Peter L. Bensen

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Peter L. Bensen

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Influences
Sherri Tepper, Lois McMaster Bujold, Gene Wolfe, Isaac Asimov, Robert ...more

Member Since
April 2013


Raised in the Virgin Islands, college and graduate school in Chicago. Taught biology, raised money for universities and small charities over the last thirty years, and for the last ten years lived in Missoula, MT.

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Peter L. Bensen I let the problem or issue percolate. Like a computer problem or when something is wrong with my car and I can't figure it out. I try what works and i…moreI let the problem or issue percolate. Like a computer problem or when something is wrong with my car and I can't figure it out. I try what works and if that doesn't help, I let it sit for a day, go to work and then suddenly I have a thought about how to solve the issue.

Writers blocks, like misbehaving computers, require enthusiastic curiosity. You need to find a way to be enthusiastic about solving the problem. So "I don't know what to do with the middle of this story!" turns into my character deciding he doesn't want to finish high school but join the royal marines (since he happens to be british). You can work out the details about how this gums up your plot, but if it is realistic for the character then it has wonderful potential.

I'm almost at the point in my writing when I say, "let the character solve the problem".(less)
Peter L. Bensen The best thing is sitting down at the keyboard and writing the first pieces of the first draft. The character(s) are just forming, I'm creating a worl…moreThe best thing is sitting down at the keyboard and writing the first pieces of the first draft. The character(s) are just forming, I'm creating a world for them, I generate disgusting roommates for them or hillsides to climb and aggravating mothers they are escaping from. That creative process is what I like best. I also like imposing a plot on the characters, shoehorning the nascent story into an outline with broad strokes for where I'm going with it. I enjoy not following the plot or the outline but watching in pleasant horror as the character refuses to do what I want him to do and acts far more rationally and without the pathos and angst I need to further the plot and grab my reader. (less)
Average rating: 3.67 · 3 ratings · 0 reviews · 2 distinct works
Hoisted

3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
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Loki's Children: A Tale of ...

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doldrums

I just received my umpteenth rejection letter from a publisher (Carina Press/Harlequin) for my latest work "Igor". It was disheartening because I thought the publisher was more likely to consider this piece than other publishers I have sent work to in the past; you know tailor your submissions to publishers more likely to like that genre, right?

It's been a depressing summer, looking for a job, li Read more of this blog post »
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Published on September 22, 2017 13:48 Tags: ecological-recovery, science-fiction, writing
Dreadful Company
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Strange Practice
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What Comes of Attending the Commoners Ball by Elisabeth Aimee Brown
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More of Peter's books…
Joe Haldeman
“Bad books on writing tell you to "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW", a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.”
Joe Haldeman

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This is a group for authors to discuss their craft, as well as publishing and book marketing.
47934 Good Reads Missoula — 62 members — last activity Mar 29, 2015 06:56PM
Welcome to Good Reads Missoula, your one stop site for everything reading, including upcoming local events, interviews with local authors, daily trivi ...more
1171142 Daniel M. Bensen's Q&A — 12 members — last activity Sep 13, 2021 03:42AM
I started this thinking it was temporary, but it's easier to leave it permanent. Ask me anything. ...more
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