The Next Best Book Club discussion
Author/Reader Discussions
>
WOOL Author/ Reader Discussion
Hello Hugh. What really captivated me in your Wool stories was the way you transitioned the main characters in each story. Was this something that was planned or inspired by another work? Few authors are willing to invest themselves into their characters and then let them go.
Hi Hugh,I came to know that you'll be coming to my city in March for the SXSW Interactive event. If you haven't been to Austin before, I'm sure you'll love it. If you have, you know what I'm talking about! I only wish that Ernest Cline (who, I gather, is now an Austinite) and you were in on a panel together. That would be incredibly interesting.
My question to you is --- as you write (or type), do you find discussing your storyline with other writers fruitful, or is that merely a distraction? I imagine that discussing work in progress, especially if it is science fiction, is hard because it takes words well-written (or movies well-made) to associate with and accept someone else's imagination.
Andrea wrote: "Lori wrote: "Hugh, to say I love WOOL would be the understatement of the year!"Thanks, Andrea!
Chrissy wrote: "I've been saying Wool omnibus (I-V) first, then First Shift, and I just ordered Second Shift. This opportunity to ask the author himself is a wonderful treat; so..having I been advising readers incorrectly? Thank you for taking your time to participate here! "That's dead-on! They should be read in the order of publication, not chronologically.
Kevin wrote: "My question: what are some of your favorite books? That is, what books in your experience have provided you with the same sort of excitement that Wool has provided for so many of us?"
For adventurous stories, my favorites are THE DIAMOND AGE, ENDER'S GAME, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and BATTLEFIELD EARTH. Forget the movie and the religion, the last is a top-notch read. Wool fans should enjoy it. Give it a shot!
Shilpi wrote: "My question to you is --- as you write (or type), do you find discussing your storyline with other writers fruitful, or is that merely a distraction? I imagine that discussing work in progress, especially if it is science fiction, is hard because it takes words well-written (or movies well-made) to associate with and accept someone else's imagination. ."I don't know that I've had those kinds of discussions with other writers. I do with readers, though. And I find this helpful. Even if they hate hearing the spoilers! :)
Mark wrote: "Hello Hugh. What really captivated me in your Wool stories was the way you transitioned the main characters in each story. Was this something that was planned or inspired by another work? Few autho..."It just happened. I only intended the one story, so I had no problem killing the protagonist. I needed to introduce a new one, and I used Jahns for that purpose. It helped set up the tension that Jules would for sure die in the third book. So it just worked out that way from moving to a series from the original short story.
Jules wrote: "So you mentioned in an earlier comment that you tossed the concept of the first WOOL around for 5 years prior to writing it. As someone who especially appreciated the backstory of the Shifts, I was wondering when you knew you'd be writing them. It's yet another aspect of this series that sets it apart from the rest in its genre. Way to raise the bar for all post-apocolyptic authors who follow! I don't know that I'll ever again be satisfied unless I know the cause for dystopiation (I don't think that's a word, but it should be!). Did you have the intention of eventually giving the why's, when's and how's in your outline all along? "I laid out the events in SHIFT prior to completing WOOL. The last scene in DUST is one I've been working toward for quite some time, now. It helps me to know where I'm going. All the foreshadowing is made possible by this. Great question!
Ash wrote: "On your website, you've got a picture of the poster for Wool. (I love the tag line btw) Is the camera in the upper left corner near the poster a prop or an actual camera? :) ."Is this the fan art poster? I'm not sure which one you're talking about. There's a piece of fan art with a stylized camera in the corner.
Hugh wrote: "I would love to see Natalie Portman or Noomi Rapace as Juliette. :) "+1 for Noomi Rapace, Natalie Portman...not so much.
I think Natalie Portman is great but she seems delicate for Jules. Really struggling to think who I can picture in the role I can picture the Jules of my head, if you know what I mean. She was muscular, sturdy, healthy looking and robust (but not big because of the rations) unaffected, unadorned with understated but appealing natural femininity. I can't picture many starlets the same way but that's probably my lack of imagination. In answer to Lori's question, I'll be an agricultural scientist please!
Hugh wrote: "Jules wrote: "So you mentioned in an earlier comment that you tossed the concept of the first WOOL around for 5 years prior to writing it. As someone who especially appreciated the backstory of the..."Do you find it helpful to know the entire plot of your stories before you start writing or do you ever write and find the ending later?
I also must say that for the movie version of Jules I'd love to see Jewel Staite who played Kaylee on Firefly.As for my place in the silo, I come from a family of mechanics. I'd be Down Below with Mechanical or Supply.
I really like dogs, so I hope I'd end up in Supply or that Mechanical would make an exception and let me have a dog.
Hugh, I think I've read all of your books now. Which of them do you feel is the most under-rated? You've mentioned before that you are constantly finding things to change. How do you determine when you are done with a story? Or do you keep revising until someone calls time? (Who does that for a self-published author? I imagine publishers do it for signed authors.)
Hi, Hugh.
Describe your writing process? What time of day do you usually write? Do you edit your writings afterward, i.e. later in the day? Do you drink tea/coffee or eat sweets while writing? Where do you write, i.e. at a desk, in a den? Do you, in fact, have a ritual?
Just wondering,
Ronald
Describe your writing process? What time of day do you usually write? Do you edit your writings afterward, i.e. later in the day? Do you drink tea/coffee or eat sweets while writing? Where do you write, i.e. at a desk, in a den? Do you, in fact, have a ritual?
Just wondering,
Ronald
Hugh wrote: "Ash wrote: "On your website, you've got a picture of the poster for Wool. (I love the tag line btw) Is the camera in the upper left corner near the poster a prop or an actual camera? :) ."Is this..."
I was talking about the picture of the Wool poster in the London Tube. :)
Tina wrote: "Do you find it helpful to know the entire plot of your stories before you start writing or do you ever write and find the ending later? "I like knowing the ending. It keeps me from running astray. But plots still startle me now and then!
Ash wrote: "Hugh wrote: "I was talking about the picture of the Wool poster in the London Tube. :) "
Haha! That's a real camera. Never noticed it before. Very cool.
Tina wrote: "Hugh, I think I've read all of your books now. Which of them do you feel is the most under-rated? You've mentioned before that you are constantly finding things to change. How do you determine when you are done with a story? Or do you keep revising until someone calls time? (Who does that for a self-published author? I imagine publishers do it for signed authors.) "
THE PLAGIARIST, for sure. But I also love the Molly series and hopes it grabs YA readers eventually.
I call a book "done" when I can go through it and only change a dozen things. That takes 7 or 8 passes, usually.
Ronald wrote: "Hi, Hugh. Describe your writing process? What time of day do you usually write? Do you edit your writings afterward, i.e. later in the day? Do you drink tea/coffee or eat sweets while writing? Whe..."
I get most of my writing done in the morning from 6 - 10. I usually write in bed or on the sofa with my dog nearby. I like it quiet while I work. I write on a laptop using the Pages application. A pretty boring routine!
Hello Hugh,Another huge fan of the Wool series here. Glad to see from previous question/replies that you are planning another book - can't wait!
My question is this: I see where another author has published "The Runner" (which I just bought also) based on your work. How do you feel about this? Personally I'd think that I would have mixed emotions but in the end take it as a huge compliment. Your thoughts?
I'm currently working my way through your catalog - keep up the great work!
Thanks,
Ron
Hugh wrote: "Ash wrote: "Hugh wrote: "I was talking about the picture of the Wool poster in the London Tube. :) "
Haha! That's a real camera. Never noticed it before. Very cool."
I figured it was real and most wouldn't notice it but the way the picture was taken made me wonder. Having the poster right below a surviellence camera is very fitting. :)
Hi Hugh! Thanks for Wool I've adored reading the series so far and eagerly look forward to the additions.Amazon UK currently sells Wool with the sub heading Trilogy 1. I'm confused by which way it's supposed to be a trilogy? Are the 5 Parts of wool really supposed to make up 3 books, and where will Dust come into it. Or am I just missing something?
Also I saw mentioned earlier in this discussion your reading of the New Chapter 13 from Part 2 heres the link for those people who are interested: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/24186797
Ron wrote: "My question is this: I see where another author has published "The Runner" (which I just bought also) based on your work. How do you feel about this? Personally I'd think that I would have mixed emotions but in the end take it as a huge compliment. Your thoughts?"I gave it my full blessing! I was the one who suggested he charge for the work. It's worth the dollar. A great, great story. I'm a huge proponent of fan fiction, so I'm hoping there's more of this, and that authors are able to charge a reasonable rate and make money from their efforts.
Tim wrote: "Amazon UK currently sells Wool with the sub heading Trilogy 1. I'm confused by which way it's supposed to be a trilogy? Are the 5 Parts of wool really supposed to make up 3 books, and where will Dust come into it. Or am I just missing something?"Once they're all packaged together, it'll be WOOL, SHIFT, and DUST. That's the trilogy. A bit confusing because of the serialized origins of the story, I agree.
Thanks Hugh, that makes alot more sense. I was misreading the heading as the 1'st trilogy not part 1. And with Shift being (1st, 2nd and 3rd Shift) I thought that was the 2nd Trilogy.
Hugh, maybe this is a stupid question (and off-topic), but in your short story on your blog "While You are greater than Myself, reduce Myself", the last line references Charles, the nurse-bot, saying: "Charles considered, briefly, doing the same." Unless I'm missing something, this seems out of place, since Charles wasn't mentioned as being in the room in the latter half of the story. Is this a typo? Should it be Daniel instead?
Hi Hugh,On your website you list DUST with a 30,000 word target. Will this wrap up the Wool series, or is this simply DUST 1 (out of three maybe?)
*Thanks for the props on The Runner :)
WJ - DUST will be more like 150,000 words.Tim - Probably a typo! I'd have to go read it to see.
Hugh wrote: What's interesting is that people think post-apocalyptic fiction is having a boom phase. It really isn't. When I was a kid, the world was going to end at any minute. We lived in the shadow of nuclear annihilation. Films like War Games and Red October, books like Alas, Babylon and Lucifer's Hammer. The original zombie films. Everywhere you looked, civilization was crumbling. Crime in NYC. Gang wars in LA. Times were bleaker then, and our entertainment reflected that.I loved reading this part of your response to Chandri, at the beginning of this discussion, and would suggest that these are mostly modern explorations of the post-apocalyptic fiction. While you are right that there have always been post-apocalyptic stories (and preppers -- love you bringing in the bible too). But we do seem to have had an exponential explosion of this topic during the last 70 years.
Maybe this is also has something to do with our fear of world/civilization annihilation (world as we know it -- the earth will be here after we are gone as a species but since we won't be here, as you mentioned,I don't think we consider this continuation)? We have lived with an awareness of the devasting powers of nuclear bombs, etc, since the 40s and 50s, and I think this awareness has also contributed to the explosion of post-apocalytic fiction. Whereas prior to the 20th century, other than World-Ending religous advocates, most people believed the world they knew would be here for generations and generations.
From my study of history, prior to the 19th century, most people never moved 50 miles away from where they were born, and their world changed very slowly, over much longer periods of time. Advances for us have been exponential in the last 70+ years.
In a way, the culture of Wool Omnibus in the silo seems to parallel an older model of civilization, albeit artificially enforced by the limits of the silo's space and the manipulators behind its creation.
Do you have any further thoughts on the explosion of post-apocalyptic fictions?
Thank you so much for WOOL; like many others here, when I started it I could not stop and am very excited/glad there is going to be more and am about to start on First Shift - Legacy. Wonderful writing, characters and setting. Loved it; loved it; loved it!!!!
Mod
I always find it fascinating to hear about an author's prior work history.
Assuming that writing and publishing your books is at the top of your professional work history, what's at the bottom? What was the worst jobs you've ever held?
Hi Hugh!Obviously, I think most folks enjoy your work. Myself included. Thank you for your efforts.
The one thing I was curious about is how you decided the levels for the different departments. Why the sheriff was on the top levels, IT next and so on and so forth. Was there reasoning on how you allocated the different levels?
I can understand why you put maintenance on the lowest levels. I am just interested how why you placed the other department where you did.
Lori wrote: "Assuming that writing and publishing your books is at the top of your professional work history, what's at the bottom? What was the worst jobs you've ever held? "I wouldn't rank what I'm doing right now at the top, to be honest. I love writing. I always have. But doing it professionally for the past year has been extremely stressful and a lot of hard work.
My first career was in computers. That may have been the worst job I ever had. I still managed to enjoy it, but all the jobs that came after were more fun.
My next career was as a yacht captain. This was grueling work, but very satisfying. I got to travel quite a bit and met some amazing people.
Next, I spent two years roofing, which I loved. That was two of the happiest years of my life. I wouldn't rank roofing above writing, but I might ranking *being* a roofer over being a writer. Just because of the people I was working with, the fact that I was able to come home to my family every night (a welcome change from the boat industry), and the satisfaction with my work.
I installed high end audio and video equipment in homes after that, and would rank this job near the bottom. Mostly because of the people.
My last day job was working in a bookstore, which I would rank right up at the top. Great job with great people. If they would've let me bring my dog to work, it would've been perfect.
Chris wrote: "The one thing I was curious about is how you decided the levels for the different departments. Why the sheriff was on the top levels, IT next and so on and so forth. Was there reasoning on how you allocated the different levels?."
I put the sheriff near the airlock. It also spaced him out away from IT. Jules comments on this at one point.
Much of the rest is arbitrary. Things just need to be spaced out. I let the story dictate much of it. An architect would have done things differently! :)
Hugh wrote: My first career was in computers. That may have been the worst job I ever had."How does this tie in to the role of IT in WOOL? I am an IT guy, at least for a little while longer. ;)
Thank you so much for WOOL - I have been delighted by it at every step. It's also great to have an author whose work I love actively writing; knowing that there's more to come is a great feeling!I've been very impressed with how evenhandedly you've dealt with the "good guys" and "bad guys" in WOOL. (view spoiler)
I have a question about I, Zombie. I have to admit to being pretty tired of the current surge in zombie-fascination, but I thought your book was brilliant; using zombies as metaphors for the various ways people are ruled by things other than what they would usually think of as their "selves" was a great idea. Your statements about the book make it seem clear that you found much of the work distasteful, and I am wondering what your experience was while writing it. I can imagine how consuming writing a novel must be (no pun intended), and to be wrapped up in a work that has so much horror and so little hope seems like it could be quite trying. I'm reminded of stories of actors like Heath Ledger being consumed by the darkness of their characters.
Incidentally, I would argue against those that say that I, Zombie is devoid of hope; I think that there are a number of things in the book that reflect the best things about people, and the fact that they are immutable parts of being human.
Again, thank you for the wonderful books, and I look forward to more. Come to Seattle, I'll buy you a coffee :)
"My last day job was working in a bookstore, which I would rank right up at the top. Great job with great people. If they would've let me bring my dog to work, it would've been perfect. ..."
I read over in the Apocalypse Whenever group, that your dog is named Bella. So is one of mine, plus about 4 other people's in that group.
My Bella is 14-year-old Collie/SheltieX, rescued from several months of being feral. I'm curious to know what kind of dog your Bella is and how old she is. (I always tell people that my dog's age pre-dates The Twilight phenom.)
Also, I was wondering what sorts of nicknames you have for your Bella? I call mine Jelly (as in "Jelly Belly") more than Bella lately. And long ago, when we struggled to help her through her adverse reaction to anyone new; we used to say "No-Bella prize for you today" :)
I know these Qs aren't strictly related to writing, other than maybe you partly deciding to be a writer, so you'd be able to work at home and hang out with your dog more?
If you do have time to reply to my Qs, I would like to post them over on Apocalypse Whenever, because they are still discussing the weird coincidence of so many Bellas in the group. And Gert says she's going to name her dog Bella, even if it's a boy; lol; though I guess she could use Bello.
Thanks again,
April
April wrote: "Hugh wrote: What's interesting is that people think post-apocalyptic fiction is having a boom phase. It really isn't. When I was a kid, the world was going to end at any minute. We lived in the sha..."But maybe that's because there's been an exponential explosion in publishing anything at all?
Sarah J wrote: "April wrote: "Hugh wrote: What's interesting is that people think post-apocalyptic fiction is having a boom phase. It really isn't. When I was a kid, the world was going to end at any minute. We li..."That's true, Sarah, and a big part of it too. I've been trying to get to the core of this for a while now and feel like I've got a lot of the pieces of the "why" the PA genre but still feel like I'm missing a seminal piece or more to make-up the whole....
Thanks
April wrote: That's true, Sarah, and a big part of it too. I've been trying to get to the core of this for a while now and feel like I've got a lot of the pieces of the "why" the PA genre but still feel like I'm missing a seminal piece or more to make-up the whole....:) I'm interested in the Apocalypse whenever group! Can you link? If I were geekier I'd try and plot a graph using something like google stats http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landi... , but for amazon, to see if the levels of PA fiction have stayed proportional to all fiction. Maybe one of the IT guys that seem to be knocking around can?
Edit to add, maybe google trends better than google stats for something like this? Again I'm not quite geeky enough to make it work! http://www.google.com/trends
-Sarah
April wrote: ""My last day job was working in a bookstore, which I would rank right up at the top. Great job with great people. If they would've let me bring my dog to work, it would've been perfect. ..."
I re..."
Our Bella is 2 1/2 years old. We call her a hundred different things! "B" "Boo" "Fella" "Lune" (Her full name is Bella Luna) "Knucklehead"
I love my dog.
Morgan wrote: "TI have a question about I, Zombie. I have to admit to being pretty tired of the current surge in zombie-fascination, but I thought your book was brilliant; using zombies as metaphors for the various ways people are ruled by things other than what they would usually think of as their "selves" was a great idea. Your statements about the book make it seem clear that you found much of the work distasteful, and I am wondering what your experience was while writing it. I can imagine how consuming writing a novel must be (no pun intended), and to be wrapped up in a work that has so much horror and so little hope seems like it could be quite trying. I'm reminded of stories of actors like Heath Ledger being consumed by the darkness of their characters."I had a really difficult time writing that book. Partly because of the gore, partly because of the treatment of Free Will, and mostly because of my 9/11 experiences. I, ZOMBIE was my ode to NYC and my monument to the scariest day of my life.
Hi Hugh, love the whole Wool series and looking forward to the final instalments :-) I just wanted to ask whether, briefly in either bk 1or 2, (I cant remember which one) that you intentionally hinted at a nativity to total belief in being told lies as to where the people come from and a higher 'God like being' creating the silo's. Or was this just me reading more into it than there was?
"Sarah J wrote: "I'm interested in the Apocalypse whenever group! Can you link? "http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...
Apocalypse Whenever is another group here on goodreads. You can use the link above, or go to groups and search there using "Apocalypse".
FYI, they've already read Wool Omnibus and there are some really good discussions about it over there, including comments from Hugh Howey, from 2012, around March, I think.
Check it out and of course join, if you find it interesting. We have over 5,500 members interested in Post-Apocalytic (PA) fiction.
Sharon wrote: "intentionally hinted at a nativity to total belief in being told lies as to where the people come from and a higher 'God like being' creating the silo's. Or was this just me reading more into it than there was? "Hmm. I would need to see the passage to know what I was thinking! There is definitely a culture of belief and religion in the silos. They're humans, after all.
Hi Hugh, I understand you have been meeting with the movie people over the last few days...Any juicy tidbits of new info you can give us about it? How soon might we expect it to be released? Thanks!
Mod
Lisa wrote: "Hi Hugh, I understand you have been meeting with the movie people over the last few days...Any juicy tidbits of new info you can give us about it? How soon might we expect it to be released? Thanks!"Well, it's a long way from having a guarantee that it'll even be made! Movies are difficult and rare things. Thousands of books are optioned; tens of thousands of scripts are purchased; only dozens become films.
But, all the indications are pretty positive right now. I'll know more in 3-4 months. By then, we'll be able to see if things are progressing or stalling.
The earliest you could possibly see this -- and this would take a succession of miracles upon miracles -- would be summer of 2014. Again, it's not even for sure becoming a film yet. So don't un-cross those fingers!
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Third Shift: Pact (other topics)Wool Omnibus (other topics)
Wool Omnibus (other topics)
First Shift: Legacy (other topics)
Room (other topics)
More...
So you mentioned in an earlier comment that you tossed the concept of the first WOOL around for 5 years prior to writing it. As someone who especially appreciated the backstory of the Shifts, I was wondering when you knew you'd be writing them. It's yet another aspect of this series that sets it apart from the rest in its genre. Way to raise the bar for all post-apocolyptic authors who follow! I don't know that I'll ever again be satisfied unless I know the cause for dystopiation (I don't think that's a word, but it should be!). Did you have the intention of eventually giving the why's, when's and how's in your outline all along?