Ask the Author: Johnny Compton
Answered Questions (6)
Johnny Compton
As of October, 2021, three short stories and the next novel.
Johnny Compton
No one on Earth can explain how a chunk of the moon went missing overnight, but that isn't the scariest thing. What's scaring everyone most is what appears to be a fang left in one of the lunar seas.
Johnny Compton
Read less writing advice; read more writing.
I've seen many questions online that could be answered by reading more of the types of books the aspiring author wishes to write. And much of the advice I've seen online, well-intentioned as it is, could be summarized as, "How to write just like me."
Even great pieces of advice by masters of the craft are reduced and filtered online into being useless at best, misleading at worst. For instance, Elmore Leonard's "rules" of writing, which is a fine article (of course, it's written by Elmore Leonard) full of nuance and counterpoints to his own recommendations, which is then robbed of the abundance of its substance in reductive, abbreviated lists, which then get regurgitated by people who never read the original article.
Even having said that, I think reading the books on Elmore Leonard's favorites list (available on his site) is better for the aspiring writer than just reading his article. I'd recommend that approach with anyone you're getting advice from. Instead of just reading what they say to do, read what they've read and enjoyed. Often times their favorite books flagrantly violate the suggestions that they're presenting as laws, and that's okay. You're not reading their books to say, "Gotcha! You said never do X, but your favorite book does X twice in Chapter One alone!"
You're reading the books to get better.
Read less writing advice; read more writing.
I've seen many questions online that could be answered by reading more of the types of books the aspiring author wishes to write. And much of the advice I've seen online, well-intentioned as it is, could be summarized as, "How to write just like me."
Even great pieces of advice by masters of the craft are reduced and filtered online into being useless at best, misleading at worst. For instance, Elmore Leonard's "rules" of writing, which is a fine article (of course, it's written by Elmore Leonard) full of nuance and counterpoints to his own recommendations, which is then robbed of the abundance of its substance in reductive, abbreviated lists, which then get regurgitated by people who never read the original article.
Even having said that, I think reading the books on Elmore Leonard's favorites list (available on his site) is better for the aspiring writer than just reading his article. I'd recommend that approach with anyone you're getting advice from. Instead of just reading what they say to do, read what they've read and enjoyed. Often times their favorite books flagrantly violate the suggestions that they're presenting as laws, and that's okay. You're not reading their books to say, "Gotcha! You said never do X, but your favorite book does X twice in Chapter One alone!"
You're reading the books to get better.
Read less writing advice; read more writing.
Johnny Compton
I try to remind myself that no matter what I'm writing in the moment, it will almost certainly have to be rewritten, no matter whether I think it's excellent, or could be better.
I also try to remind myself that--based on my writing experiences--I'm not always the best predictor of my own quality. I've written stories that I thought were my best work that couldn't find a publisher, and other stories that I thought were good but presumed weren't impressive enough, which sold after just two or three submissions.
Keeping those things in mind helps me power through any block I occasionally run into.
I also try to remind myself that--based on my writing experiences--I'm not always the best predictor of my own quality. I've written stories that I thought were my best work that couldn't find a publisher, and other stories that I thought were good but presumed weren't impressive enough, which sold after just two or three submissions.
Keeping those things in mind helps me power through any block I occasionally run into.
Johnny Compton
I try to just maintain a reasonably disciplined schedule (emphasis on "try"). I always have several ideas churning in my mind, and feeling inspired to write is seldom an issue, thankfully. I struggle far more with second-and-third-guessing whether what I'm writing on any particular day is as effective as I want it to be.
Johnny Compton
The world of Inception, where I would try to live a new life within dreams every month or so, maintaining specific rules and keeping notes for my real world self to maintain my sanity and not forget who I really am (so I that I can most effectively stick to my plan).
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