Ask the Author: Eric Plume
Answered Questions (9)
Eric Plume
Absolutely not. Tomato is the only fruit that belongs on pizza. Whoever thought pineapple paired well with bacon was a barking moonbat. :D
Eric Plume
There will certainly be more Amber! I took a bit of time off from the series to figure out just what I wanted to do with it, but now I'm pretty sure I know. I'm working on a collection of short stories and novellas about what's happened to Amber since her last case while I do research and plotting for her next big case - mystery procedurals come with a LOT of homework!
I hope to have something Amber-ish out by the end of the year, if not sooner. I've kept y'all waiting long enough. :D
I hope to have something Amber-ish out by the end of the year, if not sooner. I've kept y'all waiting long enough. :D
Eric Plume
Excellent question! I've heard that other authors do use charts and graphs and whatever to keep track of details and make sure the plot doesn't get off track, but I don't. For example, my outline for Margin Play was only about twice as long as the blurb at the back of the book.
What I do have are reams of notes on my characters; even minor characters (if recurring) get at least 5-10 pages of back-story which describes where they come from, what their childhood was like, their motivations/desires/goals, et cetera. Central characters get much more. I have a 35-page biography on Amber Eckart, 90% of which might never end up in a novel.
The result; the characters "talk" to me as I write. I put them in situations, and they react to events...you know, like real people do. If the characters are three-dimensional in my head, their actions stay consistent on the page. The plot stays consistent in turn, because the overall story is one of actions, choices and reactions...rather than arbitrary events which take place "because the plot says so".
An odd consequence of this is that in the draft process I find myself adding, rather than subtracting like most authors have to - because while I know my characters back-to-front, the audience doesn't. During the draft process is where I remember a reader doesn't live in my head.
This is my method for producing "WOW!" at the climax of a story, rather than "...whuuut?" Because every character acts in a consistent, believable and human way, the plot is created and resolved according to motivations a reader can get behind - and like I said, the overall story stays consistent.
At the end of the day, storytelling is about people. Nobody roots for a plot.
What I do have are reams of notes on my characters; even minor characters (if recurring) get at least 5-10 pages of back-story which describes where they come from, what their childhood was like, their motivations/desires/goals, et cetera. Central characters get much more. I have a 35-page biography on Amber Eckart, 90% of which might never end up in a novel.
The result; the characters "talk" to me as I write. I put them in situations, and they react to events...you know, like real people do. If the characters are three-dimensional in my head, their actions stay consistent on the page. The plot stays consistent in turn, because the overall story is one of actions, choices and reactions...rather than arbitrary events which take place "because the plot says so".
An odd consequence of this is that in the draft process I find myself adding, rather than subtracting like most authors have to - because while I know my characters back-to-front, the audience doesn't. During the draft process is where I remember a reader doesn't live in my head.
This is my method for producing "WOW!" at the climax of a story, rather than "...whuuut?" Because every character acts in a consistent, believable and human way, the plot is created and resolved according to motivations a reader can get behind - and like I said, the overall story stays consistent.
At the end of the day, storytelling is about people. Nobody roots for a plot.
Eric Plume
The short answer is my girlfriend made me do it.
Long answer; she and I got into a long conversation about the romance novel genre and why it sucks. I made some assertions about how the problems are obvious and would be pretty easy to fix if the authors would just pay more attention to basic details regarding plot, character and research. She came back with "well, prove it."
Now I have to own those words. Here's hoping I'm not wrong. xD
Long answer; she and I got into a long conversation about the romance novel genre and why it sucks. I made some assertions about how the problems are obvious and would be pretty easy to fix if the authors would just pay more attention to basic details regarding plot, character and research. She came back with "well, prove it."
Now I have to own those words. Here's hoping I'm not wrong. xD
Eric Plume
I'll be brave...I'm working on a romance novel, and I plan to publish it under my actual name. Because I'm me, its in the crime-thriller vein and it is set in Seattle. We'll see how it shakes out. :)
Eric Plume
In a word, deadlines.
"I'm just not feeling it" rapidly disappears when you absolutely must have something finished and coherent by a certain date. I was raised in a family that ran a small business, so deadlines are something I understand pretty well.
So I make sure to create situations where I must have what I'm working on done and ready by the date I've said I will or I'll suffer consequences I don't want to deal with. It isn't the most pleasant way to do business, but I guess I bring it on myself by being a procrastinator.
"I'm just not feeling it" rapidly disappears when you absolutely must have something finished and coherent by a certain date. I was raised in a family that ran a small business, so deadlines are something I understand pretty well.
So I make sure to create situations where I must have what I'm working on done and ready by the date I've said I will or I'll suffer consequences I don't want to deal with. It isn't the most pleasant way to do business, but I guess I bring it on myself by being a procrastinator.
Eric Plume
Writing might be an art, but selling books is a business. If you really want to get ahead as a writer and author you have to learn the rules of both worlds.
Eric Plume
You get to do the weirdest shit while having a perfectly good excuse. I mean come on..."it's for a book" pardons a good deal of weirdness.
Eric Plume
I get away from people (either by going for a walk or driving my car) listen to music at molar-rattling volume and smoke cigarettes. Also, coffee.
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