What's the WORST Writing advice you've ever been Given?

Rob_In_MN · Mar 20, 2019

lonestarlibrarian said:
Sure, but if I'm paying a professor $200 to come talk to people who have spent years not sitting-down-and-doing-it... I'd kind of like a bit more bang for my buck. Like, "Here are three different methods for getting started" or "This is how you organize your thoughts" or "What comes first? Plot or characters? Well, this is how you deal with it when you have characters, but no idea what to do with them, and this is how you deal with plot, but you're not really sure where it's going, or your characters are boring..." Or "Writer's block? Here are ten techniques to get past it." Or that sort of thing.

Instead, just "throw words on the page, because Stephen King doesn't, and neither should you, and here's some other stuff Stephen King says to do" for about 45 minutes--- I could've saved myself $200. On the plus side, I learned a lot about academicians, and it was the last time I tried importing one for a program.

well, yes, that's certainly fair to be disappointed if you didn't get much more than that for 200 bucks.

litdawg · Mar 21, 2019

I'm not sure I'd draw the same conclusion you have. Creative Writing profs are hired, generally speaking, because of their publications not their teaching ability. This works out since a huge benefit of MFA programs is giving students focused time to write. I won't get into the MFA vs the City debate since I'm a fan of moving to the City after a degree in a traditional discipline other than writing.

I think you would have gotten a much different outcome if you'd brought in a CW prof in the mold of John Gardner, Janet Burroway, or Charles Johnson. Just being on the CW faculty at a university doesn't mean a person has much more than a few pubs and an ability to pontificate, but it can provide the opportunity for a writer to develop into just the sort of mentor you are seeking.

BethS · Mar 21, 2019

lonestarlibrarian said:
But for these people, who were would-be novel writers frozen in indecision and inactivity--- I think it was terrible advice

Maybe, maybe not. For some of them, it might have been just the push they needed to get going on the story. Maybe their paralysis came from the idea that they had to have their stories all planned out first, and for whatever reason they weren't able to do that, so they were stuck.

But it's true that whole novels, good novels, can be written without a prior plan. Many writers write that way, and can't really do it any other way. (Me, for instance.) For beginners, part of learning to write is learning how they write. And not every writer uses an outline, even writers of very complex novels.

Layla Nahar · Mar 21, 2019

BethS said:
What's the purpose of the morning pages?

Julia Cameron devotes 7 pages to that question in 'The Artist's Way' & I didn't feel like going back over all 7 but - the task is to fill 3 pages with free-writing - write about anything that comes to your head, but fill 3 pages. One is not to look at it after writing, or to consider the quality, the content etc. The idea is that this will help you evade the Censor.

I found her book incredibly helpful. For me it was the exercises that go with each chapter (she says to do at least half of them) and the Artist's Date.

D. E. Wyatt · Mar 21, 2019

Tepelus said:
An ex of mine gave me the advice to give my historical/fictional Romanian and Hungarian characters American names because their names were confusing.

Hah. He wouldn't like the book I've been working on that uses Anglo-Saxon names...WITHOUT modernizing the spellings:

Ælfƿina
Þrydƿulf
Cynefrið
Æþelþryþ

abbyapplejack · Mar 21, 2019

Cobalt Jade said:
Handmaid's Tale was written way before Hunger Games and the current crop of YA novels, most of which use it badly.

I know that much, but I wouldn't go as far as saying "most use it badly."

Cobalt Jade said:
This is not to say the advice against using first POV is 100% valid, but I do think it's more true than not, and writers should be very careful in choosing to use it.

Agree to disagree. I'm in the camp of a literary device/writing mechanic/what-have-you is exactly that, people shouldn't be discouraged from choosing to write a certain POV/tense. As long as we as writers stay dedicated to our craft and work on getting better, I have no issues.

kuwisdelu said:
Eh, I'm going to disagree with that.IMO, 1st vs 3rd limited and present vs past tense is 99.9% reader preference.(I'd agree that 3rd omniscient, 2nd person, and future tense are legitimately trickier and take some practice.)

Yeah, absolutely. Not always, but I tend to enjoy 3rd person/past tense less. I like the immediacy of 1st person/present.

shadowsminder · Mar 21, 2019

angeliz2k said:
So, basically, yes, I have been told to dumb things down, to make things easy on my reader, and that's the worst kind of advice. It's okay to make readers think a little about what they're reading.

It is okay! I think in your example, it's important to note it's also okay to make readers feel uncomfortable about what they're reading.

Pure entertainment that requires small efforts from readers sell well. Authors can make millions of dollars providing that. Readers out there also want to explore new ideas, perspectives, or feelings. Authors don't generally sell as well providing thought-provoking or emotionally unexpected works, but so what? Money isn't the only reason to write or publish. Mainstream audiences aren't the only ones worth writing to, either.

A story doesn't have to be simple and easy for a typical reader to be good.

As a sidenote: The choice of "dumb" is problematic because of its connotation to silence.

BethS · Mar 23, 2019

Layla Nahar said:
Julia Cameron devotes 7 pages to that question in 'The Artist's Way' & I didn't feel like going back over all 7 but - the task is to fill 3 pages with free-writing - write about anything that comes to your head, but fill 3 pages. One is not to look at it after writing, or to consider the quality, the content etc. The idea is that this will help you evade the Censor.

Ah. Thanks for explaining. I have to admit I would probably find that exercise to be both frustrating and futile, and a waste of precious morning time.

LongHand101 · Apr 5, 2019

BethS said:
A workshop presenter at a writing conference told us that the only way to write well was to write fast. No exceptions. Never slow down to edit or think, or whatever you were writing would be terrible. To be a professional writer, you have to write fast. Period. Always and forever.

Well that's free-writing or writing using a prompt and a timer. I find it immensely helpful as it puts pressure on me to commit words to paper. I think that's probably what the person meant -- that it forces you generate work rather then just sit there mulling things over into eternity. Of course, yes, later you probably will need to edit or rewrite some of it, but it's surprising what nuggets of gold you can end up with.

bearilou · Apr 10, 2019

LOL

The moment someone tells me there's a 'rule' is the moment I bow up at them.

My chest goes out, my chin lifts, I throw my elbows back, and I shout "OYAH? SEZ U! here, hold my beer"

My advice to anyone is to do what works for them. Until it doesn't, then do something else. Not one thing works all the time. Each book, each writing session is different in some way. Trying to adhere to some 'rule' is a sure way to kill creativity and motivation.

Ask me how I know.

indianroads · Apr 10, 2019

bearilou said:
LOL

The moment someone tells me there's a 'rule' is the moment I bow up at them.

My chest goes out, my chin lifts, I throw my elbows back, and I shout "OYAH? SEZ U! here, hold my beer"

My advice to anyone is to do what works for them. Until it doesn't, then do something else. Not one thing works all the time. Each book, each writing session is different in some way. Trying to adhere to some 'rule' is a sure way to kill creativity and motivation.

Ask me how I know.

In my career as a design engineer I learned to do a port mortem at the conclusion of each project. The purpose of this was to look at the process, not the design itself, and consider what worked and what didn't, then improve. Process, should IMO, be in a constant state of evolution.

Tim Archer · Apr 10, 2019

I'm going to chime in here with the 'don't write fanfiction rule.' I've heard it's either bad for your writing and/or unethical - even if an author has flatly stated that they love FF!

I got a lot of my awkward, bad, rookie writing out of the way by writing fanfic. As well as a lot of the problematic tropes that I thought were necessary for 'realism.' I don't write fanfic anymore, but I wrote more than 500,000 words over four years and really found my current voice stylistically.

AW Admin · Apr 11, 2019

Tim Archer said:
I'm going to chime in here with the 'don't write fanfiction rule.' I've heard it's either bad for your writing and/or unethical - even if an author has flatly stated that they love FF!

I got a lot of my awkward, bad, rookie writing out of the way by writing fanfic. As well as a lot of the problematic tropes that I thought were necessary for 'realism.' I don't write fanfic anymore, but I wrote more than 500,000 words over four years and really found my current voice stylistically.

I'm adding this link to the AW FAQ: Why We Don't Allow Fan Fic on AW because I think it says some helpful things about writing fan fic.

6 Ways That Fanfiction Makes Your Writing Stronger

JulieWeathers · Apr 11, 2019

Agreed. I hate it when someone trots out the "to be" charge.

JulieWeathers · Apr 11, 2019

You have to outline is some of the advice I hate vehmently. Not everyone outlines and not everyone needs to.

RookieWriter · Apr 11, 2019

bearilou said:
My advice to anyone is to do what works for them. Until it doesn't, then do something else. Not one thing works all the time. Each book, each writing session is different in some way. Trying to adhere to some 'rule' is a sure way to kill creativity and motivation.

Makes sense.

Sonya Heaney · Apr 20, 2019

jjdebenedictis said:
Well, I had a beta reader who didn't know how to use apostrophes chide me for not knowing how to use apostrophes. That was a little awkward.

"You wouldn't say 'Tim is hat', would you?"

Er, no, but I would say 'Tim's hat', and no, I'm not gonna change that...

Oh, LORD. I see they overstudied the "it's" rule in third grade, and missed the rest of the grammar lesson.

Sonya Heaney · Apr 20, 2019

Tepelus said:
An ex of mine gave me the advice to give my historical/fictional Romanian and Hungarian characters American names because their names were confusing.

I'm Ukrainian, and every time I hear something like that I wonder if these people realise how racist and offensive they're being. Even well-known authors sometimes make comments along the lines of: 'I hate those froufrou names, and never use them.'

Sorry, Doris, that "Oksana" sounds "froufrou" to you, but to me it's a normal name - and a nice one. Expand your horizons.

AzrielTWrites · Apr 29, 2019

I haven't really been given much advice personally. But general advice I see that I consider bad is “Always outline”. I have tried outlining. It only gives me writer's block. And it annoys me when they say pantsing will give you writer's block/super messy drafts. It's different for every writer.

starrystorm · Apr 29, 2019

I once read in an article long ago when I first started writing to never use the word "perfect" because nothing's perfect. That's garbage. I like to write deep into my character's heads and if they think they found a perfect rock, then so be it.

Auteur · Apr 29, 2019

I'm a person who always has to learn things the hard way -- that is, by making mistakes. So I wouldn't know bad advice if it bit me in the ass. The only thing I know is, as long as I'm having fun writing, I must be doing something right.

indianroads · Apr 29, 2019

Give up, writing is a waste of time because you'll never make any money. You'll earn a better paycheck at McDonald's.

While true, money isn't my motivation (thankfully!). The joy of telling a story is what it's about for me.

What's the WORST Writing advice you've ever been Given?

Rob_In_MN

Newb for life

litdawg

Helping those who help themselves

BethS

Layla Nahar

Seashell Seller

D. E. Wyatt

abbyapplejack

shadowsminder

writing in the shadows

BethS

LongHand101

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

Tim Archer

AW Admin

JulieWeathers

JulieWeathers

RookieWriter

Sonya Heaney

Sonya Heaney

AzrielTWrites

starrystorm

Auteur

Redacted

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.