Tell us some of your favourite writing advice, general or specific. One I love is something I picked up from Mur Lafferty's I Should be Writing podcast, that "writing is the best way to answer most of your questions about writing."
I totally agree with that one. I love to read writing books and talk about writing and listen to writers talk about how to write, all that stuff. But in the end, the only way I actually learn to do something, is to sit down and write and keep writing, keep practicing.
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Okt 14, 2008 - 09 57
I have no idea where this came from - I think it might have been heard on the radio or something.
The advice was to sit down and write what you would most like to read at that moment.
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Okt 14, 2008 - 10 47
"Plant weeds between the rows" -- Orson Scott Card to me on pacing a novel.
----------"Be nice to the imaginary people. Don't kill too many." -- e-mail from my youngest sister, June 23, 2008
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Okt 14, 2008 - 16 06
Well, seeing as how I'm a fanatic Stephen King fan (his characters are phenomenal in growth and personality detail) and have read everything he's ever written (he's my favorite author) his book, "On Writing," has always been a close kept bible of advice for me.
I'd recommend it to anyone interested in fiction writing or writing in general. Just a great book!
Some quotes:
"I believe the first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than three months…Any longer and — for me, at least — the story begins to take on an odd foreign feel, like a dispatch from the Romanian Department of Public Affairs, or something broadcast on high-band shortwave duiring a period of severe sunspot activity."
3 months he said! Kinda makes this whole insane one month novel not seem so insane...
Another favorite:
"Talent renders the whole idea of rehearsal meaningless; when you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading, or watching), every outing is a bravura performance, because you as the creator are happy. Perhaps even ecstatic. "
AMEN!!!
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Okt 14, 2008 - 16 39
I forget who said it, but I love this one:
"Writing is easy. You just sit at the keyboard and open a vein."
----------If actors in a play we are,
I fear this farce has gone too far.
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Okt 14, 2008 - 16 41
From a lecture at a writers' conference:
----------"It is perfectly okay to write garbage – as long as you edit brilliantly." --C. J. Cherryh
"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing."
- Margaret Chittenden
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Okt 14, 2008 - 16 56
"Learn the rules before you break them."
----------Venison '05: Lost
The Parker Project '06: Won!
Blood on the Gas Lamps '08: Future winner?
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Okt 14, 2008 - 18 34
"Writing will consume your life, because so much of writing happens in your head – you don't need to be ‘at work', you don't even need to be awake. You're not gonna get a respite from writing when your head hits the pillow, you're not gonna get a respite from writing when you go on a holiday caravan to Great Yarmouth, or anywhere – the moon – you can't get away from it, it's in your head. And if it's working properly, it's probably obsessive. If you've got a story on the boil, and if you're a writer you probably will have, you're probably thinking about problems with that story, good things about it that you wanna enhance and make even better, and you're probably thinking that all the time. You might be thinking that when you're having sex. You might be thinking that when you're eating dinner, you might be thinking that on public transport. This is something that will take over your life. Surrender. Surrender to it right from word one. Don't fight. It's bigger then you are, it's more important than you are, just do what it says. Even if that seems to be completely ruining your life, do what it says. Even if it tells you to do something stupid – if it tells you to jump off a cliff, do it. (laughter)."
- Alan Moore
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Okt 14, 2008 - 19 01
I have three, sorry I don't know who wrote two of them but they are amazing.
You don't write because you want to say something you write because you've got something to say.
Epictetus got it right when he said you shouldn't get too excited about success or failure, because neither one lasts.
Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. Gloria Steinem
----------Laura- Looking for love...
-You don't write because you want to say something you write because you've got something to say
-Epictetus got it right when he said you shouldn't get too excited about success or failure, because neither one lasts
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Okt 15, 2008 - 00 17
You don't write because you want to say something you write because you've got something to say.
Epictetus got it right when he said you shouldn't get too excited about success or failure, because neither one lasts.
Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. Gloria Steinem
That last one is a definite favourite of mine and very true for me.
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Okt 15, 2008 - 20 44
I have a few:
"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go." - E. L. Doctorow
''Stories never really end, even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.'"
- From InkSpell, by Cornelia Funk
“The first draft comes from the heart; the second one is from the mind.”
- Finding Forester
"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."
- E.L. Doctorow
"If you wish to be a writer, write."
- Epictetus
"Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point where one cannot change it is to greatly enhance the prospects of never publishing."
- Richard North Patterson
"The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write."
- Gabriel Fielding
"Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties."
- Bonnie Friedman
"Mere literary talent is common; what is rare is endurance, the continuing desire to work hard at writing."
- Donald Hall
There are more too that I turn to, but I figured these would suffice for now.
Happy writing :-D
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----------NaNo 08 -- When the Raven Flies...
NaNo 2008 -- When the Raven Flies...
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Okt 15, 2008 - 23 06
It all sounds good to me.....keep them coming.
----------Dogs have owners, cats have staff
Heaven is a free gift, don't miss out
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Okt 16, 2008 - 05 38
I'd recommend it to anyone interested in fiction writing or writing in general. Just a great book!
I agree! Brilliant book, finally got me out of a months long writing slump. I particularly like the part about what he learns from editor John Gould:
""When you write a story, you're telling yourself the story," he said. "When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story."
Gould said something else that was interesting on the day I turned in my first two pieces: write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right - as right as you can, anyway - it belongs to anyone who wants to read it."
And another favorite quote (and so true!):
----------"Writing is the most fun anyone can have by themselves." - Terry Pratchett.
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars
Kahlil Gibran
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Okt 16, 2008 - 10 16
"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for the love of it. Then you do it for a few friends. Finally you do it for money." -- Molière
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Okt 16, 2008 - 10 36
LMAO, nicoleg!!!! That is now a new favorite! XD
Mynerva, glad to see another King fan! Out of all the writing books (those 'how to write' ones, textbooks I have in college, strategical books, guide books) I've always thought his book was the best.
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Okt 16, 2008 - 12 43
I have a couple quotes that I've highlighted, underlined, or in some other way, marked in my favorite writing guide, "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler.
"In any good story the hero grows and changes, making a journey from one way of being to the next: from despair to hope, weakness to strength, folly to wisdom, love to hate, and back again. It's these emotional journeys that hook an audience and make a story worth watching."
"Every story needs such a life-or-death moment in which the hero or his goals are in mortal jeopardy."
And my absolute favorite, that I will flip open and read every so often.
----------"Breathe. Hang in there. You're doing fine. You've got what it takes to handle any situation, somewhere inside you."
"Derica is a remarkable girl. She will do many wonderful things with her life. There is only one that that may keep her from doing all that she could. That is you, Thanatos. Despite all the potential she has, she is hindered her from all she could do,
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Okt 17, 2008 - 14 27
This is my favorite thing about creativity, said by Martha Graham, who was a dancer.
'"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others"'
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Okt 19, 2008 - 15 56
A good story is life, with the dull parts taken out.
--Alfred Hitchcock
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Okt 29, 2008 - 17 25
Mynerva, glad to see another King fan! Out of all the writing books (those 'how to write' ones, textbooks I have in college, strategical books, guide books) I've always thought his book was the best.
I haven't read King's novels since high school, but I re-read On Writing every so often. I enjoy his workman like attitude to writing and the fact he is a devout Strunkian.
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----------That's not writing; it's just typing.
Truman Capote
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5. Revise and rewrite.
Revising is part of writing. Few writers are so expert that they can produce what they are after on the first try.
E. B. White
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Okt 30, 2008 - 01 50
This one may be a little ironic now. I think it was Oscar Wilde. Or Mencken.
"If I had more time, I would have written less."
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Okt 30, 2008 - 06 29
I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Murder your darlings," a really famous writing quote. It means if you write a sentence you absolutely love, you probably should delete it because it stands out too much. Sad but probably true!
So many good quotes from Stephen King. I absolutely love "On Writing;" one of the few books I've stayed up all night to finish! I like his editing equation: Final Draft = First Draft - 10%. Not so good for NaNo, but great when it comes time to edit.
It's not exactly about techniques or tips for writing, but this is one of my favorite quotes ever, again by King:
"Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends....It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy."
As hard as it is, I'm never happiest as when I am writing! He's right!
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Okt 30, 2008 - 08 30
I hope I'm right about the name....but, Joel Saltzman wrote a book about writing...IF YOU CAN TALK YOU CAN WRITE....he was/is a teacher too. I loved his book, when I stumbled across it a few months ago...I couldn't put it down, in fact I spent 36 hrs. straight reading this book...my eyes were bloodshot, my husband thought I was nuts and my kids got away with everything under the sun because I couldn't put the book down to deal with them. It was that good.
Saltzman says to talk....not write.
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Okt 30, 2008 - 14 01
"The point of the first page is to get your audience to read the second."