June 13th, 2009
This went up a couple of days ago, actually, but we have a lovely guest post and contest up at Literary Escapism — it’s about telling lies as a writer:
One of the big writer maxims is: Write what you know.
It’s advice that usually works. Do you want real action, real emotions, real consequences? Remember what you’ve done in your own life, and write it out. “Write what you know” is a classic for a reason: pour all that lust for your midnight lover into your sex scenes, add the tiny details about what it’s like to live in Boise, Idaho, and use the uncomfortable memory of what you saw a friend go through in high school for a surprise plot twist to make the reader weep. Nothing sounds more real than what is actually real.
On the other hand we do sometimes run into problems. After all, how many of us have really faced down a demon? (more…)
June 4th, 2009
And another! With giveaway (natch). This time U.S.A. Today bestselling author — or rather, coauthor — C. T. Adams asked us, among many other things, how we worked out our own crazy coauthoring process:
A: [...] Another great thing we have going for our partnership is the fact that many of our skills and talents are complementary. For example, I am terrible at plotting, while Kat is absolutely amazing at it. I am great at writing sex scenes and emotional confrontations.
K: –Yes! Whereas I tend to shut my eyes and flail a bit. Though I do go back in and edit, and I think I tend to leave notes for Anna like, “Then they do something emotional here.” (more…)
June 1st, 2009
Heavens, someday there will be real content again. For the moment, though, Number One Novels has put up an interview (and a contest!), wherein, among other things, the secret history of the book is discussed:
Everything I write is a compilation of things I want to say, stories I want to tell, and messages I want to send to the world. The pieces of Salt and Silver come from all over the place—holes in TV shows and movies that bother me, bits and pieces of esoteric and obscure magic that I think are cool and want to share, and characters whose stories I want to tell. That’s really where the foundations of Salt and Silver were laid: when I heard Allie’s voice in my head telling her story. (more…)
