Andrej Petrovič
asked
K.J. Bishop:
What do you recoment for someone who love literature, want to write first short story, but is not natural intuitive writer who just write? how to start?
K.J. Bishop
If you have an idea of what you want to write, I recommend just starting anywhere with that idea. This is common advice, but allow yourself to write whatever you think of, without worrying about the quality. Then mine the result for usable material -- story, characters, images -- whatever turns up. Even if you think you're not intuitive, you might be surprised at what happens when you start work. I find that stories sometimes meet me halfway -- if I put in an effort, something responds.
If unsure of what to write, prompts from other people can be helpful. The prompt itself might be inspiring, or it might spark an idea you wouldn't otherwise have had.
Or think about why you want to write -- to say something in particular, to explore a certain idea, create an alternative world, entertain yourself and others, spend time with a character, enjoy language, or whatever it may be. That may help you get started.
An important point for me is that character suggests plot. I tend to start off without plot, just with a character (or characters) and an environment. Then sometimes the story comes intuitively, but if it doesn't, the character's situation should at least suggest things that could happen.
An alternative to the "write badly, just write" approach is, if you love carefully crafted writing, then write carefully. Don't even worry about the story to start with. Write a scene or even just a paragraph with loving attention. This was actually how I started writing. Finding I could produce words I liked made me want to try harder and make those words into a story. The danger is of getting caught up in those first few hundred words and never going beyond; after the lovely beginning you may have to start writing roughly, and you may have to change, move or even delete the lovely beginning, but I find that some care at the beginning can be like fuel for the story, even if it gets burnt up.
There are many ways to write, depending on the story and you, and you may have to try a few. Be true to yourself and good luck!
If unsure of what to write, prompts from other people can be helpful. The prompt itself might be inspiring, or it might spark an idea you wouldn't otherwise have had.
Or think about why you want to write -- to say something in particular, to explore a certain idea, create an alternative world, entertain yourself and others, spend time with a character, enjoy language, or whatever it may be. That may help you get started.
An important point for me is that character suggests plot. I tend to start off without plot, just with a character (or characters) and an environment. Then sometimes the story comes intuitively, but if it doesn't, the character's situation should at least suggest things that could happen.
An alternative to the "write badly, just write" approach is, if you love carefully crafted writing, then write carefully. Don't even worry about the story to start with. Write a scene or even just a paragraph with loving attention. This was actually how I started writing. Finding I could produce words I liked made me want to try harder and make those words into a story. The danger is of getting caught up in those first few hundred words and never going beyond; after the lovely beginning you may have to start writing roughly, and you may have to change, move or even delete the lovely beginning, but I find that some care at the beginning can be like fuel for the story, even if it gets burnt up.
There are many ways to write, depending on the story and you, and you may have to try a few. Be true to yourself and good luck!
More Answered Questions
Toolshed
asked
K.J. Bishop:
I came across "Maldoror Abroad" in a Czech anthology, "Trochu divné kusy", some years ago and instantly fell in love with it. Now I reread it and was enchanted once again - it's exactly the kind of literature I'd like to read AND write. I'd like to ask: was it easy/straightforward writing "Maldoror" or did you piece the scenes and pictures together? Did you know where you wanted the story to go or was it improvised?
J. Moufawad-Paul
asked
K.J. Bishop:
I read *The Etched City* the year it was released and was stunned by the beauty of the prose and the richness of the narrative. Since then, I have been awaiting future novels but have been disappointed that you have not written another novel for over a decade. Will you be publishing another novel soon?
K.J. Bishop
248 followers
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