The secret life of writers

[pbray]

pbray: 4 more pages today. How are revisions coming?

jpsorrow: Good I think. I'm trying to up the worldbuilding. Meaning I'm trying to tell people more about the world, what cities look like, all that.

pbray: cities have buildings! worlds have mud and oceans and grassy plains and some tree crap!

jpsorrow: I threw in your plains snake today. For color.

pbray: Awwwww!

jpsorrow: I realized I did cut way the hell back on the world descriptions. I had them in the first version, but . . .

pbray: I just described a room with one detail-- "He wondered if she knew that there were bloodstains underneath the imported carpet."

pbray: Details are hard! Readers should just imagine whatever they want, and if there's cool stuff like snakes or trucks or monsters we'll tell them.

jpsorrow: Well, that's the important part. That's pretty much what I'd cut mine down to: only the important parts.

pbray: A snake driving a monster truck would be an awesome detail.

Comments

[pbray.livejournal.com]

A nuclear mini-sub would be awesome, particularly if it was actually a nuclear mini-sub sandwich! You take it home only to discover they gave you the secret package by mistake and soon you're being hunted across North America.

:-) Just pencil me in as another one of those helpful folk who have great ideas that are absolutely no use at all. Although once when I was stuck jennifer_dunne did suggest adding livestock since they are inherently humorous, and sure enough that was exactly what I needed. I've been on the add livestock as a default setting ever since.