Shared Worlds / Single Vision: Applied Imagination
(Click here for a full record of John Coulthart's book design work; all images in this post copyright to John Coulthart.)Now that I've had a little time to come up for air from projects and traveling, I wanted to go into a little more detail about Shared Worlds/Single Vision, the book on writing I've sold to Abrams Image and my editor there, Caitlin Kenney.First off, the book will be designed by John Coulthart, who I think is a genius, and who has designed covers and/or interiors for previous books of mine like Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer
It will also feature over 100 full-color illustrations, paintings, and other images, about 70 percent of it provided by John and the rest by a variety of creators. Abrams is exhibiting a humbling amount of trust in both John and myself in letting us work together directly to create the look-and-feel, but it's also very important to the final product to do so. The images are not just going to be eye candy, but fully integrated into the narrative for the most part---in some areas will replace narrative.One simple example, without giving too much away, would be that our approach to exemplifying certain kinds of plot structures will not take the form of simple line drawings, as found in other writing books. But there will also be much more intricate ways in which image supports text and vice versa, as well. And, in the exercises section, the use of full-page paintings and photographs will help to show in concrete terms different approaches to writing imaginative fiction.
With regards to the text in general, I will be interested in making clear areas where writers of non-realistic fiction may require different approaches or patterns of thought and also what areas share commonalities with the writing of any kind of fiction. I am also interested in applying the idea of negation---which is to say, for any given "problem" in fiction there are usually multiple solutions and it is not useful to provide single or binary ideas on most subjects. In the section of the book on world-building, negation will play a huge role, for example, given that there are so many different thoughts on this subject, most all of them legitimate in a certain context. (Some of the larger sections or chapters will include beginnings, writing, rewriting, the bleeding edge, and writing exercises.)
Throughout, the approach will emphasize the importance of both playfulness and pragmatism, so that Shared Worlds/Single Vision can energize and motivate while also containing the practical, nuts-and-bolts information needed to improve as a writer. I will lso deconstruct and dissect certain aspects of my own work to demonstrate key concepts.
Aimed at creatives at the aspiring and intermediate levels, with some more advanced content, Shared Worlds/Single Vision will also include a comprehensive appendix of resources, as well as a section on the Shared Worlds teen writing camp (although the book is not specifically for teens, some of the camp's processes are of use to all writers).
Finally, the book will also feature sidebar essays by the following, or exclusive interviews (as noted):---Iconic fantasist Neil Gaiman
