On this occasion, as we swing into a 2024 that cannot evade its destiny to be 'historic,' let me turn attention to something apolitical...
... the art and skill of writing credible fiction.
Many of you already know my more general site of Advice to Rising Writers. But offered here below is a supplement - a cluster of specific tricks of the trade.
But first...
Here's a link to a recording of the first public performance of my play “The Escape,” on November 7 at Caltech. A 'reading' but fully dramatized, well-acted and directed by Joanne Doyle*. The recording is of middling quality, but shows great audience reactions. Come have some good, impudently theological fun! You can also read the script of The Escape: A Confrontation in Four Scenes - available on Amazon.
And now, for you would-be Great Writers...
== The "Advice to New Writers of SF" packet from David Brin ==
This is a ‘canned’ general essay about tricks and skills of writing. It's not an instruction manual to become a great author! More a compilation of ‘wisdom’ chunks about some common mistakes often trip up would-be novelists etc.
Many have have told me they found this advice useful in their writers’ journey. You can find more for authors on my website. Let's begin:
Naturally, it’s terrific that you are writing and I do want to offer encouragement! Still, there is good news and bad news in this modern era. The good: there are so many new ways to get heard, or read, or published that any persistent person can get ‘out there.’ Talent and good ideas will see the light of day!
The bad news? it’s now so easy to get "published," bypassing traditional channels, that millions get to convince themselves "I am a published author!" without passing through the old grinding mill, where my generation honed our skills by dint of relentless workshopping, criticism, rejection, revision and pain.
Alas, fiction writing is a complex art that involves a lot of tradecraft... as it would if you took up landscape painting or silver smithing. It is insufficient simply to have ideas or to be skilled at nonfiction-prose. Nor does a lifetime of reading stories prepare you to write them, alas!This is not meant to be discouraging! In fact I am appending (below) a slug of 'generic advice'... much of it probably already below your level! Still, some items may not be. In fact, many published authors have found these insights helpful. I hope you will. But either way, do persevere.
Again, let me point you to an "advice article" that I've posted online, containing a distillation of wisdom and answers to questions I've been sent across 20 years. (Note, most authors never answer at all.) This article is at: http://www.davidbrin.com/advice.htm
I can also offer a general site containing advice bits from other top writers.
In this collection of writing tips, I especially recommend the short how-to books of my colleague Nancy Kress, such as Beginnings, Middles & Ends. Also The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells, by Ben Bova. And The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, by J. VanderMeer.
Then there is my advice video!
And some from Robert Heinlein (via J Pournelle)
But let’s get started on this list of specific examples: things that (alas) even very talented neo-authors do, all too often.
== The biggest problem ==
Skills at rapid-opening, point-of-view, showing-not-telling, action, evading passive-voice and so on are achieved by studied workshopping and -- as in most arts -- the whole thing is predicated upon ineffable things like talent, e.g. an ear for dialogue that only some people have. Indeed, point-of-view is so hard that half of would-e writers never "get" it, no matter how many years they put in.
* By far the most important pages are the first ones, when you hook the reader. And you need a great first paragraph to get them to read the first page. Starting with the Pov’s (Point of View character’s) name is certainly okay… even Heinlein did it now and then. (Though just the first name suffices; leave the last name for later.) Still, it is often better to start with an italicized internal thought, or an ironic observation, or spoken words or actions. See an example, below.
* Reiterating that key point: POV (point of view) is among the hardest things for most new writers to master. It gives your characters a “voice,” and presence and offers the reader a sense of vesting in the protagonist’s feelings and needs and will. This is all ruined by authorial data-dumps that make you feel lectured-to by a narrator! It's better to reveal info as efficiently as possible via conversation, action and the point of view character's internal thoughts.
Yes, you have a lot of information to deliver! You want the reader to know all about your precious character and world and situation, I get it. But be patient and tell as little of that as you can get away with, while hooking the reader's curiosity to learn more.
One great way to break the bad habit of narrator dumps is to develop visceral discomfort with three words: ‘were,’ 'was,’ and especially ‘had.'
Oh, sure — “had”, “were” and “was” are permitted. They are even sometimes necessary! But you should find each use regrettable. Each time should cause a wee bit of pain! Because ‘had’ – and to a lesser extent “was” — often indicates that the narrator, instead of the point of view character (or pov) is dumping or explaining, instead of showing.
If you look at my books, you'll find I include lots of ideas and background of past events, but I pace them in with movement, action, conversation and internal thoughts.
Seriously. right now go to your draft and do a global search for ‘had.’ (And the even-worse apostrophe-d -- 'd -- ick!). Then global-search "was." Do the pages light up? Now do the same thing with your favorite novels, by authors you admire. I think you'll get the point.
== Example illustrating many of the points above ==
Here’s an excerpt - the opening line for a novel that someone sent to me, asking for advice:
Captain Bara Brakin hated the noise and turmoil of crowds, yet now she was stuck on crowd control in a busy tunnel-street of Deep Kinshasa while her patrol ship was in spacedock for repairs. She'd joined Solar Space Force to get away from Earth cities, and the effect of crowds on her magneto-psi sense. She'd loved every minute of her month of relative quiet on pirate patrol in the asteroids.
Notice especially the telltale narrator dump cues of "had" and "was" and "were" and “‘d”.
Were you vexed to see the word 'patrol' repeated in a single paragraph? Repeatitis is a far lesser sin. In fact there's no reason to diss Hemingway for ignoring the rule habitually! Still, many readers dislike it. Also, beginning with the character's full name isn't generally advisable.
Okay, let’s see if we can convey all the same information (and more from later paragraphs) dynamically by removing any presence of the narrating author.
Try this instead:
Damn I hate crowd control duty.
Over the tunnel noise and throng confusion of Deep New Delhi, Kara could barely hear her sergeant growl in agreement, as if reading her mind.
“How long till the ship is fixed cap? I didn’t join SSF for this shit.”
Of course it was a coincidence – Gomez didn’t have her magneto-psi sense.
“Belay that,” She snapped. “Well be back out there on comfy pirate patrol in no time.”
Do you see how I dumped in far more information via internal (italicized) thoughts, sensory input and conversation, without once using “had” or even “was”? Now add some spicey action… someone in the crowd throws something... and you’ve started rolling along, supplying lots of background info without an intruding narrator dump!
Again (because these lessons only sink in from repetition) do a global search of your MS for "had" and "was" and "were." Every single instance should prompt: "Can I tell this another way? Or even NOT tell it, or let that info float in, later?" Try it. You'll write better stuff.
== Generic advice blips ==
* All else being equal, it's best to stick with... and master ... standard storytelling techniques before branching off boldly in new directions. Hence third-person in the immediate-past tense, with almost invisible narrator, is generally a good old style to use, especially your first few outings. (And it is preferred in the Out of Time series of YA novels I use to mentor new writers.) First-person immediate-past is also fine (I've used it a lot) though it requires care in POV and has traps to evade.
Lately we've all been seeing a lot of works in present tense. Yes, this can be done well (e.g. Vonnegut) and times do change, I guess. But far more often present tense invites authorial data dumps, POV flipping and nagging intrusions by an omniscient narrator, leaving us detached from the protagonist character. I don't like it, much.
* As noted, many readers hate “repeatitis” where a word gets repeated a lot. Even twice can be reader-irritating. English is so rich with synonyms and alternate ways of saying the same thing, that you can usually avoid it, unless repetition is a deliberate poetical device.
This stricture has no strong reason for it. As I said, authors like Hemingway violated it a lot. But most professionals cater to this common reader whim. And hence, you’ll pick up a habit of minimizing even too many close repeats of “the.”
* Prologues can be nice, if short. But often they serve as crutches.
* One problem I used to see a lot, but perhaps less-so today, is excessive use of adjectives and flowery prose. Still, keep an eye out for it.
* Want a simple trick to learn master craft? Find a dozen openings of novels you greatly admire and RE-TYPE THE FIRST COUPLE OF PAGES to see how that author did it! Just re-reading those pages will not work! I guarantee you will only understand how those authors did it if you retype the opening scene, passing the words through your fingers.
And you’ll grasp that establishing POV early while minimizing data dumping is the hardest thing for neos to learn, yet absolutely essential. No matter how wonderful your ideas are, they are useless unless you master how to hook.
Talk this over with your colleagues. Read aloud together and critique the first 5 paragraphs of lots of writers. Do nothing else in your workshop, till you all understand how to establish both the scene/situation and POV laced into conversation, action and internal thoughts.
*OVERALL WRITING RHYTHM: For novels:
Work out a significant part of the setting and plot elements, particularly socio-political dynamics of the world, as foundation. I do a lot of this in my head. But feel free to chart it out, as Heller and Vonnegut did!
-Start with interesting characters but don't get too specific till THEY start speaking up with their concerns and idiosyncrasies.
-Try to start with a scene that grabs readers with action and/or vivi imagery and a world and character they want to learn more about.
-Write about 30,000 words, then circulate a draft to consult with beta readers and experts for help refining setting and plot elements. Anything that confuses these readers "is my fault."
-Revise those first 30,000 words with all you've learned, esp. about the characters... and then continue forward, adding 30,000 words.
-Consult with more beta readers, do another revision of all 60K... then add 30,000 words, and spin and repeat until complete. This pattern works for me because "my openings are the weakest part of the process so they get reworked till they pop. I write endings that work first draft. A different rhythm works for different authors.
* Finally, there are many other sources of good writing wisdom! One of the best is by my friend and colleague and ought-to-be-Grand Master of SF Nancy Kress, who details how you can create a main character readers won't forget and plant essential information about a character's past into a story? I cannot recommend this one too highly! See "Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint."
* Author James Murdo offers this handy tool to make a Glossary for your novel.
Oh, there’s so much more that I discuss when teaching workshops. General skills and tricks specific to science fiction. Like why you should make your first novel a murder mystery!
Alas, though, that’s all I have time for. Still, I hope it’s been useful. Remember to read carefully my “advice article” at http://www.davidbrin.com/advice.htm, where there are links to the advice missives by many other successful authors… and some disagree with me on every point raised here!
Above all keep at it! That’s the key to success, even more important than “seek feedback!”
Persevere.
Good luck!
With best wishes, for a confident and ambitious 21st Century,
David Brin
* (Note, for copyright reasons video of "The Escape" goes silent, omitting some of the wonderfully apropos background music! For example after scene 2 (The Stones “Sympathy for the Devil;”) and at the end, when you see the audience cheering silently during “You Gotta Have Heart!” the great song from Damn Yankees, related to the theme of the play. Pity! Still, I think you’ll laugh a few times… or go “Huh!”)