Writerly Writer Stuff

[wander_realtai]

Ten Rules for Writers by Neil Gaiman:

 

1 Write.

2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3 Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4 Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5 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.

6 Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7 Laugh at your own jokes.

8 The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

Have I mentioned that Gaiman's Da Man?

Found this on this page, nestled between a bunch of other Ten Rules Postings by various authors.  Some great advice in this article.

You know,  I've discovered that the more often I write, even if it's just an piece of character-exploring fan fiction or some rambling something-or-other that I never show anyone, the more confident I become in my ability as a writer in general.  Oh, I'm no literary genius, and some of my technique still leaves a lot to be desired, and writing longer, multi-part pieces still kicks my ass (though I do intend to keep working on them), but in writing more often, I'm seeing it slowly start to evolve.  That, and, finishing a fairly decent number of short pieces in a rather short frame of time-- well, it's given me a sense of accomplishment.  My short stories before would be so few and far between.  I mean, yeah, my writing these days seems limited to fan fiction in one fandom (talk about tunnel vision), but it's working for me, and it's giving me a chance to sharpen my technique a bit before I go to try to refine my work on The Glass Veil (The current version of Episode One still leaves a lot to be desired, though I've not quite figured out what it needs) and any other of my original projects I've been working with (also thinking Serendipity, which is more sci fi).

In that vein, I'm going to open the stories I've posted here up for constructive criticism. (Note I said CONSTRUCTIVE.  That doesn't mean some anonymous wanderer should drop by and say "Your stories suck and so do you" or something.  I'm trying to improve my craft, not shoot myself in the foot)  I don't want anyone to feel obligated in any way to do this, but if you feel like it, if you think you might have something good to contribute, if you just feel like flexing your own writerly muscles, you all are more than welcome to do so.  So, tell me-- what works?  What doesn't?  What would you like to see a greater focus on?  What do I focus on now that might make the writing too tedious or confusing?  Anything you can think of.  (I've tagged all my stories with "fiction" on here, so they should be easy to find)
 

Comments

[navaan]

Yeah for more confidence!

And I love Gaiman's Rules. I'm working very hard on 3.

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, 3 is definitely a big one for me too, especially for those longer pieces.

[navaan]

Oh yeah, the longer pieces... I'll get one of them finished, I swear!

[quean-of-swords.livejournal.com]

I do love Gaiman. He calms my nervous writerly soul a bit by giving advice that isn't all "NEVER USE X PHRASE, EVER", which I find incredibly unhelpful. (Also the bit about 'don't have kids', which is just... Bah. And I'm not even a parent. I just recognize the fact that kids are awesome, and they're future readers, and what if I wanted to write children's lit, HUH? *ahem* Pardon me.)

The improvement of craft is a constant thing, though I try to remember that I need to be better about accepting criticism, myself. I mean, it's not like I can't take it at all... maybe some of the people I know are just HORRIBLE at giving it, but it's really hard to put stuff out there and then say "PLEASE POKE AND PROD THIS." So kudos to you for opening the floor, there.

My only rules are To Keep Writing and Write Things That Are Fun. (Definitions of 'fun' may vary, of course.) Other than that, I'm bad about rules. I don't like them.

OMG, why did I just word vomit all over your journal? Lol! Reading all those lists pumped me up, I guess.

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Don't feel bad. Really. I love getting comments. =)

I know, the "don't use this phrase ever" advice is a bit... meh. And I don't know that I agree with that point in the article from another writer that said something like, "Never use anything but the word 'said' to quantify dialogue, because it detracts from the character." I'm not sure how describing how a character expresses that dialogue detracts from the character. lol.. though on the other hand, such a thing *can* be overdone, as anything can.

And, "Don't have kids..." Very unhelpful! Like you, I don't have kids, but I find that a bit facetious as well.

[who-in-whoville.livejournal.com]

Very good advice. I am working on number 2: Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down. I tend to be a rush-writer. I need to stop worrying about getting an update posted, and be more concerned with the quality of the writing itself.

Thanks for posting this.

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know, I have the same problem sometimes. I'll post something without giving it a thorough edit job, and then re-read it, and huge glaring errors stare me in the face. lol...

[redknightalex.livejournal.com]

Funny but I'm pretty good at all of those except 1 and 3. Thankfully, the muse is returning so I might be getting better at it. However, I'm an obsessive self-editor, even after I post it, so I'm constantly revising until I, eventually, let it go and, yeah, I do laugh at my own mistakes. One of the upsides of anxiety is that I can't let something go for a while. Either way, his advice was great and the best thing to do is really just to keep writing.

I'm glad you have the confidence to keep writing. I do it just to get the ideas out of my head, and for the fun of it, but not because I have faith in what I do. I suppose I do have more confidence now that I'm writing again except I'm not sure I'll ever have it. *shrug*

Damn, sometimes I seriously wish I didn't work so that I could actually read fics I keep putting on my to read list. *facepalm* If I get the chance to read your work, I'll definitely give you good concrit. I can be harsh when necessary. :)

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

Yes, I often have a hard time just sitting down to write, or with sitting down to write and just staring at a blank screen with nothing coming to me. That first sentence always gets me. lol.

Thank you! And I think writing to get ideas out of your head is good too... sometimes they just sort of... cram in there, and need to be released somehow.

Will look forward to crits when/if you get a chance to do them! *hugs*

[kilodalton]

Oh, I'm no literary genius, and some of my technique still leaves a lot to be desired, and writing longer, multi-part pieces still kicks my ass (though I do intend to keep working on them)

Tell me about it x.X

I'm still very new to writing (only been doing it for about a month and a half now over at strange_charmed), but I started my first multichapter fic earlier this week. It's a very "plotty" Doctor/Rose fic and is going to be a doozy to write, but I have it worked out in my head already at least! I think the hardest part for me is going to be coming up with good endings for each chapter - I like endings with a "hook," kwim?

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

*laughs* If you've got your multi-chaptered fic worked out in your head already, you're doing much better than I am with mine! I'm flying on a wing and a prayer with that one.

Oh, I know, ending with a nice little "You know you wanna come back for more" sense is always a good thing.

I've read some of your fic over there, I think. I'll add ya on that one too :)

[kilodalton]

If you've got your multi-chaptered fic worked out in your head already, you're doing much better than I am with mine! I'm flying on a wing and a prayer with that one.

I know some people can pull wing-and-a-prayer off beautifully!!! Ngl, since I'm brand new to this, I wanted to have most of the big-picture stuff worked out at the beginning, just so the fic wouldn't run away with me. That was a big concern since I haven't written anything longer than 1400 words so far haha. (Also, since it's plotty, I wanted to be able to toss little whodunit hints here and there, which would be inestimably harder if I didn't know the ending already XD)

Oh, I know, ending with a nice little "You know you wanna come back for more" sense is always a good thing.

Totally!!! "And then she shampooed her hair and it took a long time to dry" just doesn't seem very catchy to me, idk ... >.^

I've read some of your fic over there, I think. I'll add ya on that one too :)

Aww awesome - thanks! =D And hey, the invitation for constructive crit goes both ways! =D

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think both methods have their merit. I like the way things flow when writing with the WAAP method (I should patent that. LOL), but it's often very easy to write yourself into a corner! I've also written with a loose synopsis or outline, and while it's nice to know where the story's going to end up, it always looks rather forced to me when I do it that way. I think maybe some combination of the two-- not so structured as to take away imagination, but holding at least some idea of where the story's going and what should be included in it-- might be a good way to go. I'm getting there... LOL

Cool :) Any particular fic you were looking for concrit on?

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

.... and would you rather me post to comments or in a pm? :)

[kilodalton]

WAAP - I like that!! XD Yeah I recall reading one long fic by an author who was doing WAAP, and she decided to kill off a main character about halfway through -- and then she posted a couple of chapters later that she was kind of regretting it, because she realized later she wanted him around! I'm really scared of doing something like that, and again since I'm so new, I don't have confidence that I'd have the chops to write myself out of an "accident" like that.

Ooooh ... any fic, really! My early drabbles (Quit/Run/Ward) were just for experimentation and to get my feet wet, so probably not those - but anything else that interests you!! PM is fine if that's OK by you! =D Thanks!

How about you - any particular fic? (And PM or post?)

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

All right! I'll take a look-see. (I'm all Southern, so sometimes I have to talk like a cliche, just because)

Hmmm... I'd say pretty much any fic of mine as well :) Except maybe The Blackest Depths, because that has been shelved for the time being. And a pm works for me too. Thank you!