Want to get the basics in a very succinct article? Read Algis Budrys on story.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UTAH AUTHOR SELECTED FOR BEST STORIES OF 2008

Will Present Keys to Successful Fiction at BYU Symposium

LAKETOWN, UTAH |  February 9, 2009 |  Utah author John Brown’s novelette, “From the Clay of His Heart,” has just been listed as one of the best stories of 2008 by Locus Magazine, the main trade publication for the field of science fiction and fantasy. Locus Magazine selected its list from the hundreds of stories published and reviewed in 2008. Brown’s novelette will also be included in the annual Year’s Best Fantasy anthology edited by Hugo award-winning editor David G. Hartwell.

“I’m thrilled with the recognition,” says Brown. “Still, I suppose you’d have to be a potato head not to squeeze some drama out of a story that’s a mix of religion, thieves, monsters, and love.”

Brown will present his views on the keys to successful fiction in a lecture and workshop titled “The 3 Things You Must Learn To Write Killer Stories” at BYU on Friday evening, February 20, 2009 as part of Life, The Universe, & Everything, a symposium on science fiction & fantasy. Admission is free and open to all.

John Brown is an award-winning Utah author. His epic fantasy, Servant of a Dark God, will be released in September 2009 by Tor, the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the world. For more information on the author visit: http://JohnDBrown.com

MORE INFO

• Photos: http://johndbrown.com/about/newsroom/
• Full Locus Magazine list: http://www.locusmag.com/2009/2008RecommendedReading.html.

Click on image. Artwork for “From the Clay of His Heart” which will appeared in Locus Magazine’s recommended reading for 2008 and will appear in the Year’s Best Fantasy #9 edited by David Hartwell. 

Hello, my name’s John. I’m a TEDaholic. To any of you who still aren’t hooked on TED–there’s more out there than fascinating presentations by interesting people. And now I’m off to Amazon to buy some music by Natalie MacMaster.

Don’t go to TED. You’ll never get out.

Part of my model of the creative process is that it’s driven by questions. We come up with creative solutions in response to a problem. The problem triggers the process.

Let me give an example. Let’s say I have a character named Bill who lives out in space salvaging parts of space ships and other things. Or maybe he’s on some planet.

I don’t have a story yet. I’ve just got a dude in a general situation. I lack all the necessary parts. That lack is a problem to me as a writer. To develop the story, I state the problem as a question and begin generating options.

So I might ask, what are the threats Bill faces on a physical and social level? Are there mysteries he encounters? Who else is there? In order to answer those questions I might need to ask what’s the planet like?

At some point in time, I’ll feel I have generated enough answers for the key questions that it’s time to draft. When I begin to draft, I have other tasks or problems to solve. I might ask things like what’s the goal of this scene? What’s an interesting way to start and end it? What’s something surprising and bad that might happen as a result of the character’s action?

It’s all question and answer.

Towards the end of this week’s Writing Excuses on World Building Governments the guys share some great questions you might find fruitful when thinking about your world’s government.

Titanoboa. 43′ long. Weighs more than a ton. Could eat Bessie. Literally.

 The picture below is of a python slithering over the vertebra of a titanoboa.

More here in Times Online article, USA Today, and LA Times.