Michael Gardner's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-life"
This is not an apology
Alternative title: An author’s note on the interpretation of stories
I admit to being quite taken aback at how my short story Henry & Isa has polarised readers, specifically how some readers feel the lack of an ‘explanation’ warrants a salty review. For any other title I’ve written, I’d ignore such reviews—I know I can’t and won’t please every reader—but Henry & Isa is a deeply personal story for me, so I feel obliged to offer a response to those or future reviewers.
There have been many more favourable reviews for this story—one reviewer specifically noted they were grateful I hadn’t explained the story—but the salty reviews made me consider this question: do I have an obligation to explain a story to a reader?
Read more at Michael Gardner's Blog.
I admit to being quite taken aback at how my short story Henry & Isa has polarised readers, specifically how some readers feel the lack of an ‘explanation’ warrants a salty review. For any other title I’ve written, I’d ignore such reviews—I know I can’t and won’t please every reader—but Henry & Isa is a deeply personal story for me, so I feel obliged to offer a response to those or future reviewers.
There have been many more favourable reviews for this story—one reviewer specifically noted they were grateful I hadn’t explained the story—but the salty reviews made me consider this question: do I have an obligation to explain a story to a reader?
Read more at Michael Gardner's Blog.
Write a million words: then you’re ready.
According to David Eddings or Ray Bradbury (take your pick), writers need to write a million words to pass the practice phase. I certainly chalked up nearly that number before I published my first book. Since then I’ve written at least another million in fiction including draft manuscripts, rewrites and finished titles. Add to that, I’ve been a professional writer for over ten years writing for the web, newspapers and magazines. There’s easily another million plus to add to the pile. Here’s the song I sing when I look back at that all that effort...
I got my first real keyboard
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Typed until my fingers bled
Was the summer of sixty-nine...
Hang on... is that a reference to the Kama Sutra, Mr Adams?
Ahem, needless to say, that all adds up to a lot of words. I haven’t kept track of them all because I’m not Rainman. What I’m saying is I’ve put in my time at the keyboard, giving it the 99% perspiration Oscar Wilde demands to offset the 1% inspiration. And after all those words... you know what I think?
Damn, my keyboard needs a good clean.
Read more quality posts about writing life on Michael Gardner's blog. Quality is a matter of opinion, of course.
I got my first real keyboard
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Typed until my fingers bled
Was the summer of sixty-nine...
Hang on... is that a reference to the Kama Sutra, Mr Adams?
Ahem, needless to say, that all adds up to a lot of words. I haven’t kept track of them all because I’m not Rainman. What I’m saying is I’ve put in my time at the keyboard, giving it the 99% perspiration Oscar Wilde demands to offset the 1% inspiration. And after all those words... you know what I think?
Damn, my keyboard needs a good clean.
Read more quality posts about writing life on Michael Gardner's blog. Quality is a matter of opinion, of course.
On Writing Rubbish
A brief memoir about an (as yet) unfinished story.
This blog won’t come as a surprise for those of you that know me. I have been described as a polygamist with genres—well, I called myself that, so it’s more of a confession really—so I wanted to describe what happens when I come up with the seed of a story.
Like all writers, it begins with an idea. Stephen King describes the process well in On Writing, the section where he says “If you’re a plumber who enjoys science fiction, you might well consider a novel about a plumber aboard a starship or on an alien planet…”
What he’s talking about is taking two ideas and juxtaposing them to form a new one, although I suspect he might regret using plumbers and science fiction in that example if he ever read what I did with it in my short story Space Plumber.
I tend to trust my subconscious to do this work. When that process begins, I usually have an idea which lends itself to a certain style of story. I think it’s important to write any story how it will best play out, rather than trying to force it into a certain genre. Anyone who has read a few of my stories will know they have my particular style regardless of subject or genre.
Until recently, I didn’t know eco-fiction was a thing. I live in a country which prides itself on a clean, green reputation, but I had no idea environmentalism now had its own genre within fiction. It’s important to me that I leave this world knowing I’ve been a good caretaker for my patch of the planet, but I never imagined writing a story about it.
And so it goes that I have surprised myself with my latest story idea which, when finished, will probably be classified as eco-fiction. I’ll let you know what comes of it. Hopefully it won’t be rubbish, just about rubbish.
The story has its own (unfinished) soundtrack too. Feel free to make a song suggestion on my blog...
This blog won’t come as a surprise for those of you that know me. I have been described as a polygamist with genres—well, I called myself that, so it’s more of a confession really—so I wanted to describe what happens when I come up with the seed of a story.
Like all writers, it begins with an idea. Stephen King describes the process well in On Writing, the section where he says “If you’re a plumber who enjoys science fiction, you might well consider a novel about a plumber aboard a starship or on an alien planet…”
What he’s talking about is taking two ideas and juxtaposing them to form a new one, although I suspect he might regret using plumbers and science fiction in that example if he ever read what I did with it in my short story Space Plumber.
I tend to trust my subconscious to do this work. When that process begins, I usually have an idea which lends itself to a certain style of story. I think it’s important to write any story how it will best play out, rather than trying to force it into a certain genre. Anyone who has read a few of my stories will know they have my particular style regardless of subject or genre.
Until recently, I didn’t know eco-fiction was a thing. I live in a country which prides itself on a clean, green reputation, but I had no idea environmentalism now had its own genre within fiction. It’s important to me that I leave this world knowing I’ve been a good caretaker for my patch of the planet, but I never imagined writing a story about it.
And so it goes that I have surprised myself with my latest story idea which, when finished, will probably be classified as eco-fiction. I’ll let you know what comes of it. Hopefully it won’t be rubbish, just about rubbish.
The story has its own (unfinished) soundtrack too. Feel free to make a song suggestion on my blog...
