Hello, Bob;

05 Jul 04 11:47, Bob Lawrence wrote to Robert Bull:

 BL>  Once I have the plot in mind, the rest flows at its own rate...
 BL> slowly if I write by hand, even slower on a manual typrewriter, and
 BL> fastest of all on wordprocessor. I can't make it up as I go along. I
 BL> have to have it clear in my mind... or at least know where I want it
 BL> to go, otherwise it just rambles on forever.

Do you work with plot outlines, so you have at least an outline structure 
to work to?

 BL>  Yes! The surprising thing is how little actual typing is involved to
 BL> make a major change, once you know how you want the new story to go.
 BL> It's a good way to make a story more "dense," or to add quirks to a
 BL> bland character.

Hmmm...  ISWYM, but I'd be worried about being tempted into major plot 
changes.

 BL> didn't work the way I expected. I walk 5 km every morning (45 minutes
 BL> of utter boredom) and that's when I work out most of my plots.

I looked through a book about UK childrens' authors recently.  It was 
surprising how many of them said they worked their ideas out during long 
walks.  Crawford Kilian said much the same - walk the dog, or even mow the 
lawn (!), but you had to be doing _something_.  Ian MacLeod, author of THE 
LIGHT AGES, started writing his first book "under the desk" while working 
in the UK Civil Service...

 BL> Occasionally, a story just can't be saved... and I have to go *right*
 BL> back and basically start again.

Can you generally salvage any of the bits, and maybe recycle events or 
characters somewhere else?

 BL>  I actually enjoy writing and getting a story right, which is just as
 BL> well because there is no money is a first novel in Oz ($2,000) even
 BL> if you becoem a regular. Even Nix would be struggling to make a
 BL> living, even published in the UK. It's the voyage more than the
 BL> arrival that interests me.

 BL>  A famous American author once said that it is impossible to make a
 BL> good living writing novels. You either starve, or earn millions. There
 BL> is no "good" living in between.

I've heard this sort of thing before.  Nix has worked at other book-related 
jobs in between, but seems to be currently full-time, especially as he has 
the rest of the "Keeper of the Keys" series to get out.  He's one of the 
few that could be headed for becoming a full-time author.

     Regards,

              Robert.

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