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so much writing advice is so bad. vague generalizations that are not actionable - or will turn you into a worse writer, or assume that the same thing works for every person.
I think this might be because the people who write 'how to write' lists are not actually writers
I think this might be because the people who write 'how to write' lists are not actually writers
let me debunk the top, say, 5
'write every day'
not everyone works that way creatively. some people benefit from a daily approach, others wander off for a while then come back and do 50,000 words in 2 days. shackling yourself to the wrong approach makes you hate writing
'write every day'
not everyone works that way creatively. some people benefit from a daily approach, others wander off for a while then come back and do 50,000 words in 2 days. shackling yourself to the wrong approach makes you hate writing
what 'write every day' should be is find your method and have the discipline to stick to it - or it could be 'learn every day,' whether it's banging on ideas or just living your life - burning your casserole is valuable research too.
'write what you know!' true but often explained badly. No one wants to read about being an actuarial scientist, but your daily frustration with data not matching up with the irrational sensibilities of the human mindset is an interesting thing to explore
'write what you know!' should be 'mine your life for details, then add your own creativity in order to create fiction.'
'write drunk, edit sober'
okay this one is actually fully true, because it's advising you to bypass your desire to create perfection in the first draft.
but it's incomplete, because it doesn't give actionable advice on how to achieve it.
okay this one is actually fully true, because it's advising you to bypass your desire to create perfection in the first draft.
but it's incomplete, because it doesn't give actionable advice on how to achieve it.
techniques that have worked for me or people I know:
a word processor that deletes your words if you don't type in it for X seconds.
writing everything as 'notes and outlines' until suddenly you have 200,000 words of notes and outlines.
a word processor that deletes your words if you don't type in it for X seconds.
writing everything as 'notes and outlines' until suddenly you have 200,000 words of notes and outlines.
keep a book or document and write down every idea you have. then mine it for stories. join up the good ideas, merge weak ones into idea voltrons.
talk about your story problems out loud to a friend or a stuffed animal sitting on your desk.
talk about your story problems out loud to a friend or a stuffed animal sitting on your desk.
'read every book you can!'
yeee-ess... as long as you know what you're reading is actually good. Also useless advice for film or tv writers or stage writers - they should be analysing their mediums and reading scripts. Also you cannot just read, you must analyze.
yeee-ess... as long as you know what you're reading is actually good. Also useless advice for film or tv writers or stage writers - they should be analysing their mediums and reading scripts. Also you cannot just read, you must analyze.
take a thing you love and break it into its component parts and find out how the things link up. Read essays written about that thing. Find youtube videos. just absorb it all.
'always know your ending'
A good ending should be both surprising and inevitable, in that it is the only way the story could possibly have travelled but yet you had no idea it was coming.
you can only achieve this, generally speaking, once you've written the rest of the story.
A good ending should be both surprising and inevitable, in that it is the only way the story could possibly have travelled but yet you had no idea it was coming.
you can only achieve this, generally speaking, once you've written the rest of the story.
you can have an idea for an ending in mind and write towards it but the problem then is you might start writing in service of your ending rather than in service of your story. 'I knew exactly how it would end' often means the ending will suck, just like most first ideas.
bonus one: 'Trust your instincts, they will lead you to good places'
trust your *second* instincts. the very first idea is the obvious one (the butler did it!) the second idea, the one that comes up afterwards, (...framed by the maid!) is often the one that has legs.
trust your *second* instincts. the very first idea is the obvious one (the butler did it!) the second idea, the one that comes up afterwards, (...framed by the maid!) is often the one that has legs.
also, since your audience knows about first ideas, you can mislead them (oh come on, it's so obviously NOT the butler... wait! IS IT?! FUCK!)
anyway i am a writing teacher and have been for a decade, sooooo if you want some classes hit me up, seriously.
if you'd like to toss a coin to your writer for anything you've learned: http://ko-fi.com/ithayla
