Two Important Warnings for Writers ~ False News & Toxic Advice

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Writers these days really do need all the help they can get; but then, writers always needed help—I’m sure Og in his cave, painting his stories by torch-light, needed help (and, I bet his wife actually came up with many of them...)

So, what’s the specific help our age makes necessary?

Well, folks who write but have no intention of publishing might be able to fulfill their needs by themselves; unless you consider that most any writer needs to have material; and, that could demand that they receive the help of various parts of the world and the humans in those parts of the world, to gather raw material for stories; even if only a bus ride to the park to watch the ducks on the pond…

And, when it comes to publishing, try these two links for some help:

Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing

And, writers who must publish could use the help in Jane Friedman‘s article Don’t Immediately Trust Mainstream Sites on Publishing Stories.

Here’s just the beginning of that article:

Over the last month, there have been a couple publishing stories receiving wide play across mainstream news sites such as The Guardian, Vox, Huffington Post, and others. While such outlets may be respectable and have the ability to get most stories right, in the publishing industry, two problems often come into play:

• A lack of understanding of industry statistics—and an inability to put them in their proper context
• Knee-jerk judgment regarding anything Amazon does

If you’re a writer, I do hope you go read the whole thing…

Jane has another article (guest posted by author Susan DeFreitas) that could well be much more important, for any writer: How to Spot Toxic Feedback: 7 Signs That the Writing Advice You’re Getting May Do More Harm Than Good.

The article is mostly about feedback in writing groups but it could certainly apply to other situations…

I’ll list her topic headings (with a smidgen of text to give a bit of explanation) and hope they help writers hurry over to the full article on Jane’s site.

1. Failure to Understand Your Intent

“…you should not share your work with people who are unaware of their own biases.”

2. Projection of Personal Issues

“Notice that someone in your workshop always wants to know more about ________.” (Susan gives a few examples…)

3. Inappropriately Personal Feedback

“In the creative writing workshop, we critique the work, not the author.”

4. Unprofessional Tone

“With an early draft, more often than not, the truth hurts. But there’s absolutely no reason it can’t be related in a professional and courteous manner.”

5. By the Book

“…as any experienced editor knows, the novel is far too interesting an art form to completely conform to any one system (especially one that’s taught in freshman comp).”

6. Not Thinking It Through

“…thinking through the multitude of ripple effects that any major change would entail and squaring them with the perceived intent of the book.”

7. Conflating the Problem with the Fix

“The bestselling fantasy author Neil Gaiman once said, ‘Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.’”

To any writers out there (from me):

Do, please, get at least three or four opinions about what you write (hopefully from writers and non-writers), unless you’re exceedingly brave or you have a ton of experience…
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Writing Advice Can Often Be Toxic to Writers . . .

I remember when “personal” computers were beginning to appear—when every kid on the block started to become an “expert”—when you could easily trash your shiny, new computer by listening to the wrong people… 

I also remember when publishing books became easier for an individual—when every creative-type started to become a book-guru—when you could easily ruin your tender, longing hopes by listening to the wrong people…

Computers have become a bit more robust.

Writing gurus are breeding like rabbits.

I’ve written 57 previous posts that all have something to do with writing advice (if you take that link, you’ll also find this post since I used the same tags…).

Many of those posts caution against certain types of writing advice—some offer what I consider good advice.

I’ll give a few examples of the kind of advice you might want to avoid; then, share a couple links that could, in my opinion, help…

There are many ways writing advice can be sincerely given yet still be potentially harmful.

The most common type to avoid (though, I’ve read many and still haven’t been corrupted) are the ones that have a number in the title (apparently, folks who don’t like to work hard to learn something are quite attracted to numbered lists and way too many bloggers share lists in hopes of generating more traffic… [I’ve committed this “sin” myself a few times]).

Here are three examples:

Janet Fitch’s 10 Rules for Writers

Kerouac’s 30 Rules for Writing

Improving Your Fiction: 246 Rules from 28 Modern Writers

If you actually read those articles, you may find many tips ( or, “rules” ) that indeed help you in your writing; however…

Learning to write by learning lists of “rules” can easily lead to stilted, contrived, or unnatural writing.

You can make a list of things to buy at the grocery store and make the effort to go there and get all the ingredients; but, they need to be combined properly—you must have a “grand plan” for your cooking to produce a great meal…

It’s laughingly ironic to me that my all-time favorite writer of novels, C. J. Cherryh, actually produced a list called Writerisms and other Sins.

Yet, the final tip in that list was NO RULE SHOULD BE FOLLOWED OFF A CLIFF.

Perhaps the best advice I could give to writers is, if you feel you must read lists of tips, please do yourself a huge favor and devour a story from an accomplished writer for every single tip you ingest…

And, if you just have to read a whole book of writing advice (and, you intend to write a novel), check out this article—Ever Wondered How An Author Actually Writes A Novel?

One last bit of writing advice:

Go read this article: How To Read Like A Writer.
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Just A Bit of Sane Writing Advice . . .

Some folks have absolutely no problem writing down their thoughts and feelings.

Image Courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/nicole_n

Some never have to struggle to organize their writing into flowing prose.

Most people, though, need a strong-minded Muse to unlock their creativity and encourage them as they perfect their expressiveness.

This post is the 42nd I’ve written about Writing Advice.

And, the post, The Very Best Way To Learn To Be A Writer?, helps you tap into all the writing advice on this blog.

Many of my posts have cautioned folks about the flood of data streaming on the ‘Net that’s actually poisonous and will absolutely block their efforts…

But the specific challenge for this post is how to stick with one’s writing—staying fluent—resisting the urge to quit.

Andrew DeYoung, writer, editor, and multimedia project manager, has written a post called, 8 Steps to Start a Writing Habit That Sticks, that’s quite sane…

He begins by saying:

“‘I wish I could find the time to write more.’

“I hear this all the time. Everyone I meet wishes they could write more, it seems: some would like to write a novel, while others just want to blog more consistently or keep a personal journal. But between jobs, friends, family, kids, and the constant distractions of everyday life, they just can’t find the time.”

He then goes on to reveal the steps he discovered that help him stick with it (I’ll only list the bare steps and encourage you to take the link to the post and read his sane approach):

1. Make writing a priority.

2. Really make writing a priority!

3. Figure out what motivates you to write.

4. Forget everything you’ve heard about what it really takes to be a writer.

5. Set a goal—but start small.

6. Think about writing throughout the day.

7. Build in feedback loops.

8. Take a break.

There are at least three steps there that the “Writing Advice Experts” would cringe at; yet, I’m a writer and find everything he says is practical and true…
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Should Writers Blog? ~ If They Do, What Are The “Rules” . . .

There are many reasons for writers to blog…

One was explored in my previous post, Blogging ~ Can It Really Fulfill The Writer’s Dictum: “Write Every Day!”?

As I pointed out in that post, the maverick in me had to punctuate that tile the way I did…

As far as “rules” for writers, you’ll see why I had to put that word in quotes if you read these two posts:

Rules for Writers Are Slippery and Shifty . . .

More On The “Rules” of Writing . . .

I’m going to leave the many other reasons for writers to blog to readers who are brave enough to share what they know in the Comments—I love challenging folks to comment—once they learn it doesn’t hurt, they actually like it… :-)

Thanks to Kristi Hines from Kikolani.com and to her guest poster, Steve Aedy, I can share some “rules” for writers-in-general from some relatively well-known other writers.

The article Writing Tips of Famous Authors you can use now for Blogging has various “rules” for writers; then, Steve translates them into rules for bloggers.

I’m only going to put the “rules” from other writers here because so many writers don’t seem to have the time to blog…

If you are or want to be a blogging writer, just take that article’s link to read the bloggy stuff :-)

Some “Rules”:

“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading…thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them.” – Elmore Leonard

“Don’t wish ill on your colleagues.” – Richard Ford

“Try to be accurate about stuff.” – Anne Enright

“Never complain of being misunderstood. You can choose to be understood, or you can choose not to.” – Neil Gaiman

“Hold the reader’s attention. This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.” – Margaret Atwood

“You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you’re on your own. Nobody is making you do this; you choose it, so don’t whine.” – Margaret Atwood

“Remember you love writing. It wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.” – PD James

“Do it every day. Make a habit of putting your observations into words and gradually this will become instinct.” – Geoff Dyer

“Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.” – Neil Gaiman

“Don’t just plan to write – write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.” – PD James

“Don’t write in public places.” – Geoff Dyer

“Find your best time of the day for writing and write. Don’t let anything else interfere. Afterwards, it won’t matter to you that the kitchen is a mess.” – Ester Freud

“Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.” – Zadie Smith

“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” – Zadie Smith

So…

Even though I’m a writer and I blog 5 days a week, I don’t “write” every day—unless you count the larger Writing Process in my head as “writing”—which I do count—and, there are a few more of those “rules” that I can’t abide :-)

Sure hope some of you are brave enough to comment………
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