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[douglas_clegg]

There are all kinds of adages and edicts for novelists through the years: "Show, don't tell," and "Write what you know," being the two that seem to be bandied about all the time.

I only have one:

"Do what works."

That's as much dogma as I can stand in terms of writing fiction, although I certainly wrestle at times with all the others that come down

Comments

[katelaity]

Octavia Butler's advice is still the best: "Persist." Nothing else gets you there.

From her essay "Furore Scribendi": "First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not... Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter. As habit is more dependable than inspiration, continued learning is more dependable than talent... Finally, don't worry about imagination. You have all the imagination you need... Persist."

[douglas_clegg]

Kate - that is perfectly put. I'll have to hunt down that essay. Thank you!

[katelaity]

It's in the Blood Child collection. A wee book, but a mighty one.

Now I need to stop wasting time on line and go write myself (says the English professor who teaches creative writing without her existence depending upon it ;-)

[onemoreshadow]

Although there's all kinds of writing advice out there, I find very little of it to be useful. I think it's interesting to hear a writer's opinions on the craft, but I get more than a little suspicious when they start saying what a writer must do to become successful.

I think "read a lot, write a lot," "work hard" and "do whatever works best for you" are the only real pieces of advice that come with no strings attached. Opinions on plot, character, mood, metaphor, etc., are just that, opinions.

I'm sure the English teachers and workshop instructors would disagree (their existence sort of depends on that), but it's still the most honest advice I was ever given.

[lucien_soulban]

I've always believed that "write what you know" is another way of saying "go out there and experience the world so you have something to say."

[antonstrout]

I generally roll with "Stop Sucking!"

[mariadkins]

"I'm all for whatever works."