Various and sundry
Feb. 21st, 2010 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valarltd1) Cherry Tart is a finalist for the Darrell Award in short stoiries. Someone explain the committee to me, in small words. I figured they'd go for the het-without-sex (but it was in a collection that already had 3 finalists), then the gay-without-sex (guess not), then the het with sex. I didn't intend to submit the hot mess that is Skyway Robbery, but Tim made me. (sodomy, pegging, het sex, the whole nine yards)
2) The writing rules. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one This is free advice. It's worth what you paid for it. Elmore Leonard rules are fine if you want to write like him.
Some of my favorites under the cut:
Roddy Doyle: Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, eg "horse", "ran", "said".
Helen Dunmore: Finish the day's writing when you still want to continue.
Anne Enright:
1) The first 12 years are the worst.
2) The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.
Richard Ford: Don't drink and write at the same time.
Neil Gaiman:
1) Write
2) Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3) Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it
Al Kennedy
6) Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.
7) Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes.
3) There is no three. It's laundry day.
2) The writing rules. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one This is free advice. It's worth what you paid for it. Elmore Leonard rules are fine if you want to write like him.
Some of my favorites under the cut:
Roddy Doyle: Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, eg "horse", "ran", "said".
Helen Dunmore: Finish the day's writing when you still want to continue.
Anne Enright:
1) The first 12 years are the worst.
2) The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.
Richard Ford: Don't drink and write at the same time.
Neil Gaiman:
1) Write
2) Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3) Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it
Al Kennedy
6) Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.
7) Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes.
3) There is no three. It's laundry day.
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-21 07:38 pm (UTC)This sounds like 10 rules to write drek, not fiction. I can't think of a single author I respect who follows these rules. Not strictly anyway. The KISS school of writing thought has always offended me. If you want to write for the lowest possible common denominator, that's fine, and there's a place for it. Maybe you don't want your readers to have to think at all. But me? I would rather challenge my readers, to truly craft a work of fiction that intrigues and draws in. You have to do that with more than the repetitious 'said' and no adverbs, IMHO.
Sorry. That has always irritated me. There's more than just this guy that think this way. Several of the panels I've been to have this opinion, too.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-21 07:52 pm (UTC)I cling to my prologues. On the other hand, adverbs are like pepper, best used for flavor but easy to overdo. JK Rowling is the poster child for adverb abuse.