Today is “Talk Among Yourselves Day.” I want to hear from you.
The question I have is: What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
It doesn’t matter if you’re published, pre-published or simply the town eccentric — what is it that someone told you, or that you read, which has served (and is serving) you well as a writer?
I get asked this question a lot, and my own answer as been pretty consistent over the years. I’ll share that with you later in the day, in the comments, so for now let’s get the conversation going.
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
This came from my first editor: “Don’t let being a writer get in the way of writing.” At5 the time, I was enthralled with my new status as an author, and I was doing a lot of publicity, writers conferences, etc., and I was falling behind on my next manuscript. He used Truman Capote as the poster child for the flip side of this advice. He became a gadfly, a caracature of himself–and he stopped writing.
By extrapolation, I also take this to mean, in the context of writers who are not yet published, that only writing is writing. Talking about writing, reading about writing, even writing about writing is not writing.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
Write.
There is much great advice out there but it can be debatable when it comes to degrees of involvement, ie. yes, it’s nice to read plenty of books in your genre, yes it’s nice to read craft books–but there can be too much of a good thing.
However I’ve never lost traction (and usually always gain ground) by parking myself in my chair and writing my own stuff.
Butt in chair. Fingers on keyboard. Shut up and write.
Besides the obvious “write”? 🙂
Learn story structure. I’m currently reading a book on story structure and I’m finding it much easier to plot the books I’ve been dawdling over.
🙂
I’m very analytical. My tendency is to research things like story structure, strong verbs and dialog tags. The best advice I ever got was to save the analysis for the revision and not to worry about it in the first (or zeroth) draft.
I guess it’s a customized version of “just write”. My entire crit group reminds me of it often.
Best advice so far: The average reader must be considered a genius with the attention span of a two-year-old.
John, that’s so true. There is a certain “thing” about being a “writer” that people can become attached to. Especially after that first book comes out and they’re in a whirl, as you were. The quote from your editor is solid.
BK and Lori, you both emphasize that non-negotiable, write, which is the bottom line (as in bottom on chair). Right on.
I have a friend who’s a writer that would often tell me something along the lines of what John Gilstrap said. He would also say: “those who live out of literature are not writers”, meaning those who spend most their time at conferences, giving interviews and taking part in events couldn’t possibly find time to write well.
Sure he was (well, he still is, every day I meet him) a bit exagerated, but sure is something to think about. When I get anxious about the fact I’m not making myself known in these sort of events I calm down thinking at least I’m writing…
Kari, I too have heard there’s a terrific book out there on plot & structure. Maybe I even have it on my shelf.
Your larger point is excellent. Structure must be learned. It has to be, sooner or later, so why not make it sooner? Doing so frees you, and allows your imagination to be poured into something readers can relate to. That’s what sells books.
Another thing that might sound strange was when another writer, after reading the manuscript to what would be my first published novel, told me to get rid of those adverbs and adjectives that didn’t do much for the story.
Before that, another writer friend (reading the manuscript to what would be my first piece of cr*p hidden in the bottom drawer) had told me to avoid writing things like “he didn’t reply” or “he wasn’t in a good mood”. There was no reason to write anything for something that didn’t happen, and it was always best to write things in an affirmative manner: “he was in a bad mood”. More impact and all…
These things might sound unimportant and small, but it were the first times I heard these sort of things, and adverbs and adjectives apart, it made me start thinking more carefully about the choice of words, and how to write things in a more objective manner, and discard what was unnecessary.
It was something I had to hear from someone, and it sure changed my writing 🙂
Joe, I love that advice. It’s pithy and priceless. There are so many things competing for attention these days. We better dang well hook the readers right away and keep them hooked.
Which, I must add, does not mean chases, fights and guns every four pages. Emotional intensity is a hook, too, that crosses every genre.
Great advice there, Olivia. Those “little things” DO add up, and the cumulative effect can hurt a manuscript. Especially the pesky adverbs.
Your point about negatives intrigues me. For example, I have seen the following (and probably have used it myself):
He said nothing.
When I see that in fiction, I know what’s being conveyed. It doesn’t bother me. As I analyze it, though, it does seem oxymoronic, doesn’t it?
What do others think about that particular attribution?
James,
maybe there are reasons to use that sometimes. Sounds like there is an impact to it, but now it bugs me 😉
The point is: why write that “nothing happened” when you can write what did happen? If “he said nothing”, what did he do?
Though I’m curious to know what others think of it 🙂
He said nothing. Wouldn’t it have to do with the scene? It could be a very intense scene where there has been an outburst and a lot could be said in anger. The character realizes nothing would be served by an additional outburst and so saying nothing is a strong action.
Best advice: Never underestimate your reader.
I’m at Malice Domestic and Mary Higgins Clark gave some great advice – “Some books have to wait their turn”. I thought that was cool.
Maribeth: I do like that. Give readers their due, and don’t talk down to them. Entertain them without “cheating” (but like Joe said, recognize that attention spans are truly challenged these days).
Clare, Ms. Clark knows whereof she speaks, especially of books that are based on an intense personal experience. We need some distance.
BTW, the admonition to “write” reminds me of Robert Heinlein’s two rules for writers:
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
The best advice I’ve been given is to shut off the internal editor while writing the first draft. Very hard for me to do for some reason, but I’m practicing that now and able to produce more words in a writing session. I wish that’s something I would have practiced more of over the years.
Jill, that’s absolutely one of the best pieces of advice out there. Writers can practice this, by doing “morning pages” where they write for five minutes straight without stopping. It’s well worth the effort.
Stay true to the story. For me, that’s a corollary to ‘don’t write by committee.’
Advice and critique are important, but not if they alter the voice of the writer beyond recognition.
LJ, that’s excellent. There’s a point at which the heart gets ripped out of a story, and the writer should never cross that point.
These comments are great. A mini-course for writers already.
Beyond the discipline of the usual “butt in chair” was “find what works for you and stick with it.” For me, this ended up being the fact that I have to plot out the entire book before I begin writing. If I don’t do that, I tend to wander off track, start thinking other book ideas might be better to work on, etc. I need that roadmap to keep me on task.
Find a good critique group and heed their advice, but remember it’s your book.
Besides the advice to write every day and stop using adverbs to prop up weak verbs, the best writing advice I received was to write what I love to read. Because I wasn’t forcing something that didn’t captivate me, I discovered my writer’s voice this way. You are your story’s first reader.
When I got The Call from my editor, she told me my love for the genre was obvious, because that passion came out in my story.
~Laurie
RE: “He said nothing”–interesting point. But reading that in print doesn’t bother me–unless the writing that surrounds it isn’t up to snuff. Since we don’t have the advantage of a movie or TV screen except what’s in our head, when I think of a moment of silence, especially in our noise driven world, that’s powerful.
It would also be powerful emotionally especially if the person “saying nothing” is irking the listener. Hmm…
Great post Jimmy, as usual.
Gene Weingarten, who was at TROPIC Magazine before he went to the Washington Post (and won a Pulitzer this last year) was sort of a mentor for me. I did several features for TROPIC and he told me that I really should concentrate on fiction and he was sure I’d do well at it. Gene was and is still an amazing talent, one of the funniest men alive, and a truly generous individual. Working with him was a pleasure for me, but I’m not so sure it always was for him.
“Accuracy lends credibility”. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing something completely fantastic – be accurate. If you say something can or can’t happen in your world, and it does or doesn’t, justify that, and don’t contradict yourself. Be accurate and do your research, because somewhere, someone will notice you being lazy.
BK, James, Maribeth:
I agree that “he said nothing” can be powerful, but there’s one thing: if someone DOESN’T do something, he could be doing a whole lot of other things. If, instead, “he stared” or “he looked down” or maybe “he looked away and crossed his arms”, there’s chance for you to actually give the reader something, instead of nothing.
(Am I making sense or just being annoying ;))
JD, you are of the fellowship of outliners, and they are a loyal bunch. The “seat of the pantsers” are also tribal. Yet both produce good books. Go figure.
Mike, you strike a good balance, as has been mentioned in other comments. It’s good to get feedback, from people who you trust; but keep the heart of the book beating strong.
Man, the hits just keep on coming. Laurie, that’s also great advice. Don’t follow markets in a vain attempt to make money. It’ll be evident in the book. Write what you love to read. Excellent.
I particular like Gilstrap and Moore’s rules (which oughta be laws, like Gilstrap’s Law and Moore’s Law–think that’s been taken).
Anyway, my best advice was “think more, write less.” Meaning, I could save a lot of time by thinking about what the hell I was planning on writing about before I started writing it. I think it was a former agent’s advice to me to spend more time on the projects and make sure they were ready before turning them in and starting in on the next.
John, to have a wise mentor early on is priceless. Sounds like you had one.
I never had a personal mentor, but I read Lawrence Block’s fiction column in Writer’s Digest religiously. I still have binders full of those issues. He was inspirational to me to an amazing degree (when I got to do that same column years later, I felt like Joshua taking the torch from Moses).
Dina, another fabulous point. Details make a difference. I remember reading a historical once, about early Hollywood, only it had a thriving film business starting about ten years too early. Never finished the book.
Olivia, no, you’re not being annoying. I think you have a point here. There’s a powerful beat in Hemingway’s classic short story “Soldier’s Home,” where the returning soldier is being harangued by his mother at breakfast. Hemingway was a master at using silences, and instead of He said nothing Hemingway writes, He looked at the bacon fat hardening on his plate. In another great story, “Hills Like White Elephants” he has a young woman being pressured by the man to have an abortion, and several silent beats, like when she reaches for the bead curtain and touches two beads (the symbolism is powerful and obvious)
Rendering such beats is a great opportunity for the writer to deepen the moment. Your overall point is well taken, Olivia.
Mark, excellent. Planning ahead and strategizing are essential. The agent might have been thinking of the old advice, “Don’t send it out too soon.”
Of course, the opposite is true, too, that you can “workshop” something to death and never send it out.
I’d be curious to know what you use as a “barometer” to tell you something is ready to submit.
You can talk about writing, call yourself a writer, but if you don’t WRITE you’re not a writer. A writer writes.
“He said nothing,” has me curious. I think I used that just the other day. Better go back and check the context.
All of this has been great. Thanks, Jim.
I once had a man come into my bar and open up a manuscript he was editing. I was thrilled to see a writer and even more thrilled when he began offering advice. However, in the course of our discussion he told me that if I were going to have a “bad guy” in my novel, he should be completely, 100% evil, because I wouldn’t want my readers to get confused and like him. Apparently he was unfamiliar with the concept of a sympathetic antagonist or 3-dimensional characters.
This taught me that you really have to take everything other people tell you with a grain of salt, no matter what you think their credentials are.
Thanks for stopping by, Peggy. This combox is turning into a great mini workshop on writing. Love it.
Shannon, that is about the worst advice on villains one could ever give. As to taking what people say with a grain of salt, that applies across the board. Listen to people who have earned trust and have cred, but also check the advice out and confirm it in your own experience.
Since I’m deep in the editing phase of my YA novel, this golden nugget resonates with me: take your time editing. Don’t rush. Sometimes, great ideas for better scenes and dialogue comes with just reading your WIP over and over. Those great ideas, that take your story to a deeper, more meaningful level, may never come if you rush through editing.
I think one of the most priceless quotes is from you: “Writing CAN be taught.”
😉
That and that persistance is the biggest difference from a successful writer and an unsuccessful writer.
I think Brian Clark of copyblogger.com got it right… http://www.copyblogger.com/become-a-better-writer/
twitter.com/rbjardin
Lyn, outstanding. I advocate writing hot, revising cool. And keep a notebook handy for all the things that will occur to you when you’re away from the keyboard.
Thanks, Martha. I do indeed believe that, and this combox is sort of testimony to that belief.
Persistence indeed. You need that in heaps. That’s why, when I sign my writing books, most of the time I put: “Keep Writing.”
James, this idea of taking a notebook everywhere reminds me of something my exaggerating writer friend uses to say:
Einstein was once visiting Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, I think), and he had a Brazilian journalist that would take him to places and the like (I don’t know the name of that in English). This journalist had a notebook with him, and he would every once in a while write something down.
Einstein was curious and asked what was that all about. The other man said he had to take the notebook with him, so he could write on it every time he had a good idea. He asked: “don’t you do that, so you won’t forget about your good ideas?” And Einstein replied: “I only had ONE good idea.”
😉
(Just kidding. I take a moleskine with me everywhere I go. We can’t all be Einsteins…)
Barb, thanks for that link, which has the right emphasis. Though I will nuance it a bit, riffing off the “You must write” advice.
Here is my own contribution to the best advice comments:
Write to a quota
I am so glad I got this advice early on, because I credit it with getting me published, and averaging slightly over a book a year after that.
Here’s what I strongly advise: figure out how many words per week you can realistically do, considering your work schedule, life and so on. It’s not so much how many words, but finding a number you can almost always hit.
Then up it by 10%. That’s the number you should aim for per week (per week, because there are days you’ll miss; you can make up for it other days).
May I suggest that you aim for no fewer than 1800 words a week. If you can do that many, you will have a full length novel in a year.
Well, I guess if you have one idea that can change the entire world, you don’t need that notebooks. The rest of us mortals do. Moleskines are cool. If there’s an accessory that at least makes you look like a real writer, that would be it.
Pity moleskines cost about R$ 100,00 here, which is like 50 dollars. *dies*. Lots of generic versions of it though 😉
(And the one I got for christmas from a friend that had been to the UK, YAY.)
Best advice (that I need to constantly remind myself of, especially lately): “Don’t be afraid to write crap.”
The funny thing is, when I let myself loose to write crap, the crap turns out not to be all that bad. And I end up writing *more* too. But that dang inner editor always seems to catch up and slow me down. I’m constantly “reapplying” this advice. Otherwise I could end up spending a hour on 100 words.
Rob, that’s more excellent advice. Both Hemingway and Ann Lamott say basically the same thing, only they use another word for what you shouldn’t be afraid to write.
I was told that every writer has their own voice and to find your voice you have to write – a lot. Voice is one of the things that a publisher or agent is looking for. To find yours – write!
Stephen, more good advice. Find your voice by writing a lot. Let it flow when you write. Fix it up later.
And very true that agents and editors say that’s what they’re looking for…but there’s no magic way to find it but through the putting of words on paper (or screen).
I have to go do some research in downtown L.A. now, so I’ll check back later in the day. Keep those nuggets flowing.
Jim, I think I heard this from you, but to “write fast” with the first draft. I’m easily sucked into editing after every sentence, or even while writing the sentence, and it takes me forever to finish.
After ingraining “write fast” in my skull, I’m getting drafts completed quickly and the self-editing process goes smoother, whether it’s for a blog post, article, or short fiction.
Good additions!
Brock, you’ve got the flow right. Yes, write fast and revise at a comfortable pace.
Never quit. With emphasis on NEVER.
You’re right, Mike. No one can make us stop. Only we can. So don’t.
Concerning the “He said nothing” thing, I can see where it may at times make sense to say that, but I try to avoid it. Perhaps it is coincidence, but our pastor preached from a Bible passage that is relevant to this discussion. You will recall from John chapter 8 how a woman was brought before Jesus and accused of adultery. “But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.” John could have said, “he said nothing,” but instead he focused his attention on what Jesus was doing. Of course you will also recall that the Bible says of Jesus when he was falsely accused and crucified, “He opened not his mouth.” As writers, I don’t think we can say that one or the other always works, but we need to be aware of what works for what we are writing.
It’s hard for me to pick one piece of advice and say that it is the best advice I’ve ever received. The advice that every book should have one and only one theme and the writer should write to the theme is a good one. But the thing that really sticks out to me is the advice to write to the middle. By that, the person meant that something has to happen at the middle of the book. Of course, when we look at story structure, we see that something is supposed to happen there, but I heard that advice before I knew anything about story structure. What I liked about that advice is that the reader doesn’t have to wait around for the end of the book for success to happen. Success comes at the middle of the book. It is shortlived success or it is of little importance once we see the stuff in the rest of the book, but the reader gets to feel that he is getting somewhere before we continure to yank the rug out from under our characters.
The best advice I ever got was in college, about writing a thesis: don’t panic over the huge mountain in front of you, break it down into pieces and take it step by step. Or as my fiction writing teacher said a decade later: cross the bridge in front of you, not the sixth bridge on. It’s been good life advice too.
Good post, Jim. And good advice, all. It’s posts like these that motivate me to continue my writing journey.
Probably the best advice for me (after making black marks on white paper) is “Act first, explain later.” which is from Jim in an earlier post. It’s a variation on another ‘rule’ I have from the Heath brothers in their book ‘Made To Stick’ which is “Curiosity must come before content.”
I try to keep the best advice I’ve ever heard on my blog at http://dragonscanbebeaten.wordpress.com/rules/
Another excellent piece of advice is “Every character is the hero of his or her own story.” from a post by Randy Ingermanson. This last one has revolutionized how I see my characters and the depth to which I plan them and their interactions.
Enjoyed reading all the great advice. One bit I didn’t see mentioned that helped me when I was a very young beginning writer was to treat acceptances and rejections the same. I took that to mean not to rest on my laurels or to get too low because of my failures, but to keep on keeping on and write something new.
On these latest comments, thanks. And right on. Again. Really. An amazing conversation we’ve been having.
Advice is most useful when it solves an immediate problem. In this sense, it’s situational, like ethics. I’ve received the best advice I ever got on many occasions and in various guises. And many of those bits of wisdom have already been dispensed in this blog. So instead of trying to play favorites, I’ll contribute a piece of advice that I’d never heard before. It was printed in some Facebook writers’ discussion by a contributor whose identity I cannot remember. But it went something like this:
When you stop writing for the day, do so in the middle of something. This will make it much easier to pick up where you left off when you start up again. It could be in the middle of a chapter or even a sentence. But the act of completing it later will get you back in sync more quickly.
I can’t say that I practice this meticulously, but I try to when I think of it. It is especially useful if you are a quota writer.
Not groundbreaking advice, but I found it intriguing.
Craig, that’s actually a piece of advice that Hemingway dispensed, and I guess he did okay with it. I like it, too. It really does help you hit the ground running the next day. Thanks for bringing it up.
I had written my first book and was shopping it around when a fellow writer read my story and told me I had to write a second book. I was surprised. After all, I still hadn’t sold the first one! Then I realized that she meant, one book does not a writer make. So I wrote that second book. And then a third book. When I sold the first book, because of her advice, I had a second book to sell. That was the best advice I ever got.
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Heard from a popular author: “I’m a terrible writer, but a fabulous re-writer.” I was much relieved because my first attempts at novel writing were terrible, and I almost quit. I learned the importance of rewriting and then rewriting again (and re-posting when necessary :).
Carolyne, I don’t know if I heard that or just figured it out, but early on in my career I started following that same advice.
Melanie, that’s why I wrote a whole book on the subject, Revision & Self-Editing. Most writers don’t have a systematic approach to this essential aspect, so I wanted to provide one.
The best writing advice I have EVER received is quite simple: “Don’t give up. Complete the projects you start. Even if you are hot on another project, finish the one you are working on.”
Michael, that is good advice, consistent with Heinlein, which I referred to yesterday. Just keep doing that, over and over. Right on.
I agree with Melody, books aren’t written, they are rewritten!
John’s advice is most excellent. Don’t get caught up in “being” an author or status of published author. It can be stifling.
Finally, when it stops being fun, even when writing against deadline, something is wrong.
Have fun!
Rachel
Rachel, thanks. I will!