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Thursday, July 15, 2010

A Little Advice To New Writers

Thank you to the Peevish Penman for their blogfest My Best Advice to New Writers. And since no one ever asks me for advice (and I try SO HARD not to offer unsolicited advice) I happily give mine now.
  • Do not turn in to a troll in a cave. There is a writing community out there and you need to be part of it.
  • Do not wait until something is perfect to share it -- it will never be perfect.
  • You will never be able to read your work objectively. Seek out a critique partner or group.
  • Write, write, write. And don't worry if that writing is not part of your masterpiece. With each word you write, you become a better writer.
  • When creative genius is flowing, don't stifle it because it doesn't match your outline.
  • Do not let yourself be distracted or bogged down in the publishing process. You are a writer. Write. Finish. Then worry about that next step.

Notice that the first three points are on the same theme. Now, I need to follow my own advice. :)
BTW, check out my mad photo shop skills. It is supposed to be a troll in a cave.

13 comments:

Andrew Rosenberg said...

Despite all my rage I am still just a troll in a cave. ;)
I liked that one.
Good stuff!

Jamie D. said...

LOL - Your troll is cute. And looks suspiciously happy near his cave... ;-)

Candyland said...

Um I think I need to follow this advice too! Good ones there! And you said don't be distrac...what's that over there?

Erin Kane Spock said...

Andrew: I like troll in a cave better than rat in a cage. I will always sing it that way from now on. Just like 'soldier's burping' instead of 'so deserving' in Enjoy the Silence. :)

Jamie: it is a happy troll. I should have made him a shivering drunk albino to get my point across.

Candyland: lolz -- yesterday I ended up researching the Glitter-Hands dancey-dance guest star from Yo Gabba Gabba. That took a 1/2 hour out of my life and my ms.

Thanks for the feedback!

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

Great post, thanks for the advice! Love the troll. :)

~Olivia

C Bailey said...

I second changing the lyrics to "troll in a cave." Great advice and it's a cute troll, did I mention?

Why are trolls so distracting? I've actually written them as sailors onto boats in the South Pacific in my current novel.

Thanks for the post! I remember some of the best advice I heard was Garrison Keiller saying get out and walk. What does that have to do with writing? Everything. :)

Dawn Maria said...

Short, sweet, to the point and with a troll included. I love it!

Hadassah Fey said...

Great advice for new and experienced writers! My writing has grown in large part because I share it in writers' groups and listen objectively to the critiques I am given. I also loved your point about not worrying if your writing is flowing away from the outline. And I love your troll picture. :)

Erin Kane Spock said...

I had no idea the troll pic would go over so well. I should photo shop more often.
C.Bailey, are your troll sailors singing about Dame's? Because that's what I'm picturing and it's funny.

Raquel Byrnes said...

Very nice, Erin. I agree about not letting the outlinge get in the way...I also find that a very cool critique partner works wonders. ;0)

Erin Kane Spock said...

Awwww.... shucks.
See you tomorrow. Sending you my completed chapter in an hour or so.

Amos Keppler said...

I agree with that troll in the cave angle, even though one shouldn't discard its value completely.

Yes, someone has to read your work for you to gain additional insight into it, so you may be given advice and honesty that you may act upon or not. Trusted angles shouldn't be underestimated.

Icy Sedgwick said...

Yeah, I try not to over-edit things. You could take it too far and never do a thing with a piece because you would always say it was never finished being edited, and then where would you be? Probably a padded cell by that point...

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