Vincent Dellay
asked
David Wong:
Just curious... how long was it from the time you came up with the idea for WTHDIJR until the book was actually released? Some authors like Stephen King pump them out pretty quickly while others like George R. R. Martin take considerably longer (both are brilliant... I'm not cutting anyone down with that comment :)) The book is brilliant, by the way!
David Wong
Under that book deal I allotted myself two years to write each book, Suits and JDATE 3, in both cases I had some notes in advance, broad things about characters, moments, jokes, etc. In JDATE 3 the idea for the "monster" they would go up against goes back years. But actually sitting down and putting it together, two years. And that's with a full time job that takes up 60-plus hours a week. But every author is different, these books aren't nearly as complex as what GRRM writes, for instance, and complexity adds time because every plot decision impacts a bunch of other threads that have to be adjusted.
More Answered Questions
JOe
asked
David Wong:
I feel like the JDATE series is one of the few fictional universes that feels open-ended, like most anything can, will, and has happened. So what is your process around world building? And do you write linearly or do you work from a broader set of ideas and form a story around those? Please and Thanks.
Cy
asked
David Wong:
Are there any particular narrative structures that you use when outlining? Such as three-act structure, freytag’s pyramid, kishotenketsu, and so on. How do you make sure a story outline “works” in a dramatic sense? Or do you start with a general sense of what's going to happen, and leave certain dramatic decisions for the writing itself?
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