Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: What Writing and Lying Have in Common

Lolz. Nikki Clyne is in Battlestar Galactica. I...

2011-02-18T20:48:27.003-08:00

Lolz. Nikki Clyne is in Battlestar Galactica. I've never seen it, but I've seen Godkiller... with Nikki Clyne.

+5 or me on obscure apocalyptic horror card. Never getting rid of this one.

Anyway, I have to agree with the "writing is like lying" thing.

I love the idea of this article, but I have to dis...

2011-01-30T15:01:15.729-08:00

I love the idea of this article, but I have to disagree with your description of lying being about details. It's actually more believable when you leave out details, because when a person recounts a real memory or event they're more likely to forget things than remember all the little details. Other than that, you've got a good point—pretty much all writing is trying to get your reader to believe that it's actually happened/happening and to draw them into the story as if it was completely real. That's why, personally, my favourite books make me fall head over heels into the world they're describing and building up in my mind with their words.

Also, I'm a huge nitpicker when it comes to the correct use of ellipses, and I thought it was only ever meant to be '...'? That's just me being my normal persnickety fifteen-year-old self, though.

A lie is meant to hide the truth, a story is meant...

2010-03-16T04:36:33.669-07:00

A lie is meant to hide the truth, a story is meant to show it.

If your writing is not honest, it will fail.

I'm with you too, Moses. I loved the first sea...

2010-03-09T10:43:44.378-08:00

I'm with you too, Moses. I loved the first season of Battlestar.. but I felt that as the series went along, the characters got more and more inconsistent with how they'd been initially established, especially Adama, and only Edward Olmos saved that character from being unlikeable. (I wouldn't say he was the worst though. I think they totally ruined Gaeta with that nonsense in season 3. He was never, ever an ends justify the means type of guy.) Interestingly, I think the most consistent character is also one of the most universally reviled -- Baltar. ;) I always had a soft spot for Crazy Ass Baltar in season 1, and while I was not immune to how detestable he got, he was, I felt, completely consistent all through. Simply because they established him early on as a character who'd do whatever self-serving action was needed to get him what he wanted. Also Roslin was pretty consistant, I think. Sometimes you forgot what a hardass she was and it surprised you when she'd put her air-lockin' face on, but I don't think the writers ever forgot about how quick she could be to space your ass. But everyone else spent some time doing stuff that just made me go, "Huh? Who the hell is writing so and so this week?"

I want to love BSG, I really do. (Okay, I don'...

2010-03-06T14:40:57.577-08:00

I want to love BSG, I really do. (Okay, I don't care, but since my hubby loves it so much, there MUST be something good about it, right?)

But ... I frackin' can't.

Not with words like "fracking."

Battlestar Galactica episode "33" was FA...

2010-03-05T18:36:01.188-08:00

Battlestar Galactica episode "33" was FANTASTIC. What an intense experience. I'm also enjoying Caprica.

dan- Oh wow, almost there - we're on Season 3...

2010-03-05T12:38:19.845-08:00

dan-

Oh wow, almost there - we're on Season 3 episode 3. Looking forward to catching up with Caprica too, I've heard good things.

Oh man Nathan, strap in for season 3, episode 4. A...

2010-03-05T12:35:51.478-08:00

Oh man Nathan, strap in for season 3, episode 4. A-mazing.

When you're done with the series, you should check out Moore's new show Caprica. It's one of the best on TV right now.

To me, writing doesn't feel like lying. "...

2010-03-05T12:26:16.441-08:00

To me, writing doesn't feel like lying. "Lying" is too crass of a word for what we do.

Maybe this is just my fantasy-minded brain, but I feel more like an enchanter. (Apprentice enchanter, in my case.) If I'm doing it right, I'm weaving the spell so strongly that it can't be easily broken, and the reader is caught. That's certainly how I feel when I'm entrapped by a good book. When the text jars in a not-so-good book, the spell is more easily broken.

In mundane terms, I also tend to think of telling a good story as selling a strong argument. It's sort of like writing a college essay, but with many more nuances.

jason- The reason it didn't work for me is th...

2010-03-05T12:12:19.330-08:00

jason-

The reason it didn't work for me is that at the beginning of the show Adama had the Galactica pretty well prepared for an attack even though the Cylons hadn't attacked in dozens of years. Then after a year of crazy war with them showing up out of the blue he goes soft after 9 months? I can see letting your guard down a bit and getting distracted, but it was that complacency that didn't work for me.

Lying has always been difficult for me too. In ...

2010-03-05T12:08:05.189-08:00

Lying has always been difficult for me too.

In NFCW Workshops, as an example, I’ve written heavily about my mother and most of the time I end with the tag, “she said.” When my mother obviously said something. Some of my colleagues suggested that I end with: She said waving a spoon at me. She said tapping her foot. She said as she peered at me.

My mother didn’t do those things.
Therefore, I still consider that lying.
I know many people might think of that as texturing. I do not.

Right now in my NFCW Workshop: “Cesar” is too perfect, too smart and able to do many tasks without reason. My response to being perfect is, “there is nothing perfect in this universe and that most certainly INCLUDES me.”

As for doing a lot: I was the interpreter/translator for CPS, which embroiled me in many “situations” to which a normal secretary would not be privy. If you read my manuscript carefully, I am not doing something extraordinary, all of my functions are administrative. I am not solving world hunger, or designing the new space shuttle.

I am simply doing a lot to keep from sinking back into depression.

I am reminded of something a friend told me when she got a divorce and had trouble dealing: “throw yourself into work. It worked for me.” It worked for me also until I came out of my depression and realized that CPS was the last place I needed to be if I was to get better mentally.

I lament that you took a wrong turn because I needed clarification. My purpose was not to incense you. It was to work with you.

As for the dream sequence you read. IT IS MY FIRST DRAFT. Further, I “raced” thought it. It still scares me to go back to the time that I wanted to die. “Let me sleep=Let me die.”

Thanks for all of your help, Nathan. As I wrote in my first post, “thanks to you, I now have a clue as to how to write a query.”

blurring
the line
in
transformation

I love me the BSG. One of the greatest shows ever....

2010-03-05T12:03:58.533-08:00

I love me the BSG. One of the greatest shows ever. On the topic of Adama, I would like to disagree that it's out of character. At least, I never got that impression. I happen to be re-watching the show at this point in time myself and got through the second season just a few weeks ago so it's still fresh in my mind. Anyway, I'd say that if you're chased ragged by a race of robots bent on your destruction and you find a plausible safe haven (the planet was cloaked by the nebula), then it's not unreasonable to want to rest. I think that would be the reaction anyone would have. But he wasn't entirely complacent either. He remained in the planet's atmosphere in case the Cylons did show up. And after awhile of not having them show up, I'm sure anyone might begin to believe that it's okay to let your guard down, if you're thinking you're finally home free. Anyway, that's just my opinion.

As for lying and writing, I wholeheartedly agree. I almost think that being a good liar would make one a good writer and vice versa. It's not so much about deception and circumventing the truth as it is about creating a plausible world wherein an event could conceivably take place or where a belief would conceivably be regarded as truth. It's being able to understand the details of what makes a good story/lie and putting them together to convince the reader/hearer that what you tell is the truth.

I couldn't agree more Nathan. Kitty

2010-03-05T11:19:06.917-08:00

I couldn't agree more Nathan.

Kitty

Oscar Wilde had a bit to say on this subject in &q...

2010-03-05T10:34:06.480-08:00

Oscar Wilde had a bit to say on this subject in "The Decay of Lying."

Nathan: I felt the same way about that scene! ...

2010-03-05T10:14:18.226-08:00

Nathan:

I felt the same way about that scene!

The girl that played Starbuck now has a starring role in the show "24." In BG she was tough, but in 24 she's a total wuss.

Fab post! Although I remember some of my favourite...

2010-03-05T10:10:00.256-08:00

Fab post! Although I remember some of my favourite thriller writers pointing out that the best way to spot a liar is through the unnecessary embellishments they make to the story...

This might work in sci-fi, horror, fantasy and oth...

2010-03-05T10:06:12.504-08:00

This might work in sci-fi, horror, fantasy and other genres. But try telling too many lies in contemporary romance and the online romance reviewers will come after you with their broomsticks :)

Robert Heinlein once detailed the many ways to lie...

2010-03-05T08:54:31.571-08:00

Robert Heinlein once detailed the many ways to lie in one of his books (I forget which one--it's been a long time and I'm old). According to the Grand Master, the best way to lie is to tell the absolute truth but in such a way that no one believes you. Don't think that would work in a novel. But what do I know. I always lie and that's the truth.

Word verification: tertally - in the manner of a tertle

The Invention of Lying http://www.youtube.com/watc...

2010-03-05T08:04:15.281-08:00

The Invention of Lying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-H2dNfx-Uw

This has to be the most useful post you have ever ...

2010-03-05T07:37:57.757-08:00

This has to be the most useful post you have ever written. It really made me think about what makes a book believable.

I'm a nerd and I can't tell a lie. Is the...

2010-03-05T07:22:59.359-08:00

I'm a nerd and I can't tell a lie. Is there a connection?

I had a husband who thought my inability to lie was a character defect. He is no longer my husband.

"Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Fiction is the truth inside the lie." Stephen King

Your references to Dantooine and Cylons just made ...

2010-03-05T06:56:06.812-08:00

Your references to Dantooine and Cylons just made my morning a little bit brighter.

Thank you for all the work you do on this blog, Nathan! I'm new to this world of commenting, but thanks to you I'm making an effort. :-)

Great article anon, thanks for sharing.

2010-03-05T06:44:36.378-08:00

Great article anon, thanks for sharing.

Nathan, I enjoy reading your blog and comment on i...

2010-03-05T06:40:37.131-08:00

Nathan,
I enjoy reading your blog and comment on it frequently at my own, www.puborperish.blogspot.com
I too, enjoy looking at the revolution of ebooks v. traditional....in that vein...have you seen this article yet

http://craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tputh+%28TPUTH+-+Breaking+News+With+The+Social+Hammer%29

Why would you ever want your Nerd Card to expire? ...

2010-03-05T06:26:11.734-08:00

Why would you ever want your Nerd Card to expire?

Incidentally this is completely out of season, but still totally awesome (and even on topic, somewhat): Death Star Pumpkin