Q&A with John R. Fultz discussion

Hey, John! If you don't mind revealing this, how do you come up with the names of the characters and places in your work? Are there any particular methods you use for finding/developing names, or do they all "just come to you," or what?

Good question! Sometimes (most often) they just come to me...it's a kind of poetic sensibility. However, sometimes I find actual names that I think are terrific--these might be names from ancient times or names from other cultures. (I once discovered the Indian name "Santha" and thought it was awesome--so I named a sorceress character Santha in one of my Zang tales.)
Sometimes, too, I look at a certain culture's names--especially if I'm trying to evoke a certain cultural paradigm in my fantasy world--and I'll take a real name and modify it somewhat--just enough to separate it from the real-world name.
One thing that was very challenging was when I was writing a Native American adventure and I made a huge list of names like "Sharp Tongue", "Black Fox," and "Wolf Skinner"--it was very challenging to try for an authentic feel while not mimicking any well-known Native American names (i.e. no "Sitting Bull" or "Crazy Horse"). It was a fun approach to take--evoking a culture that uses the events and qualities of the natural world to name themselves.

Thanks, John! That's a fascinating glimpse into how you go about it!

One more technique question: Many writers talk about the difficulty of those first few minutes when you sit down for a writing session, how it's hard to get the work to start flowing for the day when you're faced with that blank page. Is that a challenge for you, or not especially? And if so, how do you get the writing gears turning?

It's different at each stage of the process...but usually the story grows in my mind until it simply can't wait anymore to "get out" and make its way onto paper. It's a catharsis of sorts to get a scene finished, so I can move on to the next scene...or rest, recharge, and let the next scene begin to blossom in the mind's eye. Sometimes I'll put on just the right music...that usually does the trick.

That's really interesting to hear! Thanks! It's been said that it's wise to quit for the day before you've written to the end of what you can see; that is, to stop while you still know what lies immediately ahead. That way, when you come back to it, you're not starting cold; you're not trying to move the mountain from a dead stop.

Me, I've never been able to write with music on, because I stop and listen to the music! I can handle white noise, but not anything as intelligible as music. But I'm glad the music works for you! I like that idea of catharsis.

I can only write to SPECIFIC music. MOST of it is instrumental--soundtracks I really dig for the most part. There are only a few bands with lyrics whose albums I can listen to when I write: THE SWORD's first two albums and MONSTER MAGNET's Superjudge both work for me, and various others. I really like the soundtrack work of Tyler Bates, Basil Poledorous, and Jerry Goldsmith. PLANET OF THE APES is one of the most brilliant soundtracks ever recorded.

I can see how PLANET OF THE APES would work for "An age of legends. An age of heroes. An age of war"!

Oh, the PotA soundtrack is full of brooding menace, stalking danger, and sheer revelation. I may be wrong, but very few films these days have music as powerful as the movies of yesteryear--unless they intentionally set out to capture that feeling. I recently watched DRIVE--that movie had terrific music (no wonder--it was Angelo Badalamente).

I agree--about APES, and about the soundtracks of yesteryear. I need to see DRIVE!