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I found a website recently with 8 or 10 pieces of advice (or rules?) about writing from several well-known writers, and I've picked out one from each list - usually the one to which I felt I could relate to most, and have added my brief comments about each..
Neil Gaiman: The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. 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.
I'm not sure this is absolutely accurate, as there are some 'rules' or at least some 'good practice' advice that we should follow, but to me this advice basically means, 'Don't slavishly follow every rule you find about plotting, characters, or writing.
Elmore
Leonard: Never use a verb other than
“said” to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character;
the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive
than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied. I once noticed an author ending a line
of dialogue with “she asseverated,” and had to stop reading to get the
dictionary.
I agree with this, at least most of the time, although I think there are odd occasions when another verb might be needed.
Kurt Vonnegut: Start as close to the end as possible.
I love this! So often we start our stories too soon - I know I have done so in the past! I've even read advice that says, 'Write your story and then get rid of the first chapter'.
David Ogilvy: Write the way you talk. Naturally. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
I'd amend this to say, 'Write the way your characters talk' although that assumes you can hear their voices in your head. However, I'd certainly agree that most people do use simple words and short sentences when they are speaking.
John Steinbeck: Forget your generalized audience. In the first place, the nameless, faceless audience will scare you to death and in the second place, unlike the theater, it doesn’t exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.
This is intriguing advice which I had not thought about before. In one sense, I think I do write to one person i.e. myself!
Henry Miller: Work on one thing at a time until finished.
I don't always do this. Sometimes I put one story on a backburner while I write another, but I don't usually work on two things at the same time. I need to concentrate one story and one set of characters, and not keep switching to another.
Zadie Smith: Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
I definitely need to train myself to do this!
Two comments: I constantly read the Elmore Leonard advice, but I don't think it always holds. Suppose your character is being mugged. Would you write, "'Help! Help me!' she said"? Sometimes you absolutely need an intense verb. About Ogilvy: I don't have any interest in reading writing that sounds like people talk. The way people actually talk can be very boring on the page. I want beautiful language. I want words you don't always hear. I like sentences that sway and swerve and curve in on themselves. I like Faulkner, not Hemingway.
ReplyDeleteElaine, I that 'said' wouldn't be appropriate if someone is shouting for help, but sometimes it is better to show an action rather than tell the reader the character is shouting!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting second point. but in fact we never really write the way people talk e.g. we (hopefully) miss out all the 'er - well - I mean' kind of words! But most people don't actually speak in beautiful language, so it's up to the author to portray their way of speaking (albeit 'tidied up' - as above) otherwise they won't sound like 'real' people!
The quotes from Steinbeck and Smith resonated with me. I love the idea of just thinking about writing for one person. And when I invested in a lap top years ago to better aid me in my writing, I took off all of the virus protection. This way, I am not tempted to ever go on the internet when using the lap top. I use it exclusively for writing...nothing else. It works wonders! :)
ReplyDeleteDebar, when I used my netbook without internet access while I was on holiday, I got so frustrated because I needed an online thesaurus and also wanted to check facts as I went along.
DeleteOh, I understand for dialogue, Paula--characters today don't sound like Shakespeare's. I was talking about writing in general--narrative, etc. I agree with you as far as dialogue goes. I just like poetry everywhere else .
ReplyDeleteI like poetry too, Elaine - but don't like poetic or 'flowery' prose in novels!
DeleteI love these! Although I have to say, I have written two stories at the same time. While it might not be ideal, the one thing it did help me do was establish distinct voices among my characters. I needed to do that in order to keep everyone straight!
ReplyDeleteNot sure I could fall in love with two heroes at the same time, Jen!
DeleteI'd have to have an Internet-connected computer on my desk, too. I check things all the time. I have eliminated spider solitare from my old mac, though sometimes playing a game gives me the breather to come up with the next scene. I've read Elmore, and I almost agree. He writes hard-hitting action novels. No adverbs, few dialogue tags. He's always clear as to who is speaking. Steinbeck's advice is brilliant. Wish I'd thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI check things too, Ana. Also I sometimes have a break from writing and play a couple of games when I'm trying to work something out in my writing or trying to think how to phrase something. It distances me for a few minutes from intensive thought, but my subconscious is still working on the problem!
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