Thursday, 20 September 2007

Welcome to my blog

I hope you enjoy the columns I am posting on this site. I came up with the idea after I backed up my computer and saw I had about three years' worth sitting on my hard disc. I figured someone other than the Herald on Sunday readers might like to read them. If you don't that's fine because in reality I'm just trying to avoid writing my novel, like most writers who have blogs. I've tried baking bread (see next week's column) and my garden is flourishing. Tomorrow I start on my writer's regime as advised by Stephen King and will write a little every day. That should help. I have done chapters one and two which my 18-year-old daughter tells me are very good but advises that I concentrate on showing the story rather than telling it. I'm not sure where she gets these things from but it is age old advice especially for journalists trying to write fiction and I think I'll keep her on as my novel tester. If I am looking for even more distraction I may start posting my Agony Aunt columns for your amusement. Off to bake more bread.

5 comments:

Oswald Bastable said...

Heinlein's rules are worth a look for a writer.

http://www.sfwriter.com/ow05.htm

I have trouble with rule five, but RH never had self-publishing available!

Wendyl Nissen said...

Cheers for that, need all the help I can at the moment...

Anonymous said...

I read your story in the herald a few weeks ago where you were saying 16 year olds shouldn't be allowed to vote.
I have to disagree with you there because once a person turns 16 they can choose whether they want to stay in high-school or leave high-school and get a job or do a tertiary course.
Now if a 16year old is old enough to make a big decision like this,then of course their old enough to vote.
There are heaps of 18-25year olds that don't know who to vote for,so they just choose anyone.

JoeGreenz said...

Hey, good for you for committing to a book.

I read this today about storytelling:

The basics:

Setting
The setting orients the audience, providing a sense of time and place.

Characters
Character identification is how the audience becomes involved in the story, and how the story becomes relevent.

Plot
The plot ties events in the story together, and is the channel through which the story can flow.

Invisability
The awarenes of the storyteller fades as the audience focuses on a good story. When engaged in a good movie or book, the existence of the medium is forgotten.

Mood
Music, lighting and style of prose create the emotional tone of the story.

Movement
In a good story, the sequence and flow of events is clear and interesting. The storyline doesn't stall.

I thought it was a nice simple outline (strangely it was in a book about design - The Universal Principles of Design).

Good luck with the book - and the blog.

Yankee Doodle said...

Best wishes for the collaboration with your daughter.

Great outline, David.