Happy episode 150! Is writing fun? Is it hard work? Can it be both?
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- 00:00:07 ISBW #150
- 00:01:31 State of the Mur: 12,000 words written in one day to meet deadline, upcoming changes in the podcast format
- 00:05:38 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:06:26 Balancing the hard work with the fun in writing. See also: C.C. Chapman’s Managing the Gray podcast, agent Rachelle Gardener’s Good to Great blog post (re: sacrifice and training).
- 00:14:41 Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing
- 00:15:55 Interview: Tracy Hickman
- New project with his wife, Laura Hickman: Dragon’s Bard Eventide: subscribe to story chapters online, get signed, numbered, limited edition hardcover at the end
- Book as souvenir of reading experience
- “Writing like the Dickens†(literally)
- Publishers as arbiters of quality, not printers of books
- Don’t undervalue yourself
- The 8 archetypal characters from Dramaticapedia, and gender roles
- 00:47:43 Promo: Did This Happen? (a family friendly, bite-sized look at history)
- 00:48:42 Interview: Scott Sigler
- Experiences with self-publishing The Rookie and The Starter
- Building his own imprint
- Experiences with traditional publishing
- Writing/marketing schedule
- The “free model†of writing
- Future plans
- Ancestor trailer
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6 Responses to ISBW #150(!!): Hard Work vs Fun – Tracy Hickman/Scott Sigler Interviews
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New from the Murverse- ISBW Special #46 – Stonecoast Writer’s Residency January 31, 2012
- ISBW #230 – Feedback January 30, 2012
- Short Story Alert- Gimme Shelter January 27, 2012
Holy ball sack murwoman. 12,000 words in one day. That’s enough to drive the sanest superhero into a frenzied villain. You are amazing. Keep up the good work.
p.s. I nominate Inception for best movie of the year. Spread the word.
Very good point, Mur, about quitting once a hobby becomes work. I think you have sort of helped solve a problem I’ve had lately with my writing. Since finishing the first draft of my first novel last October, I have started and gave up on over twenty story ideas. I’ve tried following a novel writing course, a book on how to write a novel, etc., but recently I made significant changes to yet another story idea that I’d been working on for a month, essentially forcing me to start over with this morphed idea.
Now, I have two choices: one, ignore the change and keep trying to figure out what bored me about the plot in the last idea; or two, take this new twist and see if I like it better than the last idea (though the two are still based on a similar premise). I guess three would be to quit writing, but we’ll ignore that thought.
What I’ve taken from your comment, is to make sure that the reason why my story ideas die is not because the plot became too difficult to outline. Writing my first book organically, I’m trying to force an outline into my next book before I start, and I’m beginning to wonder if that is counter productive seeing how long it has taken to get one (10 months) and I still don’t have one.
I’m not sure if this is a question or comment for discussion, but if you or anyone has had a similar problem, how did you come out the other end with a finished novel?
re: Tracy Hickman, I would say that publishers are the arbiters of ‘things that sell’, not necessarily quality.
Loved your discussion of the funhard work pendulum. It applies to many things beyond writing. I wonder if you’re familiar with Matthew Crawford’s book, “Shop Class as Soulcraft”?
This book got some press in the woodworking community because it discusses the values of hands-on creation. I picked it up with the thought that it would make me feel good about the fact that I create stuff. It does that but it’s soooo much more.
The main thrust of this book is that our modern society has separated thought and ownership from the process of doing and that this is why so many are dis-satisfied with their jobs. There is much in Crawford’s views that apply to the writing process and probably accounts for writing as a hobby being so popular. You might want to take a look at it. It’s a quick read and yet it says much that is rarely spoken.
Cheers — Larry
Tracy, when Lawrence Watt-Evans is done serializing a novel, he does a special print run for those who have rattled the tip jar about a certain level ($25 for the current novel, The Final Calling). I believe TFC is the fourth novel he’s published this way.
I am new to the website and the podcast, having been directed here after listening to Escape Pod for about a month or so. I really enjoy what I have heard so far.
I would really like to see a list of web links that are mentioned in the podcast. I usually listen while biking or are work when I don’t have access to a pen and paper.
I apologize if this is the incorrect place for this suggestion or if it has already been covered elsewhere. Keep up the great work and interesting interviews.