I love listening to the News from Lake Wobegon.
I'm trying to break it down and analyze it and the more I do the more I find it so difficult to put a finger on it. On the surface it sounds seems so simple but so complex at the same time.
I want to write my own version of this. How would I go about it?
1. Create a fictional town - I'm assuming maps, buildings/businesses etc
2. Create rich quirky characters?
3. Let life happen?
Would you come up with a daily routine for each character?
Isn't NFLW nothing but slice of life/vignettes?
Any Help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Do you need all that to start writing it? If so that is fine, but if not why bother? And why do they need to be rich?
The News from Lake Wobegon is informed by and dependent on culture (Scandinavian), religion (Christianity), and small moments of humanity which build into a coherent whole. Garrison Keillor didn't wake up one day and create the entire world. He had a starting point of having grown up with the group he's writing about and has added to it piece by piece. While it's possible to research it, it's better if you have a base of knowledge already.
Dwayne, I think the poster is referring to "rich" as in complexity, not "rich" as in wealth. Also, some writers do indeed need to plan and world-build first. Others wing it. Different approaches for different people. There isn't one right way.
Yeah, but lots of people DON'T and they do it anyway, which is why I asked if he needs it instead of telling him he didn't.
How does you asking him this answer the poster's question? I think he knows what kind of writer he is. His post had to do with the nuances involved in writing something similar to Lake Wobegon.
If me asking some clarification questions to make sure he thought of some stuff people often miss, stop reading. You disagreed, I explained why you are wrong, isn't much else to say.
With public posts you should expect that someone might question or disagrees it's them. I think we're both big enough to defend our respective positions.
