Office Hours #90
In this ninetieth Office Hours session, Jerry answers writers’ questions, including…
(2:30) Is consciously working in your themes a good idea, or should you just try and let your subconscious do the work on that?
(3:47) In Amor Towles new novel, The Lincoln Highway, he doesn’t use quotation marks for dialogue. Instead, he begins the dialogue line with a dash. But in A Gentleman in Moscow, he uses quotation marks. Is this something new? Thank you!
(5:40) I’m still working on your self editing rules, but I find I’m too short on scene descriptions and character development. Any suggestions to work on these two areas?
(7:05) I am almost finished with my first novel. My biggest question is how do I know if I need to spend the money to have someone edit it before looking for agents, or if it is good enough as is? I’ve gone over and over it, but I know it will never be the same as using a good editor.
(10:47) Characters names for the most part have to fit in with the time, era, and culture you are writing in, not just because you like the name. Do you have a process that you found helpful deciding names for your characters, and do you name them before you fully get to know them yourself?
(14:25) What is my “voice” in my memoir?
(18:08) Do you ever find yourself “throat-clearing” when you begin a new project?”
(20:00) Is there an emotional description resource to help me reveal what a character is thinking without telling? This is a particular struggle for me when the character is coming from a different thought process than I have experienced.
(22:38) Jerry, you always ask your author guests where they do their writing and what time of day, so how about you? Occasionally, we’ve seen a long view of you in what appears to be a beautiful wood-paneled office. Is that where you write and if so, is it a studio or a study in your house? Thanks!
(30:43) My dialogue between father and daughter characters is coming off as a little preachy. Any tips?
(33:56) You spend a lot of time teaching and helping new writers. How do you stay focused on writing and not using other chores as an excuse to not write?
(36:41) Do you ever find yourself in bed unable to stop your mind from processing upcoming scenes? Any advice for turning off the creative spigot at night so I can fall asleep?
(38:28) I find a lot of inspiration from my book when I listen to music. Is there a point in which drawing inspiration from songs could be considered a copyright issue?
(40:45) I am interested in writing non-fiction. I have several different ideas and am having problems deciding which one to work on first. Should I make one choice and concentrate on it, or work on several at once until it is clear which one should come first?
(43:00) For a first-person past tense memoir, how do you demonstrate thoughts? Is the change of tense (present tense in dialogue versus past tense for narrator) and separating the lines correct or should it be italicized? Also, how do you show internal dialogue with God? What about when the character voices the question out loud, and God answers internally?
(46:58) The first version of a manuscript is usually more of a rough collection of ideas than a fully developed novel. How do you silence your inner critic to calmly write through that first version?
(49:08) In your book Riven, I really cared about the two main characters almost immediately although I had nothing in common with one of them. How do you create characters readers really care about?
(54:20) If you could spend the afternoon with one living author, who would you choose and what burning question would you have for them?