Ask the Author: Richard L. Pastore
Answered Questions (10)
Richard L. Pastore
With the words of Forrest Gump reverberating in my mind, my mouth closed apprehensively on the single chocolate I had chosen from the assortment. It was filled with dry coconut.
Richard L. Pastore
Thank you. I did finally get to the site. (Also, I answered you a few weeks back, but it's not showing up here for some reason). Thrilled to be nominated and thank you for letting me know and the congratulations!
Not sure if there's anything specifically I need to do.
Not sure if there's anything specifically I need to do.
Richard L. Pastore
Middle Earth for sure. I have a friend in New Zealand, so maybe I can kill two birds with one stone on that one.
Richard L. Pastore
That time I woke up outside the New York Public Library to find a man next to me surrounded by stacks of books and one pair of broken glasses.
Richard L. Pastore
I've never been particularly fond of the term "writer's block". It seems to be a label that begs a self-fulfilling prophesy. Kind of like worrying you can't sleep could me a significant contributor to insomnia.
There are types I hit a difficult spot. I don't feel blocked so much as I'm not sure how I want to proceed; or I can't get a strong enough grip on how a particular character should act or react. Whenever this happens, I skip it, jump ahead to where I feel more comfortable, write and come back later. Or, I just go and write something completely different, then when returning, I start reading a full chapter before the difficult spot to pick up the flow again.
Generally, if you are comfortable with your characters, what their goals are and know where you need the story to end up, you won't go far off track. You just may need to make a few varied attempts until something clicks.
There are types I hit a difficult spot. I don't feel blocked so much as I'm not sure how I want to proceed; or I can't get a strong enough grip on how a particular character should act or react. Whenever this happens, I skip it, jump ahead to where I feel more comfortable, write and come back later. Or, I just go and write something completely different, then when returning, I start reading a full chapter before the difficult spot to pick up the flow again.
Generally, if you are comfortable with your characters, what their goals are and know where you need the story to end up, you won't go far off track. You just may need to make a few varied attempts until something clicks.
Richard L. Pastore
I once said jokingly that being a writer is, in essence, inviting other people to share in your madness.
The thing that still amazes me about anything written is that once it is read by someone, you have changed their mind in some way. Perhaps it may be in a mundane way or perhaps something profound. In either case, through the use of shared symbols, information will pass from you to another person. I love that. It's an act of intellectual creation that will affect others in some way.
The thing that still amazes me about anything written is that once it is read by someone, you have changed their mind in some way. Perhaps it may be in a mundane way or perhaps something profound. In either case, through the use of shared symbols, information will pass from you to another person. I love that. It's an act of intellectual creation that will affect others in some way.
Richard L. Pastore
Write.
Write.
Write.
I always wrote as a hobby, having a different career I am still quite happy in. Not everything you write has to be something you intend on developing or career-oriented.
Write.
Write.
I always wrote as a hobby, having a different career I am still quite happy in. Not everything you write has to be something you intend on developing or career-oriented.
Richard L. Pastore
I've promised myself, that while I have an idea for a sort of prequel story and a few ideas for sequels to this book, I would like to avoid that for my second novel.
I'm in the process of sketching out one now. I've got some of the major characters defined and a reasonable story line that fits them well. But I am having a little trouble on setting the right comedic tone. Some issues they may face are going to be pretty heavy conceptually.
I'm in the process of sketching out one now. I've got some of the major characters defined and a reasonable story line that fits them well. But I am having a little trouble on setting the right comedic tone. Some issues they may face are going to be pretty heavy conceptually.
Richard L. Pastore
Over 90% of the time, it starts with imagined dialog between different characters with a specific personality trait. If the dialog seems to flow naturally, I start to think more about the characters - who they are, what they do, how they know each other. That provides me with a rough enough sketch to go to the next step of considering an appropriate high-level story line. I consider their goals, where they start, where they are and where they want to go.
As the writing progresses, the personalities are fine-tuned and, on some occasions, significant features are changed to better reflect the developing story line.
As the writing progresses, the personalities are fine-tuned and, on some occasions, significant features are changed to better reflect the developing story line.
Richard L. Pastore
The idea grew out of a short story I had been promising some of my on-line friends for many, many years. When I decided to move from writing short stories as a hobby to attempting a full novel, this one topped the list of potential ideas.
The earliest glimmers of story ideas most often come from imagining a conversation between different personality types, with the emphasis on humor. I had played around with the two main characters over the years, so writing dialog for them was a familiar exercise.
The earliest glimmers of story ideas most often come from imagining a conversation between different personality types, with the emphasis on humor. I had played around with the two main characters over the years, so writing dialog for them was a familiar exercise.
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