully aware, at least I'm catching on. Probably about a year ago I realized that I know pretty well how to write but I needed to work on raising the stakes.<br /><br />"<i>I was raised not to make a fuss. Stiff upper lip and all that. If you get hurt you don't cry, that's low. You politely seek help. If you bleed you stanch it. If you are angry you become very polite.</i>"<br /><br />Yes.<br /><br />Along with a bunch of other habits bound to prevent unnecessary drama... which is a good thing in real life but not so good in fiction where you've got the additional element of actual control over events.<br /><br />I am working on it, though. <br /><br />When I was reading DST I was thinking, "Yes, this is what I'm shooting for." <br />Even just the energy pod thing growing in vacuum seemed a refreshing extravagance and a whole lot of fun. <br /><br />I should probably put a note on my monitor that says, "Yes, but does it have a green jelly volcano spewing penguins?" <br /><br />In that case when I throttle back I might be close to on target.Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-7908017690017676222010-06-09T16:08:16.767-04:002010-06-09T16:08:16.767-04:00Chris,
Considering all my worlds, except maybe th...Chris,<br /><br />Considering all my worlds, except maybe the diner, are different forms of dystopia, this is NOT reassuring.<br /><br />Personally, I'm going to Heinlein's Tertius.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-23414590137532378302010-06-09T16:07:18.258-04:002010-06-09T16:07:18.258-04:00matapam,
we used to have a writing prompt a week ...matapam,<br /><br />we used to have a writing prompt a week in our writers' group, and one of the methods we used was "same first line". You'd be amazed how different the stories were. Even if you started with what you were sure was a horror prompt, say: My heart sank when I realized the zombies had eaten all the cheese -- you still ended up with mystery, science fiction, fantasy and even YA stories.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-13935024863641808002010-06-09T16:06:54.125-04:002010-06-09T16:06:54.125-04:00Marrying a dead mistress isn't that strange. ...Marrying a dead mistress isn't that strange. Certainly no more so than digging up a fellows bones in order to burn him to death.<br /><br />It could easily have been done in order to lend her (or her children?) retroactive legitimacy.Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-62661254430970001852010-06-09T16:05:53.289-04:002010-06-09T16:05:53.289-04:00Synova,
I haven't read your fiction so I can&...Synova,<br /><br />I haven't read your fiction so I can't comment, but you might want to consider the fact that you might be doing this to your fiction, too.<br /><br />I was raised not to make a fuss. Stiff uppper lip and all that. If you get hurt you don't cry, that's low. You politely seek help. If you bleed you stanch it. If you are angry you become very polite.<br /><br />The problem was I was doing this in my fiction too. Throttling back without even realizing it. I've been trying to let go of this -- think of it, it's a cheat. The reader wants the full ride. That's why they buy the book -- since Draw One In The Dark. I was convinced Darkship Thieves was over the top. Apparently not. This latest book -- now sitting on agent's desk -- takes it a little further. Maybe IT is too much? (At least I think matapam has to agree despite her opinion at the beginning, it is NOT a Baen book, Alas.) And now, I am biting my nails for fear I let go too much, but wouldn't be surprised if told I'm still holding back and not "singing full voice."Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-70905214172891609332010-06-09T16:02:28.789-04:002010-06-09T16:02:28.789-04:00matapam,
I just want to know HOW the kitten got i...matapam,<br /><br />I just want to know HOW the kitten got in the car after I left her carefully locked in the little patio. Would one of you care to explain that?Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-79328354162605222012010-06-09T16:01:42.643-04:002010-06-09T16:01:42.643-04:00Brendan,
Nagging from above! -- my kids will tell...Brendan,<br /><br />Nagging from above! -- my kids will tell you I excell at THAT too. <br /><br />SarahSarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-51337128664466426282010-06-09T15:58:11.403-04:002010-06-09T15:58:11.403-04:00I figure that when we all die we wind up in our be...I figure that when we all die we wind up in our best fictional world to play with our characters (which for me would probably mean running in terror from them as they seak out revenge for all the mean things I do to them). But it's okay, because all our imagined worlds will be connected. I can have breakfast with my werelions, lunch with Kyrie and Tom, and dinner with Meb. All very pleasant... until the shooting starts at least (Hey, one of 'ems my world. There's *going* to be shooting. :P )C Kelseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-27550296322639866652010-06-09T15:42:24.287-04:002010-06-09T15:42:24.287-04:00The number of different ways a story can go is ama...The number of different ways a story can go is amazing. I throw in a nerd turned hunk for a potential boyfriend, you see a madman bent on revenge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-47967208085152489892010-06-09T15:08:20.115-04:002010-06-09T15:08:20.115-04:00The story round is making me realize just how comp...The story round is making me realize just how compelled I seem to be to impose order. Even trying to force wild abandon what I come up with is pretty mild wild abandon. ;-PSynovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-70326546478000860082010-06-09T14:25:57.013-04:002010-06-09T14:25:57.013-04:00On the other hand, Sarah, the weird directions of ...On the other hand, Sarah, the weird directions of the Story Round (Everyone please join in, see last Saturday's blog) is going some people are getting hit by very _different_ inspiration rays.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-68104964174354148652010-06-09T13:45:35.550-04:002010-06-09T13:45:35.550-04:00And there I was thinking Carpe Diem meant "ti...And there I was thinking Carpe Diem meant "timely nagging"(something mothers become very good at;) ).<br /><br />As to what I would want published after I die? All the nasty, vitriolic(but erudite) letters I never got round to sending to enemies. Nothing like getting a final dig in from the grave.Brendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12290731721638936110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-72093347365147757042010-06-09T13:16:05.879-04:002010-06-09T13:16:05.879-04:00Rowena,
If I'm allowed -- I'm very jealou...Rowena,<br /><br />If I'm allowed -- I'm very jealous of the six kids. We wanted eleven. Nature, alas, had other ideas. Fortuntely Robert is at least ten kids, being larger than life in every direction.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-13338450761973446442010-06-09T13:15:19.167-04:002010-06-09T13:15:19.167-04:00Linda,
Don't beat yourself up, hon. I have s...Linda,<br /><br />Don't beat yourself up, hon. I have started so many novels I don't remember most of them. (As I was woefully reminded while looking thorugh my drive. "I wrote a novel called never been? When? What was I thinking? Oh, thank heavens, it's ten pages of outline.") You'll finish one eventually.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-63134543933097536732010-06-09T13:13:38.115-04:002010-06-09T13:13:38.115-04:00Footnotes are my greatest talent (complacently.)
...Footnotes are my greatest talent (complacently.)<br /><br />And yes, yes, Carpe Diem.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-18643377410823012442010-06-09T13:13:02.433-04:002010-06-09T13:13:02.433-04:00Jonathan,
Very remarkable, aprticularly in creati...Jonathan,<br /><br />Very remarkable, aprticularly in creative hands.<br /><br />I'm almost myself today, which is good considering whoever I was before kept drooping and languishing. :)<br /><br />And yes, Jonathan, you always regret one more than the others. One is always more alive to you. But in my case, honestly, they were legion.<br /><br />If I may delicately tell you you're speaking nonsense. You don't get good enough "to do it justice" by sitting on it. Sometimes you have to rewrite it over and over (DST was written 6 times over ... eleven? Twelve? years) And sometimes you write it, then write other things, then return to it. But just keeping it in your mind will not make you able to handle it.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.com