Quote:
Originally posted by ChrisH
Any comments
Amber H?
|
He baits me! Can I resist?
I find the analogy of engineering a robot to writing a very good one as well. When you design and build your machine, should not all the parts down to the very screws be compatible and fit properly? If there is something not quite right, your mechanical creation breaks down.
When writing a novel, all of the parts down to the small details need to fit properly, or the story breaks down in some way. The reader often loses interest and stops reading.
I have been through eight rewrites of my last novel to make sure that the story made sense and did not break down in some way. Sometimes, I dropped useless details like a FIRST team would shave off extra bits to come in at the right weight for competition. Other times, I changed actions and reactions that were not consistent with a character’s behavior in the rest of the book, like A FIRSTer would perhaps make sure the fan belts (if used on the bot) were of the right tension, or perhaps the right wires went to the right places to transfer the right signal or amount of power to the proper destination.
I also use the input of proofreaders and interested parties to make sure that I haven’t missed anything. Would this be similar to someone on a FIRST team asking another team member or mentor for a second opinion or backup check of whatever he is working on?
I don’t know how other authors work, but I find input and points of view from others in the development process highly valuable. They help me to make sure I don’t miss those small, but key things that make the scene or character more real. They can help me to know if I have descriptive enough, or overdone it to the point it becomes tedious.
How many FIRSTers have been saved from making an apparently small but eventually disastrous mistake by following the wise input of another team member?
Yes, a story or poem must be carefully engineered if it is to have the maximum impact intended by the creator.
Is this not like a piece of machinery that must be carefully engineered in order to reach it’s full potential or efficiency?