Saturday, March 20, 2010

writing humdrumconundrum

How to write about fictional inventors? Let's say you want to write about a character who revolutionizes an industry (the - ahem - music industry, for example, which I'm writing about, and which is imploding)... how do you invent the revolutionizing thing when you, yourself, are not actually genius enough to predict or come up with Thing That Needs Revolutionizing?

Luckily, as a humour writer, I will probably fight my way out of this paper bag by doing something silly. But in the research/thinking phase it's hurting my brain like hell, which means I'm procrastinating a lot.

I usually enjoy researching, but on a personal level I'm not sure I care all that much how this music thing is going to turn out. I consume music, but I don't make it. I'm happy to sit back and see what happens. But now I can't! I can't just SBASWH because I'm writing this damn book. Or rather, I'd like to be writing this damn book, but I can't until I get a breakthrough.

Frikkety frak.

It's 6 AM I'd better go to bed. Frakkety frakky frak frak frak.

I feel like Don Music from Sesame Street.

2 comments:

gmc said...

I've wondered about that too - that is how to write about a character who does something that is beyond my scope of knowing or understanding ... I guess that's why the old adage: write what you know...

Still - there's got to be a way. One "work around" I thought about was to tell the story from the pov of a character who's as clueless about The Invention or whatever it is, as I am. Then I could still relate the tale without having to give too much technical detail.

London Mabel said...

But you still have to think up the idea!

I'm reading a book on the music industry (meant for people entering the business) so it's sparking a couple ideas. Sigh.

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