Ask the Author: R. Billing
Answered Questions (5)
R. Billing
I don't really have a list. I'd like to read the rest of Bill Bryson's books, and I'm always on the lookout for new SF.
R. Billing
Several times I have been working for large corporations and asked the question, "Why did they decide to spend money on that?"
Some of these projects could be very good plots.
Some of these projects could be very good plots.
R. Billing
Slippery Jim and Angelina in the "Stainless Steel Rat" series. It's the juxtaposition of a very deep love and ongoing mayhem that makes it work.
R. Billing
I find that the trick is this: Give myself permission to write badly for a while.
Writer's block is often just the fear of not writing up to the quality that we expect from ourselves. Or in another sense the fear of writing badly.
But if I open a file and just start typing, knowing that if I produce rubbish I can delete it, the creative juices flow and I find I'm writing well again. then it's time to turn back to the real project.
Sometimes however the pieces I write to cure writer's block contain really good story ideas that I use later in something else.
Writer's block is often just the fear of not writing up to the quality that we expect from ourselves. Or in another sense the fear of writing badly.
But if I open a file and just start typing, knowing that if I produce rubbish I can delete it, the creative juices flow and I find I'm writing well again. then it's time to turn back to the real project.
Sometimes however the pieces I write to cure writer's block contain really good story ideas that I use later in something else.
R. Billing
The background comes first. I was playing with the idea "What would happen if the scientists discovered something really devastating, such as faster-than-light travel, and the politicians never got hold of it?" That gave me an idea for a vibrant, dynamic society spreading out into the galaxy, but one that didn't know warfare. This in turn bred strong, self-reliant characters. Of course the problem is that this only goes on as long as the drive technology is secret, and keeping that secret became increasingly difficult. Then Jane bounced on stage. Small, fragile, liking nothing more than dancing the night away, but as strong as steel inside, she is the most effective agent possible when it comes to protecting the drive. Once Jane arrived that was it, her determination to do what is right at any cost created all the stories.
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