Yuan-Ming
asked
Robin Sloan:
Hi Robin, really enjoyed Penumbra! What's your tip or suggestion for making war with writer's block/apathy? I haven't published anything yet, but all I seem to have are a lot of loosely organized pieces (rants really) that meander and never seem to coalesce into something larger. Do I sort through the pieces or do I give up for a while and come back? Thanks for reading!
Robin Sloan
This is always a good question. I really only made progress as a writer when I started publishing short stories—some of them very short indeed, just a couple thousand words. (And keep in mind these were self-published: on my website, in Amazon's Kindle Store.)
I think the feeling of *finishing* something is very healthy and productive. It's also addictive. It's very very difficult to finish an entire novel when you're an inexperienced writer. (It's difficult even when you're an experienced writer.) A 2,000-word story is a lot more tractable. And if you can write a 2,000-word story, you can certainly write a 4,000-word story… and if you can write a 4,000-word story, you can write 6,000… and you just keep going, until suddenly you're writing novels.
I think the feeling of *finishing* something is very healthy and productive. It's also addictive. It's very very difficult to finish an entire novel when you're an inexperienced writer. (It's difficult even when you're an experienced writer.) A 2,000-word story is a lot more tractable. And if you can write a 2,000-word story, you can certainly write a 4,000-word story… and if you can write a 4,000-word story, you can write 6,000… and you just keep going, until suddenly you're writing novels.
More Answered Questions
Jeannette
asked
Robin Sloan:
I adored Sourdough and now I'm itching to read your first book. What was the inspiration for the Lois club? Is this an actual thing? Having an old-lady name myself, I loved the idea of sitting at a table sharing bread an cheese with a bunch of different Jeannettes' and comparing our lives.
Shadrach Edwards
asked
Robin Sloan:
I just found you from Bujold's read and rated page (5 stars btw), and recognized the title because it was the first episodes of Escape pod I ever heard. Congratulations. Apparently this isn't the place for that because "your question needs to contain a question mark"?
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