Is there like a specific reason OSC is so good at writing? lol i know its a weird question. But i could never write one book, let alone a series of books where each one has alot of things going on in the mind, and they help set up the characters so well.
On top of that, he has doen this several times. It seems he is never out of ideas. I guess some people really were amde to write. We dont have one thing in common. When I read EG for the first time, and didnt know there were other books, i cried. When I finished SOTG...i was in tears. When people read my papers they are in tears, but its because its so horrible and theres still 2 pages to go. lol
How can a person like OSC do what they have done.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Lots of practice helps.
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
I think talent has something to do with it. Some people are creative and intelligent and others aren't. I, myself, was not gifted with much creativity, and i believe that i and those like me appreciate Mr. Cards ability to expand our imaginations and also to evoke thought whilst reading. this might be his aim?
Posted by Locke2525 (Member # 7554) on :
Well whatever he does, thank god he does it. otherwise i probably wouldnt be so into books than i am now. little kids have jk rowling i have osc.
I think we all have those stories, one or two that are from US. but, a select few are good at putting them down on paper.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote: whatever he does, thank god he does it. otherwise i probably wouldnt be so into books than i am now.
How great that he could be that for you! For me it was...hm...probably a combination of Frank Herbert and Philip Jose Farmer. I'd been read to and done a lot of reading as a little kid, but had gotten away from it in 6th and 7th grade (and at that age, 2 years is a pretty significant chunk of time). Then in early 8th grade I came across Dune and To Your Scattered Bodies Go, and the rest was history.
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
I will take a stab at answering the question. One reason OSC's writing is so rich is that he reads more than any human being I know. I haven't asked him about this (it's not a question I think of at book signings,) but from anecdotal evidence I'm guessing that he is a naturally fast reader. Also, in addition to reading, he reviews many, many books in a objective way, which gives him time to think about and articulate how another writer successfully or unsuccessfully used the tools of his trade to create a story. This allows OSC to keep his own tools perpetually sharp.
Also, he's married to a very smart woman. So everything he writes has almost instant feeback from another sharp mind.
So to sum it up, here are Brian's Tips to Become a Better Writer Based on What He Knows From the Life of OSC (TM):
-read A LOT of stuff (history and biographies are good) -write reviews of what you read -marry a smart person
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Every storyteller has things he does well and things that come hard to me. So you really use what you do well and compensate for (or work to get better at) what you don't do so well.
It's all an accident of birth - I got lots of good verbal-ability genes, the way other people get good eye-hand coordination or strong muscles or that fashionably lean look or mathematical aptitude or photographic memory. You know, knacks. Mine happens to be dialogue (and internal monologue). Can't teach it, because I never had to learn it. Whether I have enough native talent plus acquired skill to be 'great' is a matter of some controversy at present; and after i'm dead, the question is more likely to be abandoned than settled ...
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
awwwww, i promise to keep that argument alive until well after i go (my bedroom is really echoey).
Posted by cheiros do ender (Member # 8849) on :
On that note Brian, or someone, what advice do you have for me to become a faster reader? I really want to be able to. Last time I was into reading, my eyes got sore and I stopped a while. Now I'm back, my readings not slower, but I could probably prevent having to stop again if I had some reading tips, of which I have none. Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
Stephen King's book "On Writing" has a good passage on this.
He says something along the lines of the writer's relationship with his Ideal Reader being very important. King says his Ideal Reader is Tabby King, his wife of 30-some years. I think OSC missed something here. I'm not saying you can't be a reclusive genius of a writer, but that the quality of whatever amount of interaction you actually have with others is every bit as important as sheer brain computing speed.
Posted by Lucky_Sean (Member # 6223) on :
I also think the training has a bit to do with it - characterization is a lost art - people focus alot on story and delve a little into characters - drama focuses usually alot on characters. OSC being theatrically trained may have a bit to do with that.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
He went down to the crossroads at midnight and sold his soul to the devil; he wasn't usin' it.
Seriously? I think that it's the characters that draw me in most, that and the wit. But really, the characters and their drive to do something big, the struggle in their day to day lives to always head toward where they want to go, reminds me of another of my favorite authors, Lucy Maud Montgomery. And the keen understanding of why people are the way they are; he's a good student of motivators and character. He makes us love the heroes and sympathize occasionally even with the ones whose actions we don't agree with, because we know their motivations.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Could it have to do, and this is not a snipe OSC, but could it have to do with that ubiquitous need to all great minds to prove to everyone how smart they are? Look at Beethoven, Newton, Einstein, or Wilde these guys were at least partly motivated by a need to "stand out" and be recognized as geniuses. Wilde is even supposed to have propounded his genius often and in great detail. Its no different for OSC I think or for anyone else, except the real geniuses reall DO get recognized by doing the things they do best. OSC actually writes alot about that need for recognition and respect, so I think that's not comng from nowhere. I Realize these are cheep generalizations... oh well Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
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