Stephen King: Top 20 Rules For Writers

Carol Rose

How To Pitch To A Literary Agent In Person

  • Carol Rose
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How long do you do research?

  • Meerkat
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Meerkat said:
I also once read him say that when you're writing, if you can't remember something, then just stick some placeholder in there and look it up later. I do this, usually with an all-caps BLAH BLAH so that I can search for the placeholders later.
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One of the romance authors I know does this with all her sex scenes. She writes "Insert kinky stuff here" and goes back to add them all in later. LOL!!
 
Meerkat said:
I also once read him say that when you're writing, if you can't remember something, then just stick some placeholder in there and look it up later. I do this, usually with an all-caps BLAH BLAH so that I can search for the placeholders later.
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I dont do this often, but I use << or ** before all of my notes to myself. Makes for an easy Find in MS Word. My husband uses this frequently, though. [Feelings here] lol! I once read that in the Star Wars script (I'm pretty sure it was SW), there was a whole section that Goerge Lucas denoted as [THEY FIGHT].
 
Star Trek did this as they developed the script, before the tech experts added in their "technobabble."
LAFORGE: "It looks like you have a [technobabble] problem."

I would do this for insignificant details — things I would have to go find but which would not have any bearing on the progression of the plot, so that I could keep my energy devoted to the flame of the scene, so I didn't lose it.
"The funeral pyre would have to be attended for [time], by the peasants the reeve had gathered."
"The night was cool and blustery, the [phase] moon low in the sky behind fleeting clouds."
 
"Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends."
Aight guys, I'm out. Looks like I was heading down the wrong career path!

(Thanks for posting these. I always find them interesting to read!)
 
Jason Byrne said:
Star Trek did this as they developed the script, before the tech experts added in their "technobabble."
LAFORGE: "It looks like you have a [technobabble] problem."

I would do this for insignificant details — things I would have to go find but which would not have any bearing on the progression of the plot, so that I could keep my energy devoted to the flame of the scene, so I didn't lose it.
"The funeral pyre would have to be attended for [time], by the peasants the reeve had gathered."
"The night was cool and blustery, the [phase] moon low in the sky behind fleeting clouds."
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Lol!
I find this hilarious and yes i do this too. [Insert story here]:D Thats book 1 sorted.
 
1408 said:
"Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends."
Aight guys, I'm out. Looks like I was heading down the wrong career path!

(Thanks for posting these. I always find them interesting to read!)
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Yes 1408, you were confused. You want rockstar. The career path you were looking for is rockstar. I actually stumbled into this myself, confusing writer with evil overlord.
 
I remember doing a lot of [insert blah blah here] for one story, until I finally had to admit I hadn't thought enough about the story prior to writing it.
 
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Carol Rose

How To Pitch To A Literary Agent In Person

  • Carol Rose
  • Replies: 3
M

How long do you do research?

  • Meerkat
  • Replies: 57
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