Monday, October 25, 2004
***Weekend of writing***
Following on the heels of the Friday Word War over at Forward Motion, I spent Saturday afternoon and evening just writing. Specifically, I practiced timed writing exercises. Very interesting time, especially when both The Editor and The Muse suddenly made their presence known. I think I wrote four pages (over a thousand words) of dialogue between the three of us. NOTE: It's bad enough when you piss off one or the other, but never both at the same time. Neither one sulks quietly....
On Sunday, I attended the Stephen R. Donalson signing down in San Diego. I'll be honest, he's not the most scintillating speaker. A thin, white-haired, older gentleman, I noted he gestured a lot while speaking in an articulate, yet, rapid-fire manner. He was tired from the tour and I agreed.
But I wasn't there for the author per se, but more about his thoughts and his background. What I learned was:
- The reason it took him 20 years before writing The Runes of the Earth was that he didn't feel he had the necessary skills to write it (and the rest of the quartet) until only recently.
- He does not like deadlines and has a very generous three year gap between each book. (Exception: Runes of Earth. Apparently one of the upper-upper accelerated the process to release the book from 12-18 months to 6. Ack!)
- Raised by missionary parents in India, the condition of Hansen's disease was, to him, perfectly normal. Apparently the missionaries had leper house servants. Since his parents didn't fear the disease, he didn't either.
- He started to write Runes on September 10th, 2001. And couldn't continue for months after the 11th.
- While he originally wrote his novels from outlines, now he concentrates mostly on character. Specifically, he knows the ending of the quartet and the major events. How he'll get there, though, will be based on the characters actions.
Overall, I'm glad I attend the signing and can't wait to read Runes. But first, I'll have to reread the first two chronicles.
Comments:
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So... The Editor realizes U provide far too much material to sift through... a tiring time (sigh), albeit entertaining. U want to be confusing? Upon sampling slices of the creative pie, it matters not if I personally enjoy the flavour and/or taste of one single inflamatory section. U are an artist of verbal explosion. I call it the mass hypnosis of Joe-ease. What bothers me: R U implying I might steal? No WAY - No WAY - No WAY. Noting a dozen words my tongue originally unleashed = hint in yo' direction, Twist. Timed writing = an obsessive compulsive discipline. The Muse thing: No foolin' memeself - I rate NOT - nada Muse material. Dr. Joe archives (95). Good rebuttals. In 30 seconds or less, we'll trudge outside with binoculars to view the lunar eclipse. My boy asks, "Will it upset the space aliens?" Me: "I don't really care to know. I'm recalling the ending to A Clockwork Orange...." He: "A Clockwork Orange???"
- "Who" Would U Like This Screen Identification 2 Be? -
- "Who" Would U Like This Screen Identification 2 Be? -
# posted by 
: 6:34 PM
: 6:34 PM
I've got Donaldson's book ordered and am waiting impatiently. I'm jealous you got to hear him. We don't seem to get authors like that in my state.
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