Comments on: Just write http://saturdaywriters.com/just-write/ We're writers in Iowa sharing our experiences with writing Mon, 10 May 2010 21:41:27 +0000 hourly 1 By: Phil http://saturdaywriters.com/just-write/comment-page-1/#comment-1303 Phil Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:24:44 +0000 http://saturdaywriters.com/?p=881#comment-1303 I don't really agree on the "write ANYTHING" advice, cos writing a blog (which is informal non-fiction), an article (formal non-fiction), a letter, or anything else isn't going to help your prose improve. Working on a lawn mower engine isn't going to help you learn to fix a car engine. Although a lawnmower engine may help you learn a bit about how engines in general work, to learn specifically about to fix or troubleshoot car engines, you have to work on car engines. If you like writing blogs or articles or whatnot, more power to you; just DO NOT use them as a substitute for learning to write prose. If you really want rock-hard abs, doing bench presses aren't going to help. Writing non-fiction and writing prose are two distinct "muscle groups" with only a small bit of overlap. But insofar as everything else, how-to books are a good starting point, especially from the angle of learning how the publishing industry works, but I think all you really need to write well is the following: 1) A firm grasp on grammar and mechanics (Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" is god for this) 2) The ability to construct solid sentences 3) Practice writing good dialogue (as opposed to writing REALISTIC dialogue, which sounds atrocious in prose) 4) Grasp the essence and necessity of a scene (CHANGE! If somethiung doesn't change in the scene, it's unnecessary) 5) Realize that "character EQUALS plot" rather than the other way around 6) Know that stories must have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end 7) Show don't tell (although telling is okay when what you're telling isn't important to the overall story: there's no need to spend 5 pages detailing a horseback ride across the country if all you need is for the character to change locations) Everything else -- the nuances of character, pacing, stakes, theme, etc. -- comes with writing practice and by reading/studying novels to learn what works (and, importantly, what doesn't) and WHY. You CAN pick up some of these things from reading how-to books, but the difference between reading a droll list of mechanics and learning the same writing truisms for yourself is about as different as reading a description of a sunset and actually seeing it for yourself. I don't really agree on the "write ANYTHING" advice, cos writing a blog (which is informal non-fiction), an article (formal non-fiction), a letter, or anything else isn't going to help your prose improve. Working on a lawn mower engine isn't going to help you learn to fix a car engine. Although a lawnmower engine may help you learn a bit about how engines in general work, to learn specifically about to fix or troubleshoot car engines, you have to work on car engines. If you like writing blogs or articles or whatnot, more power to you; just DO NOT use them as a substitute for learning to write prose. If you really want rock-hard abs, doing bench presses aren't going to help. Writing non-fiction and writing prose are two distinct "muscle groups" with only a small bit of overlap.

But insofar as everything else, how-to books are a good starting point, especially from the angle of learning how the publishing industry works, but I think all you really need to write well is the following:

1) A firm grasp on grammar and mechanics (Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" is god for this)
2) The ability to construct solid sentences
3) Practice writing good dialogue (as opposed to writing REALISTIC dialogue, which sounds atrocious in prose)
4) Grasp the essence and necessity of a scene (CHANGE! If somethiung doesn't change in the scene, it's unnecessary)
5) Realize that "character EQUALS plot" rather than the other way around
6) Know that stories must have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end
7) Show don't tell (although telling is okay when what you're telling isn't important to the overall story: there's no need to spend 5 pages detailing a horseback ride across the country if all you need is for the character to change locations)

Everything else — the nuances of character, pacing, stakes, theme, etc. — comes with writing practice and by reading/studying novels to learn what works (and, importantly, what doesn't) and WHY. You CAN pick up some of these things from reading how-to books, but the difference between reading a droll list of mechanics and learning the same writing truisms for yourself is about as different as reading a description of a sunset and actually seeing it for yourself.

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