Nisaa (she/her)

#ScribesAndMakers 14 #TTMD featured creator Steve Degroof @degroof

Hi. I've just finished the short story "Dandelion Seeds" and enjoyed it. How long did you spend writing each of the short stories that started with the first line on Twitter? I mean, once you had the first line, did each story come to you quickly? Do you still use the "first draft is good enough" writing technique?

Mar 14 at 4:22pmWeb
Show threadSteve DeGroof 📚🛸Mar 14

@Nisaa #ScribesAndMakers Mar 14: I've just finished the short story "Dandelion Seeds" and enjoyed it. How long did you spend writing each of the short stories that started with the first line on Twitter? I mean, once you had the first line, did each story come to you quickly? Do you still use the "first draft is good enough" writing technique?

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the story.

Let's see... It was probably late-January when I started writing the stories, ...

1/4

Show threadSteve DeGroof 📚🛸Mar 14

@Nisaa

...and it looks like I completed them all by the end of March. So, it was probably about four days on average, with the longer stories taking more time. So, yeah, the stories just sort of flowed out from the first line.

I think one of the advantages with that first book was that I didn't intend on publishing any of those stories. It's a cruel irony that you can create something with more ease if you don't give a crap about it.

2/4

Show threadSteve DeGroof 📚🛸Mar 14

@Nisaa

These days, due to having greater emotional stake, I take much more care in what I write. And that means I'm much less productive. I've gone from "just scribble down any old rubbish" to "I must find le mot juste". Well, not quite that bad, but you get the picture.

In retrospect, I think the third collection "Scatter Plot" hit the sweet spot between not caring at all and caring too much, resulting in a nice balance of quality and productivity.

3/4

Show threadSteve DeGroof 📚🛸Mar 14

@Nisaa

I really need to recapture that mindset, and get through my backlog of 50+ story ideas.

4/4

Show threadNisaa (she/her)Mar 14

@degroof : "It's a cruel irony that you can create something with more ease if you don't give a crap about it."
It's true. I find that with photography.

Thanks for your thoughtful replies to my questions. I look forward to finishing the rest of the "Dandelion Seeds" collection and I'll get "Scatter Plot" next.