On Saturday, I got the chance to hear novelist Stephen Hunter talk at the Bristol Public Library. Hunter writes action-adventure/thriller types books about a sniper named Bob Lee Swagger, among other colorful characters.

I always like to go and hear authors talk just because everybody has different inspirations and different processes. It’s always good to listen to a different point of view. And Hunter was very funny, which always helps. I loved the way he described one of his books — as being full of meetings and gun fights. Who doesn’t love a good gun fight? 😉

One of the most interesting things Hunter talked about were the skills that a writer needs. He talked about how writers need to be able to work with words, to avoid cliches, and to know what words will make a sentence sing — without putting too many words in it and having it fall flat. He also talked about how writers need to be able to see the big picture — how every scene falls in with the overall flow and the story arc(s) of the book.

These are things that I’m thinking about more and more these days. Is a scene necessary? Does it advance the story the way that I want it to? Is crucial information revealed? Does it pack an emotional punch?

I don’t necessarily think that every sentence in a book needs to be a great one. Because, let’s face it, that’s just not going to happen. If you want realistic dialogue, you’re going to have to write some ordinary sentences because that’s just how people talk – “Okay,” he said. “I’ll call her right now.” Not the most interesting sentence, but it is what someone might say in a given situation — and it does advance the action.

But I do think that every overall scene needs to be important and advance the story. It’s kind of like juggling, I suppose. You start out with all these balls in the air, then, one by one, you decide which ones to keep in your act and which ones to throw away.

Anyway, those are my deep thoughts for Monday. Enjoy the rest of your day!