Nancy Kress - Saturday Discussions

Saturday, June 26, 2004

Process

This morning Nancy spent time talking about the process of writing. Here's some of what she said:

The bottom line for each writer is this: Do what works for you.

Michael Swanwick starts the beginnings of his stories about 20 times, revising for words and new ideas. He carefully revises two pages, then adds a new paragraph.

Toni Morrison writes without knowing how the story/novel is going to end.

Nancy herself writes a fast first draft without doing any editing, basically a 500-page outline. (She researches during the second draft.) About two-thirds of the way through that first draft, she knows the ending and the meaning. The last third doesn't need much revision because she knows where she's going.

Connie Willis outlines like a demon and can identify the main event in each chapter. She can't move forward until she knows all the details.

Some work fast, some work slow. Again, everyone's different. Find what works for you and stick to it.

Turning Ideas Into Stories

Let's say you've got an idea for a story. You want to write something about a brain transplant.

1. Who's Point of View? Who will this transplant hurt the most? The doctor? Patient? Parents of the child? That's your POV character, the person with the most to lose.

2. What can go wrong? The operation gets screwed up. This will generate ideas. Think of Frodo and the ring - what can go wrong?

2.5. With what result? Somebody else wants the ring, Gollum, etc. The ring starts to take over the wearer. The events of the plot make the characters change.

3. What's at stake? STUFF COSTS! The thing at stake doesn't necessarily have to be big. It could be a relationship, peace of mind, etc. It doesn't have to be the ruling of the world.

4. What do these people want? Everybody wants something. List your characters. What do they want at the beginning of the story? Sparks you to generate more plot ideas. What about the middle? Does it change? If you keep motivation under control, you'll have a lot of your story under control.

Early Decisions in Your Story

Plot and character can and often do change in your stories. These things shouldn't change:

POV - The fewer POV characters, the better. We see reality from one head. Stick to one in a short story. Let the reader know early if you're doing a multiple, then limit it to one POV per section. It shouldn't look like a mistake or lack of control.

TONE - You should know the tone of the piece by the end of the first section. Heroic fantasy? Romp? Hard-boiled? Pick one and stick with it. Everything must make logical sense in its own terms.