Rod Serling on writing
I could listen to Rod Serling talk all damn day. There’s something about his straightforwardness and honesty about writing that just just boils concepts down to their essence.
I could listen to Rod Serling talk all damn day. There’s something about his straightforwardness and honesty about writing that just just boils concepts down to their essence.
I am self-publishing my books. If I’m extremely lucky, maybe I won’t have to in the future, but for now, I have to take on everything a publisher would do. That includes marketing and knowing the whos, whats, wheres, whys and hows of my website traffic. Google Analytics is perfect for this.
An ongoing debate between writers is whether to use an outline or not. From what I’ve posted before, my preference should be clear. This is what Stephen has to say about it.
For the longest time I resisted writing a novel. I would read novels, and say to myself I can do that, but I never started. It was a frustrating time in my life, especially after writing several screenplays. It was like this fantastic adventure was right in front of me, but forever out of my grasp.
If stories have structure, it can be said that stories have a shape as well. If you need more convincing, read on.
I’ve started my second, deeper editing pass on Tied, where I flesh out more detail and fix problem areas. I understand what didactic writing is, but it wasn’t until I was a fifth of the way through when I realized something.
What does it take to be a successful writer? Stephen J. Cannell has the absolute answer. It’s simpler than you think.
I’ve been lucky. Most of my jobs/careers over my lifetime so far have been interesting and fun. That made spending time at a job worthwhile, even when it took me away from other interests.
Thanks go to my parents for introducing the poetry of Dennis Lee to my brothers and I. Many of his poems I can still remember vividly. I sometimes wonder if exposure to his poetry at a young age formed part of who I am as a writer.
I’m a firm believer in outlining a story before writing the first draft. The outline isn’t written in stone. I allow myself to diverge if needed, but I always come back to the story line. It’s my map from A to B. Here’s a different method you might want to consider.