Ask the Author: Neil Shooter
Answered Questions (12)
Neil Shooter
Well, several of them are exactly that, or will be. There are stories of betrayal and surprise, of confusion and conflict, of chance meetings, of love and anger, of grief and utter despair, where the central mystery is "why" or "how" this thing happened.
Family secrets. How relationships can fall apart. How one thing is said and a completely different, sometimes opposite, thing is understood. As a writer, that last one is particularly distressing...
Chicken culture. I kid you not. It is utterly fascinating.
But all things considered, the biggest mystery in my life that has contributed the most to the plot of a story is the life of my great aunt, a struggling writer until the end. She never got her break, but I have given her a pivotal role in my (Unwritten) Epic Fantasy Saga (Volume 15). It would give me incredible satisfaction to one day actually write all 15 volumes, and show the echo of her to the world.
Family secrets. How relationships can fall apart. How one thing is said and a completely different, sometimes opposite, thing is understood. As a writer, that last one is particularly distressing...
Chicken culture. I kid you not. It is utterly fascinating.
But all things considered, the biggest mystery in my life that has contributed the most to the plot of a story is the life of my great aunt, a struggling writer until the end. She never got her break, but I have given her a pivotal role in my (Unwritten) Epic Fantasy Saga (Volume 15). It would give me incredible satisfaction to one day actually write all 15 volumes, and show the echo of her to the world.
Neil Shooter
I've emailed you, James :)
Neil Shooter
The cave echoed with his ragged breaths as he tried to pull himself, sideways, through the gap he had misjudged so badly, but it was no use.
A rapid tapping sound, like the manic typing of a writer in full flow, infringed on his awareness, approaching through the darkness, was replaced by a whoosh of air, and then the skittering thing was on his head, in his hair, probing with a hard, pointed appendage, searching for a juicy spot.
[shiver]
A rapid tapping sound, like the manic typing of a writer in full flow, infringed on his awareness, approaching through the darkness, was replaced by a whoosh of air, and then the skittering thing was on his head, in his hair, probing with a hard, pointed appendage, searching for a juicy spot.
[shiver]
Neil Shooter
My summers are filled with tilling, planting, sowing, pruning, harvesting, weeding, picking, mowing, fertilising, and pest control, and perhaps a bit of sitting in the shade and watching the clouds go by. It's wonderful, and satisfying, but I don't do a lot of reading, or writing, in the summer, and don't really have a summer reading list.
However, I just finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and I was so drawn in by the science fiction world building. The book is a bit old, from the 80s, so there is a bit of ... distance now. It's precisely the kind of thing I would have read IN the 80s.
I'm also trying to get a couple of things specifically OFF my reading pile, things I've been "currently" reading for absolutely ages. One of these is Eutopia by David Nickle. I started this years ago, and a stopped at about Chapter 10. I've dipped into it again over the summer and while a lot of the earlier part is hazy at best, I find myself drawn into it. But still not sitting and reading it! I think as Fall, uh, "rises", that I'll want to spend more time inside and reading.
I know I can read outside in the summer, and I do. But Eutopia is on my laptop, and must be an inside book.
A book that is perfect summer reading is Elliot Pie's Guide To Human Nature
by Chantelle Atkins, and parts of it reminded me of my youth in England, while others really resonated with my life as it is now.
What about my Fall reading list? It's quite sparse, really, because I intend to be focusing on [gasp] *writing*... :)
However, I just finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and I was so drawn in by the science fiction world building. The book is a bit old, from the 80s, so there is a bit of ... distance now. It's precisely the kind of thing I would have read IN the 80s.
I'm also trying to get a couple of things specifically OFF my reading pile, things I've been "currently" reading for absolutely ages. One of these is Eutopia by David Nickle. I started this years ago, and a stopped at about Chapter 10. I've dipped into it again over the summer and while a lot of the earlier part is hazy at best, I find myself drawn into it. But still not sitting and reading it! I think as Fall, uh, "rises", that I'll want to spend more time inside and reading.
I know I can read outside in the summer, and I do. But Eutopia is on my laptop, and must be an inside book.
A book that is perfect summer reading is Elliot Pie's Guide To Human Nature
by Chantelle Atkins, and parts of it reminded me of my youth in England, while others really resonated with my life as it is now.
What about my Fall reading list? It's quite sparse, really, because I intend to be focusing on [gasp] *writing*... :)
Neil Shooter
Inspiration comes from all around. You just have to look for it. It could be a social media post, a news story, something that happens to you, something that someone tells you, something in a story that you like or don't like, or just something that occurs to you.
The key to getting inspiration is writing down all the things that come to you so that you can later decide if any of them deserve a story of their own!
The key to getting inspiration is writing down all the things that come to you so that you can later decide if any of them deserve a story of their own!
Neil Shooter
Currently? As in right this second? My top priority is a short story called "The Edge", which I'm thinking is more of a novella. It tells the tale of two scientists in a spacecraft heading towards the edge of the Solar System in the not-too-distant future, and how little things add up.
I really want to complete it. I've been working on it, on and off, for years. I tried to work on it during Camp Nano, but made little progress. There are a few scenes that need to be written, and the whole thing needs to be rewritten. Half the story is told from the POV (point of view) of each character, so much of my current challenge is making them really sound like different people, and giving the two halves of the story a really different feel. Dr. Alexander King is older, old-fashioned, and a bit of a fuddy-duddy, with an infantile sense of humour. Dr. Reza Shah is younger, more serious, and has more to prove.
It's coming along, but a bit too slowly!
I really want to complete it. I've been working on it, on and off, for years. I tried to work on it during Camp Nano, but made little progress. There are a few scenes that need to be written, and the whole thing needs to be rewritten. Half the story is told from the POV (point of view) of each character, so much of my current challenge is making them really sound like different people, and giving the two halves of the story a really different feel. Dr. Alexander King is older, old-fashioned, and a bit of a fuddy-duddy, with an infantile sense of humour. Dr. Reza Shah is younger, more serious, and has more to prove.
It's coming along, but a bit too slowly!
Neil Shooter
There is so much good advice out there for aspiring writers, but not everything works for everyone. I'll tell you what works for me.
I like small achievable goals. Goals that are too big overwhelm me.
I like lists. I like numbers.
What am I talking about?
Every day I log my words, my number of creative words in that day. Not editing, not diary, not blog. Creative words. Story words. Worldbuilding words. I record my daily totals and monthly totals, and sometimes that spurs me on to try to write more on a given day. Last month, for example, was my most productive writing month in 2017, and the fifth most productive since records began (ie November 2015), and also contained the second most productive single day ever, since records began (ditto).
The days of zero are lost days, but water under the bridge. Today is the day to worry about, to focus on, not the failures of yesterday.
What else?
Write every day. Your brain responds to your habits. If you show your brain that you are sitting in your spot waiting for it to provide words every single day, then it will get used to the idea of *giving* you words.
Write the whole thing.
This is why I write by hand whenever I can. It silences, or deters, at least, the editor part of me that wants to go back and fix that little mistake half way up the page. If you edit as you go, all too often you will end up with a marvelous chapter or two, but then lose your way and stumble to a halt. It has happened to me countless times. Instead, mark an asterix at the place that needs work, note in the margin what that work is, even if it is "don't like this!" or "redo!", and then leave it. Continue writing the story.
The way I look at it is this. Editing, the urge to edit, is the desire to make your story better. But how do you know how to make the whole story better when all you have is a few pages or chapters? You can't know the *shape* of the story, as a whole, as an entity, until you have written the whole story through once. The first complete draft is allowed to be sh!t. Some would say it is *supposed* to be. Let it be bad. Just let it exist before you try to make it shiny and sparkly.
Take a notebook, or app, everywhere you go, so that you will never lose another idea. When you are falling asleep and that amazing idea comes to you, GET UP, write it out, because you will NOT remember in the morning.
Plot.
Have some sort of plan for your story. I like a simplified version of the Snowflake method to develop a story. It is a more organized and systematic way of finding the shape of a story before you begin writing it, and a better way of doing what I was already more or less doing.
Make a list of scenes, or key plot points, for each character, and see what the pulse of the story looks like before you even start.
Know where you are going. I have had the end of Circles Of Old clearly in my mind for at least 10 years. To get there, the characters need to go through a lot, and some of that is complex and detailed, and without carefully plotting and keeping track of all those threads, I know I will get hopelessly lost. Because I have. It is exactly what happened to me every time I have tried to write Circles Of Old.
Write short stories. Yes, short stories are very different creatures to novels or novellas. Each kind of story has its own rules, its own feel. But if you write short stories, you have to learn to write concisely, and with depth of meaning. This will enhance all your stories no matter what their length or type. And you will actually probably finish something. Feeling that great satisfaction of accomplishment when you have finished the first draft of *something*, even it is "only" a short story, is priceless.
Finish stuff, and then ignore it for a bit.
When you have just written something, you think it is amazing. But also you are blind to its shortcomings, as well as typos and little errors. Instead, give yourself space from the story, and come back to it weeks or months later, so that when you read it it's with a fresh perspective. You will notice your mistakes, and have a better chance of seeing what needs to be changed to make the story better.
Don't expect too much.
Many writers expect to match the success of the well known greats, but very few writers ever have a bestseller. Not many writers even earn enough from their writing to live off. But is that all that writers want? Writers want to write, more than anything. Sales would be great, but I'll take being able to write every day.
Don't get hung up on feedback, on reviews, on FB likes. Support other writers, but don't expect anyone to support you. No one owes anyone anything. Accept the bad reviews with the same grace as the bad ones: everyone is entitled to their opinion even when it makes your blood boil and you know they are wrong! Never reply to a review, unless it is to simply thank them for it.
Marketing is hard. Don't expect your FB page to lead to sales. Expect it to lead to the occasional interaction with people who might not ever want to read your work. Be nice. Be supportive. And don't post about religion or politics. Ever. I mean it! You will only alienate people with your wacky ideas, and really all you want to be talking about on your author pages has to be related directly to writing.
I could go on. There is a lot of advice out there. These are the things I have learned for myself, and that work for me. I hope they help you too.
I like small achievable goals. Goals that are too big overwhelm me.
I like lists. I like numbers.
What am I talking about?
Every day I log my words, my number of creative words in that day. Not editing, not diary, not blog. Creative words. Story words. Worldbuilding words. I record my daily totals and monthly totals, and sometimes that spurs me on to try to write more on a given day. Last month, for example, was my most productive writing month in 2017, and the fifth most productive since records began (ie November 2015), and also contained the second most productive single day ever, since records began (ditto).
The days of zero are lost days, but water under the bridge. Today is the day to worry about, to focus on, not the failures of yesterday.
What else?
Write every day. Your brain responds to your habits. If you show your brain that you are sitting in your spot waiting for it to provide words every single day, then it will get used to the idea of *giving* you words.
Write the whole thing.
This is why I write by hand whenever I can. It silences, or deters, at least, the editor part of me that wants to go back and fix that little mistake half way up the page. If you edit as you go, all too often you will end up with a marvelous chapter or two, but then lose your way and stumble to a halt. It has happened to me countless times. Instead, mark an asterix at the place that needs work, note in the margin what that work is, even if it is "don't like this!" or "redo!", and then leave it. Continue writing the story.
The way I look at it is this. Editing, the urge to edit, is the desire to make your story better. But how do you know how to make the whole story better when all you have is a few pages or chapters? You can't know the *shape* of the story, as a whole, as an entity, until you have written the whole story through once. The first complete draft is allowed to be sh!t. Some would say it is *supposed* to be. Let it be bad. Just let it exist before you try to make it shiny and sparkly.
Take a notebook, or app, everywhere you go, so that you will never lose another idea. When you are falling asleep and that amazing idea comes to you, GET UP, write it out, because you will NOT remember in the morning.
Plot.
Have some sort of plan for your story. I like a simplified version of the Snowflake method to develop a story. It is a more organized and systematic way of finding the shape of a story before you begin writing it, and a better way of doing what I was already more or less doing.
Make a list of scenes, or key plot points, for each character, and see what the pulse of the story looks like before you even start.
Know where you are going. I have had the end of Circles Of Old clearly in my mind for at least 10 years. To get there, the characters need to go through a lot, and some of that is complex and detailed, and without carefully plotting and keeping track of all those threads, I know I will get hopelessly lost. Because I have. It is exactly what happened to me every time I have tried to write Circles Of Old.
Write short stories. Yes, short stories are very different creatures to novels or novellas. Each kind of story has its own rules, its own feel. But if you write short stories, you have to learn to write concisely, and with depth of meaning. This will enhance all your stories no matter what their length or type. And you will actually probably finish something. Feeling that great satisfaction of accomplishment when you have finished the first draft of *something*, even it is "only" a short story, is priceless.
Finish stuff, and then ignore it for a bit.
When you have just written something, you think it is amazing. But also you are blind to its shortcomings, as well as typos and little errors. Instead, give yourself space from the story, and come back to it weeks or months later, so that when you read it it's with a fresh perspective. You will notice your mistakes, and have a better chance of seeing what needs to be changed to make the story better.
Don't expect too much.
Many writers expect to match the success of the well known greats, but very few writers ever have a bestseller. Not many writers even earn enough from their writing to live off. But is that all that writers want? Writers want to write, more than anything. Sales would be great, but I'll take being able to write every day.
Don't get hung up on feedback, on reviews, on FB likes. Support other writers, but don't expect anyone to support you. No one owes anyone anything. Accept the bad reviews with the same grace as the bad ones: everyone is entitled to their opinion even when it makes your blood boil and you know they are wrong! Never reply to a review, unless it is to simply thank them for it.
Marketing is hard. Don't expect your FB page to lead to sales. Expect it to lead to the occasional interaction with people who might not ever want to read your work. Be nice. Be supportive. And don't post about religion or politics. Ever. I mean it! You will only alienate people with your wacky ideas, and really all you want to be talking about on your author pages has to be related directly to writing.
I could go on. There is a lot of advice out there. These are the things I have learned for myself, and that work for me. I hope they help you too.
Neil Shooter
The best thing about a writer is never being bored. There is always something going on in your mind, some idea percolating, some question that needs an answer, a burning curiosity about *something* that spurs you on, and instead of having nothing to do, you have so many things that you *could* do!
No, the best thing about being a writer is being the master of your own creations, that in a world too often filled with ugliness and pain, there is always a place within where you can retreat, explore, and enjoy.
No, the best thing about being a writer is Flow, that glorious exalting rush of words that springs out of some magical hidden source in you, or beyond you, from some other dimension perhaps, when words tumble out of you, and stories appear fully formed in your head and you must get them out and into the real world before they evaporate, when if feels like you are simply being dictated to, that some inner voice or aspect has provided the story to you, for you, and your job is only to record it on paper or screen.
That is the best thing about being a writer. Writing in Flow.
No, the best thing about being a writer is being the master of your own creations, that in a world too often filled with ugliness and pain, there is always a place within where you can retreat, explore, and enjoy.
No, the best thing about being a writer is Flow, that glorious exalting rush of words that springs out of some magical hidden source in you, or beyond you, from some other dimension perhaps, when words tumble out of you, and stories appear fully formed in your head and you must get them out and into the real world before they evaporate, when if feels like you are simply being dictated to, that some inner voice or aspect has provided the story to you, for you, and your job is only to record it on paper or screen.
That is the best thing about being a writer. Writing in Flow.
Neil Shooter
By writing. Okay, I know that sounds snarky, but it is true. I don't feel like writing? Write anyway. If I have a chunk of time and no words to fill it, I do something called "freewriting", but others give it different names. This is the name I discovered it under, many moons ago.
Freewriting is a stream of consciousness. You simply write. Everything and anything that crosses your mind. Set yourself a time limit, of 5, 10, 20 minutes, or however long you think it might take you to get the juices flowing. And then you just write whatever crosses your mind. You do not censor. You do not examine. You write complete nonsense if that is what your brain is thinking about. But whatever you think you must then write.
No, it isn't some kind of blackmail material generator, but don't be afraid to write down who you want to kill or maim (in a story, of course...) just because you think it is inappropriate.
You will write some garbage, but sooner or later your brain will address either the issues that are preventing you from writing (stresses, anxieties, crises, whatever it is that you are going through and trying to avoid dealing with), or come up with some angle or idea on a story that you have been wanting to explore, and you will begin writing.
It's just like magic!
It's a kind of mind trick. Mind trick!
Your brain realizes that you are writing any old thought that happens to appear, and rises to the occasion, supplying you with something worth writing, or at least throwing more thoughts at you so you continue to have something to write down.
It's the old adage that you have to turn the tap (faucet) on if you want the water to flow. Sometimes old pipes need flushing before the clear water can come. That is all you are doing: getting things moving.
Freewriting is a stream of consciousness. You simply write. Everything and anything that crosses your mind. Set yourself a time limit, of 5, 10, 20 minutes, or however long you think it might take you to get the juices flowing. And then you just write whatever crosses your mind. You do not censor. You do not examine. You write complete nonsense if that is what your brain is thinking about. But whatever you think you must then write.
No, it isn't some kind of blackmail material generator, but don't be afraid to write down who you want to kill or maim (in a story, of course...) just because you think it is inappropriate.
You will write some garbage, but sooner or later your brain will address either the issues that are preventing you from writing (stresses, anxieties, crises, whatever it is that you are going through and trying to avoid dealing with), or come up with some angle or idea on a story that you have been wanting to explore, and you will begin writing.
It's just like magic!
It's a kind of mind trick. Mind trick!
Your brain realizes that you are writing any old thought that happens to appear, and rises to the occasion, supplying you with something worth writing, or at least throwing more thoughts at you so you continue to have something to write down.
It's the old adage that you have to turn the tap (faucet) on if you want the water to flow. Sometimes old pipes need flushing before the clear water can come. That is all you are doing: getting things moving.
Neil Shooter
I would be like Dalan, minus the fighting, and the Draken, and travel the world of Circles Of Old, not just the Kinnon, which has enough wonders itself (the magnificent stone city of Maynar, the Council Chambers of the Kinnon, the cliffs of Kire, the Great Harbour of Abrilia, the Towers of Tarakal, the great cold plains of the north, the Isle of Mages, and I know of a particular vineyard on the west coast of Karuni that is particularly peaceful and beautiful) but also the imperial ruins of Mandalyrria, the Desert Cities where Great Ladies rule, the Free Cities of the far south where only a fraction of the people are even human. There are some places I would fear to go, true, but a careful tourist can get around quite adequately if he is smart, and not too reckless. Dalan did it for ten years, after all, and he survived very well...
Neil Shooter
Air. If you can control air, there are so many things you can do. You could use air to make you fly, if you're not afraid of heights. You could use a bubble of air to explore underwater, or visit space. You could use air as a proxy for telekinesis, using finely tuned amounts of air to lift something and bring it to you from a distance, like a lightsaber wedged in ice, for example. You could divert storm systems, change weather patterns, bring moist air to the deserts, and change the monsoons. Air manipulation just seems so useful and full of potential compared to the other options.
I mean, fire. You could be a great pyromaniac, and do a nice steak, and keep people warm in winter. Fire would be a great attack weapon, if you are that way inclined.
Earth always seems stodgy and dull in comparison to the other elements. If earth means "solid matter" then maybe you might be able to transform materials from one substance into another, and make yourself rich, but that doesn't seem terribly fulfilling. Besides, the price of gold would plummet if you went around making things into gold willy nilly. You could use elemental earth to build islands or fortifications, or to undermine the foundations of your enemies.
Using water, you could bring the deserts to life, prevent flood damage, part the seas, and drown people who had crossed you for the last time. You could even send water to Mars, lowering our rising sea levels a bit at the same time as you start the long hard process of terraforming another world.
Earth, fire and water all have promise, but seem rather limited in comparison to air. You can dig with air, hold with air, attack with air, and breathe it too. It just seems to be the most versatile of the four.
I choose AIR!
I mean, fire. You could be a great pyromaniac, and do a nice steak, and keep people warm in winter. Fire would be a great attack weapon, if you are that way inclined.
Earth always seems stodgy and dull in comparison to the other elements. If earth means "solid matter" then maybe you might be able to transform materials from one substance into another, and make yourself rich, but that doesn't seem terribly fulfilling. Besides, the price of gold would plummet if you went around making things into gold willy nilly. You could use elemental earth to build islands or fortifications, or to undermine the foundations of your enemies.
Using water, you could bring the deserts to life, prevent flood damage, part the seas, and drown people who had crossed you for the last time. You could even send water to Mars, lowering our rising sea levels a bit at the same time as you start the long hard process of terraforming another world.
Earth, fire and water all have promise, but seem rather limited in comparison to air. You can dig with air, hold with air, attack with air, and breathe it too. It just seems to be the most versatile of the four.
I choose AIR!
Neil Shooter
My most recent book is called Annual 2013, and is a compilation of everything that I published in 2013, and a lot more besides. I remembered having Rubert the Bear annuals at Christmas when I was young, and I wanted to do something special for the end of the year. Life intervened, and I didn't publish it until after Christmas, but it contained everything I'd published, a description about everything I'd published, as well as a sneak peek at a number of things I'm working on, and other things I've had locked away in a box in a dark basement corner for many years.
I'd like to make an annual for every year, but as I haven't yet published anything in 2014, I'd better pull my socks up and get writing!
I'd like to make an annual for every year, but as I haven't yet published anything in 2014, I'd better pull my socks up and get writing!
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