tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post3665101406034872849..comments2023-09-02T03:20:00.374-07:00Comments on Small Crimes: Lessons learned from the trenchesDave Zeltsermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007736514118297783noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-12674967386062631552008-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:002008-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:00Keith,For me, stuff reads differently on the scree...Keith,<BR/><BR/>For me, stuff reads differently on the screen than on paper, and I have to print it out to get serious editing done. I think like everything else, your editing improves over time, especially if you're dedicated to studying it--such as reading books like John Gardner's "Art of Fiction". <BR/><BR/>I think I'm pretty fast at recognizing when my writing is working and when it isn't, but I really don't do different drafts as much as constant editing--when I'm writing a book I'm always going back to the past chapter and doing online editing on it before I start writing anything new, and after every 40 pages or so, I print it out and do another round of editing. I doubt this is the most effective way of doing things but it seems to work for me. Outside of my first two books, revisions have tended to be minor and pretty easy for me, and really haven't done much rewriting as constant editing. For most of my books I've written detailed outlines before starting, and I htink that has helped a lot.Dave Zeltsermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007736514118297783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-43127809442762233972008-05-22T20:19:00.000-07:002008-05-22T20:19:00.000-07:00Dave,How long did it take for you to develop an ey...Dave,<BR/><BR/>How long did it take for you to develop an eye for editing your own work? Did you know what you were writing was crap when you were working on the first draft, or was it upon the 2nd or 3rd reading that you were able to spot your missteps? Also, does rewriting get any easier with time and experience?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827652636843928373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-49066286405259814832008-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:002008-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00Keith, That's a tough call. Maybe there are elemen...Keith, <BR/><BR/>That's a tough call. Maybe there are elements of story structure, pacing and characterization that stick with you. And there could be any number of subconscious influences. For myself, it could be all the countless hours wasted watching old movies, Twilight Zones, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Popeye cartoons, etc., as well as all the 1000s of Mad Magazines and comic books, and other pulp, sci-fi, and crime books that I read. It's so hard to tell. But I did feel as if I had fully discovered my voice by the time I was writing my second book. But is it possible my work is a distillation of 1000s of other influences? Maybe.Dave Zeltsermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007736514118297783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-83864692181092112102008-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:002008-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827652636843928373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-73597641675571397422008-05-21T11:15:00.000-07:002008-05-21T11:15:00.000-07:00Dave,Do you ever really completely rid yourself of...Dave,<BR/><BR/>Do you ever really completely rid yourself of the intial influnence and the real question is do you really want to be rid of it?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827652636843928373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-40501928960389981002008-05-10T09:22:00.000-07:002008-05-10T09:22:00.000-07:00Hi Iain, nice to see you here.I think with my earl...Hi Iain, nice to see you here.<BR/><BR/>I think with my early writing, there was definitely a lot pastiche-of with Ross Macdonald. With In His Shadow, I was studying Jim Thompson to see how he did certain things--structure, transitions, etc., and some of that might've rubbed off with In His Shadow--I know there's one scene from Killer Inside Me that I subconsciously influenced by which a few critics later made note of, but I'd say 90% of that book was finding my voice and inspired-by. When I was later editing the book for Point Blank, I was able to remove the 10% of the Thompson-pastiche that had been in there.Dave Zeltsermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007736514118297783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-32694562873895772162008-05-10T04:46:00.000-07:002008-05-10T04:46:00.000-07:00Dave, am looking forward to reading all of these.I...Dave, am looking forward to reading all of these.<BR/><BR/>It's a great feeling when one particular writer's work hits you like that - I can clearly remember two or three books that made me think man, yes, *this* is what I want to do.<BR/><BR/>Did you feel that you had to work hard to write inspired-by rather than pastiche-of? I know that it can be tricky sometimes not to let a style you really admire creep in to your own writing - fantastic if it informs it, not so good if it colours it. Did you have to watch yourself, or did the inspiration you took from Thompson just trigger off your own unique style?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-53715635699736597422008-05-07T14:19:00.000-07:002008-05-07T14:19:00.000-07:00Thanks, Dave. Yeah, I'm very excited about that we...Thanks, Dave. Yeah, I'm very excited about that web-zine, when is it due, by the way?<BR/><BR/>Battle scars? Oh a few ;) I've really learned the virtue of hanging in there. Over twenty years ago when I wrote my first novel an agent told me it slipped between the cracks - not literary enough for hardcover and not pulp enough for PBO.<BR/><BR/>I used up most of my million words trying to figure out how to go in one or the other direction, failing quite a few times in both.<BR/><BR/>I still don't know which way I went.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-39005266101401869632008-05-07T12:26:00.000-07:002008-05-07T12:26:00.000-07:00John, thanks, and congrats on your upcoming book (...John, thanks, and congrats on your upcoming book (as well as a certain web-zine story ;)) I'm sure over the years you've collected more than your share of battle scars, and I hope you end up sharing them here!Dave Zeltsermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007736514118297783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713833330686372470.post-25550022640196114722008-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:002008-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:00Nice post, Dave. I'm looking forward to more lesso...Nice post, Dave. I'm looking forward to more lessons learned.<BR/><BR/>I think finding your voice is really the most important part of writing.<BR/><BR/>I'd always thought this was an Elmore Leonard quote, but here, interviewing his son Peter about Peter's debut novel, QUIVER, coming out next week Elmore says:<BR/><BR/>"John D. McDonald said you have to write a million words before you<BR/>know what you’re doing, have real control over your sound that you’re<BR/>consistent with what you want your prose to sound like."<BR/><BR/>So, I guess it was John D. I did hear Elmore say once, though, that you can start selling before the million word mark ;)<BR/><BR/>The whole interview is here:<BR/>http://peterleonardbooks.com/index.php/site/interview/John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.com