Valuing Differences in Writing Styles

I attended LTUE recently. It was great seeing so many friends and making new ones.

I've spent a lot of time over the last year dealing with doubt. Do I really have what it takes to be an author? Does my writing suck lemons? Is this really what I want? This was on top of chronic health problems, kitchen remodeling, job loss, and all sorts of other angst. It was not an easy year. A lot of things have changed, most of them in my head.

I was on a panel titled World Building 101. It was intimidating to be up there. Fellow panelists included James A Owen, Bob Defendi, Dan Willis, Larry Correia, and Howard Tayler. I've known all of them, except for James, for years. But I was feeling decidedly defensive, being the only woman on the panel and the least known author in the group. It didn't help it was 9 am on a Saturday and the room was packed anyway.

Howard was moderating. He'd come around to all of us the night before and told us to bring our "A game". We were going to demonstrate world building. We spent the first fifteen minutes creating two different worlds. Fun brainstorming with some great ideas. Then it turned to a discussion of how we authors build worlds for our stories.

I was starting to believe I did it wrong. All of the others start with an idea, a concept, which they build their world around. Once they have that fleshed out a bit, they drop in characters and a plot. I start with a character and a bit of plot that interests me. I build the world around whatever happens. It's a much more organic process than what they were describing.

Keep in mind these men are intimidating, big names. I've never had a creative writing class in my life. The only writing class I ever had in college was technical writing which doesn't really lend itself to fiction.

Dan Willis spoke up after I hesitantly described my process. To paraphrase, "We all write differently. Don't sweat it. Do what works for you. There is no wrong way to create a story."

There are pitfalls in writing fiction that have to do with plot holes, passive voice, switching point-of-view, and other things, but those skills can be learned. Telling stories? Creating characters and worlds? Everyone is going to do it differently. The results are a rich smorgasbord of voices and stories and ideas. Don't doubt your method, unless it isn't working for you.

Believe in your voice and your story. No one else can tell it the way you will.

And if you're ever on a panel with Howard Tayler? He can't stand the term pantsing to describe writing by the seat of your pants or making it up as you go. Just a friendly warning.

Monday Writing Tips

Today's column is an excerpt of an article written by Nestor Maronski. He threatened to beat me with my own book if I didn't post it.

1. Don't write when you aren't in the mood. This ensures that you will never actually write much of anything. According to quite a few people I've heard from lately, this will make the world a better place. We need fewer writers who think their plebian, stale assemblage of words are worth reading. If you must, let your dog read your writing. He'll appreciate it much more than the rest of the world.

2. Write only with a very dull crayon on large pieces of newsprint. Writing real stories is something that should only be left to professionals, like Shakespeare and Jane Austen. You might hurt yourself.

3. Everything worth reading has already been written. Why should we care what happened to YOU or what YOU think of anything? Writing is not about YOU, the author, writing is about ME, the critic.

4. If you do manage to create a story that somehow, through a major miracle, is published, don't ask me to read it. I'm sure it's drivel because the entire publishing industry is full of moronic editors and writers who think we need new books to read. We don't. We have the classics.

That's enough, Mr. Maronski. With tongue firmly in cheek, I say, ignore his advice. Let your inner creative spirit soar. Write that book you've been meaning to. And don't let anyone else tell you differently. This is your chance to create something uniquely yours. Whether you pursue a career or not is your choice. Do it for your inner creative genius.

Speaking of submitting, I'm still looking for stories featuring wild and evil tumbleweeds. Information and ideas are all here: http://wanderingweeds.blogspot.com/

Send them in! Submission deadline is December 31.

Psst - find out more about Nestor Maronski at this site.

Monday Viral Blues

I decided I needed to post twice a week. Mondays will be devoted to writing advice, author interviews, and other topics of interest to writers. Thursdays will be recipe/family life articles.

So this Monday post is: Simple Advice for Writers, 5 easy ideas of things NOT to do (Yes, I've done them all)

1. Never write while under the influence of children. Your dialogue ends up reading something like this:
"Kiss me," she whispered, passion glittering in her eyes.
"Quit kicking the cat!"
"Oh, my dearest darling, Stop squishing peas into the carpet!"
"I don't care what your brother said, he is NOT stealing your air when he breathes!"
Her bosom heaved as his hand slapped his sister. "I'll give you something to scream about, you little monsters!"

2. Never write while under the influence of cold medication. This should be self-explanatory. If you're anything like me, your brain takes a holiday. What you write is highly entertaining but usually makes very little sense when read in the light of day.

3. Never take advice columns too seriously. Really, folks. The best way to learn to write is to do it. Then get people you trust to read what you've written and give you feedback. If all they tell you is, "This is wonderful!", find other friends who know something about writing. Pick apart books you like, books you don't like, movies, whatever has a story to tell. Study other people's writings. Then write more of your own works. Keep writing.

Good luck with your writing endeavors. I'm going to go take more cold medication now.