Ask the Author: Russell J.T. Dyer
Answered Questions (4)
Russell J.T. Dyer
Last year I was editing a book a friend, Mike Mazier wrote on blockchain investing. He talks about the Yap island and how the Yapese in the 1800s, in addition to bartering, use large, carved round limestones as currency, as proof of wealth.
Given a limited amount of limestone on the island, a group of men paddled to a neighboring island in a va’a (a canoe with a pontoon) to find a new stone. They found one weighing over a ton, carved it into a circle with a hole in the center. They placed it across the boat and pontoon and tied it down and then headed home, pleased with themselves.
Unfortunately, as they neared their home, they encountered a storm and, faced with possibly drowning, they had to push the stone overboard, leaving it at the bottom of a lagoon. The next day they told the story of what happened. The tribe discussed it and voted to accept the stone in the lagoon as valid and proof of their wealth. They valued the story as much as the stone.
From that insight, I imagined an island, a society that values stories and storytelling. A good story was wealth. That has become the basis of my new novel, The Storytellers. I've been planning this one for the past few months. Hopefully, I'll have it written by the start of next year.
Given a limited amount of limestone on the island, a group of men paddled to a neighboring island in a va’a (a canoe with a pontoon) to find a new stone. They found one weighing over a ton, carved it into a circle with a hole in the center. They placed it across the boat and pontoon and tied it down and then headed home, pleased with themselves.
Unfortunately, as they neared their home, they encountered a storm and, faced with possibly drowning, they had to push the stone overboard, leaving it at the bottom of a lagoon. The next day they told the story of what happened. The tribe discussed it and voted to accept the stone in the lagoon as valid and proof of their wealth. They valued the story as much as the stone.
From that insight, I imagined an island, a society that values stories and storytelling. A good story was wealth. That has become the basis of my new novel, The Storytellers. I've been planning this one for the past few months. Hopefully, I'll have it written by the start of next year.
Russell J.T. Dyer
Inspiration doesn't exist -- at least that's my cynical attitude. Look at the word: it's basically in-spirited, like a spirit entered you and told you want to write. Instead of looking for divine intervention, I think about what I want to say.
That's something I've learned over years of writing -- technical books and novels: What do I want to say? Once that's clear in my head, I just start saying it or rather, writing it -- in bits and pieces, a mess of thoughts that I string together, reorder and rewrite until I have something that can be read smoothly by someone other than me.
So if I want to say, "Life is unfair", I say that and how it's unfair. I think of a situation to demonstrate, to give as an example -- maybe from my life or someone I love. Then I have the start of a story, at least a scene. From there I develop a main character who's being treated unfairly, I tell how they feel about their situation and their life. Before you know it I have a plot going and then a novel takes shape.
That's something I've learned over years of writing -- technical books and novels: What do I want to say? Once that's clear in my head, I just start saying it or rather, writing it -- in bits and pieces, a mess of thoughts that I string together, reorder and rewrite until I have something that can be read smoothly by someone other than me.
So if I want to say, "Life is unfair", I say that and how it's unfair. I think of a situation to demonstrate, to give as an example -- maybe from my life or someone I love. Then I have the start of a story, at least a scene. From there I develop a main character who's being treated unfairly, I tell how they feel about their situation and their life. Before you know it I have a plot going and then a novel takes shape.
Russell J.T. Dyer
When I can't think of what to write, I just write. It's simple. Don't make it so difficult for yourself.
I think sometimes people don't start writing because they aren't able to envision the entire essay, the entire story, or all of whatever they're trying to write. But they usually can think of something to say about what they want to write. They put too much pressure on themselves: they think they need to know where the story will end and how it will proceed and from there what is the best starting point.
But when writing, you can start anywhere. You can write one part of the story from any point and later add what goes before it. You can move pieces around. You can rewrite what you do write to start. You can even delete it later. The delete key is your best tool, that and whatever combination you click to cut and paste.
So, when you can't think of what to write, just write.
I think sometimes people don't start writing because they aren't able to envision the entire essay, the entire story, or all of whatever they're trying to write. But they usually can think of something to say about what they want to write. They put too much pressure on themselves: they think they need to know where the story will end and how it will proceed and from there what is the best starting point.
But when writing, you can start anywhere. You can write one part of the story from any point and later add what goes before it. You can move pieces around. You can rewrite what you do write to start. You can even delete it later. The delete key is your best tool, that and whatever combination you click to cut and paste.
So, when you can't think of what to write, just write.
Russell J.T. Dyer
I've been planning a new novel that I'm tentatively calling, "The Storytellers". It's about some children who are shipwrecked on an island at the end of the 19th Century. They develop a society with their own rules -- much like Lord of the Flies, except that it went well. Living without books, radio, television, internet, or any other external form of entertainment, they value stories and storytellers. It becomes their currency in addition to bartering.
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