Ransom Noble's Blog, page 38
June 17, 2009
Reading
The more I read these days, the more I’ve begun looking for the pieces that hold the story together.
This type of analysis is good, except sometimes it gets in the way of the reading for pleasure I did for so long. It’s almost impossible to read without looking for things to tweak, though I reserve most of that for my own pieces.
The writing is going slowly since I need to focus during naps, but at least I’m attempting it.
June 16, 2009
Writing Prompts
One of the ladies in my writing group brought two pieces Saturday. Both were from writing prompts from another group she’s in.
She’s right when she mentioned how every writer looks at a prompt differently. My first story, “Qui’s Contract,” was written for a prompt along with every other piece in the book Ruins Metropolis. The prompt was the front cover picture. The stories ranged from science fiction to fantasy to mainstream. Cool book!
I’ve been trying to write for another prompt from the same pu
June 15, 2009
Geek Appeal
Check out information on The Art of Science on Nancy Famolari’s blog!
“A Tiny Frozen Microbe May Hold Clues to Extraterrestrial Life”
The article talks about things that might hold more clues to life on other planets from 120 000 years ago. I know it’s always an unanswerable question right now about whether there is or is not life besides us out there.
It’s something that works into my stories. There’s life. Somewhere.
… or at least, it’s there in my head!
June 12, 2009
Literary Madness
One great thing about a network of writer friends is I get random calls about things if they think I might be interested.
Yesterday the news was about a bunch of literary editors coming to Iowa City. The newspaper article was a bit misleading, but it was still interesting to go. I’m not sure how much I learned just yet, but I enjoyed chatting with the editors of various journals like The Missouri Review. I bought a couple, and can’t wait to read them.
Perhaps I’ll even submit to them soon.
June 10, 2009
Formula
Do you ever notice that some authors seem to follow the same type of plot? Looks something like a formula, but if it sells, it works, right?
One of my favorite authors has something like a pattern in one of her series. I started a book in another series, but the similarity to the other books was presented in a more pronounced manner. I can see why it has turned some friends off the book. I’m still debating whether to continue.
It might be easier to turn out novels if one follows a formula. It also
