Category: writing

‘If the aliens lay eggs, how does that affect architecture?’: sci-fi writers on how they build their worlds | Books | The Guardian

~ David W. Jones ~ Leave a comment

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/05/if-the-aliens-lay-eggs-how-does-that-affect-architecture-sci-fi-writers-on-how-they-build-their-worlds

Interesting discussions about world-building, from a diverse collection of writers – Alastair Reynolds, Nnedi Okorafor, M. John Harrison, etc.

Advice to storytellers from me

~ David W. Jones ~ 2 Comments

Tell the story that needs to be told, in the way it needs to be told, to the length it needs to be told.

Don’t poison a story by insisting it must be an apple when it’s really an orange.

Don’t stunt a story by forcing it beyond its natural growth nor by forcing it to grow in a box too small.

“Genres” and “standard story lenghs” are publisher’s artefacts, not part of storytelling.

Breakthroughs don’t come through abiding by conventions and working in boxes.

A quote slightly-tweaked for writers

~ David W. Jones ~ Leave a comment

“To gain mastery over reality is to create a mythology worth living for. Your head is the space from which all meaning derives. It is the shaman’s – and writer’s/artist’s/musician’s [my addition] – role to shine light on that meaning in order, like a wind-up doll, to make you go.” – Thomas T. Hills