Open Thread: Oracle Hotline

[mithen]

--What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Ha! Um, most writing advice has some good in it at some level, it's usually the way it's taken that I disagree with. Like "write what you know," which I think is fine advice when taken as "use your own experiences as a springboard" but bad advice when taken as "your stories shouldn't go far outside your own experiences." But that all hinges on your definition of "know," after all.

Writing this week has been pretty much non-existent--lots of brainstorming with my husband, which is great fun, but not much putting words on the screen. I've taken to using my 2 half-hour bus commutes as writing time--I hate writing in public, but with the November work load it's either write in public or don't write! If I write on the bus I can go to bed at night knowing I got at least 100-200 words written (it's a lot slower going tapping on an ipad on the bus as well...) Though I'm quite happy with what I've managed to write, so I'm not actually in that bad of a mood! How about you?

Comments

[prince0froses]

I agree that bad writing advice is usually in the delivery. My quibble with the big one that gets floated around of 'you must write' boils down to the implied ableism in the notion that everyone with stories to tell can lives up to it, for example, it does not bother me when I see it more kindly delivered. Though, I have met at least one person who takes 'write what you know' completely literally and pretty much only thinks I should be writing quirky memoirs or observational stuff. Said individual has a proven dislike of fantasy escapist literature though so I don't hold her opinion all that highly.

This has been a Bad Week. The kind that gets Bad Week written capitalized - I have taken some notes about world building details but that's all the progress I have managed

[mithen]

Though, I have met at least one person who takes 'write what you know' completely literally and pretty much only thinks I should be writing quirky memoirs or observational stuff. Said individual has a proven dislike of fantasy escapist literature though so I don't hold her opinion all that highly.

Ha! This person sounds rather like my mother, who distrusts fiction in all forms: "It didn't happen, so why should I care?" She's lots of fun on movie night (the only movie I've known her to like recently is Argo, because "it really happened so it matters.") :P

Ugh, I am sorry about your Bad Week in so many ways! I hope this week has been better. *waves at you from Chicago*

[me_ya_ri]

*snort* 'Oh, but honey, you shouldn't write until you're inspired. It will be so much better if you don't force it!'

Bar none, worst advice ever for a writer and I could (and have) ranted about it extensively several times. "write what you know" is pretty pointless too. That's what research is for after all. "Write what you're passionate about" is pretty good advice IMO.

Writing has gone super-well this week! :D I decided that I really wanted to ramp things up so I've aimed for 2 hours of writing every weekday and at least 30 minutes on weekends. Just about did it, too. Two hours, BTW, equals about 4000 words so... *wry grin* Lots of words have been written.

I'm almost done with my current novel (yay!) so I can hopefully soon (this weekend? Next week?) start writing an erotica novella I've had planned for a couple of months. And maybe a short story, too.

Good luck getting more writing this week coming up. Sometimes the brainstorming is necessary and life really can kick writing to the curb. *big hug*

[mithen]

"Write what you're passionate about" is pretty good advice IMO.

That's a MUCH better way of putting "write what you know." I like my job fine, but it's what I know best and I don't feel any real passion to turn it into a narrative. :)

Whoooo for 4,000 extra words! I'm very much not a fan of the "write only when you're truly inspired"--I have no problem with writers who do wait until they're truly inspired, but you can't really be surprised output is low if you do that, you know? You can wait for the muse to visit, but nearly no one is inspired often enough to get a lot of writing done. And almost every project is going to have patches that are necessary to write but are NEVER going to be inspiring.