As I finish up 'The Bounding Main', I thought I would share a little of my philosophy on writing, at least talk about what things are important to me when I write.
One of the first things I consider important is setting. It isn't enough for me to be introduced to the characters, I also want to place those characters on a stage; give them somewhere to interact. When I first started writing I found that I was focused on the characters and the acts they were doing. I described techniques but not placing them in a context of where they were at. I have found that, for me, describing the place is as important as the character or the acts.
'The Gift' is a story I started with a setting, a very snowy day in the Midwest. I started by describing the scene and the story flowed from there. In stories such a 'The Masque' and 'A New Haunt', setting is absolutely essential to the plot, without the setting the story would be as vacant as the Arctic.
I try to view what is going on in the story as if I am a camera lens. If I don't describe it how will others see it in their mind's eye?
Take care and look for 'The Bounding Main' sometime in the next week or two.
T.S.
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1 comment:
"The Gift" is my absolute favorite story of yours. I'd love to see another chapter. And you always do an excellent job of creating settings and making each one very different from the rest. Please keep up the good work.
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