Questions: the end. by Bill Kirton
This is the last segment of this simplified look at the usefulness of questions for a writer. Previously, we considered the value of who and where , then what and how in developing characters, situations and exploiting the interactions that necessarily arise from them. In fact, it seemed that just the four of them generated so many sub-questions that plots were already thick enough. However, when you add 'when' and, perhaps the most important of the lot, 'why', you uncover possibilities and variations which can take narratives in some unexpected directions. When? Yes, but it'll be a lot clearer when I get a marker pen. On the surface, ‘when’ is relatively easy. Your choice of epoch can suit your strengths and/or overcome your weaknesses. If your grasp of quantum mechanics is a bit sketchy, put your characters in a space ship launched by a civilisation so advanced that all its machines, including the computers that drive them, run on minimal amounts of...