Showing posts with label William Gibson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Gibson. Show all posts

Approaching Action and elevating tension

Have you ever read a novel that has tons of action, car chases, kidnappings, escapes and gun fights -- that doesn't keep you awake even though it is 10:00am on Saturday and you just finished two pots of coffee? Yeah, that's a common problem with newer writers and one that has some simple fixes. Since friends don't let friends publish crap, here are some of the tactics I use for action.

What is really fun... and perhaps telling

I took a quick break here to eat some lunch, and jumped on to YouTube (obviously). Instead of my normal delving into the world of Anime madness, I looked up some lectures, book readings and authors who talk about writing Fantasy and Science Fiction. I find it comforting that most “made” writers freely talk about the insanity and force of will involved in novel writing.

What I found first, however, were several short “instructional” videos by people how “teach” fantasy and fiction writing – and then I found William Gibson. The contrast between those who teach and those who do, is seriously stunning.

This isn't really the slight it may appear to be on the surface against those who teach. Not at all, really. Gibson, King, Butler, Ryn, Miller, and most of the major writers who have altered the world, or simply amused a major portion of us, have one thing in common, and that is … someone taught them. While the nights of staring at the computer screen, under siege by the voices who say “you are stupid” and “your ideas suck”, and “are you ever going to take grammar seriously?” have to be gotten through, and no teacher ill ever help you through those moments (in fact their voices will probably be the loudest), we still need them.

… if for nothing else, but to have someone else's voice in our head, reminding us through their presence alone that we aren't quite crazy yet, we still have the slip of a shadow of time to get it done... before they come for us.


William Gibson - Spook Country

This guy is very much a hero of mine. When I read his book Neuromancer (years ago), it opened an amazing world of words, and action and story telling which no other writer before (or since ... to be honest) has been close to, and while my style of writing is nothing like his, it is his vision-art which illumed my darkness, birthing shadows... in screams and blood, and night... just like most births.









... very much a hero of mine.

Where the Wild Things Are...

Chess is a Wild game I've only been playing for a short time, but I've gained enough understanding to realize that the angles of ...