RARA-AVIS: making it up as they go along
BaxDeal@aol.com
Sat, 20 Mar 1999 03:24:16 EST
Recent post regarding Chandler's writing habits...
I've attended more than a few book signings and been amazed at
how many
authors claim to just start with an idea and yes, basically
make up the story
as they go along. Do they write themselves into corners? Sure!
Sometimes.
Elmore Leonard is among the most notable of whom I've
personally heard make
this claim, although it is my belief that he more carefully
outlined his
earlier stories. Compare for example 1976's lean, inexorable
SWAG with 1991's
rambling and tangential MAXIMUM BOB.
Larry Block says he thinks about say, his new Scudder idea for
around 10
months or so, then goes somewhere, locks himself in a room for
a month and
blammo- another bestseller.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Demon Dog
Dostoyevski of American
Crime Fiction who writes outlines longer than most Gold Medal
pulps used to
be.
BD/jl
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