Don't normally like articles like this but...

[The Truth]

I found this one very helpful:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/books/review/colson-whiteheads-rules-for-writing.html?_r=1&ref=books

Probably because I roughly already follow these.

Maybe some of you guys also find them helpful?

[Charles Darnay]

If I wasn't feeling lazy right now I would do a comparative demonstration of these lists to show how unoriginal writers can be.

[Jack of Hearts]

Absolute disdain.






J

[The Truth]

So reaction is not good? haha

I just follow some of these without even thinking about it so I don't see how I can be wrong. :(

[Charles Darnay]

Of course you do, because the advice is so generic that anyone who writes anything is following them. They provide no insight into writing and are just there to cheapen the art, reducing it to buzzwords.

[MystyrMystyry]

So harsh JackoH and Charles.

The fact is all self-help books contain a grain of truth, and if you find your well of inspiration has dropped a level then it's perfectly okay to read a few quotes and catchphrases pertaining to the creative process - and also listen to songs or music, read a bit of something random or different to what normally inspires you, go for walk on the rarely travelled path, skip a stone in the river, visit another town...

Personally the best advice for me was from Mark Twain along the lines of carouse and party all you want, and when the time's right you'll know - basically just enjoy living, but always carry a notebook in case.

[Charles Darnay]

I'm not wholly against self help books or inspirational quotes, but do it well at least

[The Truth]

I'm not wholly against self help books or inspirational quotes, but do it well at least

In perfect honesty, this was the most creative I've ever seen an article such as this. :lol:

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I'm not sure I understand some of the hate against this article. They're good tips for starting writers, nothing more, and I don't think the article claims to be any more than that. Some of the best selling writers would do well to flow some of these. Then again, if they did, they probably wouldn't be best sellers.

I've noticed a few of this board's writers seem to have an overly-serious view of the writing process that it becomes near comical, whether it's taking on the facade of the tortured artists whom no one gets, being so good no one will publish their work (and therefore seeming to have a disdain of published works, or people who want to get published), thinking that writing can't be taught and that it's a completely romantic process only involving one's self, etc. (Please note I'm not talking about anyone specific with each of those categories. I haven't paid enough attention to all of the writers here to assign a name to each of those mindsets, they're just mindsets I've encountered. If you were reading that and thought, "He must be talking about me," maybe I was, but I didn't even realize it.)

[Darcy88]

I actually quite liked the article. Some helpful stuff in there. Particularly this:

"Rule No. 9: Have adventures. The Hemingway mode was in ascendancy for decades before it was eclipsed by trendy fabulist “exercises.” The pendulum is swinging back, though, and it’s going to knock these effete eggheads right out of their Aeron chairs. Keep ahead of the curve. Get out and see the world. It’s not going to kill you to butch it up a tad. Book passage on a tramp steamer. Rustle up some dysentery; it’s worth it for the fever dreams alone. Lose a kidney in a knife fight. You’ll be glad you did."

If I have writer's block I just go for an epic hike or I buy a bus ticket to a random place a few hundred miles away. Adventuring really gets my creative juices flowing. I don't even write about my adventures, there's just something about getting out away from writing and books and just simply living hard and dangerously and with novelty that gets me writing again. If I do nothing but write the writing comes slow. If I go on an adventure I can come back and just write 12 hours a day with smoothness and vigour and joy.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I think one of the best tips is to have a "dream journal," even if it does sound corny. Some of your most creative stuff will come from dreams, and even in that small space before you drift off to sleep, when an amazing idea comes to you. Unfortunately, I don't do this, as I'm way too lazy to actually do something like that. I'll always think, "I'll write it down later," but I never do, or by the time I remember to, I forgot what made the idea so cool. It probably wouldn't be bad to have a "drug journal," either, if you do drugs, of course. I've had some similar experiences where I think of stuff in the hospital--I thought of some crazy stuff when I've had ketamine (please note I'm not encouraging anyone to take that stuff--I thought of things, but each time I've had it and remembered it, it was more of a nightmarish, unpleasant trip).

[Darcy88]

I think one of the best tips is to have a "dream journal," even if it does sound corny. Some of your most creative stuff will come from dreams, and even in that small space before you drift off to sleep, when an amazing idea comes to you. Unfortunately, I don't do this, as I'm way too lazy to actually do something like that. I'll always think, "I'll write it down later," but I never do, or by the time I remember to, I forgot what made the idea so cool. It probably wouldn't be bad to have a "drug journal," either, if you do drugs, of course. I've had some similar experiences where I think of stuff in the hospital--I thought of some crazy stuff when I've had ketamine (please note I'm not encouraging anyone to take that stuff--I thought of things, but each time I've had it and remembered it, it was more of a nightmarish, unpleasant trip).

I don't have the problem of needing to hold on to such things. Where I need to make effort is making my already drug-and-dream-like thoughts into coherent sentences. I've gotten good at it but for a while there it was hard. I think because I am so right brain dominant, doing a lot of martial arts and painting, my left side needs to be worked more, I live very much in my right hemisphere.

[Alexander III]

I actually quite liked the article. Some helpful stuff in there. Particularly this:

"Rule No. 9: Have adventures. The Hemingway mode was in ascendancy for decades before it was eclipsed by trendy fabulist “exercises.” The pendulum is swinging back, though, and it’s going to knock these effete eggheads right out of their Aeron chairs. Keep ahead of the curve. Get out and see the world. It’s not going to kill you to butch it up a tad. Book passage on a tramp steamer. Rustle up some dysentery; it’s worth it for the fever dreams alone. Lose a kidney in a knife fight. You’ll be glad you did."

If I have writer's block I just go for an epic hike or I buy a bus ticket to a random place a few hundred miles away. Adventuring really gets my creative juices flowing. I don't even write about my adventures, there's just something about getting out away from writing and books and just simply living hard and dangerously and with novelty that gets me writing again. If I do nothing but write the writing comes slow. If I go on an adventure I can come back and just write 12 hours a day with smoothness and vigour and joy.



I completely agree with this, I have never understood how any man could become a good writer without having experienced his fill of the world. In my experience many writers only write about themselves which as Mutis has pointed out, can be very dull for the reader, because they have seen little and thus the only thing that they do know is themselves so they are forced to write solely of themselves.


As for the list, none of the things on it would do any harm and they all seem straightforward hints to help a novice out.

[stlukesguild]

Ooops!

[the facade]

People, without sounding too hipster - there is obvious self-irony in the composed list.

jeez