1/ a short thread on my thoughts on writing, why I outline, etc. https://twitter.com/bdunbar/status/947970303082291200 …
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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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