Ask the Author: Koen Martens
Answered Questions (2)
Koen Martens
Beware of writing advice.
There is a lot of writing advice. On blogs, in forums, writing communities, reddit, twitter, et cetera... As with anything that's available for free on the internet: stay critical. It's easy to get dragged in by dogmatic advice and writing rules. Too much of that will block your creativity.
Some of the advice is genuinely useful, but more often than not it is blog filler or someone presenting their own writing style as gospel.
I always judge the value of writing advice by looking at books I like.
For example, some authors will be very vehement about dialogue tags and how you should never ever use anything other than 'I/he/she/they said'. However, looking at a book I'm currently reading (by an award winning author) and am very much enjoying, there is a lot more diversity. Verbs like 'asked', 'grunted', 'hissed'.
Others will tell you you always need to jump right into the action, and you should never ever have an exposition that takes an entire chapter. I've read plenty of books that have a lengthy exposition before the real action starts, and it never bothered me. Some of them were best-sellers.
Writing is not about rules. Writing is about creativity. That is not to say that there aren't certain patterns that will be appreciated more than others, but within those broad patterns there is plenty of room for creativity.
There is a lot of writing advice. On blogs, in forums, writing communities, reddit, twitter, et cetera... As with anything that's available for free on the internet: stay critical. It's easy to get dragged in by dogmatic advice and writing rules. Too much of that will block your creativity.
Some of the advice is genuinely useful, but more often than not it is blog filler or someone presenting their own writing style as gospel.
I always judge the value of writing advice by looking at books I like.
For example, some authors will be very vehement about dialogue tags and how you should never ever use anything other than 'I/he/she/they said'. However, looking at a book I'm currently reading (by an award winning author) and am very much enjoying, there is a lot more diversity. Verbs like 'asked', 'grunted', 'hissed'.
Others will tell you you always need to jump right into the action, and you should never ever have an exposition that takes an entire chapter. I've read plenty of books that have a lengthy exposition before the real action starts, and it never bothered me. Some of them were best-sellers.
Writing is not about rules. Writing is about creativity. That is not to say that there aren't certain patterns that will be appreciated more than others, but within those broad patterns there is plenty of room for creativity.
Koen Martens
I'm working on the 'Isolated Futures' sequence. Six shorter pieces (novelette - novella length) exploring different sub-genres of the sci-fi space. It's as much an exercise in self-publishing as it is about writing the stories. I'm trying to figure out the whole process, from writing to hiring editors, commissioning covers and actually publishing on the online platforms.
Starting 18 September -- when 'Forced to be Free', the first story in the series, will be released -- each month will see a new story. When all stories are out they will also be available as a bundle containing all six.
Starting 18 September -- when 'Forced to be Free', the first story in the series, will be released -- each month will see a new story. When all stories are out they will also be available as a bundle containing all six.
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