009 The Functional Nerds
In the ninth episode of The Functional Nerds, Patrick Hester and John Anealio are joined by a member of the 3rd Nerd Army: Aidan Moher from A Dribble of Ink! This week we chat about: Terry Goodkind & Tyra Banks both getting 3 book contracts, The Law of Nines & The Sword of Truth, Adam Whitehead & the Wertzone, jumping the shark in fiction, Jane Yolen, Diane Duane, online fiction, the Kobo eReader, freesfonline.de, webfictionguide.com, tor.com, Chapters, Barnes & Noble, OF blog of the fallen, John Ottinger, how John is getting older and Patrick will be young forever, Locus online, upcoming genre fiction, Lou Anders’ Swords & Dark Magic, Pyr Books, Terry Brooks, The Shannara Series, The Last Page by Anthony Huso, Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Star Wars and the expanded universe, Kristen Britain & The Green Rider, Dennis L. McKiernan, Tad Williams, James Enge, Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela by Saladin Ahmed, free comic book day, Larry Hama & G.I. Joe, Graphic novels & The Green Lantern.
© 2010 Patrick Hester & John Anealio
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You shall NEVER CRUSH ME!!! HAHAHAHAHA!
Another excellent podcast.
Also: I will help crush Ottinger if you need assistance. Nobody puts a “III” in their name and goes uncrushed. 🙂
Hmmm…”the more I write, the less I read, I find.” The scary thing is, I hear that from a lot of people in my creative writing class.
Look. I understand, everyone is only stuck with 24hours. Not everyone can sit down with a book every day. What I don’t understand someone who aspires to be a serious writer and does not read (or, for that matter, not NEED to read). Isn’t there a hunger? A drive?
Anyway, you guys were complaining about not leaving comments, so there’s one.
A slightly less critical note, I would like to recommend a beautiful thing called audio books. This has saved me this semester.
Trust me, I’m as busy as the next guy. I got class. I got work. Fuck T.V. I try my damndest not to aimlessly wonder the internets. That adds up to a few hours saved a night. The problem is, free time is mostly between the cracks of the day. Audio books are perfect. Get your Ipod (I have a Sansa, about 25$–holds 2 gigs), toss a book on with some headphones. Nothing wrong with spoken word. That’s how humans have been telling stories for eons. If you can’t afford expensive audio books, go torrent some books. That’s free. I listen to books doing dishes, cooking, walking to class, driving, cleaning. I’ve been getting through a book a week.
But it’s not about “knocking” books out. I respect slow readers. Hell, I’m one of them. And neither is it about how many books you can cram in a month. In the end, all that matters is the stuff that draws you in, that fills you, that moves you. Those are the only stories that matter, and I think there is something for everyone out there, if they would just sit down for a few hours and give it a chance. Wonderful things happen.
Using time as an excuse from not doing something is ridicules. If you really wanted to do something, you do it. You make time.
Good podcast. I enjoyed it, and I’ve always loved Dribble of Ink.
Let me expand on my thought a bit; the more I write, the less I read.
Part of that is because I don’t want another writer’s work bleeding into mine as I’m writing. Believe me, I have read a LOT. That hunger is most definitely there, but it needs to be controlled while I’m building my writing voice and style. I’ve been working on that for ten years now, honing those skills, and I keep telling myself that this’ll be the year you see my name in print.
Do not misunderstand me; I love the written word. I love to read, hell, I even give books as Christmas presents.
So maybe it’s more appropriate to say that I’m on a hiatus right now, just dipping my toe in here and there, as I finish up a couple of major projects that have been percolating for years and prep them for query.
I’m glad you like the podcast and thanks for posting a comment 🙂
~P
[…] Episode 009 May 15 […]
Todd,
Glad you enjoyed the podcast!
To touch on your comments, I’ve recently found Audiobooks to be a great way to pass time, especially while I’m walking from place to place (which I do a fair bit), but I’ve found that my mind wanders often, so I can’t really take in new work through that medium. That said, I’ve been listening to some books that I’m familiar with (The Elfstones of Shannara a the moment) and it’s been a blast.
As for using time as an excuse, I still read a lot, much more than the average person, just not as much as I used to, when I had less responsibilities. Technically, I can read and parse text quite fast, but when it comes time to sit down and enjoy a book, I like to take my time and, as you say, soak it all in. That slows me down, but it’s intentional and something I don’t want to change! Still, I agree with what you have to say: if you want to do something, if you love it enough, you’ll make time for it.
Cheers,
~Aidan
Patrick,
Trust me, I understand the journey. Years of doing things in the dark, years of writing works no one will ever see. Honing the skills, as you put it.
But I would argue that wide and constant reading is the only way you can find a unique voice. Trying out styles and imitating them, even unintentionally, is the natural process of growing as a writer. Being afraid of that is like not writing a second draft because you’re afraid you’ll screw up the words. I find the best way of getting around that is writing so many words that you start to see your words as something less precious, and more as a simple vehicle that moves ideas around.
And for me personally, reading fiction while writing is the same reason a runner eats a power bar while he’s running. The words consumed are translated into literary energy.
But hey, I’ll agree, there are certain authors I steer away from when I’m writing anything long. Mostly authors with very distinct styles that I love so much that I’ll find the core of my story shifting into the other authors territory. Lovecraft and Stephen King are good examples. But I read them fine when I’m done with a draft, and quickly read something else to clean the pallet.
Good luck with the writing.
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Aidan,
There’s nothing better than having a book read to you that you’ve already read before, is there? I love that. And you make a good point: some books are hard to listen to in audio form. I made the mistake of trying a China Mieville novel in audio form, and I was COMPLETELY lost within five minutes.
I find the best works in audio are simpler stories that don’t get all labyrinthine with language. But, the more I listen, the better I’m getting tackling new works. And damn, some of these voice performances are amazing. People like Frank Muller and George Guidall. It turns into theater! And what’s really funny is, now when I lay down and read a plain old book, I start hearing the characters inside my head talking in their voices. It’s great, haha.
Happy reading, everyone. : )
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