Free Writing Advice is Even Cheaper

My last blog story dealt with the utter worthlessness of most business advice.

Well, that goes triple-double for writing advice.  Much of it is self-contradictory, with opposite advice coming from different sources.  Grammar can become a prison that makes you too scared to write a sentence (example - there's probably several things wrong with THAT sentence).  Do you outline?  Do you let the characters dictate where you go?  Do you just let the words flow, unedited and jumbled, and then go back and try to edit into coherency, or do you write precisely and carefully from the start?  Do you tell or show?  Do you do everything you can to avoid adverbs, the deadly plaguely curse of descriptive writing?  What about query letters and self-publishing vs. papering your wall with rejections?

Some of the advice you get free.  Some you have to pay for.  Some may be the best advice you've ever heard and helps super-fuel your writing career.  Some may just make things worse, or even leave you paralyzed.

Given that, I thought I'd step in and give my two cents.  And really, shouldn't you listen to me?  After all, I've been churning out an avalanche of words, and so far, have sold exactly zero to any professional publisher.  What little I've earned has been from self-publishing, and that does not exceed the expenses I've put into it.

Nevertheless, this is what I've figured out so far:

Tell a good story

Yeah, this is like the pageant equivalent of "Be Yourself."  It kinda could mean anything.  Still, it is vital.  How can you be sure you're doing that?  Well, if it isn't interesting to you, it won't be to anyone else.  The first key to a good story is to be a reader yourself.  If you've read a lot, you know what you like, and what you'd like to read.  History of the Trap grew out of where I would like to take a story if I had the power to do so.

When you start, you don't necessarily need to know the whole story.  You can let it arise organically if you want to.  But you do need to know what it is you're trying to accomplish.  What are you trying to say with your story?  What point or points are you trying to make?

Create characters you care about

Create unique and interesting characters.  Make them quirky but relatable.  Draw out your main character with the most detail, but be sure to have an interesting supporting cast as well.  Chances are if these are characters that you care about, your readership will as well.

Really good characters can take over a story and take it to places that you may not have originally planned.  As long as you have a clear idea of what you are trying to tell with your basic plotline, letting characters steer a bit can help make a good story a great one.


Let grammar guide you but not control you

Don't ever forget that all grammar is, is a codification of a living language, one that still breathes, changes, and adapts.  Grammar is as much anthropology as it is standard English practices.  The most important thing is - does your intended audience understand what it is you're saying?  It is more important to be conversational than it is to be impeccably and stiltedly correct.  Language must be flexible and alive.

That is not to say that you shouldn't do your best to follow the basics.  You may want to utilize a grammar program.  Some word processing programs have them built-in.  A new program called Grammarly is helping me edit this piece as I write.  Sometimes I listen to it.  Sometimes, for better or worse, I ignore it, preferring to follow my instincts instead.


Utilize Beta Readers

Have a few people read over your finished story.  They don't need to serve as editors, or super critics, but just to get a feel as to whether you're telling a story that they enjoy, understand, and holds their interest.  They might give you a few hints about grammar problems.  They might tell you how you accidentally changed a character's hair color half-way through the story.  They might ask questions that lead you to weaknesses in the plot structure, or where you have to clear things up to make your story points better.

In order to write, you must write

Getting into the habit of writing may be the most difficult part of the whole process.  Squirrel away some time to write every day.  If possible, make it the same time of day each day.  Whether it's five minutes or two hours, make it as consistent as you can.  Even if your mind rebels, force yourself to write something.  Anything.  Eventually, you'll be spinning gold.  Well, at least something you might be willing to share.



That's it.  That's all I got.  The best book on writing I've read is....On Writing by Stephen King.  He makes these points, and a few others, a lot clearer than I ever could.

May the writing forces be with you!