Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Guest Blog: Bryan Russell on the Architecture of R...

This "Revision" posting reminded me of w...

2010-07-06T06:52:50.762-07:00

This "Revision" posting reminded me of what's most important about my work as a marketing coach and writer for executive, business and life coaches...

It's all about the stories we tell ourselves and which ones we *choose* to believe.

Thank you!

This is so funny! Not the post; it's lovely. B...

2010-07-01T23:29:02.781-07:00

This is so funny! Not the post; it's lovely. But I've often thought of the process of novel-writing as building a house, and when I read other peoples' work, that's how I've approached the critique as well. This window's too small, you need more light here.

But please do keep the albino raccoon!

I recently had to tear down the walls of my story ...

2010-07-01T17:30:31.035-07:00

I recently had to tear down the walls of my story and rebuild them. Then those walls looked so good (chapters 1 and 2) that the rest of the house looked old and dingy and now I'm having to go through and clean the whole thing, repaint, tear down some more walls (cut out a chapter here, delete a character there).

When I first started writing the book, it was just fun to get my ideas on paper. Had I known then how much work it would be, I doubt I would have kept going.

Too bad I can't just hire a contractor to come in and do the remodeling for me. :)

-Natalie

This is absolutely marvelous. Going back to my re...

2010-07-01T11:00:00.715-07:00

This is absolutely marvelous.

Going back to my revisions now ...

So THAT'S what that big white 'cat' in...

2010-06-30T10:21:11.287-07:00

So THAT'S what that big white 'cat' in my broom closet really is!

2010-06-29T19:07:03.982-07:00

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2010-06-29T16:53:48.462-07:00

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Great blog, Bryan! I love the way you use metaphor...

2010-06-29T16:33:49.878-07:00

Great blog, Bryan! I love the way you use metaphors to get your point across. Very inspirational!

Good analogy. Thanks.

2010-06-29T15:29:24.822-07:00

Good analogy. Thanks.

2010-06-29T10:27:24.203-07:00

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Damn, that boy can write! I had a flashback to t...

2010-06-29T09:32:06.536-07:00

Damn, that boy can write!

I had a flashback to ten years ago when we were building the house I'm sitting in right now and that one window upstairs that we had to tear out and rebuild three times. Sort of like some of my WIP.

Thanks, Nathan and Bryan.

Well said.Thank you for expressing what I feel and...

2010-06-29T09:29:49.206-07:00

Well said.Thank you for expressing what I feel and couldn't.

Great comparison, especially considering how much ...

2010-06-29T08:30:27.424-07:00

Great comparison, especially considering how much DIY work is done in our house. Plus the fact that I find myself doing these things constantly.

I'm a building inspector that happens to write...

2010-06-29T07:43:11.383-07:00

I'm a building inspector that happens to write. This metaphor kicks some serious writerly butt! Althought the topic is a familiar one, it presents a fresh perspective on how to renovate a story and has given me a definite direction for revamps.

Bryan, you always have the best metaphors. This w...

2010-06-29T07:41:13.789-07:00

Bryan, you always have the best metaphors. This was exquisite. Thanks for guest posting.

........dhole

Wow, the author certainly got some mileage out of ...

2010-06-29T07:11:53.995-07:00

Wow, the author certainly got some mileage out of that metaphor. Some might call that beating a dead horse. Other than to demonstrate the author's cleverness, what is the purpose of this post? To show that writers revise things? Good call!

I really need to learn to stop listening to all th...

2010-06-29T07:07:29.374-07:00

I really need to learn to stop listening to all those ghosts. They beg and threaten to be put back into the story because, after-all, I put so much time into them.

I hope this isn't what all those reviewers mean when they say certain books are "hauntingly beautiful."

I Love this metaphor-- albino blind raccoon and al...

2010-06-29T03:53:41.823-07:00

I Love this metaphor-- albino blind raccoon and all!

Thanks!

That was neat; I enjoyed reading that. And inspir...

2010-06-28T22:02:38.517-07:00

That was neat; I enjoyed reading that.

And inspiration has struck: Reed N. Lurk's next masterpiece will be titled Architect Space Monkeys Meet the Albino Raccoon.

:D

Would it be better if you had an architect and a c...

2010-06-28T21:42:38.927-07:00

Would it be better if you had an architect and a concrete vision of what you want your house to be so that you won't end up breaking the whole thing and wasting so much time? I guess that's the importance of planning first on what you really want to convey in your story rather than just randomly write.

At what point though, does revision become distrac...

2010-06-28T21:26:35.081-07:00

At what point though, does revision become distraction from declaring, "I have, at this point, completed something"?

I've scooted over to your blog from here a few...

2010-06-28T21:15:12.473-07:00

I've scooted over to your blog from here a few times. The main comment I could make is the old folk-writers injunction "No one should write a book until at least the age of forty." Saved your exposition: The story as a house, to a reread folder in key-style docs; well done.

I measured this out to not run long it is in a similar vain but more laser like between executioner and victim.

Temple Of Five Bridges.
Youthful Time Travel Master to Client.

“Pardon this indulgence it’s the standard echoes eternally blown around in my mind concerning artistic endeavors... Small talk if you will.
Steele was not unused to Mr. Eights breaking into a long rambling spontaneous soliloquy; but would have cut the monologue
short under other circumstances if he was not in dire need.
Steele lowered his shoulders extending his hands as if holding a loaf of bread by its outer ends to avoid the heat of the center.

“Nothing really exists except stories and descriptions. Take money for example and all the problems the world is usually experiencing over the money storyline. What is money?
Money is a promise.
What is a promise?
A promise is a trust.
What is a trust?
A trust is an agreement.”
Stephan tapped on a leather bound copy of “Paradise Lost” on the shelf drawing a curious glance from Pierce scanning the
entire shelf.
“...What is an agreement?
An agreement is a negotiation.
What is a negotiation?
A negotiation is a discussion.
What is a discussion?
A series of descriptions.
What is a series of descriptions?
A story.
What is a story?
Money is a story.
Why can it be said in the form of rhetorical questions that money is story without engaging in an act of pedantic pedagogy?”
The small albino boy drew his long white hair into a pony tail using a leather string he withdrew from his pocket; tying it off and allowing the improvised snow white lash to fall under
his denim jacket’s collar between the coat and shirt.
Steele growing impatient with Eight’s recitation of an obviously memorized sequence of information noticed the movement over his left shoulder in the direction of the bookcase on his side of the fireplace.
“...Money doesn't really exist. It is a promise of trust, in an agreement negotiated through a discussion of descriptions, in a series of ongoing stories. What does it all mean and imply?
Trust is the only thing that’s real.
Everything else is an artifact of perception.
Trust is an act of will, an act of volition.
Trust is a form of momentum that competes with other forms of momentum. A lot of things can be said about trust.
So I'll leave off there.”
Wondering if Eight was finished with his dissertation on the ever difficult conundrum of exchange rates between players,
based on their own level of personal integrity, he moved to lean forward to take a sip of water from a glass he had poured during the main body of his colleagues over indulgence in long winded
verbose wordiness. His forward progress deterred by a soft cord.

I love the concept of "re-vision." I jus...

2010-06-28T20:27:50.489-07:00

I love the concept of "re-vision." I just put the last coat of paint on a major story remodel today, and I can testify that this is exactly what happens. Sometimes during the messy parts it's hard to see exactly what you're doing to the story--I imagine it's like standing in the middle of the kitchen right after the cabinets have been torn out and your family wants to know what's for dinner. However, when the last nail is in place and everything sparkles... well, there's really no better feeling in the world.

awwwwwww, thanks swampfox! That was very kind of y...

2010-06-28T20:23:03.968-07:00

awwwwwww, thanks swampfox! That was very kind of you to post. Your words helped me find my smile tonight.

Marjorie, Improvise, eh? Sounds like a former 6th...

2010-06-28T19:50:35.683-07:00

Marjorie,
Improvise, eh? Sounds like a former 6th Grade teacher to me!
And I love your cartoons. Nice reference to Old Blue Eyes, too.