Perspective

I talked to a writer today about a book he just finished and the new project he is starting.  He writes fiction. His book is about the aftermath of a war torn country and the impact a single photograph had on the lives of some of its survivors.  It sounded pretty interesting, “light” we joked sarcastically. 

He’s in the process of selling the book now which means a shift in the way he structures his work day. Mostly keeping up with contacts and managing relationships with agents, potential agents and developing a New York presence.

I asked him how he starts a project and he said the first 100 pages are the most critical so he pounds those out 3 or 4 times to really get the story rolling. He said he does about 10 pages a day so this first stage goes pretty quickly.

He said the most important thing in these 100 pages is to establish a perspective including the voice and point of view of the narrator. The voice of his last narrator was sarcastic, dead to the world, having seen it all, not surprised by any amount of pain or hurt that comes his way.

It was interesting to hear the perspective of a writer. He obviously works hard and invests the time that is needed to do that work. Time, Talent, Resources.

Fiction is different from non-fiction but I think I still need a perspective. Maybe a hundred pages a few times over is in order. Again – time, talent, resources.