Ask the Author: Michael Vorhis
Answered Questions (3)
Michael Vorhis
For me, story concepts come from wherever they come from; I don't control that. I know I don't make them up...they seem to do that themselves. They're an independent life form, in that sense.
But what I can say I do is recognize them as interesting possibilities when they parade themselves through my mind. I jot down some for later, and I daydream about the ones that grab hold in a bigger way.
But no story idea goes very far unless I sit down to a keyboard with it. I have to commit--to invest something of myself in making its acquaintance. It's the process of adding my own suggestions and curiosities to the thing that hooks me on the project.
In that process, characters begin to take shape--that is, they drift in out of the gloom and I begin to get to know them. Character fascination is what makes any story (or any image, for that matter) work; without the personal connection, the individual intrigue, a reader's or writer's emotional investment will never be enough to even make it to the end of the tale.
So for me it's the "discovery" of how the people intertwine with a concept that makes my pulse begin to quicken. It's why I greatly prefer to write or read "Suspense" (wherein the protagonist is personally at risk) than I do the more academic "Mystery" genre, where mere puzzles are solved. I get involved too...I too start to be at risk...and the tale takes shape.
My recent novel OPEN DISTANCE began with the realization that my hang gliding competition experience could be extended, with a very small technological stretch (just the barest tickle of a sci-fi element). It could apply to another equally wild exploratory venue. That idea came to me--it invented itself somehow, and hit me on the forehead. And I wrote a short story for a major aviation publication about it, which was very well received, as far as it went.
But it always nagged me that I'd left it at that. The characters in the story hadn't really been done justice. So their saga hung out there in the shadows until I was ready to think about them more, to understand their motivations, their attitudes, their limitations and fortes...to really begin to feel what drove them.
And when I began to see WHY it had all happened the way it had, then I dutifully obeyed their command and wrote the whole story, and the "adventure thriller" / "suspense" / "meditation on what is really meaningful in life" novel OPEN DISTANCE was born. It's as tense and vivid as a thing can be, and yet it also makes grown men cry.
I'm one of them.
But what I can say I do is recognize them as interesting possibilities when they parade themselves through my mind. I jot down some for later, and I daydream about the ones that grab hold in a bigger way.
But no story idea goes very far unless I sit down to a keyboard with it. I have to commit--to invest something of myself in making its acquaintance. It's the process of adding my own suggestions and curiosities to the thing that hooks me on the project.
In that process, characters begin to take shape--that is, they drift in out of the gloom and I begin to get to know them. Character fascination is what makes any story (or any image, for that matter) work; without the personal connection, the individual intrigue, a reader's or writer's emotional investment will never be enough to even make it to the end of the tale.
So for me it's the "discovery" of how the people intertwine with a concept that makes my pulse begin to quicken. It's why I greatly prefer to write or read "Suspense" (wherein the protagonist is personally at risk) than I do the more academic "Mystery" genre, where mere puzzles are solved. I get involved too...I too start to be at risk...and the tale takes shape.
My recent novel OPEN DISTANCE began with the realization that my hang gliding competition experience could be extended, with a very small technological stretch (just the barest tickle of a sci-fi element). It could apply to another equally wild exploratory venue. That idea came to me--it invented itself somehow, and hit me on the forehead. And I wrote a short story for a major aviation publication about it, which was very well received, as far as it went.
But it always nagged me that I'd left it at that. The characters in the story hadn't really been done justice. So their saga hung out there in the shadows until I was ready to think about them more, to understand their motivations, their attitudes, their limitations and fortes...to really begin to feel what drove them.
And when I began to see WHY it had all happened the way it had, then I dutifully obeyed their command and wrote the whole story, and the "adventure thriller" / "suspense" / "meditation on what is really meaningful in life" novel OPEN DISTANCE was born. It's as tense and vivid as a thing can be, and yet it also makes grown men cry.
I'm one of them.
Michael Vorhis
Advice for aspiring writers? I don't think there is such a thing as an "aspiring writer." There are inexperienced writers, but a writer is a writer by virtue of feeling the need to write. If the need is there, you're already a writer--you were born a writer--and then it's just a matter of letting out what is dying to come out. So grab a pen.
Until the need is there, just accumulate the experiences of life--store them up for when your pen needs them. And whenever the need takes a holiday, give it the holiday it needs.
If you're a writer but you want to polish your ability to communicate emotions and thoughts so that your efforts are effective, read. Not magazines, not pop culture nonsense, but literature. Fiction. Great Masters; adept contemporary authors. Thrilling, riveting, deliciously experiential works. Absorb those good examples of creative thinking and story-weaving and linguistics, and then see how that affects your writing need, and your results.
If random readers (those about which you know nothing) criticize, pay them little mind. Who are they, after all? Have they accomplished anything substantial on paper themselves, other than commenting on (hitch-hiking on) others' original works? Don't worry--everyone knows the difference between the athlete and the nasal voice from the bleachers. Instead of worrying about the reception, have VERY high standards, and ratchet them up ever higher every day of every year, and be true to them. You're the perceptive, discerning reviewer who matters most, particularly at this stage. And it's the body of work you will create that defines your contribution, not any one piece...so don't agonize if this or that work may not have the broadest appeal. Over time you'll encounter your share of intelligent, appreciative readers. Write, and write well, and never mind the reception; it reflects itself far more than it reflects your work.
Feel free to write shorter stories until one of them begs you to do it justice in a ful-length novel...then just flesh in more scenes, out of order if that's how they come to you, and experiment with structure and story pace, and don't be daunted by the magnitude of a full novel project...and one day you'll sit bolt upright to realize you have most of a rough draft.
Then with an eye that's as excited as it is cold, polish and re-work and DO NOT BE IN A HURRY. A masterpiece takes time; work it and let it happen. It will take some years, all told. It's done when it's done.
Then let it simmer for a few weeks, or even much more...and try to self-edit. If whole sections need to be scrapped, that's part of the process, and part of the fun.
At some point you'll feel it's ready. It won't be, quite (you're intent on delivering a truly brilliant work, after all). Very carefully choose a hand-picked group of beta reviewers--people you know who are perceptive, thorough, honest, precise in their ability to communicate, DEVOID OF ENVY, and who care about you. Select people who themselves have dreams, people with the capacity to not only discern, but to appreciate. Try to stick with those who have never been formulized by some creative writing night course or support group--people of each gender who have some life experience under their belts, and who can see multiple shades of grey. Listen to them--mostly, feel their reactions. Re-work the entire thing again, the way YOU would address any problems they "felt." Rejoice in what they loved about it. Employ an editor if they suggest you need one. Care about their perceptions more than their specific fix ideas, because the "how to fix" is your territory. Often a major disconnect can be eliminated with a single word or phrase in one pivotal line of dialog halfway down page 264; you'll know best how to address any issues your team has helped you to see.
Finally, finally...be willing to call it done. The great Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." Of course make sure the cover art is as brilliant as the manuscript itself, and the meta-data (gotta be balanced in so many ways), and all the professionalism with which this work is to be launched. Give it the gift of Dignity; don't be in such a hurry that you make the mistake of sending it out in its pajamas.
But you have to let it fly at some point. When it does, smile. Then get on with the next one, which, if you were born to write, has already occurred to you and has been begging you to start on it! :)
- Michael Vorhis
Until the need is there, just accumulate the experiences of life--store them up for when your pen needs them. And whenever the need takes a holiday, give it the holiday it needs.
If you're a writer but you want to polish your ability to communicate emotions and thoughts so that your efforts are effective, read. Not magazines, not pop culture nonsense, but literature. Fiction. Great Masters; adept contemporary authors. Thrilling, riveting, deliciously experiential works. Absorb those good examples of creative thinking and story-weaving and linguistics, and then see how that affects your writing need, and your results.
If random readers (those about which you know nothing) criticize, pay them little mind. Who are they, after all? Have they accomplished anything substantial on paper themselves, other than commenting on (hitch-hiking on) others' original works? Don't worry--everyone knows the difference between the athlete and the nasal voice from the bleachers. Instead of worrying about the reception, have VERY high standards, and ratchet them up ever higher every day of every year, and be true to them. You're the perceptive, discerning reviewer who matters most, particularly at this stage. And it's the body of work you will create that defines your contribution, not any one piece...so don't agonize if this or that work may not have the broadest appeal. Over time you'll encounter your share of intelligent, appreciative readers. Write, and write well, and never mind the reception; it reflects itself far more than it reflects your work.
Feel free to write shorter stories until one of them begs you to do it justice in a ful-length novel...then just flesh in more scenes, out of order if that's how they come to you, and experiment with structure and story pace, and don't be daunted by the magnitude of a full novel project...and one day you'll sit bolt upright to realize you have most of a rough draft.
Then with an eye that's as excited as it is cold, polish and re-work and DO NOT BE IN A HURRY. A masterpiece takes time; work it and let it happen. It will take some years, all told. It's done when it's done.
Then let it simmer for a few weeks, or even much more...and try to self-edit. If whole sections need to be scrapped, that's part of the process, and part of the fun.
At some point you'll feel it's ready. It won't be, quite (you're intent on delivering a truly brilliant work, after all). Very carefully choose a hand-picked group of beta reviewers--people you know who are perceptive, thorough, honest, precise in their ability to communicate, DEVOID OF ENVY, and who care about you. Select people who themselves have dreams, people with the capacity to not only discern, but to appreciate. Try to stick with those who have never been formulized by some creative writing night course or support group--people of each gender who have some life experience under their belts, and who can see multiple shades of grey. Listen to them--mostly, feel their reactions. Re-work the entire thing again, the way YOU would address any problems they "felt." Rejoice in what they loved about it. Employ an editor if they suggest you need one. Care about their perceptions more than their specific fix ideas, because the "how to fix" is your territory. Often a major disconnect can be eliminated with a single word or phrase in one pivotal line of dialog halfway down page 264; you'll know best how to address any issues your team has helped you to see.
Finally, finally...be willing to call it done. The great Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." Of course make sure the cover art is as brilliant as the manuscript itself, and the meta-data (gotta be balanced in so many ways), and all the professionalism with which this work is to be launched. Give it the gift of Dignity; don't be in such a hurry that you make the mistake of sending it out in its pajamas.
But you have to let it fly at some point. When it does, smile. Then get on with the next one, which, if you were born to write, has already occurred to you and has been begging you to start on it! :)
- Michael Vorhis
Michael Vorhis
How does one deal with writer’s block? A looooong time ago I listened to one of those "negotiating seminars" on tape, and I recall a question the course leader fielded about what to do about competition. He said, "Don't have any." Similarly I'd say the way to deal with so-called "Writer's Block" is to not experience it.
Contrary to popular belief, a fiction writer doesn't create a story. The story invents itself, introduces itself to the open mind, then dictates itself to that author, who records it the way the story wants to be told. If a story isn't dictating itself vividly and experientially, it's because it doesn't want to go forward--either it has been artificially taken too far down a path that's not true to where it wants to go, or it's a story without sufficient merit to go further, or something. Something is wrong, and the story is fizzling. Imagine trying to lead a river up a very gradual up-slope--at some point the current is going to fizzle.
For someone under the gun, trying to crank out novels at the rate of so many per decade (or worse yet, per year), experiencing a "block" might have some meaning. But for writers whose goal is the creation of masterful works instead of mere compliance with schedule pressures, it comes when it comes. Mull it over. Let the story itself take the helm. Ignore the calendar page. If it's a great story it will flow again, at the pace it wants to flow.
Until it does, stop agonizing over it. Live a little--go sailing, or soaring, or fly fishing, or something else that naturally ignites and elevates your spirit. The nemesis of creativity is stress, and when that's washed away then a story can once again weave and grow itself in your fertile mind with ease.
Contrary to popular belief, a fiction writer doesn't create a story. The story invents itself, introduces itself to the open mind, then dictates itself to that author, who records it the way the story wants to be told. If a story isn't dictating itself vividly and experientially, it's because it doesn't want to go forward--either it has been artificially taken too far down a path that's not true to where it wants to go, or it's a story without sufficient merit to go further, or something. Something is wrong, and the story is fizzling. Imagine trying to lead a river up a very gradual up-slope--at some point the current is going to fizzle.
For someone under the gun, trying to crank out novels at the rate of so many per decade (or worse yet, per year), experiencing a "block" might have some meaning. But for writers whose goal is the creation of masterful works instead of mere compliance with schedule pressures, it comes when it comes. Mull it over. Let the story itself take the helm. Ignore the calendar page. If it's a great story it will flow again, at the pace it wants to flow.
Until it does, stop agonizing over it. Live a little--go sailing, or soaring, or fly fishing, or something else that naturally ignites and elevates your spirit. The nemesis of creativity is stress, and when that's washed away then a story can once again weave and grow itself in your fertile mind with ease.
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