1/ a short thread on my thoughts on writing, why I outline, etc. https://twitter.com/bdunbar/status/947970303082291200 …
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3/ First, I love the gratuitous display of craftsmanship, as un-economic as it may be If there are 40 brass screws in your furniture, the slots of screwheads should all be parallel...even if you have to machine the back face of the screw to remove brass https://www.amazon.com/Greene-Furniture-Poems-Wood-Light/dp/1440302995 …
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4/ This actually ties into some of my theologic thoughts. What image were we made in? http://biblehub.com/genesis/1-27.htm …
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5/ There are only 26 previous verses, but I think #1 is the most important: The image of one who creates. http://biblehub.com/genesis/1-1.htm
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6/ Tolkien had a similar argument http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sub-creation …
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7/ So, anyway, I have my reasons for creating the best thing that I can create. What makes things great (as opposed to fun, sane, pragmatic, etc.) ?
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8/ I think Christopher Alexander got at part of it when he talked about pattern languages. Most people take his book as THE pattern language, but he is clear that there can / should be different pattern languages for different projects.
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9/ In industrial design one trick is to come up with a design style for a corporation or a project and use it, in variations. e.g. The Apple ][c and the "Snow White" design language.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIc
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10/ Good industrial designers working in fiction do this all the time: you know, without knowing that you know, the design aesthetics of the Empire, the Twelve Colonies, etc.
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11/ One key to using such a language is to use and re-use it at multiple levels. So the trapezoidal shape of the landing bay on the Galacticapic.twitter.com/zRU5NExJ7R
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13/ self-similarity and fractalness is part of the natural world, and the more we see this in our art, the more meaningful it is
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14/ foreshadowing correlates early events with later events "upstairs downstairs" is another pattern / trope that correlates events across class lines Manga chibi / super deformed parodies of the primary plot / artwork, done in the margins, are another
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15/ What I try to do in my books is (a) create multiple parallel plot lines, each of which is coherent and satisfying (b) interweave them in a way that is surprising, but - retroactively - necessary (c) honor / create homage to great fiction I love (d) create self-similiarity
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16/ Earlier today someone said "Michener made geography compelling", and I agree. In fact, there is a chapter (#177 ?) in book 2 that is an homage to the opening chapters of Michener's Alaska.
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17/ There were approximately 19 references to Heinlein. One to William Gibson. One to The Cold Equations. Several to Cities in Flight, including name-checking Blish. etc.
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18/ Recently someone on twitter read book #2 and said "OMG, I read the VR scenes in book #1 ...and I just got to THAT BIT in book #2...YOU BASTARD!" I was thrilled. 1,200 pages of setup, and then BAM the payoff.
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19/ So, anyway, if you want to know the secret to "how to drive yourself insane and then make $4/hr", I've got lots more notes.
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20/ ...but the point is, to deliver the kind of crazy thing that I want to deliver, outlining is key.
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End of conversation
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