You can check out all of the past installments of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... here.
Q: I'm
curious Mr. Nash, what is your favorite book you've ever read?
WOW.
That's a tough one. I honestly don't know if I have one particular favorite.
There are some books (and by book, I assume we're talking novels) that I have
read a few times. Snow Bound Six certainly had a big impact on me as a kid as
did The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I read them both a few
times growing up. After I discovered Star Trek tie-in fiction as a teenager, I
read Peter David's Vendetta novel a few times.
In
terms of comics, there are certainly trade collections I've read numerous
times. The John Byrne run on the Fantastic Four and Walt Simonson's run on The
Mighty Thor are ones I go back to time and again.
Q: Favorite character created by you?
That's like asking me to choose between my children. Like so
many "favorite" questions, this one could change if you asked me
again next week, but today I'd say Abraham Snow from Snow Falls.
Q: How development do your antagonists get before they appear in
a new novel?
It varies. Sometimes I know them completely. Other times, I know
a little and peel back the layers as I go through the story. In some cases, the
villain's motivation changes as a result and I think it makes them more
well-rounded. At least I hope so.
Q: Have you self published before? Was it a hassle?
It can be. I don't overly enjoy doing the production work, but
it's more time consuming than anything else and the time spent putting the
books together is time when I'm not writing. Plus, my self-pubbed work sells less than work put out by a
publisher. I don't know why, but that's just how it goes. I wish they sold better.
Q:
While writing your books, can you envision the kind of people who will love
reading them?
You
know, I don't really think about it while I'm writing. I do put thought into it
before and after, but not during.
Q: What is your favorite place to read?
I love sitting outside on either the porch
swing or just in a rocking chair and reading when the weather's nice. Since I
live in Georgia, there's only 2 - 3 weeks out of the year this is something I
can do comfortably, but I like it.
Q: We
all work on more than one project at a time. Do you have a technique for
keeping everything separate? Days when you work on one or the other?
Spreadsheets? Lists? How do you keep each book clear in your head and not mix
things up? (I'm a spreadsheet gal.)
I
do have a master spreadsheet with all of my open projects on it, deadlines,
date finished, when I get edit notes back, final draft, publish date, and
assorted notes. I also have a whiteboard in my office, hanging next to the desk
to keep me reminded of what is due when. From there it's a matter of just doing
the work. I don't really have a system beyond that. I kind of play it by ear so
that the projects are completed in time for the deadline.
Q: What word count do you
consider a full book length? 40,000 words? 60,000 words? 90,000 words?
I
do a lot of work for hire writing so in those cases it depends on what the
publisher wants the word count to be. It is not uncommon for me to receive
Q: What's
on the agenda? I know we all hate the word "resolutions" but
honestly, do you have a plan for 2016? A writerly strategy to reach your goals?
I
am not a "resolutions" kind of guy. I have writing plans, but they
started long before the new year got here. There are projects and deadlines set
for this year that need to be met, plus a few other goals I need to meet.
There's never a shortage of goals ahead of me.
Q: Name
Three characters you wish you could write.
Just
off the top of my head... The Fantastic Four, Buck Rogers, and Thor.
Q: If
you could write any 5 established characters in literature (comics
included).... who would you pick?
This could be a very long list, but here are 5 that always hover
near the top: The
Fantastic Four, Buck Rogers, Captain America, Nightveil, and Thor.
Q: Who are your top 5 female comic characters?
The Invisible Woman, Spider-Woman, Supergirl, She-Hulk, & Wonder
Woman.
Q: Which
lesser known pulp hero would you like to write?
This
is a harder question to answer than it used to be for me as I've written some
pretty obscure pulp characters. I've not written Captain Midnight, The Phantom
Detective, The Moon Man, or The Purple Scar. They seem like cool characters.
Q: What book would you like to see turned into a movie?
Any book written by me. HA! HA!
I do think my novels would make for good movies, especially EvilWays, Deadly Games!, Earthstrike Agenda, Samaritan, or Ghost Gal. Snow Falls
and Domino Lady would make for good TV, I think. Maybe one day. It's good to
dream.
Not by me, I’d love to see Alex Kava’s Maggie O’Dell or Ryder
Creed as a movie or on TV. JT Ellison’s Catherine Jackson would be good too.
Van Allen Plexico’s Shattering series is a big epic that has epic sci fi movie
trilogy written all over it. Paul Bishop’s Lie Catchers would be another good
choice.
Q: How much detail is too much detail for a
story?
It depends on what kind of detail you're
talking about. Character details are very important and you want to make your
characters as fully rounded and realized as possible. Location details can be
either very detailed or not so much, it all comes down to the writer's
preference. If you have a scene that takes place in a living room, for example,
the amount of detail would depend on whether or not the space will be a
recurring one or not. If it's a one off location, details can be sparse where
you mention it's a living room with a couch and two chairs. If it's your main
protagonist's living room, it's a good bet you'll be returning there later so
maybe you tell us what color that couch and those chairs are and why there's a
wine stain on the couch. It's up to each writer to decide how much detail to
use and where to use it. A good editor can help here as well.
Q: Have
you ever completely eliminated a character (or added a character) after the
first draft was completed? Why?
Not
eliminated, but added. I've a novel in progress (slow, slow progress) that just
seemed to be missing something so I wrote a scene introducing a new character.
I didn't really know how this character fit or if he actually fit at all, but I
figured I could always pull this chapter out if it didn't work. I wrote the
chapter and used it to set up an action that was coming up in the story. It
wasn't until 2 or 3 chapters later that I figured out exactly how that new
character tied into the story in a big way. Some minor revisions and we were
off and running. Sometimes my unconscious mind is working on the story in ways
it takes my conscious mind time to catch up to, I guess.
Q: There
are plotters, dream writers, pantsers, and planners ... but are you a SYSTEM
type writer? Have you found the perfect SYSTEM (or formula) for your style and
specific genre that helps you get a book down and published efficiently?
I'd
like to say yes, but my system is still a work in progress.
Q:
How many books have you written, published or unpublished?
I
really need to do a recount to get an accurate number, but between novels,
short stories, comic books, etc., I'm somewhere around 100 written pieces.
Q: Does
your writing production intensify, or drop off over the weekend?
With
the day job, weekends are when I get the majority of my writing time in. When I
was writing full time, I worked all week and weekends, but would take the
occasional weekend day off to go out.
Q: What
kind of things have you written OTHER THAN your own fiction books? Ghost
writing? Technical writing? Educational books? Article writing? Fanfiction?
Greeting cards?
I
have written articles in the past as well as conducted interviews for
newspapers and magazines. I've also done a small amount of technical writing,
work instruction manuals, things of that nature. I also wrote a couple of fan
films that were filmed. One of them has my name listed as writer, the other doesn't. I also captained a starship. Heh.
Q:
What is the #1 thing you always find draws you to a comic book cover? A
character, a pose, recognizable artist, or...?
A
cover image that WOWS me or really grabs me is one I will pick up just to see
what the book is about. I personally prefer covers that have something to do
with what actually happens in the book to character pose covers.
Q: What
do you HATE MOST about Marketing?
Trying,
and failing to reach that wider audience on a budget. Social media is a good
place to start, but getting the word out to the readers who are interested in
the type of work I produce is tough.
Q: What
do you LIKE MOST about Marketing?
I love the creativity of marketing. I like getting out there and
talking about the work, meeting new people, and getting that one on one
feedback.
Q: Do
you give your chapters titles?
I
don't title my chapters for the most part. The exception being when working on
pulp characters as I do for anthologies like Lance Star: Sky Ranger or DominoLady. In some cases, depending on the title, character, or publisher edict, I
will title the chapters. For my modern day thrillers like Evil Ways or DeadlyGames!, I don't title the chapters.
Q: Do
you have a plan for chapter breaks? A number of pages for each chapter? A word
count? Do you keep chapters an average length, or let them be whatever they
write out to be?
I
generally play it by ear and end a chapter when I feel like it needs to end.
That said, my chapters are all roughly of similar length, with a few
exceptions. When I started, I was under the impression that a chapter had to be
a certain length based on what I saw in novels I was reading so I wrote to that
length, often padding the story just to hit that imaginary page limit. Once I
realized that the chapters could be as long or short as I needed them to be,
the writing tightened up a bit and the extraneous padding went away. now, it's
just second nature. I know when I've reached the end of a chapter when I get
there. There's usually a cliffhanger of some sort.
Q:
Ever changed a main character's name after writing more than half the book? Why
did you do it?
Yes.
In a recent story, I changed the character's name because I just didn't feel
like the name fit the character. It was pulling me from the flow of the story
every time I typed that character's name so I made a change and it worked out a
lot better. I've changed secondary characters names before when I realized I
two characters had similar names like a Benjamin and a Bentley or so on. like
most things, it's usually a gut feeling that triggers changing a character's
name.
Q: If
you could be any pulp hero, who would you choose?
Probably
Secret Agent X. I think it would be fun to be able to become anyone for a day
or two.
Q: If
you could live inside any television series, which one would it be?
It's
a toss up. I'd like to live and work on either Star Trek's Deep Space Nine or
the Stargate: Atlantis base.
Q: Of
course they're all our "babies" but which of your books is your
absolute favorite and why?
My go to answer here is EVIL WAYS. Evil Ways was the novel that
got the ball rolling for me in terms of working fairly steadily as a writer. I
can trace a clear path from Evil Ways to Lance Star: Sky Ranger to Domino Lady,
to Ghost Gal and on and on. Evil Ways is a big part of my writing journey.
Q: How
many current and future projects do you have on your desktop? Include those
twinkling little bud ideas too.
I'm
finishing up a short this week and have already started plotting a next that is
due in a few weeks. I have three novels in various stages of production and
expect some edits to come in any day now. There are also germs of ideas and
notes I'm putting together for upcoming stories, plots I've started putting
together for others.
Q: On
the average, how much time do you spend on the final edit/revisions? A week? A
month? Longer?
That
depends on the publisher. If edits are being done by the publisher, when they
get them back to me there is generally a two day turnaround to get the edits
made and back to the editor. If it's a project with no publisher attached that
I plan to shop around, I have more time available.
Q: Who
does your book covers? You? An Artist you choose? Your Publisher? How much
input do you have for your book covers? What is your favorite cover?
If
I'm working with a publisher, the publisher handles all of that, usually with
no input from me at all. Sometimes I never see the cover until the book is
solicited for distribution. There are exceptions, obviously, where a publisher
will listen to my cover ideas on a novel, but more often than not, I'm not
consulted. I've self published a few books through my imprint and on those I
handled the cover design. I do enjoy designing novel covers. My favorite cover
to appear on a book I worked on is probably Snow Falls with art by Dennis Calero.
I love the image. In this case, I was consulted and gave some ideas, which were
incorporated. My favorite cover of my own design is the newly updated 10th
anniversary cover to Evil Ways (Mark Maddox provided the graphic).
Q: Who
is your favorite character to see cosplayed?
I am a sucker for good Supergirl and
Wonder Woman cosplay. Great costumes. I also like Cosplay that surprises me.
When someone does a cool character who might not get as much attention these
days, I love that.
Q: Rank
from least favorite to favorite official Doctor Who actors (from TV, i.e., no
one exclusive to the audio adventures or Cushing, Joanna Lumley or
Rowan).
This
is not a hugely accurate list as some of these Doctors I've only seen 1 or 2
episodes from so they drop lower on the list because I don't know them as well.
The top 5 is pretty accurate though.
14.
Richard Hurndall
13. Colin Baker
12. William Hartnell
11. Peter Davison
13. Colin Baker
12. William Hartnell
11. Peter Davison
10. Sylvestor
McCoy
9. John Hurt
8. Patrick Troughton
7. Jon Pertwee
6. Matt Smith
9. John Hurt
8. Patrick Troughton
7. Jon Pertwee
6. Matt Smith
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| "Who... Nose..." |
5. Paul
McGann
4. Peter Capaldi
3. Christopher Eccleston
2. David Tennant
1. Tom Baker
4. Peter Capaldi
3. Christopher Eccleston
2. David Tennant
1. Tom Baker
Q: We
all deal with them. What is the longest period of time a manuscript waited to
be finished because of delays and distractions?
Years.
As publishers started calling, a couple of projects hit the back burner for a
time.
Q: Great
plot and story ideas can come at the craziest times! What was the strangest,
most inopportune time a fabulous idea struck you?
Most
of the time, this happens when I'm nowhere I can write it down. I'll either be
driving or in a store, someplace where I just can't stop and start
writing. Plus, that moment just as I'm starting to doze off at night.
Q:
What have you read or written lately that made you laugh out loud?
I'm
drawing a blank. Can't think of a single thing.
Q: With regards to fiction books do you prefer
(A) book covers with paintings on them, (B) book covers with photographs on
them, or (C) book covers that contain primarily artistic design elements on
them?
It's kind of a cop out answer, but I think different types of covers work for different kinds of stories. Domino Lady "Money Shot" or AlexandraHolzer's Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt work best with painted covers, I think. Deadly Games! on the other hand, really needed a photo cover. I had a photo cover on Evil Ways, but once I came up with the current configuration, I realized that a simple graphic cover worked the best. I guess it's one of those things you have to play by ear.
It's kind of a cop out answer, but I think different types of covers work for different kinds of stories. Domino Lady "Money Shot" or AlexandraHolzer's Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt work best with painted covers, I think. Deadly Games! on the other hand, really needed a photo cover. I had a photo cover on Evil Ways, but once I came up with the current configuration, I realized that a simple graphic cover worked the best. I guess it's one of those things you have to play by ear.
Q: If
you could join any team of superheroes, who would you pick and why?
The
Fantastic Four. I would love going on their madcap adventures to far off lands,
travel to other planets and dimensions, as well as discovering all of the
hidden wonder of the galaxy.Plus, I'd get to pop the occasional would-be Earth
conquering bad guy in the mouth every once in a while.
Q: What
is the FASTEST you've ever written a book - above 50,000 words?
I
wrote my second novel, Fantastix: Code Red in a little less than 3 months (I
also had a day job at this time). I wrote it from October to December 2002.
Fantastix came in around the 100,000 word mark, give or take a 1,000 words. I had also written the story as
a comic script for the same publisher so I used that as my plot, but then built
on it in the novel. Fantastix was a work-for-hire gig and sadly, the publisher
did not leave the book available for purchase very long. Sad, as I really
thought it came out great. I guess, if you can find a copy, it is a collector's
item. I learned a few good lessons on that project.
Q: Which
comic storyline do you wish never was inflicted on the public? Old and new
please.
First
off, I hate to publicly diss another creator’s stories publicly, but there have
been some comic book storylines I've not enjoyed for one reason or another. I
hate to say they shouldn't have existed though because others might like them,
but they didn’t do anything for me. A few that stick out for me are
Spider-man's "One More Day", Secret Wars II, Spider-man's Clone Saga,
and Civil War (although I am excited for the movie). Those weren't favorites for me.
Q: What's up with CLIFF
HANGERS? Some are great, some are smarmy, some are just plain unfair to the
reader. Do you use cliff hangers for a series, and how do you assure that yours
are exciting and draw the reader joyfully to your next book?
I
love a good cliffhanger. I try to weave in those type of moments throughout my
work whether it be at the end of a chapter or the end of the novel, although I do not like novels that end in "to be
continued...” That’s a personal pet peeve of mine. In writing comic
books, especially, cliffhangers are great ways to get the reader excited for
the next issue. They are fun. Cliffhangers don't have to always be a life and
death situation. It can be as simple as a character realizing something
important and then the chapter ends or, in the case of TV, we go to a
commercial.
Q: Are you a Steampunk Fan? What do you like
about it?
I like what I have seen of Steampunk, especially the costumes, but it's not a lot. I've
not read much Steampunk. Most of my familiarity comes from TV, movies, and
seeing cosplayers at conventions. I like the idea of steampunk and the era
where it takes place looks like a fun era to play in. I've not, at this time,
attempted to write anything Steampunk. Who knows, maybe that will change in the
future.
Q: There's
writer's block, and there's writer's EXPLOSION! Those times when ideas blast
into the brain in waves and splashes and keep surging. Relentless times when
the ideas come so fast and crazy that writing them down in a notebook is
difficult, and writing them into the manuscript is nearly impossible! How do
you manage the IDEA TSUNAMI?
I
both love and dread when the tsunami strikes. I love it because a creative wave
has been unleashed and the creative juices are flowing. The dowen side is that
these waves seem to come at the most inoportune times, like when I'm at work or
in the middle of something else where I cannot drop everything and write.
Q: Is
there a time of day when you're the most WRITING productive? After everyone's
gone to bed? After twitter and FB has gone quiet? Before your online day
begins? What's your formula for being productive as a writer?
I
love writing late at night and into the wee hours of the morning. During the
short time I was able to write full time, that's exactly what I did. These
days, writing is the 2nd of two jobs so I have to work around the day job,
which makes writing into the wee hours all but impossible. Nowadays, I squeeze
in writing time wherever I can find it.
Q: Name a movie you've watched more than 5 times and are still
entertained by.
Only 1? This could be a long list. JAWS, Empire Strikes Back,
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Tombstone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Guardians
of the Galaxy, Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Fugitive, Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: First Contact, and I'm sure I could keep
going...
Q: What is the difference between thrillers and mysteries
in terms of action, plot, pacing, characterization and questions unanswered at
the beginning?
A mystery leaves a lot of clues for the reader to pick up on so
he or she can try to solve the mystery along with the protagonist. With a
mystery, the writer is purposefully hiding things from the reader on the
promise that it will all fit together at the end. This allows the reader to
play along. A thriller can do the same things as a mystery, but you may also
see the antagonist, bad guy, villain, thief, murderer, whatever actually doing
those things. You may not always know their identity, which helps keep the
mystery going, but you can see them doing what they do. A thriller should also
have an element of danger, sometimes horror. Think of the thriller movies that
spook you. When the killer strikes, we're startled. A mystery doesn't always
need that, especially in the case of a cozy mystery, which is generally less
life or death or scares.
As a writer, I like writing mystery/thrillers, which has the
best elements of both. In my novel, EVIL WAYS, for example, I show things from
the killer's point of view, but I keep the killer's identity a secret and drop
clues to help (and sometimes misdirect) the readers. In fact, a couple of my
readers have commented on how I let the novel's protagonists figure out the
killer's identity before I shared it with the readers. It was another way of
helping build suspense and I think it worked. The trick is keeping the clues
straight and making sure that, when you make your big reveal, it makes sense.
The last thing you want is for your readers to fill like your protagonist (and
by extension, you as the writer) solved the mystery by pulling the answer out
of thin air. With a mystery, you have to play fair with the reader.
Q: We
all know that occasionally a character, pet character, or plot idea simply
doesn't fit or advance the story but hey ... we love it so much we hate to lose
it. How do you deal with the elimination of something you really love, but know
just doesn't work?
It's
not easy, but you can generally tell when it's not working. You just have to
start cutting and make it work. The good news is, that just because it didn't
work in this book or story, doesn't mean it can't work elsewhere.
Q: Have you/would you ever write a Pastiche
of another character? If so, which character? Why? How would you change them up
in the process?
There are little bits of other characters
that work their way into characters during the creation process. That happens
and is hard to avoid because sometimes it happens inadvertently. I've not set
out to purposefully create any pastiche characters, but I have worked on
characters that are pastiche's before. Lance Star: Sky Ranger started out as
Bill Barnes, Air Ace stories, but for reasons that was changed and new
characters were born who bore striking resemblances to the other characters. As
the stories progressed, so too did the Sky Rangers, but their beginnings were
certainly a pastiche. The book Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars is another pastiche,
this time a melding
Q: What Age do you set your stories in? Are any of you
specifically shooting for something akin to: Silver, Gold, Bronze, or the
"Modern Age" of comics?
It varies. More often than not, the setting for the stories are dictated by the publisher. With teh pulp stories, most of the publishers I work with want to keep them in the same era where they first appeared. That means Domino
Q: What time of the day works best (most
effective) for you to write?
I prefer to write late at night and into the wee early morning hours. Unfortunately, the day job puts a kink in those plans so I work in writing time whenever I can.
Q: When do superheroes sleep?
 |
| I'm just going to rest my eyes a minute. |
Whenever they can. I know it seems like
superheroes are constantly running from one calamity to another, and they are,
I suppose. As a reader/viewer, we have to assume that we're only seeing then
when they are handling a crisis. We aren't seeing the episode or issue where
they get a day to rest because no would-be world conquering dude has shown up
in their city. We all get down time.
Q: Have you ever written anything where the heroes are seriously
hamstrung by their overwork, lack of sleep, or non-healed recent injuries?
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| You are being watched... |
I've had characters on the go so much that they are exhausted
and having to deal with that. There are also plenty of book and TV/movie
examples of stories that tell this type of story. Seeing a character fighting
against their own fatigue and injuries is a great way to build up the
character's spirit and force of will. Character X is too tough to kill.
Q: If
you are a geeky/nerdy type...what are your favorite TV shows that are not
nerdy/geeky? (Wire, L&O, etc).
If you are not a geeky/nerdy type...what are
your favorite nerdy/geeky shows of the past 25 years? (Star Trek, Xena, etc).
Well,
I guess I'd say I fall squarely into the geeky/nerdy type so here goes...
Justified, NCIS (all 3 of 'em although Los Angeles is my favorite of the 3),
Major Crimes, Rizzolli and Isles, Magnum p.i., M*A*S*H, Night Court, Married...
With Children, Sons of Anarchy, Leverage, The Shield, and Person of Interest
(although as the show went on it started to straddle the line between geeky and
non-geeky) certainly top my list. I could probably think of some more too. Man,
I think I might watch too much TV.
Q: what
are your top five guilty-pleasure movies? These are films that you're sheepish
about admitting you enjoy (and re-watch whenever they're on TV) since they're
not really your typical kind of film, but there's just something about them
that you find surprisingly enjoyable.
The
Replacements, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, The Cannonball Run,
Charlie's Angels, and The Devil Wears Prada (Don’t judge me, man. Meryl Streep
is deliciously evil).
Q: Do
you work with critique or writing partners?
No.
When I first started writing EVIL WAYS, I took a creative writing night class
at the University of Georgia. Part of the class involved reading my work aloud
and the other students would give feedback. I found it helpful as long as
everyone stayed on topic. You have to be open to the feedback/critique though.
It would be really easy to get your feelings hurt if you're not careful. Having
a group of people with good feedback is nice. I just don't have time to be part
of a group like that these days.
Q:
Do you share and polish ideas for your own books with other authors?
Not
in any type of group or official capacity, but I have writer friends who I
sometimes bounce ideas and issues off of to get their thoughts when I need a
fresh viewpoint. I, of course, do the same for them as well.
Q:
Do you seek support with your writing craft from other writers?
Of
course. I think writers are great and I am so often amazed at how open and
helpful the vast majority of authors are with one another. I think it's great
how authors will promote other authors, a practice I also try to practice
regularly, and that writers build communities. I think it's great how welcoming
they are as opposed to looking upon all other authors as their competition.
When one author does well, I think we all benefit.
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| Now on sale in audio |
Q: How far away are you/close are you from
offering up your next (publish?) piece of work to the public? What do you have
left to do?
I'm always juggling multiple projects. There
are finished pieces in the hands of the publishers where I won't know they are
ready to drop until they tell me... or I see that it is available. Often, I
have no idea something is being released until it is released. It makes doing
pre-promotion rather hard. The New Adventures of The Green Ghost audio was
released this week. I found out when the narrator for the book posted it on
Facebook. I'm promoting it now. I believe my next release is the Sherlock
Holmes/Domino Lady trade paperback collecting the Domino Lady/Sherlock Holmes
stories by
Nancy Holder and myself. I'm doing pre-promotion now while it is in
Previews (The Diamond Item Code is FEB161650. Have your favorite retailer order a copy today.) and available for pre-order so hopefully some book and comic shops
will pick it up. I will promote more once it comes out in April.
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| Pre-order now. In stores April 2016 |
While doing
all that, I keep writing.
And I think that is a good place to stop for this super-sized round of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Post them here as a comment or send them along to bobby@bobbynash.com and I’ll answer them in a future installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff...
I also answered some questions about cliches at Sean Taylor's Blog this week. You can read everyone's thoughts here. Mine are pasted below here for future reference.
Q:
Everyone knows of the hardboiled loner. We've seen it too many times to count.
What should writers avoid when crafting their protagonist for period piece
detective fiction? What can they do to make more original and creative
protagonists?
No
matter what genre you write, there are going to be tropes that are overused and
clichés waiting to leap out at your writing from all corners. I creating a
protagonist, or the antagonist, for that matter, it all starts with character.
Yes, we’ve all seen the hard-boiled loner type character, but if I’m creating a
character that needs to be a loner, the first question I ask is what can I, as
the writer, bring to this character that is unique to me and my writing? Once I
have that hook, I have a better insight into the character and
can hopefully
elevate him, her, or it above the cliché of that type of character. Knowing
your character is key.
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| Jack O'Neill hates cliches. Hates 'em! |
Q:
Let's talk villains and dames. Sexy struts and legs up to there. Gunmen with
speech affectations. How can writers avoid the done to death cliches?
My
rule of thumb is if it makes me cringe when I write it then it needs to go.
Cliches exist and it is so easy to fall into them. If I write something cliché,
I can generally tell because it doesn’t feel quite right. Just like with the
protagonist, your villain and the
Q:
Now for the clincher... Heroes solve mysteries. Heroes get the bad guy, if not
the girl too. But how does a writer balance the expectations of the genre with
managing to work off a checklist of “seen it all before” story beats?
As
with the character, I ask how can I tell this story. That’s really where the
biggest changes will happen. You can give ten writers the exact same
plot/scenario and let them write it and you will get ten
Also, please sign up for my mailing list. Drop me an email at bobby@bobbynash.com and I'll happily add you to the list.
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| Ya'll come back now, y'hear? |
Thanks for listening to me ramble.
Let’s do it again soon.
Bobby
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