Tips for the Novice

[sixpennysong]

Some thoughts on writing that I offer into the ether after answering an e mail requesting a bit of advice. What follows are merely my opinions and (unlike those held by some others) they are in constant flux. Make of them what you will.
Of course one must start with the mechanics of language, such as grammar, syntax and spelling, the nuts and bolts if you will. It is the necessary but often dry matter that teachers attempt to impart early on. While such basics as the role of the adjective versus the adverb are timeless some past rules have evolved.
Take the case of the dangling participle. Many notable authors were caught with their parts dangling when it was still a sin. The evolution of looser styles and reader acceptance has eroded many strictures. A sentence such as “Being familiar with most of the dives along the wharf, I recommended Darcy’s as an establishment where a clean whore might be found.” This is now perfectly acceptable as long as an author abstains from repetitious dangling.
Then we have the stranded preposition as in the quote erroneously attributed to Churchill – “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put!” That bit of absurdity made its point but there are exceptions to the rule as with “Which of the goodies that comprise the female anatomy are you most interested in?”
Having studied a good many grammar texts, I recommend “Oxford Modern English Grammar”. Oh crap, I fear I’ve just dangled again!
Then there is the tricky business of style. “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White is a first step of course. As stated, those gents only provide the elements with which to evolve a style. I would issue a warning here, just as you are what you eat, to some extent we become what we read. This can be an obstacle to developing a unique written voice. It is all too easy to absorb another writer’s style by unconscious osmosis. Exercises in précis are very useful in that they allow one to take a single text and recreate the theme in a variety of tones. Choose an interesting page on any topic, then cut out all the fat - adjectives, adverbs and non-essential sentences - until you have the bare bones of what was communicated. Use that as a sculptor might use a wire frame and remodel it with your words. If you do this several times with the same skeleton of facts the nuances of each version may prove very revealing.
Before publication I suggest proof reading your work at least three times. If you have an editor that person deserves your efforts also. Do the read through slowly and rely on spell check only for a basic start. I have found using different colored fonts helpful; Black for triple proofed text, red for work in progress and blue for notes and ideas at the very bottom of the piece.
For advice on crafting a storyline, character development and a host of other devilish details I list these gems:

Stephen King’s On Writing and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Dean Koontz. How to Write Bestselling Fiction

James Scott Bell - Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish.

Reading those works by three very able authors will both entertain and instruct the novice and journeyman alike. A writer who pockets the do’s and don’ts they so generously offer might even avoid penning something like this –

I was pulling a beer for Billy when the bitch blew through the bat wing doors like a sultry wind. She was a curvaceous, voluptuous, sumptuous, bodacious broad with wide 40 inch born to breed hips and magnificent 55D milk bags. The dress she had on was about as useful as plastic wrap. Her eyes had the greenish glint of a predator cat on the prowl. Her wet snaky tongue slid hungrily over full red lips. Lips that looked like they could suck the glitter off an Earl Scheib paint job. Every man in the joint wanted her but it was my little buddy Billy at the bar that she pinned with a stiletto stare. A slow slutty smile slithered across her face as she crooked a finger at him.
“Come're little fella. Mama has some sugar for ya.” She said huskily.
“Ohhhhmyygooodgod! Does she mean me?” Billy asked worriedly.
“Looks that way.” I said grimly.
“What should I do?” He asked uncertainly.
“Pay me for your beer and then go die like a man…or if you think you can out run her the back door ain’t locked.” I said helpfully

 

[Hypoxia]

Tip for the poster: line breaks between paragraphs. Your wall of text is impenetrable. Fix it and I'll read it.

 

[oggbashan]

Some thoughts on writing that I offer into the ether after answering an e mail requesting a bit of advice. What follows are merely my opinions and (unlike those held by some others) they are in constant flux. Make of them what you will.

Of course one must start with the mechanics of language, such as grammar, syntax and spelling, the nuts and bolts if you will. It is the necessary but often dry matter that teachers attempt to impart early on. While such basics as the role of the adjective versus the adverb are timeless some past rules have evolved.

Take the case of the dangling participle. Many notable authors were caught with their parts dangling when it was still a sin. The evolution of looser styles and reader acceptance has eroded many strictures. A sentence such as “Being familiar with most of the dives along the wharf, I recommended Darcy’s as an establishment where a clean whore might be found.” This is now perfectly acceptable as long as an author abstains from repetitious dangling.

Then we have the stranded preposition as in the quote erroneously attributed to Churchill – “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put!” That bit of absurdity made its point but there are exceptions to the rule as with “Which of the goodies that comprise the female anatomy are you most interested in?”

Having studied a good many grammar texts, I recommend “Oxford Modern English Grammar”. Oh crap, I fear I’ve just dangled again!

Then there is the tricky business of style. “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White is a first step of course. As stated, those gents only provide the elements with which to evolve a style. I would issue a warning here, just as you are what you eat, to some extent we become what we read. This can be an obstacle to developing a unique written voice. It is all too easy to absorb another writer’s style by unconscious osmosis.

Exercises in précis are very useful in that they allow one to take a single text and recreate the theme in a variety of tones. Choose an interesting page on any topic, then cut out all the fat - adjectives, adverbs and non-essential sentences - until you have the bare bones of what was communicated. Use that as a sculptor might use a wire frame and remodel it with your words. If you do this several times with the same skeleton of facts the nuances of each version may prove very revealing.

Before publication I suggest proof reading your work at least three times. If you have an editor that person deserves your efforts also. Do the read through slowly and rely on spell check only for a basic start. I have found using different colored fonts helpful; Black for triple proofed text, red for work in progress and blue for notes and ideas at the very bottom of the piece.

For advice on crafting a storyline, character development and a host of other devilish details I list these gems:

Stephen King’s On Writing and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Dean Koontz. How to Write Bestselling Fiction

James Scott Bell - Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish.

Reading those works by three very able authors will both entertain and instruct the novice and journeyman alike. A writer who pockets the do’s and don’ts they so generously offer might even avoid penning something like this –

I was pulling a beer for Billy when the bitch blew through the bat wing doors like a sultry wind. She was a curvaceous, voluptuous, sumptuous, bodacious broad with wide 40 inch born to breed hips and magnificent 55D milk bags. The dress she had on was about as useful as plastic wrap. Her eyes had the greenish glint of a predator cat on the prowl. Her wet snaky tongue slid hungrily over full red lips. Lips that looked like they could suck the glitter off an Earl Scheib paint job. Every man in the joint wanted her but it was my little buddy Billy at the bar that she pinned with a stiletto stare. A slow slutty smile slithered across her face as she crooked a finger at him.

“Come're little fella. Mama has some sugar for ya.” She said huskily.

“Ohhhhmyygooodgod! Does she mean me?” Billy asked worriedly.

“Looks that way.” I said grimly.

“What should I do?” He asked uncertainly.

“Pay me for your beer and then go die like a man…or if you think you can out run her the back door ain’t locked.” I said helpfully

Spaced the original post to make it easier to read.

Oggbashan hint: Walls of text do not work on a screen.

 

[GoldenCojones]

...
I would issue a warning here, just as you are what you eat, to some extent we become what we read. This can be an obstacle to developing a unique written voice. It is all too easy to absorb another writer’s style by unconscious osmosis. ...

I agree with Hypoxia and Ogg, but there are gems in there. As to the snippit above, the best way to avoid unintentionally slipping into someone else's style is to read a wide variety of writers. Your style may incorporate some of their style, but since you're incorporating many styles, your style remains uniquely your own.

 

[DwellerDark]

As to the snippit above, the best way to avoid unintentionally slipping into someone else's style is to read a wide variety of writers. Your style may incorporate some of their style, but since you're incorporating many styles, your style remains uniquely your own.

Yes, this.

I've actually read Stephen King's "On Writing," but generally I think that the best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.

 

[NotWise]

I've actually read Stephen King's "On Writing," but generally I think that the best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.

I've read other people saying the same thing and I find it odd. It seems to me like the best way to become a better writer would be to write more. Lets translate the 'write better by reading' to other endeavors and see how it works.

The best way to become a better football player is to watch more football.

The best way to become a better flute player is to listen to more flute playing.

The best way to become a better lover is to watch other lovers.

 

[NicoleZ]

the best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.

No, you learn by doing. There are no shortcuts.

Writing is the same as any other acquired set of skills, be they how to ride a bike, how to cook, how to speak Swahili or how to play baseball. You learn by doing. Children learn how to ride a bike by trying and falling over time and time again, not from watching or listening to someone else telling them how to do it. You learn how to cook a three-course dinner by doing it time and time again, not from watching Gordon Ramsey or reading a book of recipes by Jamie Oliver. You learn how to speak (do not confuse this with the ability to read or write!) a foreign language by speaking it and making all those mistakes first. Is there anyone who seriously believes that it is possible to learn how to hit Major League homerun after homerun from reading a book or watching the telly?

In order to even begin to understand how a writer proper does it, you have to be a pretty decent writer yourself and the only way to get there is write, write, write. Then, and not before, you may be able to pick up the tricks emplyed by true professionals.

PS. Before I even completed my first short story years and years ago, I had read well over a thousand book including writers such as Woodehouse, Sawyers, Tolkien, Fitzgerald, Heinlein, Voltaire, Verne, Conan Doyle, Toni Morrison and a whole host of others. My first completed story was still so cringeworthy that I deleted it.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

The whole business of writing is simple, really.

Have something to say people wanna read. Say it clearly and plainly, with the important news at the head of the parade. All the re4st doesn't matter.

 

[TxRad]

The whole business of writing is simple, really.

Have something to say people wanna read. Say it clearly and plainly, with the important news at the head of the parade. All the re4st doesn't matter.

Writing is simple. Put one word in front of another. Kind of like walking. As like taking a walk, where you go should be entertaining otherwise it is just exercise. That being said, how you make it entertaining is what makes you a writer or not. No one size fits all.

 

[Hypoxia]

Writing is simple. Put one word in front of another. Kind of like walking. As like taking a walk, where you go should be entertaining otherwise it is just exercise. That being said, how you make it entertaining is what makes you a writer or not. No one size fits all.

"Writing is easy. You just sit at the typewriter and bleed." --E.Hemingway (RIP)

 

[SamScribble]

Tips for the Novice? Actually you won't find too many novices in this corner of the Lit site.

 

[TxRad]

Tips for the Novice? Actually you won't find too many novices in this corner of the Lit site.

But then again, what is your definition of Novice? There is always something to learn. Otherwise it all gets so boring.

Is the OP a novice giving tips to novices? The format of his post and his opening statement make it seem so.

 

[DwellerDark]

post deleted

 

[GoldenCojones]

I've read other people saying the same thing and I find it odd. It seems to me like the best way to become a better writer would be to write more. Lets translate the 'write better by reading' to other endeavors and see how it works.

The best way to become a better football player is to watch more football.

The best way to become a better flute player is to listen to more flute playing.

The best way to become a better lover is to watch other lovers.

The best football players watch a hell of lot of football as well as playing. They spend hours in the film room studying football. Dissecting plays, seeing what works and doesn't work. Looking at their own mistakes and successes to see what needs improving and what they are doing right as well as looking to see what their next opponent did well and not so well in previous games. All of this makes them better football players.

Could you become a great writer without writing. No. But I don't know that you can become a great writer without reading either.

I don't think the OP was saying to not write and I know I wasn't. I'm saying that reading can help you improve as a writer. But if you're not writing then you aren't a writer.

So what I'm saying is, in my opinion the best way to become the best writer you can be is to read, write, and study writing; not necessarily in any order. In other words, you need to immerse yourself into the craft of writing and this immersion includes a lot of writing, a lot of reading, and a lot of studying the craft of writing.

Judging by the quality of writing I see from most of the those on this forum, I believe a lot of us are doing all three, even if we don't always think about it in those terms. There are a lot of very good writers here. Those very good writers did not get that way without working at it.

 

[NotWise]

The best football players watch a hell of lot of football as well as playing. They spend hours in the film room studying football. Dissecting plays, seeing what works and doesn't work. Looking at their own mistakes and successes to see what needs improving and what they are doing right as well as looking to see what their next opponent did well and not so well in previous games. All of this makes them better football players.

Of course they do, but by the time that happens they are not novices; they are experienced players with a substantial supporting staff.

Could you become a great writer without writing. No. But I don't know that you can become a great writer without reading either.

Probably not, and especially if you can target your reading to authors who solved problems that you are struggling with then it my be very helpful, but the assertion was that reading was "the best way" to be come a better writer. I don't think it is. I'm not that experienced with writing fiction, and the most common advice I get from people who are much more experienced than I is "keep writing" not "keep reading."

I see it in my own product; the more I write, the better I understand and handle the problems--the more I understand what the story needs and doesn't need. I can't learn those things by reading.

So what I'm saying is, in my opinion the best way to become the best writer you can be is to read, write, and study writing; not necessarily in any order. In other words, you need to immerse yourself into the craft of writing and this immersion includes a lot of writing, a lot of reading, and a lot of studying the craft of writing.

Judging by the quality of writing I see from most of the those on this forum, I believe a lot of us are doing all three, even if we don't always think about it in those terms. There are a lot of very good writers here. Those very good writers did not get that way without working at it.

I can agree with that, but it's totally NOT the same thing as saying "the best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader." It seems to me like becoming a better writer requires--like becoming better at anything--focused work. It requires concentration on improving what you do, and it requires that you write.

 

[SecondCircle]

I think it's a combination of both. Being well read, and writing and working at your craft... both help you out.

When you read, you may not consciously know it, but you are exposing yourself to various styles and techniques. It isn't a formal lesson or anything. But you're watching how others before you weave their tales and perform the craft. You get to see the bad and the good. And you take with you not only inspiration, but bits and pieces of the good and bad you've seen.

Writing is when it's time to step up to the flames and actually forge something that's yours. By actually writing yourself, you get to experiment, try different things, figure out what works for you. You can look back at your older works and see how you've changed.

I don't think there's a surefire way to say what works best, because each writer has to figure out there own way.

 

[Hypoxia]

I distinguish between passive reading, active reading, and studying. I mostly read passively, letting the words flow over me, building images -- nothing too important to remember exactly. I actively read "more substantial" material, playing close attention to details, remembering what I can. But to really dig in, I study: take notes, add comments, cross-reference. Those study 'notes' may be written or merely mental, but I involve myself as much as possible.

Art students are taught to copy the masters to see how their their techniques work and evolve. Serious literary students should immerse themselves in written works and styles before venturing on their own. I recall conservative humorist (and National Lampoon writer) P.J. O'Rourke saying you can't write good parodies without really knowing the originals. Learn to write good parodies and you'll have a basis for original work.

In case anyone cares, writers I've studied include Mary Renault, John D McDonald ('Travis McGee'), Mary 'Andre' Norton, and Robert Heinlein. Do I date myself? They all show masterful use of language. I sit at the feet of the masters, and copy, and extrapolate.

 

[Bramblethorn]

No, you learn by doing. There are no shortcuts.

Writing is the same as any other acquired set of skills, be they how to ride a bike, how to cook, how to speak Swahili or how to play baseball.

"Being an actor is no different from being a rugby player or a construction worker, except that my tools are the basic mechanisms that trigger human emotion." - RDJ/Kirk Lazarus, "Tropic Thunder".

You learn by doing. Children learn how to ride a bike by trying and falling over time and time again, not from watching or listening to someone else telling them how to do it. You learn how to cook a three-course dinner by doing it time and time again, not from watching Gordon Ramsey or reading a book of recipes by Jamie Oliver. You learn how to speak (do not confuse this with the ability to read or write!) a foreign language by speaking it and making all those mistakes first.

That's a false dichotomy. Nobody ever learned to speak Swahili just "by speaking it" without first listening to other Swahili speakers. Pretty much everybody who knows how to make a bomme Alaska or a soufflé started by reading somebody else's recipe.

Most skills are best learned through a combination of watching/listening and doing, although the ideal balance differs depending on the skill. Even an experienced writer can learn things from others - sometimes you just don't notice the flaws in your own technique until somebody else points them out.

 

[NicoleZ]

That's a false dichotomy. Nobody ever learned to speak Swahili just "by speaking it" without first listening to other Swahili speakers. Pretty much everybody who knows how to make a bomme Alaska or a soufflé started by reading somebody else's recipe.

Most skills are best learned through a combination of watching/listening and doing, although the ideal balance differs depending on the skill. Even an experienced writer can learn things from others - sometimes you just don't notice the flaws in your own technique until somebody else points them out.

Well as you see from your final sentence, the dichotomy is far from false! As you learn to speak a foreign language, you require the feedback from first your teacher then native speakers in exactly the same manner that as writer, you require feed-back from readers to find out if you have used the tool/-s correctly in order to convey your message and evoke the responses you desire/-ed.

In a way, it is exactly what you and I are doing at the moment - I didn't use the language correctly, thus I failed to convey my message in a manner that persuaded you. You pointed this out to me and gave me a chance to correct myself.

 

[TxRad]

Well as you see from your final sentence, the dichotomy is far from false! As you learn to speak a foreign language, you require the feedback from first your teacher then native speakers in exactly the same manner that as writer, you require feed-back from readers to find out if you have used the tool/-s correctly in order to convey your message and evoke the responses you desire/-ed.

In a way, it is exactly what you and I are doing at the moment - I didn't use the language correctly, thus I failed to convey my message in a manner that persuaded you. You pointed this out to me and gave me a chance to correct myself.

Kind of like a story with a digital camera set in the 70's and yes a very early reader pointed it out. I panicked and started to ask him/her if they had ever heard of time traveling tourists? (Sigh) That would have been the easy way out as the camera was the pivotal point in the story. I knew I should never have sold that Polaroid stock.

 

[Hypoxia]

Kind of like a story with a digital camera set in the 70's and yes a very early reader pointed it out. I panicked and started to ask him/her if they had ever heard of time traveling tourists? (Sigh) That would have been the easy way out as the camera was the pivotal point in the story. I knew I should never have sold that Polaroid stock.

Probably couldn't get away with JFK using an iPhone either. Well, maybe in an alt.universe story...

 

[weftandwarp]

My thought is many people reputed to have wonderful language skills often write in a manner that is dense and impenetrable. It often lacks colour and life. I hate it. It's not at all clever.

I think with the constant evolution of English, particularly with texting, it will be thrown into the bin of obscurity. I hope so. If we are to write with rules, the rules can be simplified so they are available to everyone and not just people who spend their lives ostentatiously perusing musty books, hunting for what they regard as perfection.

I think writing should reflect the language that is spoken. That is what I try to do. I adopt personas for the way I write. I'm not saying any thing about its quality- but I know I like it a lot- it is suitable for me. I wonder if others share my approach.

 

[lovecraft68]

When you read, you may not consciously know it, but you are exposing yourself to various styles and techniques. It isn't a formal lesson or anything. But you're watching how others before you weave their tales and perform the craft. You get to see the bad and the good. And you take with you not only inspiration, but bits and pieces of the good and bad you've seen. .

I think you're right on this, but for me? I used to read an insane amount. I'd buy three novels on a Friday night and be back for three more the following weekend.

But when I started writing I stopped reading. Yes, a big part of that was time consideration, but mostly I found I did not like having other people's words in my head. I would compare my ideas to theirs, sometimes feel "I can do better" other times "Man, why am I bothering, I can't match this"

But mostly it seemed if I were writing a piece and then read something it would affect what I was doing and throw me, like a speedbump. So I read very little now. Even lit stories I only read them here and there when I'm taking a couple of days off between writing projects.

So I see reading as a negative to my creativity now. But I'm sure over all the years I read anything I could get my hands on there is a lot of stored up inspiration and ideas and styles built up to draw from.

 

[loquere]

"Writing is easy. You just sit at the typewriter and bleed." --E.Hemingway (RIP)

Bleed indeed!

 

[_Lynn_]

I think you're right on this, but for me? I used to read an insane amount. I'd buy three novels on a Friday night and be back for three more the following weekend.

But when I started writing I stopped reading. Yes, a big part of that was time consideration, but mostly I found I did not like having other people's words in my head. I would compare my ideas to theirs, sometimes feel "I can do better" other times "Man, why am I bothering, I can't match this"

But mostly it seemed if I were writing a piece and then read something it would affect what I was doing and throw me, like a speedbump. So I read very little now. Even lit stories I only read them here and there when I'm taking a couple of days off between writing projects.

So I see reading as a negative to my creativity now. But I'm sure over all the years I read anything I could get my hands on there is a lot of stored up inspiration and ideas and styles built up to draw from.

I used to go to the library twice a week. Then I started writing. Like you, I would compare what I wrote to what I found in books, which only made me question why I thought I could write.

Some people might benefit from reading even while writing. Not me.