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Advice You Would Give To Aspiring Writers,

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TiggersAreGreat Since: Mar, 2011
#1: Jul 27th 2012 at 2:57:48 PM

As You Know, there are a lot of people out there who consider themselves writers, or want to be. Some of them go through a trial-and-error process to become good at it. Others can apparently do it without even trying. Still, there are pieces of advice that I'm sure we would love to share with them.

For me, my advice to aspiring writers is this: resist the temptation to put too much of yourself into a given story. This means avoiding tropes like Mary Sue, Author Tract, Author Filibuster, Writer on Board, and other tropes like these. Remember, readers want to be entertained with a story. They could not be less interested in your opinions and views, and you will irritate them if you send the message that It's All About Me.

Here's some examples of what I mean:

  • Nora Roberts is a good writer, no question. However, she feels a need to sing praises of Ireland to the point of alleluias in many of her stories, as well as make a number of her main characters Irish. Also, in the In Death series, she had a couple instances of preaching against guns, which she probably should have wrote in an essay instead.
  • Michael Crichton had written some successful stories, but he insisted on making his stories into his tracts and filibusters. Rising Sun had Crichton turn a murder investigation into one long filibuster against the Japanese, because he believed in Japan Takes Over the World. Too bad for him that didn't happen, and people looking back at this story would see MC as a xenophobic, American jingoist indulging himself in attitudes that are Japanophobic at best and racist at worst.
  • Fern Michaels has written stories where she put too much of herself into it. She has a main character modelled after herself, which is an old Southern woman living in a big house with a lot of dogs, and a ghost that supposedly haunts the place. She has loads of anti-Asian sentiment in her stories, and seems to display xenophobic, American jingoism at times.

Like I said, putting too much of yourself into stories is a bad idea. If you must give in to the temptation, why not post up fanfics where you freely indulge yourself in those tropes? Maybe you'll get lucky and readers will take a So Bad, It's Good view to such stories!

Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!
Aondeug Oh My from Our Dreams Since: Jun, 2009
Oh My
#2: Jul 27th 2012 at 7:45:17 PM

Writer's block has a cure.

It is the Pick Up The Pen And Fucking Write method. I am getting this patented.

You can edit later. For now just shut up and write. And yes when you start out you will write shit. In fact most of what you will write is shit. What is "good" you may think is shit even! I prescribe Pick Up The Pen And Fucking Write for this as well.

Away from that. Your story is NOT just a list of tropes you like. Don't go through tropes like a shopping list. It's the artful use and combination of these tropes that means something. You can have all the most awesome components ever and still have a piece of shit. Likewise you can have an idea you think is fucking ass and have it not be ass through the power of writing.

Tone. Tone is your lover and learning to use her is very important. Your tone varies depending on what you write and yes tone is a thing in written word. Compare your math text book to Memoirs of a Geisha to The Iliad to Starship Troopers. The big differences in how they come off are matters of tone. Sentence structure, word usage, and point of view go into this.

LEARN TO READ LIKE A WRITER. Don't just copy shit wholesale, but examine what various authors are doing. Really look at their text and see what things work and what things don't and how they came about those results. In the end you'll have your own style, but looking at other authors and what they do is a big help. So long as you aren't just mindlessly ripping shit off, but sitting down and thinking this out.

edited 27th Jul '12 7:46:15 PM by Aondeug

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Dudeacus97 from United States Since: May, 2012
#3: Jul 27th 2012 at 8:06:31 PM

I had an idea for a book, can I post the basic idea to see if it's too much of an Author Tract?

Deboss I see the Awesomeness. from Awesomeville Texas Since: Aug, 2009
I see the Awesomeness.
#4: Jul 27th 2012 at 8:20:09 PM

For me, my advice to aspiring writers is this: resist the temptation to put too much of yourself into a given story. This means avoiding tropes like Mary Sue, Author Tract, Author Filibuster, Writer on Board, and other tropes like these. Remember, readers want to be entertained with a story. They could not be less interested in your opinions and views, and you will irritate them if you send the message that It's All About Me.

This is a big one. Another one would probably be to focus on what you like writing and find out how that audience reacts. While you can find useful stuff in other genres, not all aspects cross over and be aware that someone that dislikes the genre you prefer to write in likely has no useful advice for improving.

Fight smart, not fair.
sargecadet Since: Mar, 2012
#5: Jul 27th 2012 at 10:22:08 PM

As far as the author tract thing goes, I try my best to occasionally lean back in my chair, take my hands off the keyboard, and ask myself, "Is the character saying this or am I?"

I don't really know what else to do besides that. Another thing I try to do to avoid putting my personal opinion into stuff is to avoid making my main character the same religion as me. And I try to avoid politics all together.

edited 27th Jul '12 10:22:24 PM by sargecadet

TiggersAreGreat Since: Mar, 2011
#6: Jul 29th 2012 at 10:51:06 AM

Here's another piece of advice that I can tell from observing other people's work: if you ever find yourself experiencing a Creator Breakdown, you must decide how you want to handle it. Do you want to keep writing and hope your best work comes out from it? Do you want to stop before you end up ruining your work with it?

Consider the cases of Anita Blake, Cerebus The Aardvark, and For Better Or For Worse. All three of their creators went through a CB, and divorce was a big factor, if not the factor, of this. All three works suffered and have been ruined as a result.

CB isn't necessarily a death sentence, but it needs to be handled with care if it happens to you!

Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!
ithinkabouttrees Carrier of Pigeons from A dark and damp place Since: Oct, 2010
Carrier of Pigeons
#7: Aug 1st 2012 at 4:18:17 PM

Everything you write when you start out is shitty. Talent comes with practice and age.

ADHD? Bitch please, those are battle instincts!
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#8: Aug 2nd 2012 at 4:58:00 AM

Since I've still not managed to get published (except for winning or placing in a couple of competitions), I think aspiring writers are probably better off avoiding my advice. smile

OK, one thing: write the story you want to read. If you try to pander to other people's tastes, you may not please anyone. This way, at least one person will like it.

Durazno Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#9: Aug 2nd 2012 at 12:29:18 PM

[up][up]Also, as your skills improve, there will probably be times that your ability to discern good writing from bad will outpace your ability to produce good writing. Don't get discouraged if you find you suddenly can't stand your own prose! Figure out what's bothering you if you can, but above all, don't stop writing.

sargecadet Since: Mar, 2012
#10: Aug 2nd 2012 at 8:27:46 PM

[up][up]I like that advicesmile I agree. I'm writing two things at the moment: a fan-fic and a novel, both of them in entirely different styles and both a little ridiculous but I'm writing them that way I want and I'm enjoying it.

dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#11: Aug 3rd 2012 at 10:49:13 AM

I have only one thing to say.

Read. A lot.

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#12: Aug 4th 2012 at 8:34:40 PM

I'm locking this since we already have a whole subforum, "Writer's Block", for this kind of thing.

A brighter future for a darker age.
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