Excerpts: compiled on how these featured authors find/found their
literary pathways, styles & techniques…
Francine
Rivers - born 1947
Almost every story begins with a
question or issue with which I'm struggling, and each story seems to dictate
the time in which it needs to be told.
In each case, once the time and place
are set, it's a matter of immersing myself in the time period, finding good
books, finding pictures, making binders with dividers between subject matter –
what people wore, what their homes and daily lives were like, the political
atmosphere, music, customs, etc. I even listen to music that fits the time
period while I'm working. The writing process is a quest for answers and a
journey with characters that become real people to me. Writing a story is my
way of worshipping and praising the Lord.
Michael
Connelly - born July 21, 1956
When starting a book, the story is not
always clear but Connelly has a hunch where it is going. The books often
reference world events, such as September 11. Even events that might not be
considered as world changing are included in some of the books because they are
of personal interest to Connelly. In Angels Flight, Detective Bosch investigates
the murder of an eleven-year old girl. This was written during Connelly’s early
years as a father of a daughter and it hit close to home. According to
Connelly, he didn’t mean to write about the biggest fear of his life… it just
came out that way.
Detective Bosch’s life usually changes
in harmony with Connelly’s own life. While Connelly moved 3,000 miles across
the country to Florida, Bosch had some life changing experiences that sent him
in a new direction in the book written at this time, City of Bones. According
to Connelly, his "real" job is to write about Bosch, and his purpose
in bringing McCaleb and Bosch together in A Darkness More Than Night was to use
McCaleb as a tool to look at Bosch from another perspective and keep the character
interesting.
Stephen
King - born September 21, 1947
On Writing is an autobiography that
features practical advice on writing, including tips on grammar and ideas about
developing plot and character. King himself describes it as a guide for how
"a competent writer can become a good one." This includes his beliefs
that a writer should edit out unnecessary details and avoid the use of
unnecessary adverbs. He also uses quotes from other books and authors to
illustrate his points.
He also reveals that he does not stick
to an extensive outline, If I don't know where the story is going, how can the
reader?
Writing style:
King's formula for learning to write
well is: "Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the
time for that, you can't expect to become a good writer." He sets out each
day with a quota of 2000 words and will not stop writing until it is met. He
also has a simple definition for talent in writing: "If you wrote
something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it
didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider
you talented."
Shortly after his accident, King wrote
the first draft of the book Dreamcatcher with a notebook and a Waterman
fountain pen, which he called "the world's finest word processor."
When asked why he writes, King responds:
"The answer to that is fairly simple—there was nothing else I was made to
do. I was made to write stories and I love to write stories. That's why I do
it. I really can't imagine doing anything else and I can't imagine not doing
what I do." He is also often asked why he writes such terrifying stories
and he answers with another question: "Why do you assume I have a
choice?" According to Jenna Blum, King usually begins the story creation
process by imagining a "what if" scenario, such as what would happen
if a writer is kidnapped by a sadistic nurse in Colorado.
King often uses authors as characters,
or includes mention of fictional books in his stories, novellas and novels,
such as Paul Sheldon who is the main character in Misery and Jack Torrance in
The Shining.
David
Baldacci – born August 5, 1960
I’m very much a writer who lets the
story develop. I don’t plot everything out, and I have no idea how the book is
going to end when I sit down to write it. I sit down to write when I’m ready to write, when things
crystallize in my head and I know what I want to say.
The bestselling thriller author, whose
new novel, The Target, talks about writing since he was a kid.
I’m not a words-per-day kind of guy. I
always felt that if you have an artificial number, it probably means that you
don’t want to be writing, anyway.
I work on multiple projects a day - few
hours on editing - It’s not a job, it never has been. It’s a lifestyle.
Don’t write what you know about, write
what you’d like to know about. And never chase trends.
Ray
Bradbury – August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012
Writing is not a serious business. It’s
a joy and a celebration. You should be having fun with it. If it’s work, stop
and do something else.
What if you have a blockage and you
don’t know what to do about it? Well, it’s obvious you’re doing the wrong
thing. You’re being warned, aren’t you? You’re being political, or you’re being
socially aware. You’re writing things that will benefit the world. I don’t
write things to benefit the world. If it happens that they do, swell. I didn’t
set out to do that. I set out to have... a lot of fun.
I’ve never worked a day in my life. The
joy of writing has propelled me from day to day and year to year.
Get out of here tonight and say: “Am I
being joyful?” And if you’ve got a writer’s block, you can cure it this evening
by stopping whatever you’re writing and doing something else. You picked the
wrong subject.
- - - - -
- -
These authors’ personal revelations stood out to me
because I employ many similar approaches & combinations when working on my
projects.
We always hear “Write what you know…” or “Write what
you don’t know…” "Plot your project out…” or
“Don’t follow an outline…”, but what do you employ?
Does your approach vary with the project and/or genre?
Do you write what you have a passion and interest for whether you know all
about the topic or not?
In
any event… WRITE!
Some of my favorites from the above:
-Rivers:
Almost every story begins with a
question or issue with which I'm struggling.
In each case, once the time and
place are set, it's a matter of immersing myself in the time period, finding
good books, finding pictures, making binders with dividers between subject
matter – what people wore, what their homes and daily lives were like, the
political atmosphere, music, customs, etc.
-Connelly:
When starting a book, the story
is not always clear but Connelly has a hunch where it is going.
Even events that might not be
considered as world changing are included in some of the books because they are
of personal interest…
-King:
If I don't know where the story
is going, how can the reader?
I was made to write stories and I
love to write stories.
-Baldacci:
I’m very much a writer who lets
the story develop. I don’t plot everything out, and I have no idea how the book
is going to end when I sit down to write it. I’m not a words-per-day kind of
guy.
-Bradbury:
Writing is not a serious business. It’s
a joy and a celebration. You should be having fun with it. If it’s work, stop
and do something else.
-And. . .
-- Ray Bradbury - as featured in Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life
