In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* It’s All About the Presentation
* Of Interest
Quote of the Day
“Orwell could scarcely have imagined a population so enthusiastic about participating in its own surveillance.” from “I Hate the Digital Age” (see Of Interest)
It’s All About the Presentation
Well, at least once the writing’s done.
In previous posts I’ve mentioned before (and almost in passing), that the fiction writer wears two hats: that of Reporter (writer) and that of Presenter (publishing prepper). Then, if you’re an indie publisher too, that’s a third hat.
But as I’ve cycled through the first 170,000 words of this massive project, that lesson about being a presenter has become intimately more clear to me, and the importance of presentation has taken the uppermost priority in my writer’s mind.
When you’re writing a story, it’s all about the characters, what happens in their world, and how the characters react to that.
But most fiction-writing pundits say you have to consider the readers as you write.
Um, no, you don’t. And I recommend you shouldn’t.
When you’re writing all you have to consider are the characters.
What’s happening in the characters’ world? And nothing happens in a vacuum, so what’s the setting? And how is the setting changed by events? And how do the characters react to the events, settings, etc.?
All fiction is character-driven. No story is ever about an event.
In every case, the story is about how the characters react to the event.
So that’s the writing. The writing is you, the writer, putting on the page each event and how the characters react to the event. That’s the writing.
But then, if you want to publish what you’re writing, finally your focus shifts from the characters to the potential readers. At that point it’s all about the presentation.
Why does presentation matter?
Because you (should) want to ensure, as much as possible, that the potential readers (yes, all of them) get from the story exactly the same things you got from it as the characters first lived it for your entertainment. If you do that, most of the readers will be entertained too.
Enter cycling. (Or editing, or revising, or rewriting. What you call it doesn’t matter IF you have the ability to do any of those things while in the creative subconscious).
Always, always, always, the conscious, critical mind and what you ‘think’ are ALWAYS your most stringent enemies in writing.
The conscious mind is always the enemy of the creative process. I’m learning that ever more solidly as I’m cycling over The Wes Crowley Saga and recasting parts of it.
So far, through the first 170,000 words, there’s very little writing (focus on the characters) involved. But I’ve already done a TON of recasting the presentation (focus on readers), but always in the creative subconscious.
I have no doubt there will be more pure writing (and then more cycling) soon. That will happen when I get into the books of the original internal “gap” series. I’m certain the characters will live other stories that I didn’t see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the first time through.
That’s just how the characters are. The first time through, they (and I) were in a hurry to finish each novel. This time through, we’re all taking our time and simply enjoying the story.
Writing the stories was (and is) a snap and an absolute joy. When I’m writing, only I and the characters are involved. The characters entertain me, and my only job is to get the story on paper and be entertained by it. Easiest and most fun job I’ve ever had.
But when I became the presenter, the real commitment began. At that point my job became conveying the story to the reading public in the clearest, most concise, and fullest way possible.
It’s no longer about ME being entertained. It’s about me acting as a conduit through which the same characters living the same story entertain others, people who are beyond me.
And I can’t possibly know all of those potential readers’ interests and traits and quirks and moods and all that. So I have to Present the story in such a way that it will get through to as many readers, complete with their own traits and quirks and moods as possible.
But I’ve learned that presentation can be fun too. Almost as much fun as the original writing.
Earlier I mentioned that if you do all of this presentation stuff, most of the readers will be entertained. I believe in the old 80-20 rule:
If I enjoy and am entertained by the writing, and if I am conscientious and do my best at my current skill level with the presentation, 80% of those who read the work will enjoy it and be entertained by it. And those who don’t read it? I can’t speak to that except to say it’s their loss.
Oh, and as for the other 20% of readers? Meh. About half of them will ‘love’ the story and about half of them will hate it, probably for some really important reason like a Ranger muttering “Damn” (foul language!) when a Comanche arrow slices into his thigh or because I truncated too many words with apostrophes or somethin’.
But I don’t worry too much about those folks. I don’t have that kind’a time. Besides, I’m too busy havin’ fun.
Coming Up
Soon I plan to put up a guest post from a Bradbury Challenge participant who’s flat-out kickin’ it and how she does that.
And of course, the Challenge results are coming on Sunday
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
You could fit every planet in the Solar System…