Ask the Author: Kris St.Gabriel
Answered Questions (4)
Kris St.Gabriel
I think everyone should consider the possibility that inspiration doesn't really exist. That it's a fantasy.
Do it as a mental exercise. And consider that the motivation to be creative is something else. And that it's not really something that is 'sought'.
It happens for a variety of reasons. It's not like fishing. You don't fish for motivation. You especially don't 'hunt' for it either. I don't ... go out .. hunting for a ... I don't know ... a type of sketch of a dog, for example.
Instead, I simply sketch.
Oh look - I'm sketching a dog.
Along the way I learn some things. I enjoy the process and that's why I do it. Later, I can say 'I was inspired to draw a dog because ... um ... my dog contracted rabies and bit my aunt, recently, it was all terribly sad. We had to put her down. The aunt, I mean, not the dog. I'm keeping the dog, obviously. I love dogs, and besides, I still have two more aunts threatening to visit at any moment'.
You see, I didn't feel 'inspired' to write the previous sentence, it just happened because I was writing. If you'd asked me to sit in a chair and wait for inspiration, it would never have happened. I can't cultivate inspiration from a chair.
Oh I could sit there, and some things would happen but my mind may not have bothered to mention them here. Which is not to say creativity can't happen when you're not writing. The point, however, is that it happens to you, due to the nature of your thoughts. You don't hunt for creativity. You ARE creativity.
My final point is that most of the process is editing. Because seriously, you do not want all your creativity revealed to the world, or every time your aunt dies in mysterious, tragic circumstances, then you will need to work extra hard to have a firm, iron-clad alibi in advance.
You see? I'm glad I cleared that up for you.
Do it as a mental exercise. And consider that the motivation to be creative is something else. And that it's not really something that is 'sought'.
It happens for a variety of reasons. It's not like fishing. You don't fish for motivation. You especially don't 'hunt' for it either. I don't ... go out .. hunting for a ... I don't know ... a type of sketch of a dog, for example.
Instead, I simply sketch.
Oh look - I'm sketching a dog.
Along the way I learn some things. I enjoy the process and that's why I do it. Later, I can say 'I was inspired to draw a dog because ... um ... my dog contracted rabies and bit my aunt, recently, it was all terribly sad. We had to put her down. The aunt, I mean, not the dog. I'm keeping the dog, obviously. I love dogs, and besides, I still have two more aunts threatening to visit at any moment'.
You see, I didn't feel 'inspired' to write the previous sentence, it just happened because I was writing. If you'd asked me to sit in a chair and wait for inspiration, it would never have happened. I can't cultivate inspiration from a chair.
Oh I could sit there, and some things would happen but my mind may not have bothered to mention them here. Which is not to say creativity can't happen when you're not writing. The point, however, is that it happens to you, due to the nature of your thoughts. You don't hunt for creativity. You ARE creativity.
My final point is that most of the process is editing. Because seriously, you do not want all your creativity revealed to the world, or every time your aunt dies in mysterious, tragic circumstances, then you will need to work extra hard to have a firm, iron-clad alibi in advance.
You see? I'm glad I cleared that up for you.
Kris St.Gabriel
I write novels and stories in markdown format, which is like plain text. You can learn it in under 5 minutes.
I store my books in offsite Git repositories for safe-keeping and version control (Gitlab is solid, and private repos are free, so why not?).
I can convert my markdown formatted books into any format in a matter of seconds, from the terminal. Want it in HTML? PDF? Epub? Mobi? Docx? It's simple using a terminal application called pandoc. Which is also free.
I know word processors are still popular with many writers, in much the same way typewriters are still popular with 95-year-olds. My suggestion is not to use a word processor. Have some self-respect. Similarly, don't use various confusing iterations of files stored on Dropbox or a USB stick. Instead, use a sane version control system. In other words, use git.
With markdown files and git, you can have multiple friends sending you edits of your manuscript, and you can merge them all in seamlessly into your own updated draft. I mean, it just works. And meanwhile, everything is getting backed-up off site. For free.
Stay away from gimmicky commercial apps that promise you productivity-boosts. They're just silly. Use simple open-source text editors, like Atom Editor. I use Vim, but it's got a steep learning curve and I don't generally recommend it to people.
One last thing; writing is a sedentary job, so you absolutely should get in some cardio, at least a few times a week. I'm talking high intensity interval training, I'm talking weights. I'm talking a proper meal-plan.
You know what? Stop what you're doing and go sign up for my newsletter. Because goddamn - has this not been the best advice, or what?
I store my books in offsite Git repositories for safe-keeping and version control (Gitlab is solid, and private repos are free, so why not?).
I can convert my markdown formatted books into any format in a matter of seconds, from the terminal. Want it in HTML? PDF? Epub? Mobi? Docx? It's simple using a terminal application called pandoc. Which is also free.
I know word processors are still popular with many writers, in much the same way typewriters are still popular with 95-year-olds. My suggestion is not to use a word processor. Have some self-respect. Similarly, don't use various confusing iterations of files stored on Dropbox or a USB stick. Instead, use a sane version control system. In other words, use git.
With markdown files and git, you can have multiple friends sending you edits of your manuscript, and you can merge them all in seamlessly into your own updated draft. I mean, it just works. And meanwhile, everything is getting backed-up off site. For free.
Stay away from gimmicky commercial apps that promise you productivity-boosts. They're just silly. Use simple open-source text editors, like Atom Editor. I use Vim, but it's got a steep learning curve and I don't generally recommend it to people.
One last thing; writing is a sedentary job, so you absolutely should get in some cardio, at least a few times a week. I'm talking high intensity interval training, I'm talking weights. I'm talking a proper meal-plan.
You know what? Stop what you're doing and go sign up for my newsletter. Because goddamn - has this not been the best advice, or what?
Kris St.Gabriel
The second best thing about being a writer is, the questions that people ask you, like ... off the top of my head - and this one came up recently, actually - someone asked me, What's the best thing about being a writer? And my answer was this, the very best thing about being a writer is that it sometimes provides the opportunity to insert interesting jokes about recursion into paragraphs. That said, the second best thing about being a writer is -- [see above]
Kris St.Gabriel
I've never suffered from writer's block, but I had the measles when I was a kid because nobody told my Nana about vaccinations. I'm pretty sure that writer's block stems from a misunderstanding about the nature of creativity, which is less a talent and more a process for solving problems. Allow me to demonstrate.
Imagine, for a moment, that you can't find a sock. Alright then, are you going to approach that problem in a Grave and Terribly Serious Way? Or are you going to get creative and look in the microwave? Because that's where I put it - to punish you. Yes, you with all your questions. You think I'm going to tell you my secrets? Just like that?! Because you asked me? HA HA HA HA. You fool!
Imagine, for a moment, that you can't find a sock. Alright then, are you going to approach that problem in a Grave and Terribly Serious Way? Or are you going to get creative and look in the microwave? Because that's where I put it - to punish you. Yes, you with all your questions. You think I'm going to tell you my secrets? Just like that?! Because you asked me? HA HA HA HA. You fool!
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