Robyn Bradley's Blog, page 2
June 18, 2016
Fiction Tips: Sometimes you need to stop writing.
Writers write. Right?
Yes.
But!
The smart writers know when to shelve a work-in-progress.
Case in point: I recently finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King.
It’s a time travel story that centers on this question: what would happen if JFK had lived? I CRUSHED ON THIS BOOK SO HARD. Here’s the thing about King: he is so versatile, and he has evolved so much as a writer. So if you tried him in the past, meaning decades ago, and he wasn’t your cup o’ tea, consider trying him again. Consider this book!
...
June 4, 2016
Fiction Tips: The Chronology of My Madness
I’ve been bitching to my writer friends (and anyone who’ll listen) that I can’t seem to write a goddamn story without some weird time warp timeline. WHY CAN’T I WRITE FORWARD? Meaning I start at point A and move to point B and then C and then D until I get to the end. FLASHBACKS SHOULDN’T BE MY ENEMY.
But the other day, after coming off revision #5968657475457 for book #3 and returning to book #4 (the one giving me hives because of the timeline), I took a step back and asked myself, Well, why...
March 23, 2016
Character Backstory: Lessons from Orange is the New Black
I recently finished binge watching Orange is the New Black (OITNB). I definitely enjoyed this series. I wouldn’t use the word “love,” but I definitely liked it, and I’ll be watching season 4 when it comes out in June.
What I DID love was the way the writers presented character backstory.
Three takeaways…
1. ALL characters have backstories. Even minor characters.It’s easy to allow secondary or third-tier characters to wallow in the land of one or two dimensions. OITNB does a fabulous job of re...
March 19, 2016
#WeekendReading
I haven’t read Liane Moriarty yet. Everyone keeps telling me this is a good one. I love taking a deeper dive into my genre of psychological suspense.
Some writers worry about reading novels as they’re drafting, especially if the novel is in the same genre. I used to feel this way, but less so now. If it feels too close, I’ll stop.
March 10, 2016
Radio & The Big Hairy Revision Monster
For #TBT, I’m digging into the radio archives. When I was a pup and still finding my voice, I worked for a Boston radio station as the producer of a morning show.This picture is from 1995-ish. I’m in the green. Next to me: morning show host Gary Dickson, the incredibly talented Moneen Daley Harte, and, yes, Tony Randall (google him, kids).
One of my many tasks included editing down long interviews (think 10 to 15 minutes) to 90 seconds. This was the best instruction a future writer could eve...
February 25, 2016
The Sadness of the Unread Story
The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. — Ursula K. Le Guin
I’ve tried explaining this before, but I wasn’t sure if I was alone in my feelings. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon this quote from Le Guin that I realized she feels it and, no doubt, other creative types do as well.
A story isn’t complete until people experience it. I’ll take Le Guin’s quote further and say it’s not just written stories, but...
