Let Me Fix That For You
Aspiring Writers Given Bad Advice. (via Margo Lanagan on Twitter.)
Namely, this bit: "To write a book about the past, there is a saying that you read only two books and then close your eyes." Man, I don't know where that saying came from, but in just looking at the reading I've logged here I count about 40 books, and there were at least a dozen more that I didn't log because I only read part of them. Which isn't to say that I think my novel is better because I did more research; I know it's better. I haven't read Maile Meloy and I don't know whether she's a good writer or not, but this is bad advice.
Namely, this bit: "To write a book about the past, there is a saying that you read only two books and then close your eyes." Man, I don't know where that saying came from, but in just looking at the reading I've logged here I count about 40 books, and there were at least a dozen more that I didn't log because I only read part of them. Which isn't to say that I think my novel is better because I did more research; I know it's better. I haven't read Maile Meloy and I don't know whether she's a good writer or not, but this is bad advice.