The Terry Pratchett Prize, Round Two...

[Quatermass]

Well, apparently the Terry Pratchett Prize is on again. Which means that I am going to spend too much time next year trying to create an entry that eventually won't go in.

[meerkat]

Stop doubting yourself, Q! You'll write a stonker... and get it in on time!

The Meerkat has spoken!

[snowballs]

Well, apparently the Terry Pratchett Prize is on again. Which means that I am going to spend too much time next year trying to create an entry that eventually won't go in.

Do it Q and get it in on time, sure you will do well so I agree with Meer, stop doubting yourself. Imagine you are doing it to win an argument, then you will wipe the floor with the others.

[Quatermass]

Don't get me wrong, I'm great with story ideas, it's story structure that I'm crap on, and that's what gets me every time.

What's more, the rules are actually quite restricting. It needs to be set on Earth, and it needs to be realistic. Not to mention the 80,000 word minimum. It's hard to get good quality work out like that within such a short period of time. For me, anyway.

[meerkat]

Q, write it as you want. Never mind about story structure. Once you have words down THEN look at them!

Go on, Q, We believe in you!

[Quatermass]

Q, write it as you want. Never mind about story structure. Once you have words down THEN look at them!

Go on, Q, We believe in you!

But I don't believe in me. I'm a bit like this...person from Soul Eater, Crona.



Still, it's not like I'm being idle. I'm still going to give it a shot. Today, I watched a bit of Watchmen, to help get me back in the mood for alternate reality fiction (at the moment, the book I was writing for last year is now a future-based book). It may have to be that I abandon the work I originally meant for the TP Prize first time around and begin another one.

[snowballs]

Q, write it as you want. Never mind about story structure. Once you have words down THEN look at them!

Go on, Q, We believe in you!

But I don't believe in me. I'm a bit like this...person from Soul Eater, Crona.



Still, it's not like I'm being idle. I'm still going to give it a shot. Today, I watched a bit of Watchmen, to help get me back in the mood for alternate reality fiction (at the moment, the book I was writing for last year is now a future-based book). It may have to be that I abandon the work I originally meant for the TP Prize first time around and begin another one.

Q if you believe in yourself or not is not important, we believe in you . Really mate, it is not you who is the judge but somebody else.
Procrastnation (sp?) is every artists worst enemy, also people with ashbergers, adhd, ocd and other similar things procrastinate more than "normal boring people" . So write and let a few of us give an opinion before you send it in, I for one would love to see what you come up with as I love many of your comments here because of the way you write and your ability to get your point over while being almost polite and rude at the same time.
As I said many times I can never pretend to appreciate crap, so if I say I like something then I really do like it not just say so to save hurting someones feelings.

Whatchmen is an amazing film, a work of art between the visual and the music, think actually I will have to watch it today.

[Jan Van Quirm]

Forum writing's all good workout for creative work, but really getting out of the procrastination dip is the hardest thing to do - but once you do...

It's like Terry says - if you want to write then read (or watch great movies) a lot so you want to write even more, until you can't NOT do it! Meerkat's got a good idea as well - just blitz it and get it all out without stressing too much about how it's all put together and then go back and fart around with the structure and polishing yer mettyfors squire. Very often that way you find you can keep a fair proportion of the sheer 'guts' writing and just have to tart up the edges and maybe swap bits around and add a little filler here and there and voylah - hot new saga

[Quatermass]

Forum writing's all good workout for creative work, but really getting out of the procrastination dip is the hardest thing to do - but once you do...

It's like Terry says - if you want to write then read (or watch great movies) a lot so you want to write even more, until you can't NOT do it! Meerkat's got a good idea as well - just blitz it and get it all out without stressing too much about how it's all put together and then go back and fart around with the structure and polishing yer mettyfors squire. Very often that way you find you can keep a fair proportion of the sheer 'guts' writing and just have to tart up the edges and maybe swap bits around and add a little filler here and there and voylah - hot new saga

It's not procrastination per se, but rather, that I am my own worst critic. If it is procrastination, it's the sort that ensures a better quality book in the end.

Had a moment of inspiration last night. Need to follow it up with some research and see where it leads...

[Quatermass]

Well, I've assessed the situation with the book that I was going to submit to the TP Prize, and I don't think I can use it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story, but I don't think I'll be able to stretch it beyond 60,000 words at most, especially when I change the time from the future to the alternative present. I'm considering revisiting an earlier idea I had for the contest, though whether I can make that last up to 80,000 words, I have no idea.

The problem with me is that I want something science-fictiony enough so it sustains my interest in writing. Anything that requires too much research into history bores me most of the time.

Oh, and JVQ? I've read, over the past two and a half years, over 250 books. This ranges from graphic novels all the way to Dickens and Austen. Of those books, I have even read some works of alternative history into the bargain, like the first WorldWar book by Harry Turtledove, The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick, and West of Eden by Harry Harrison. So I'm not lacking for ideas and knowledge of the genre.

[Jan Van Quirm]

Well that's a great sweep of literature, so just carry on with getting inspiration and don't be afraid to step outside the genre!

Seriously though - Terry's an insatiable reader since he was a kid. I've been having a good read of Once More with Footnotes and in there, in amongst the regurgitated essays and articles going back to The Hades Business written at age 14 the man will read almost anything that takes his fancy and these days its mostly non-fiction circa the reign of Victoria (which is where Happy Families/Dogger is coming from). One of his all-time favourites is apparently Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and he's a real folklore geek too, hence his collaborations with Jacqueline Simpson, which is where a lot of his quirkier bits like the Blacksmith's Word and the 'love of iron' come from. Not a million miles from what Tiffany does with her book learning pre Miss Tick

He also says that the more fantasy you write the more like the real world it gets - as we're now seeing in New Ankh-Morpork with the old Discworld magic adapting to logical social progression with Trolls and Dwarves (and Pictsies and Orcs) being treated as people too... just the frills are a bit more souped up

[Quatermass]

I've been an insatiable reader from a young age. My mother claims that I was reading newspapers since I was four (probably not very well, though), and I remember reading astronomy books, albeit kid's level ones, since I was five or six. But for most of my childhood, most of my reading has been, unsurprisingly to those who know me here, Doctor Who books. In that area, at least, I was insatiable, though I did read other books by other authors with enthusiasm, like Paul Jennings, Morris Gleitzmann, and SA Wakefield. It takes me time to branch out, especially because of my Asperger's Syndrome. I like to be confined to single interests.

In fact, the 250+ books that I have read over the past two and a half years were part of a deliberate and conscious effort to force myself branch out. You see, a few years back, on another BBS, there was a discussion about Atlas Shrugged. The pro-Rand guy was annoyed that nobody but him (or at least very few people on the BBS bar himself) had read it. I volunteered to read it, in exchange for him reading a book of my choice, which was House of Leaves (an excellent psychological horror book). As I read it, I posted a review in installments, snarking at the bad points and praising what few good points there were. The pro-Rand guy wasn't impressed with either my review or House of Leaves, if I recall correctly, but he was gratified that I made the effort to read the book.

That got me to thinking later. What if I did something similar, but with books I wanted to read, or try? So, on yet another BBS (the one which I was moderator of, before I came here and made your lives hell ), I started a 'book reading and review blog'. Basically, I had to read and review at least one substantial book or graphic novel a week. Without doing this, many books that I wouldn't have read, I have done. Especially many of the classics. Hell, I even read Pride and Prejudice not long ago, and I wouldn't have ever considered the possibility even last year.

It's worth noting here that I gave some classics some pretty low scores, like Beowulf, Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, but the scores were based on entertainment value more than anything else.

...

Crap, got off topic pretty damn quickly, didn't I?

Anyway, I haven't abandoned the story I was considering abandoning just yet. I'm working on the story in my head, and I think I might be able to extend it to 80K words, just.

[stripy_tie]

It's worth noting here that I gave some classics some pretty low scores, like Beowulf, Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, but the scores were based on entertainment value more than anything else.

I think one of the worst things that can happen to some books is "classic" status, it creates this air of mythos around the text and stops a lot of people from reading it with a clean eye. It should always be able to stand on it's own two feet.

I've spoken to people who have hated one but instead of thinking "what a piece of badly written crap" they'll ask what's wrong with them that they couldn't love it.

Also, since I'm weak and spiteful I'd like to take this opportunity to take another swipe at the classic i loathe with every iota of my soul. Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" the most narcissistic, nihilistic rubbish i've ever had the misfortune to come across.

Vonnegut fans, COME AT ME BRO

[Quatermass]

I've never read Vonnegut. Maybe I should try it.

And BTW, stripy, withy the exception of Beowulf, both of those 'classics' are kid's stories. There are many other classics that I have enjoyed, like some of Dickens' works (Bleak House just edges out Little Dorrit as my favourite), and I found Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian Gray to be surprisingly good, despite their age. Some classic deserve their status, and others (Atlas Shrugged, I am looking at you!) don't.

[MongoGutman]

Vonnegut is interesting but more for his style than content. He puts words together in a very easy to read manner. Very undemanding - You'll probably burn through a Vonnegut novel in an hour or two. Breakfast of Champions I liked.