It varies. Some novels begin with a scrap of language – for instance, “This is true,” the first sentence of “How to Tell a True War Story.” When I wrote that, I knew nothing at all about what would become the content of the story, or plot or character or theme, not a glimmer of a story line. I simply found myself tantalized by language itself, that flat declaration: “This is true.” Instantly, I wondered what is true?
CTO By Day, Science Fiction writer other parts of the day. The stuff I write and find interesting lives here.
Christopher Hazlett 