I use ProWritingAid when I draft my stories. It’s an essential piece of software for authors and has a dedicated and expansive online following. The team behind it not only offers responsive technical support but provides many educational resources for aspiring writers.
For example, the company provides an academy and holds an annual writer’s week. During this week, they provide free webinars and networking events that focus on a particular genre. One of my favourite activities is the Featured Author talks.
Authors contribute to the week by coming onto webinars where they set out how and why they write what they write, and answer questions from eager young writers and fans.
My favourite author interview this year has to be Andy Weir.
The Martian is one of my all-time favourite stories, and it was interesting to hear Andy describe how it became popular through the power of social media before being picked up by a major publisher.
Despite the Martian ‘rocketing’ to success, he came across as a very down-to-earth guy who just loved to write.
As Andy laughed and joked about his path to success, several things surprised me. I found his approach to research mirrored my own. I like to manufacture a story that is as believable as possible, and as long as it is internally consistent — that’s the important bit — I won’t let real science stand in the way of the story.
Andy gave an example of how the Martian ferocious storm that left Mark Watney stranded on Mars couldn’t have happened in reality, but it made a great opening scene. Though he went through some alternatives, such as Martian lightning, I think he made the right choice; as Slartibartfast would say, “I’d rather be happy than be right any day.”
Another surprise (or was it a surprise, really?) was that, like three other Sci-Fi authors featured during the week, Andy shared a technical background, not unlike my own.
Would all these coincidences rub off on me and my writing? I doubt it. I think it’s all about having a spark of an idea and putting in the work to make it something readers want.
It turned out that readers didn’t want to read Andy’s follow-up novel so much, but he explained that he thought this was because he had created a protagonist that wasn’t wholly likeable. It was an interesting idea that I believe can adversely impact your story. Having not read the book (Artemis) I couldn’t comment on whether or not I agree with Andy’s assessment of his lead character. I would say, however, that there have been at least a couple of stories where I have taken an instant dislike to the lead character and just abandoned the book.
Andy’s next story looks as though it will see him back to being a best seller. ‘Project Hail Mary’, is already popular with readers and is set to be a movie starring Ryan Gosling.
Even more important, though, I’ve put this book on my reading list.
The Seven Systems 