Helpful Tips?
November 13, 2006
I am about to be a Bad Girl. And because of that I’m going to post a pic of a Bad Guy. Any excuse but here we are. I like Villains.
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/steph27364/RH/rh6-23.jpg)
Ok – tenuous link over. I am in the Twilight Zone. Newly published yet still vividly recalling being unpublished. Lately I’ve been thinking of things I vowed to remember when I was unpublished. Things that I’d seen published authors do that I’d found erm..unhelpful.
1. Dis ‘shippers’ ie. writers of fanfiction. I remember reading (recently) one romance author’s contemptuous post on a blog really laughing at the genre. Um…er… I know of two authors at least who might disagree. I also know of some very talented fanfic writers who aren’t published yet.
2. Complain about their editorial revisions or that they have none. 🙂
3. Say you have more to worry about after you’re published than before. Yes there are stresses but personally, they are nothing compared to wanting something very badly and not having it with no prospect of having it.
4. Tell unpublished writers there is something wrong if their characters aren’t ‘talking to them’. Characters often talk but not always. If yours don’t, it may not be anything to worry about. You may have to manipulate them (painfully) and sometimes you do, actually, need an external plot.
5. Make didactic statements about writing and expect people to listen just because you are published. By that token, I advise anyone looking for writing tips to ignore the four previous statements. Breaking the rules can be a very good thing.
What I am trying to say is be sceptical, be critical, experiment with writers’ tips. I found many of them incredibly useful and I still do. Others shook my fragile confidence and actually tempted me into going against instincts that have since been proved right. In the end, you can only go with what feels right for you, never feel inadequate because you don’t agree with an author’s ideas (especially mine). And above all try to enjoy…
Posted by Phillipa @ 2:53 pm | Leave a Comment
Amanda Ashby Says:
My pet hate was being told that ‘writers are born not made’. The assumption was always that the writer making the annoucement WAS born to it, and anyone else who wasn’t published at the time (such as me), obviously WASN’T born to it. I spent far too long fretting about this concept – actually, I still do, just in case it’s all been a terrible mistake!!!!!
Phillipa Says:
Amanda – Well I hope they aren’t born because I’m 43 so I’ve taken a long time about finding out! I think there is a lot to be learned from wwebsites and I;ve had some fantastic advice from other writers – often by email. But I have also almost given up at times, feeling I didn’t match up to expectations. I still make a lot of mistakes and I still worry that I’m not doing things ‘the right way’!
Any other pet hates ?
Jessica Raymond Says:
Well said, Pip. I’ve read loads of stuff in books and on the web about how to write and let’s be honest, there is no way all of it can be correct — especially when some tips contradict others. For me, the best thing was to read all the info I could get my hands on, and then take what I needed from it.
One thing that always grates on me a little, though, is when people say that if you do not itch to write 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, you’re not searching for a pen and unable to think of anything else, then you will never be a writer. For me, writing has often been a struggle. I love it when I get in the zone and all I can think about is writing, but equally there are times when I find writing very hard and I end up scrubbing the toilet and hoovering the banisters just so I won’t have to sit down and do it. Of course, I eventually get round to it, but writing is not easy. I love it, but it’s not easy.
My two pence!
Jess x
Rosy Thornton Says:
Fascinating ‘tips’…!
My pet hate (only because I can never live up to it – because actually I think it has the ring of being excellent advice) is people saying that you should know your characters so well that you could answer ANY QUESTION about them without even needing to think. What colour underwear they have on, whether they enjoyed school, what their favourite flavour of ice-cream is, how many fillings they have in their teeth….
I never know my characters that well. Yes, I know how they will behave when I put them in certain situations, but they are always uselessly blurry round the edges for me. In particular, I am rubbish at visualising them physically. Half the time I couldn’t even tell you whether they are dark or blond, tall or short, cute or ugly. Only if another character is falling in love with them (which does happen from time to time!) do I find myself noticing what they look like, and only because then that other person looks at them that way…
Rosy x
Julie Cohen Says:
I do have to say that you don’t have MORE to worry about after publication than before, necessarily, but you have DIFFERENT things to worry about which can be just as important, and possibly more so.
Wanting to be published very badly and keeping on getting setbacks is horrible–but so, for example, is being published and not being sure whether you’re going to be able to pay the bills because your publisher might drop you. In the first case it’s a big blow to the ego–in the second it’s a big blow to your ego and your career and your wallet. In any case, I don’t think worries are quantifiable–it all depends where you are at the time, what kind of person you are, and what else is happening in your life.
But I agree with you that published writers should be careful about belittling the experience of unpublished writers. It does no one any good.
I hate that “writers are born” malarky that Amanda mentions, too–it seems a statement only designed to be self-congratulatory and/or damning to others. And how on earth can you tell what you were “born” to do? Where does that leave all the “born” writers who were/are living in a time or place where they are illiterate or too poor or the wrong gender or colour to spend time writing? It’s utter nonsense.
Nell Dixon Says:
Great post, everyone approaches writing from a different angle so we all need different things at different times and being published doesn’t mean you stop learning. You learn different things. I was and still am really grateful for all the help and advice I’ve had both before publication and since and I try very hard to pay that back however I can.
Phillipa Says:
Iwanted to open a debate and I’m pleased that so many people have joined in. There is some thought-provoking ‘advice’ on the Susan Donovan website(US author published by LBD). I’m not saying that writers’ tips aren’t useful – I’m only asking aspiring writers to take a critical approach to them (in the proper sense of the word). As I said in my original post, I received some excellent advice from several generous romance authors – much of which I can’t repeat. LOL One hint to me by email literally changed the course of my writing life. It went against other advice I was hearing but instinctively I knew it was right *for me.* It’s not nice worrying about finances but I’ve been a freelance writer for ten years now and so I know what that’s like. Things are tough in the business world too… and many people work at two or even three jobs that are not as much fun as writing by a long way.
http://www.susandonovan.com/writers.aspx
Jessica Raymond Says:
Thanks for the link, Pip, I enjoyed her tips. I think that both you and Susan have hit it on the nail here, as have Amanda, Rosy, Julie, and Nell — just be yourself and keep writing!
Jess x
Phillipa Says:
Jess – I think ‘be yourself’ is the key. But as Susan says, it’s not easy it it?