Hey, everyone.
So, I know last week I said that this week's post I'd be doing one of two things. Turns out I'm doing neither of those. I found a third thing that fired me up. Basically what I've got here is a list of the "ten mistakes aspiring creative writers make." The people I took it from on Pinterest seemed to think it was correct. Me, I had a different take on it. So, let's look at the list, and I'll tell you why it's wrong or right.
Alright, so here's the list:
1. Wondering how to find an agent or publisher before completing the project.
I don't think this is so much a mistake as it is just getting ahead of yourself. Without the project complete, why should an agent or publisher care about it? But, to tell you the truth, I've dealt with some pretty slow bastards in this business. Hell, I got a rejection letter from an agent a few weeks ago for a query I made like a year ago. I was kind of insulted by the whole thing because the agent actually tried to spare my feelings in her rejection, and I was like, "Bitch, I've already decided to self-publish this book. Address your email to 8 months ago when I might have given a sh*t." Now, I know there's no way she could've known that I had decided to self-publish it, but in this business, when you don't hear from someone for like three months, you automatically assume it's a "no." So, why bother even sending an email to tell them no if the email is dated from the year before? But anyway, there's no reason to contact an agent or publisher until you're finished, unless you know for certain it'll take them so long to respond that you can have it done by then. In which case, you do you and stick it to the system sideways.
2. Waiting for inspiration to hit.
This is a legitimate mistake. You should think of writing as a job; if you're not doing it, you're losing money. Sure, sometimes inspiration can hit like a lightning bolt, but often times you're better off either manipulating your inspiration to make it hit or just setting to work right away. Seriously, just do it. Just write right now.
3. Trying to write something "different."
This one I take issue with because I don't know why it's here. I thought my first novel, Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens (buy it here on Amazon), is different from most of the stuff out there. Now, maybe it isn't and that's why this point is here because nothing's ever really different, or maybe because in some general asinine way it's all different, I honestly don't know which way this one is trying to go, but I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to be different. It might take a while to write something that is truly different, but if you can settle for "different enough," it can totally be done. F*ck this point.
4. Using weak nouns and verbs, and passive voice.
Oh boy, here we go again with this sh*t. Honestly, it's a decent point to make, but so many f*ckers make it that we're beating a dead horse. Not to mention, most writers aren't guilty of using weak nouns and verbs. And I'm pretty sure I've even seen the "experts" use passive voice from time to time. There's just some sh*t you can't get away from once in a while. My other point of contention with this point is that I wouldn't be surprised if most new writers don't know what the difference is between a weak noun and a strong noun. This piece of advice is like saying, "Hey, don't be a square, be cool." There are so many different ways of being square or cool that without a definitive example, this point is completely useless.
5. Deciding not to read in your genre because you don't want to inadvertently plagiarize.
This is another one that I don't understand why it's here. It seems like a legitimate concern to me, especially if you already know the cornerstones and defining qualities of your genre. Now, you might be able to make a strong argument for that you're more likely to plagiarize because you don't know what's out there, but someone should just say that instead of this ass-backward way. On the other hand, this point could be trying to make the argument that because there's no such thing as an original idea, everything's inadvertently plagiarized anyway, so what's the big deal. I mean seriously, I'm working on a project with my uncle, and I showed him my new published novel Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens (buy it on Amazon here), and for a moment he was concerned that he may have been inadvertently inspired by my story because I told him before what it is about before. I thought his worry was redonk because I can see the clear differences between our two stories just fine--I don't know why he can't. It's only in the broadest, most general sense that the two stories are related as in they're both fighting evil. But honestly, I can't be sure what this statement is after because it's too damn vague to begin with.
6. Not outlining.
This is actually a legitimate mistake. Because I didn't outline Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens (buy it on Amazon here), it took me seven years to write. My other novel, Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight (buy it on Amazon here), I did outline and I managed to complete it in within a year. An outline keeps you on task and prevents you from wandering, either away or to a different part of the story, while you're working on the story. It helps you to focus on one point at a time as they become important to the developing story.
Take my uncle for instance: our project, no outline. Why? Well, his personality isn't easy to communicate with and he's got that artist thing where everything he does isn't good enough unless someone heaps tons and tons of praise on it, so if I'm not telling him it's good, he starts getting second thoughts. But what's really slowing us down is that only he knows for sure what the story is, but he won't tell me, and he seems incapable of getting any productive work down without me. It's quite frustrating, especially because I've completed multiple projects by myself, and I have a method that works. And a part of that method is outlining. So yeah, outline your story.
7. Not setting aside time to write.
Honestly, with point 2 already on this list, this point is really superfluous. Like I said, think of writing like a job; if you're not writing, you're losing money. So, how do you make sure you're making money? You write every day just like you would at a regular job. And because you have more stuff to do than just write, you're going to need to learn how to budget your time. And because of point 2, there's no reason to say any of this because most people are intelligent enough to work all that out for themselves eventually. It's honestly kind of insulting that someone felt the need to tell someone this.
8. Not knowing what you want to communicate.
This is stupid. This is really stupid. Because every writer gets, oh, what's it called again? "Writer's block," once in a while. It happens to the best of writers. It's not a rookie mistake at all. And sometimes you may know what you want to communicate, but you just don't know the words. Ain't no one said this writing sh*t would be easy. Or at the least, easy all of the time. That's why we proofread and edit. That's why we perfect our drafts before we publish them. Honestly, this isn't a big deal. I can tell you with all certainty that this is going to happen to you, but I can also tell you that it isn't a big deal because you'll get over it. Other writers always do.
9. Never reading a book or taking a class on the craft of fiction writing.
I don't really see this as problem. Some writers have never taken a class, and some writers don't read very often. Hell, if you can write and be successful without doing either of these things, you go, girl! The universe isn't going to cease to exist just because you can write without ever taking a class or reading a book. Not to mention, everything you could ever need to learn about how to write English you can learn in your English classes. They all cover word order, punctuation, metaphors, adjectives, etc. And just because you've taken a class or read a lot doesn't automatically mean you're going to be a good writer or better than other writers. But, would taking a class or reading a book improve your chances of being a good writer? Certainly. But it's not a requirement.
10. Having an idea for an interesting situation but not having an interesting character.
This one is pretty dumb, too. On the one hand, I'm not sure most new or aspiring writers would be able to realize that they have an interesting situation and not an interesting character, or vice versa. So how are new and aspiring writers supposed to know? But on the other hand, I would think having one would beget the other. I have no idea how any one could possibly screw this up. Kind of like how when you put someone ordinary into an extraordinary situation: how would you expect them to respond? They may not be able to even at the start of it, but as they get more comfortable with the situation, they should become just as interesting as the situation itself. But, just like many of the others, without a definitive example, I don't know how this is supposed to help anybody. For the most part, I get the feeling like this list isn't meant to help anybody; it's just meant to take already experienced writers for a stroll down memory lane when they were terrible at writing. Or, this is a piece of clickbait to get you to go to someone's blog. Regardless, most of this list is really stupid. The only useful bits about it are outline your work, write every day, and don't tease people with unfinished work.
I know I was really sassy and kind of pissy during this blog. I was in a rush because I was trying to prep it for yesterday when I usually release writing posts, and I did watch a bunch of Team Four Star's Dragonball Z Abridged episodes right before working on this post, so I was still feeling that savage wit they use in their writing. But, anyway...
For next week, I hope to write one of the two things I promised for this week. I think the secret to getting them done and sticking to the plan of turning them out is to write them in advance. So, I'll try that and we'll see what happens. So, until next week...
Keep writing, my friends.
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