ISBW #63 - Having Fun
We need to have fun to write better. Don’t be so serious.
Links: Miss Snark, Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware.
Notes from Nobilis and JR Blackwell.
The podcast for wanna-be fiction writers by a writer who’s still learning. Writer Mur Lafferty discusses rejection, cover letters and getting the oomph to keep going.
We need to have fun to write better. Don’t be so serious.
Links: Miss Snark, Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware.
Notes from Nobilis and JR Blackwell.
Filed Under: Podcast
About the Author: I am a writer and podcast producer, writing for magazines and RPGs. I am a wanna-be fiction writer with several short fiction, comic scripts, and one novel sale. Playing For Keeps will be out August, '08.
Tim | Mar 12, 2007 | Reply
Mur,
Just listened to this episode while walking the dog yesterday morning, and it really struck a chord. I’m 62000 words into my second novel, and lately I’ve had a lot of trouble motivating myself to write (like, right now, for instance). It occurred to me as I listened to you that one reason for my lack of motivation is that the novel now feels like a school assignment, not something fun. I started my first novel with a clear idea of the direction it would follow; this one hasn’t been like that, and ideas have been hard to come by.
This week, I’m resolved to find some way to make this book fun to work on, even if the idea is something so absurd that it’ll never survive the first re-write. Thanks for the inspiration!
The temperature in upstate NY is supposed to hit the high 40’s today, meaning the snowbanks may melt down to eye level. Now that’s something to celebrate!
Tim
Natalie | Apr 27, 2007 | Reply
I recently did a podcast binge and caught up with this episode. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment about the need to bring fun into creative projects. In my own creative endeavors I have found that when I add fun into the equation, the results always turn out much better than expected. Adding fun can change a project from “eh, it’s okay” into “damn! did I just do that??”
In fact, I am going to be so bold as to state that you must have at least some fun doing any creative work otherwise it isn’t going to be as good as it could have been. Plus, what’s the point in doing something if it isn’t fun, eh? ;^)
Anyway, great episode! Thanks for the FUN reminder.
Steven Klotz | May 30, 2008 | Reply
You got me thinking this morning. Thanks. http://mentatjack.com/2008/05/30/itty-bitty-robots/
Basically my decision after all the nostalgia was this: I should be writing.
–Steven