The benefits of being a slut
Love ALL the books
Picture by Kellerio2007
Apparently, I like provocative titles to my posts lately. I’m not sure why, but let’s go with it!
Let’s talk today about the writing process. How you plan your stories (or not), how you attack the writing itself (in sequence or out of order), how you format your dialogue, how your characters develop, whether you handwrite or type, where you do the deed… all that good stuff.
No, I’m not going to go through all of those things. That’s just what your writing process encompasses. Let’s talk about how you figure out what that process is.
Most of you are probably aware that I’ve done numerous writing courses (including half a degree in creative writing (the other half was in reading and analysis)), run a writing group, and pretty actively research and
read up on all this kind of stuff. I get asked a lot: “What writing book would you recommend?”
My short answer is usually: “Choose three by different authors.” I have a list I suggest people read from (at the end of this post!), because you shouldn’t read just one writing book: you should read several. (I mentioned this in an earlier post, when I reviewed Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing.) I firmly believe that there is no single writer’s bible that will give you everything you need to know.
It’s not that simple.
For example, a lot of writers (including published ones) will say that if you read any writing book, it should be Stephen king’s On Writing. However, this isn’t a great writing book (partly because so little of it is actually about writing). It’s got some good advice in it and there is value to be found there, but it assumes that your writing process must be close to King’s. He’s a discovery writer (also known as a pantser) and actively disparages any other approach. Sorry, planners, you’re not doing it right, according to King.
King’s approach is just one of many, and while it works for him, there are so many options for writers. So many different ways that we construct stories, before, during, and after it gets onto the page. What works for one writer is torture for another. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution; if there was, everyone would be cookie-cutting books out of their creative cloth.
That’s why I tell writers not to read a single writing book – read three. Read as many as you can get your hands on. Don’t just read this blog – read six others.
Faithfulness is admirable, but this isn’t an arranged marriage. Get to know all your potential spouses before you tie the knot, intimately. Try them out before you lock yourself in.
Be a writing slut. Sleep around with all the advice-givers you can find. You’ll refine your taste and preferences, and figure out what works for you. Then you’ll be able to focus on that area, narrow your field of bed-mates, though it’s still okay to experiment. You might get bored with this particular choice, and maybe you’ll seek a different dance partner down the track; that’s okay, too. You might play with new toys every now and then. Who knows what will strike the right spark and ignite your passion?
Every writer is constantly seeking to improve their art and work, so never stop looking afield for new perspectives. Someone might have stumbled over that one things that has been foxing you for ages. I write this blog because I believe I have something to offer to writers, and I hope you find something of value here, even if it’s just the knowledge that you should go look at other blogs too.
I’m pretty awesome, it’s true, but if there’s one piece of advice that should be universal, it’s: don’t listen to only one person. Cherry-pick from all the advice you can find until you have the bed you want to make stories in. Build yourself the best writing process you can for your stories. Then lie back and enjoy the ride.
Enough mixed metaphors for one day? Okay. So here’s a list of books I recommend to people. Go read all of them!
- Creative Writing Coursebook: Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and Poetry, Julia Bell and Paul Magrs. This is my top pick because each chapter is by a different writer. Forty different approaches in a single book! A great starting place and a book I frequently go back to.
- How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, Orson Scott Card. Even if you don’t write scifi/fantasy, there’s some great advice in here. World-building, plotting and characterisation are universal.
- Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life, Terry Brooks. I wish I still had a copy of this. Fantasy-focussed, but good general advice in here, too.
- Characters and Viewpoint, Orson Scott Card. Strong, solid advice for any writer of fiction. Get it, read it, love it. (Then read another one.)
- On Writing, Stephen King. Yeah, I bitch about this one a lot, but only because you shouldn’t read it in isolation. King does have advice worth reading and trying. Just be prepared to wade through an autobiography (about 25% of the book is actually about writing) and try not to be offended when he lays down the law.
- Kurt Vonnegut. I don’t have a specific book for this one, but I’ve been coming across a lot of advice from him lately. It’s pretty easy to find online! Mostly pretty solid, from what I’ve seen. But ignore his attitude towards semi-colons; they are a totally valid piece of punctuation you can use.
- Writing Mysteries, Sue Grafton. This one also has multiple contributors. Useful stuff for any writer, even if you’re not writing mystery or crime (most stories have an element of mystery in them, so in a way, we’re all mystery writers).
That’s it for now. I’ll let you all know if I come across any other stand-out books or sources for writers.
What about you? What writing books have helped you figure out what your process is?
Francisco says:
A fiend of mine recommended Elements of Fiction Writing Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress to me. Given the bewildering choice of books I’ve opted for not reading any (especially as I was unemployed until fairly recently).
January 26th, 2013 at 11:20 pm
Emma Pooka says:
I love Ursula LeGuin’s Steering the Craft – loads of great exercises for doing alone or with classes and groups, and plenty of recognition that different writers have different processes. I love all her essays on writing, and almost everything she’s written is breathtakingly brilliant.
I’m also pretty fond of Damon Knight’s Creating Short Fiction – especially “Collaborating with Fred”, the chapter about getting ideas out of your subconscious and onto the page.
I think LeGuin taught me most about editing – I used to be so afraid of jettisoning all those words and losing all that hard work, but her ruthless exercises on cutting made me realise that writing the stuff that gets cut is necessary to the process. It’s like roses, the harder you prune, the healthier the story will grow back.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Sarah Gratton says:
Freaking hell woman, we need to start synchronizing these. My blog entry today was also about writing books and I hadn’t even looked at yours yet!
January 28th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Mel says:
Francisco – I’ll keep an eye out for that one! Orson Scott Card’s Characters and Viewpoint is part of the Elements of Fiction series, too. Great book. Try your local library – they might have some of these books!
Emma – I’ve heard good things about LeGuin’s book before, but haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet. It’s on my list to try! Knight’s book also sounds interesting, thanks!
Sarah – lol. Remember, you helped me choose to put the sluts post up first!
January 29th, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Francisco says:
Thank you for that recommendation. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
January 30th, 2013 at 3:42 am