Stories That Matter (Tor)

[Steerpike]

A series of posts about world-building and creating memorable worlds in fiction, film, &c is just starting over at Tor.com. The first post is basically an introductory one, but the series might well be worthwhile:

Stories That Matter: Introducing "Story Worlds" | Tor.com

 

[skip.knox]

My post isn't about stories that matter but about blogs that matter. Thanks, Steerpike, for the reference. I read the essay. It wasn't really about worlds that matter, it was only a personal reminiscence, as an introduction. I thought, okay, you didn't tell me much, but you promised something.

Then I looked at the date. July 31. Today's August 22, and no new essay. I left and didn't bother to bookmark.

Only after I closed it out did I reflect on my behavior. It was just a quick reaction; I wasn't following some sort of personal rule about following blogs, but I bet I'm typical. If you're going to introduce something, you'd better follow through. I'm guessing most of us have a blog of some sort.

I'm taking this as a personal guideline now. When I start my Altearth blog, which I'll begin in late October, I need to make sure that there's a new post at least every week. If I go longer, then the one post needs to make a promise about a specific date, and then I need to keep that promise. I need to treat my readers' time as being at least as valuable as my own.

I suppose that can apply to stories as well. If I promise (implicitly) something in one scene, I need to deliver. If I keep my literary promises, my reader will keep reading. Maybe all the way to the end!