Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for May 15, 2015
Transcript:
Danae: Hey, Kate...I want to write a story, but don't know where to start...any suggestions? Kate: Sure...first, empty your mind of everything... Danae: 'K MMM... Kate (out of frame): Creativity needs an uncluttered mental space...No problemo. Kate (out of frame): Now you can start filling the space... Danae: With what? Kate: With what you know. Danae: Problemo...
johnt204 over 9 years ago
Why do so many people use foreign words without knowing how to spell them?
Rarely over 9 years ago
Reality strikes. But will she give up? Not until she runs out of shortcuts I’ll bet. Don’t like that opinion? Ask someone else.
Dtroutma over 9 years ago
An admission from Danae??
Wallythe2 over 9 years ago
It was just a suggestion…
Argythree over 9 years ago
The reality is, those of us who write fiction (published and unpublished) also do a lot of research (or at least some of us do). If we wrote only ‘what we know’, we’d only write one short story…
Defective Premium Member over 9 years ago
@Recon It’s spelled correctly in Esperanto. Also, when it got used in the Terminator movies, it sorta became a thing to say. You can’t stop culture. At this point, it’s been said for decades. Welcome back to Earth.
Arianne over 9 years ago
Let’s hope Danae’s literary aspirations haven’t been Terminated.That would just be a crying shame.
phylum over 9 years ago
just pretend everyone you are writing about is naked..then…oh wait…maybe that only works for public speaking…
Brass Orchid Premium Member over 9 years ago
You’ve got a protagonist and an insurmountable obstacle, so… halfway there.
whiteheron over 9 years ago
; )
vwdualnomand over 9 years ago
so zen
dabugger over 9 years ago
Maybe that is the story. Kate may have to give her more hints. Danae is certainly not like the media who say so much they don’t know.
Rarely over 9 years ago
I suspect that most good fiction comes from the imagination of the writer and not through any meaningful research. Of course it would often be necessary to have the background facts accurate to add authenticity and that may require some research.All the research in the world wouldn’t create a Jules Verne, Charles Dickens or Agatha Christie. With all due respect it wouldn’t even create a Wiley Miller. Imagination folks, imagination.
bajasusana over 9 years ago
here’s the word from mexico: it’s “no hay problemA” in spanish, and it is NOT English slang, it is English ignorant expropriation. hope you enjoyed your cinco de mayo, which is a STATE holiday in mexico, not “independence day” like gringos think.
Rarely over 9 years ago
True. But of course that is AFTER your imagination done its job. Even then you will not need to be overly accurate unless your intended audience is scientists. Where’s the “fiction” in “science fiction” if the author is trying to be accurate vis-a-vie current scientific knowledge? “Beam me up Scottie”.
QuiteDragon over 9 years ago
Only uneducated people use “…..” when they write in order to make other people think they are smart … I challenge them to use an ellipsis correctly … when they can answer, I grin and think, “There is someone who is able to learn and express his or her self well.”
Mokurai over 9 years ago
The best non-fiction depends on knowing something that nobody else knows, that has important consequences. We call that research. The other kind of non-fiction depends on knowing something that experts know, but your audience doesn’t know, and explaining how it matters to them. We call that popularization. Fiction depends on people getting themselves into trouble. Anybody can do that. The trick is usually to get your character into a kind of trouble that A) your audience will care about and B) you are creative enough to get them out of. Writing about insoluble problems with disastrous outcomes is called tragedy.
I will be interested to see if Danae can get out of her problemo. She has great potential if she ever stops trying to be the center of the universe.
Gokie5 over 9 years ago
My problemo is that I’m too lazy to search, much less REsearch! My attitude is that if my Great American Novel refuses to write itself, it can just stay unwritten!
whiteheron over 9 years ago
I am sure Recon caught it if he came back. However, I wanted to be sure that he knew it was a witticism on your part.I’ve got your six.
Tarredandfeathered over 9 years ago
That’s not so difficult if you hang around a Science Fiction Crowd.You’d be amazed how Much SF is written by Real “Rocket Scientists”.Or, the occasional Physicist..Simple Example: One of the best Known names is Isaac Asimov.He was, aside from being a Writer, a Biochemist and Mathematician.
Tarredandfeathered over 9 years ago
There are some Very Simple rules for writing a Good Novel in any Genre:1) Introduce your reader to a character he/she will Like.2) Dump them into a “World of Cr@p”.3) Torture them for a while..4) This is the Difficult part: Unless you are George RR Martin (Game of Thrones), at some point, you should try to get them Out of that “Cr@p” and give the wounds a chance to heal….See? Best Seller. Maybe even while you are still alive and young enough to Enjoy spending the money..