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John R. Swift

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March 2012

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

John R. Swift This is a great question and one I have had to personally struggle with. I call it "writing myself into a corner." Richard Russo has an interview in w…moreThis is a great question and one I have had to personally struggle with. I call it "writing myself into a corner." Richard Russo has an interview in which admits that every novel presents new writer's block possibilities for him. Experience, then, does not make the problem go away. I confess to reading and rereading what Aristotle had to say about writing 2500 years ago in On Poetics. The essence of what he had to say about plot structure is that changes in the Hero's fortune must occur by consequence, not by chance. Therefore, I construct a parallel document to my novel and when I find myself in a corner, I try to write down the problem as clearly as I can and then start writing out the possible solutions to the problem at hand, creating at least three and taking the one which most fully enriches the book, and is probably the hardest one on the protagonist. and develops by consequence, not chance. By the publication of my novel, my parallel document has about as many words as the novel itself. It has rescued me from many a corner. It also contains much of the raw research necessary to create verisimilitude.

In my current novel, Diamonds, I wanted one of my characters to have to deal with a large bag of diamonds. But how does one do that, without paying for them, per se? I could steal them, find them on the street, or maybe complete some job and receive the diamonds as payment. Where and what could that be? And how then to bring them into the USA through customs without paying duties or inviting some later problems. You can check out my book at the local library and find how Aristotle might do it. (less)

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John R. Swift’s books

Average rating: 3.5 · 2 ratings · 1 review · 5 distinct works

	Book of Laws really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Taconite: A Sheriff Gogebic Novel liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Living With Capone: A Novel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Diamonds (A Sheriff Gogebic Novel) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chicago Connection 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John R. Swift…

John is Currently Reading

John Swift is currently reading

Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)

by Hilary Mantel

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Oct 13, 2012 08:59AM

John Swift is currently reading

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America

by Bill Bryson

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Aug 29, 2012 05:44AM

John Swift is currently reading

How Fiction Works

by James Wood

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Aug 29, 2012 05:41AM

John’s Quotes

“Buddha once said to a man who was insulting and criticizing him, “If someone offers you a gift and you decline to accept it, to whom does it belong?”
The man replied, “Then it belongs to the person who offered it.”
To which Buddha replied, “That is correct. So if I decline to accept your abuse, does it not then still belong to you?”
― Anthony Robins

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