In April I managed to go to Eurocon, the European Science Fiction Society’s annual convention. I’ve mentioned this before. While there I sat in an hour-long workshop given by Tim Powers (he’s an awesome storyteller, and really friendly to boot!). I took notes, but never posted them. Now I am. Enjoy! (N.B.: I’m tidying up the spacing and typos, but otherwise leaving it verbatim)
When you are figuring out character traits:
- Why this character? Why is his story important? Why, really?
- What would he do anything in the world to get?
- What would he do anything in the world to avoid?
- Make them face an intolerable choice
How to keep it interesting for you and your readers
- Deal with all the extra stuff in later drafts
- Use a calendar to keep track of events and use it to push yourself along
- Use the bits that affect & attract you, not what is current – it’ll affect readers if it affects you.
- When you are done: Throw away the first three pages. Start with the next full sentence
- It’s good to start with dialogue
- First page: make it an easy doorway to step through
- Within a page or two: day or night? Man or woman? Inside or outside? Ages?
- Make it look like it’s happening to real people in a real place.
Info-dumping : how to let the reader know what he needs to know?
- Make the description part of the action.
- A good way To describe something very complicated, have it be broken and need fixing.
- 10000 ft to one mm zoom in to give description, doesn’t feel like info-dump, camera moving all the time.
How to end: after the crucial decision: write the consequences, but then walk away for a day. And cut off the last three pages, or wherever it’s apt.
How much to trust beta readers: mechanical suggestions. Don’t listen to revision suggestions. Don’t give it to writers.
There you go. Helpful hints at the very least! I hope the four (five?) of you find it useful!