Thursday, October 7, 2010

Quote Thursday with K.M. Weiland

 The first thing I do when I hit a speed bump in a story is to start asking questions. The reporter’s old standby “5 W’s” (Who, What, Where, Why, When) come in plenty handy for novelists too, particularly “Why?” and “What if?” Keep asking long enough, and, eventually, you’ll find the answers.

                                     ~K.M. Weiland


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K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, workshops, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

Find her at her website and blog.

10 comments:

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

I grew up with those questions. Yet I did not think of them when I was stuck. A "duh" moment for sure! Thanks for the reminder.
Mary

Carolyn V. said...

That is great advice! I'll have to remember them.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Ooo! I'm commenting, I'm commenting!!

Jen said...

"What if" is a dangerous question. In a good way! It helps the plot along...and helps plot MORE story ideas!

Jen

Tere Kirkland said...

This is good timing since I'm struggling my way through a WiP right now.

Thanks!

RED~Scribe said...

I agree with Mary. Too often we writers get stuck for reasons that are actually quite silly if we stop and think about it for a moment. This is going in my list of quotes for certain.

Pattie said...

Recently I've been asking myself a lot of "what if"s and "why"s. But is seems like the more I get into it the more questions pop up! Will it ever end?! ^_^

Melissa said...

This is great. I needed this advice. Thanks.

Sara Louise said...

Answering the 5W's can help out with a load of different jams :-)

Unknown said...

In the CD, I quote Sue Grafton, who had the following bit of marvelously pertinent wisdom: "If you know the questions, you know the answers." So, as authors, the best favor we can do for ourselves is to never stop asking questions.