On Giving Writing Advice

Layla Nahar said:

The problem is that I am without any ideas about what happens next.)

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Have a man with a gun in his hand come through the door.

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Put your characters in their strongest positions (that is, where they have the greatest freedom of action and support each other best) rather than in their most comfortable positions or safest positions or where they want to be, and see what develops. At the end of the book they'll have moved to where they want to be or where they should be, and be fairly comfortable. That's how you know you're at the end.

Or, if you like, us a piece of Celtic knotwork as your outline. (I do this.) That's the answer for the subplot question, too: Every time some particular thread comes to the top in the knotwork, talk about a plot that isn't your main plot (but still has a beginning, a middle, and an end).

Your subplots take up less space than your main plot, but they are still complete stories on their own. They either a) involve all or some of the main characters (Janet Evanovich does this really well), or b) use the same theme as the main plot, either to complement it or contrast with it (Shakespeare does this really well).

NeuroFizz said:

This underlines that the basic writing tools can be picked up by reading, but finding out how to apply them effectively requires that we experiment with our own writing. It is difficult to give advice on the latter part of this except through our own personal experiences, which may or may not be helpful to another writer. So, "just write it" includes doing one's own experimenting with various writing techniques. We can't do that for another writer.

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I think that 'try experimenting' is a lot more encouraging than 'just write it'. It's more like a permission, and less like a reminder that one is failing to do what one wants to do, which is to write.

shadowwalker said:

But the big problem here is that if fear is the real cause, what on earth can anyone on a forum say to dispel that?
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You either face it down or watch your dreams wither.

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Well, I think that acknowledging that fear might be underlying it, and sharing one's own experience (if one has experienced something similar) could go a long way. Everything you said is true. It's very interesting that some fears are easier to manage than others, and that what is a big major fear to one person is a minor fear that can be dealt with by another. I guess that many people will be at a loss as to how to make good suggestions in some situations. The logic "either face it down or watch your dreams wither" is flawless, but still, some fears are very strong...

mccardey said:

But are you suggesting I should come up with an idea about what happens next?

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For *me* the last thing I want is for someone to tell me what to write. Myself, I'm always interested in the approach, the process, how to think about solving the problem, rather than being offered a solution.

James D. Macdonald said:

Put your characters in their strongest positions (that is, where they have the greatest freedom of action and support each other best) rather than in their most comfortable positions or safest positions or where they want to be, and see what develops. At the end of the book they'll have moved to where they want to be or where they should be, and be fairly comfortable. That's how you know you're at the end.

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Wow. Thank you very much. This has given me something to think about.

Layla Nahar said:

For *me* the last thing I want is for someone to tell me what to write. Myself, I'm always interested in the approach, the process, how to think about solving the problem, rather than being offered a solution.

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Well now that I know that, I'll make sure if I see you asking for any advice, I'll refrain from saying "Just write it" (In fact I don't know that I would ever give that comment and nothing else - I'm much too verbose. ) But I only know that now because you've just told me, and I only know it about you. I can't extrapolate that the mccardey-equivalent of "Just write it" is unwelcome across the board. I hope if I say it to someone who doesn't find it helpful, they'll just move on to the next helpful post. I also hope that they'll find the fact that I took time to read their post and respond a bit of a comfort in its own way. But I can't see how we can mandate for everyone here what will or what won't work. Surely RYFW has that pretty much covered?