Ian's comments (member since Mar 27, 2009)

Ian's comments from the Writerpedia group.

I don't mind labels, but I can't get worked up to defend the need to have them. It doesn't matter to me if something is classed as sf, but in reality is a crime thriller set in space. If it's any good I'll read it and if it isn't I won't, no matter what genre it says on the back cover. As I writer I'll get a bit more worked up by the publishers' desire to pinhole, but then again it's one of the things about writing that you need to understand the market, so it's best to just do it and quit whining.

Having said that I think the simplest genre definition that sucks up the most books in the quickest way is one that can be applied to any genre and asks what's left if you take something out. Take out the science from an sf novel and ask what's left. If the answer is still a coherent story then it's not sf. If there's nothing that works then it's sf as the science is fundamental to the story. Same elsewhere, take out the scary bits and if there's nothing that works it's horror etc. Take out the comedy from a funny book... etc etc

That's interesting. I like reading how people do things and that's the utter opposite of my method. I've never once created a character trait list like that at any stage of a story. That's not to say either way is better or worse, it's just what works for you. Your method is good if you can create characters in your mind beforehand, which I can't do. And your method is great if you write character driven stories. You define the people and then work to find out what their story is.

Personally I tend to write plot-driven stories and the people come later. So to me a plot is essentially about solving a problem. So I'll come up with an interesting problem. I'll write a scene or two introducing that problem. That requires me to create people who have that problem. At first they are nothing more than names but the more I write the more I learn about them and so by the time I wind them up to solve the problem the people exist in my mind and I know how they'll react to the situation. By then I'm into the story and writing away happily.

Two ways essentially to get to the same point, which'll work either well or not depending on your mindset.

Not the advice you're looking for but... write novels! The same sort of thing happened to me when I first started writing. I wanted to write novels but never could for heaps of reasons. So I tried writing short stories. Did some and then one day I exploded with ideas and pages flowed and before I knew where I was a had enough for a novel.

So I say if the muse takes you and you're in the zone go with it and see where it leads you.

Inkblots, the one thing you need to avoid worrying about is the idea that there is a way to write a story. Every single writer will approach story writing in a slightly different way. Your mission now is to find the way that works for you. Try the creative technique above. If it works, great, but if it doesn't that's not because you can't write. It's because that particular way just isn't right for you.

Try planning a story, try not planning a story, try... well, keep on trying different ways until you find your way. And good luck.