Currently reading Ben Bova

"The Silent War" by Ben Bova (2004).

When my creative writing tutors told me about developing your own writing style I didn't really understand what they meant. Now that I am reading Ben Bova, I finally understand.

Ben does two very distinct things with his characters. He describes appearance and thoughts.

He describes the appearance of his main characters. This is obviously necessary to give the characters life. Some do it better than others. Ben does it in a way that looks as though it was drilled into him by a writing school many decades ago. His 'flat character' only get a succinct background briefing, which is just enough to justify their existence and in the end they compliment the story telling process surprisingly well. Examples are Yanni Ritos, the Greek communications officer who is on duty at the Chrysallis habitat in the Asteroid belt when the merciless Harbin unleashes his ruthless massacre. The other is the nameless crew of the Ore Carrier Starlight, with their recently born and first grandchild, who get destroyed in an accident of mistaken intent.

The other things Ben does, which takes some getting used to, is deliver the thoughts of the main characters in narration form. At first it felt a bit contrived to me but later I discovered that it accelerated my understanding of the character, their motives and their world view. I'm not convinced I like the technique, but I will admit it was effective.

So once again, King's advice to read as much as you can is proving to be invaluable in learning more about the art of writing.