Let's Talk January: Improving my Writing Skills!
pleasance asked me what I've done to improve my writing. IF I have improved at all (sometimes I read older things and wince, other times I'm frustrated because it seems better than what I'm writing now) I'd attribute it to a few things:
--I took very much to heart Ray Bradbury's advice that "quantity leads to quality," and decided early on I wasn't going to be embarrassed about the fact that a lot of the same themes crop up over and over again in my stories, because they're all fun rough drafts for the next story as far as I'm concerned. I try not to polish stories up too much (obviously check the spelling and punctuation, make sure they hang together at a basic level) or overthink them, I like to release them into the wild and learn from what people point out as liking or as not liking. I don't think you have to approach quantity the same way, though--I think it would also work fine to write 30,000 words, go over them with a fine-toothed comb, pick out the 3,000 that really work, and post one well-polished, careful, gorgeous story now and then. But you have to write a lot to produce a few sentences truly worth it all!
--I read a LOT, and from a lot of different places and genres. Right now I'm in the middle of reading a wrestling biography by Roddy Piper, "Oriental Mythology" by Joseph Campbell, and "The Diaries of Jane Somers," a novel by Doris Lessing about a British woman in the 1970s that's very naturalistic and low-key, touching on themes of aging, love, and purpose in life. Recently I've read a murder mystery set in post-WWI Britain, some naval adventure, a Regency romance (one of my favorite genres), a sprawling fantasy series, and a guide to more punchy writing style. I read a fair amount of fanfic as well! With all of them, especially the fanfic, I spend a lot of time noticing what worked for me and what disappointed me, wondering what I would have wanted different and what was perfect as it was. Which leads to...
--I steal a lot! Everything I read or watch I'm constantly thinking about whether I could use it in a story--not verbatim, of course, but is there a twist on my beloved amnesia trope that seemed to work well here? Is there situation of mistaken identity that might work with a pairing I love? There was a Regency romance I read where the hero came to confess his love to the heroine, but she thought he was in love with her younger sister, and so their communication became hilariously tangled ("I suspect you know why I'm here." "...yes." "You don't seem terribly excited about it." "It is an excellent match, of course; how could I protest?") And I laughed and sighed for them (and cheered when finally one of them broke down and got emotional) and thought, "Oh, a story where Clark shows up to tell Bruce he loves him and Bruce thinks Clark is in love with Dick!" I haven't written that one yet, but now I am reminded that I totally want to. I am, in short, a magpie of a writer, always looking for shiny things I can use in my own nest. Everything ties back in: do I make a horrible mistake in a meeting and want to die of shame? Maybe Clark could totally screw up in front of the League and have to deal with worrying Bruce thinks less of him. Do I have to edit a boring medical text? Maybe I can learn something that John or Sherlock can use. Long road trip? How would I describe the scenery, is it something Bilbo might see in his travels?
--I have a great beta and I got better at listening to him and not taking his suggestions to mean "I don't like your story." His strong point--plot--is my weak point, so in general listening to him leads inevitably to a more interesting story.
And I guess what I do most is keep trying to enjoy myself and not let it become a chore, because that's the only way to keep moving forward for me!
--I took very much to heart Ray Bradbury's advice that "quantity leads to quality," and decided early on I wasn't going to be embarrassed about the fact that a lot of the same themes crop up over and over again in my stories, because they're all fun rough drafts for the next story as far as I'm concerned. I try not to polish stories up too much (obviously check the spelling and punctuation, make sure they hang together at a basic level) or overthink them, I like to release them into the wild and learn from what people point out as liking or as not liking. I don't think you have to approach quantity the same way, though--I think it would also work fine to write 30,000 words, go over them with a fine-toothed comb, pick out the 3,000 that really work, and post one well-polished, careful, gorgeous story now and then. But you have to write a lot to produce a few sentences truly worth it all!
--I read a LOT, and from a lot of different places and genres. Right now I'm in the middle of reading a wrestling biography by Roddy Piper, "Oriental Mythology" by Joseph Campbell, and "The Diaries of Jane Somers," a novel by Doris Lessing about a British woman in the 1970s that's very naturalistic and low-key, touching on themes of aging, love, and purpose in life. Recently I've read a murder mystery set in post-WWI Britain, some naval adventure, a Regency romance (one of my favorite genres), a sprawling fantasy series, and a guide to more punchy writing style. I read a fair amount of fanfic as well! With all of them, especially the fanfic, I spend a lot of time noticing what worked for me and what disappointed me, wondering what I would have wanted different and what was perfect as it was. Which leads to...
--I steal a lot! Everything I read or watch I'm constantly thinking about whether I could use it in a story--not verbatim, of course, but is there a twist on my beloved amnesia trope that seemed to work well here? Is there situation of mistaken identity that might work with a pairing I love? There was a Regency romance I read where the hero came to confess his love to the heroine, but she thought he was in love with her younger sister, and so their communication became hilariously tangled ("I suspect you know why I'm here." "...yes." "You don't seem terribly excited about it." "It is an excellent match, of course; how could I protest?") And I laughed and sighed for them (and cheered when finally one of them broke down and got emotional) and thought, "Oh, a story where Clark shows up to tell Bruce he loves him and Bruce thinks Clark is in love with Dick!" I haven't written that one yet, but now I am reminded that I totally want to. I am, in short, a magpie of a writer, always looking for shiny things I can use in my own nest. Everything ties back in: do I make a horrible mistake in a meeting and want to die of shame? Maybe Clark could totally screw up in front of the League and have to deal with worrying Bruce thinks less of him. Do I have to edit a boring medical text? Maybe I can learn something that John or Sherlock can use. Long road trip? How would I describe the scenery, is it something Bilbo might see in his travels?
--I have a great beta and I got better at listening to him and not taking his suggestions to mean "I don't like your story." His strong point--plot--is my weak point, so in general listening to him leads inevitably to a more interesting story.
And I guess what I do most is keep trying to enjoy myself and not let it become a chore, because that's the only way to keep moving forward for me!