In Which Paolini Gives Writing Advice for NaNo'rs

[kippurbird]

As part of Nano, the organizers have solicited and gotten published authors to write pep talks for the writers gunning for 50k.

One of them is Christopher Paolini. His is written very earnestly, he really wants to be helpful, but misses the mark in a lot of cases.

Shall we take a look at it?

Comments

[swankivy]

LOL. He has to point out that he wrote a bajillion words in oh so short a time.

I wrote a 255,000-word book in five weeks once, Paolini. Beat that, you tree killer.

I'm not sure what kind of "deadlines" he was writing to ever, but apparently he's a very slow writer and it's taken more than three years between his books. Don't see how that suggests he knows how to run for the finish line. Though obviously I don't know what went on behind the scenes.

The advice on "voice" and "casual" and all that stuff is totally worthless. Especially considering he doesn't know beans about how to write casually. His prose is TORTURED.

DRINK TEA OMG. This is so silly.

I've never worked with a word count goal in my life. Nevernevernever. Which is probably why I don't want to do NaNo. Hitting a word count is meaningless to me. Trying to CUT words to not have a book that scares people is what I have to aim for at the end.

[kippurbird]

I would assume editorial deadlines. Of course GRR Martian was apparently worse. I guess it takes a certain kind of person who can write quickly and well.

How do you manage to write so much so fast without killing your hands/wrists? I did 50k in two weeks and my left arm has just gone up and given up on me.

[swankivy]

I don't know. I've never had any trouble at all with typing a lot. I regularly type about 35,000 words a day.

Probably has something to do with two things: One, one of my first jobs was working as a chat room mod for a kids' chat on Kids' WB!, and most of what I did to yell at people was not automated, so I got a lot of practice; and two, when I learned to type in ninth grade, my teacher made this speech about "correct" typing posture (for hands, wrists, back, and feet), and said we would be very sorry one day if we got lazy and broke from it . . . I took her words to heart and type sitting in the chair with wrists lifted, back straight, at the edge of the chair with my feet flat on the floor like a musician, and to this day despite all the typing I do I have no complaints. (I type 120+ words per minute.)

[palmer_kun]

I can't speak for the creativity aspect, but he is actually right about conserving your big decisions.

Studies have shown that you only have so much decision-making juice, and every decision (major or minor) uses it up. As it runs out, you start making bad decisions.

They call it "ego depletion"

I doubt he knows this though. Probably just coincidentally lucky

[kippurbird]

Yes, but this is NaNo we're talking about. It's better to make real life decisions than NaNo decisions.

[mangraa]

Looks like someone wants to brag about how sophisticated he is by drinking tea. And not just some run-of-the-mill Earl Grey, but some weird shit I bet few non-tea drinkers know about. He could have mentioned how cinnamon's "bite" helps him focus, and perhaps finding something which has the same effect (Dr. Pepper? Pickles?) might help others. But no, it's just fancy-pantywaist-lad bragging

[hekateras]

...Though, as an artist, I'd have to say that even though visual art is not a "temporal" medium, as he calls it, writing and painting feels surprisingly similar. There's still that element of trying to create some pattern in broad strokes and then fine-tuning things, guiding the eye, etc... Only where it's things like colour and shape in art, it's pacing in literature that he's talking about.

[swankivy]

I kinda agree. In another interview he twisted around to deliberately bring up how he wrote some of his manuscript with a quill pen and inkwell or whatever. If that helps you get in the zone and makes you feel like a badass authentic SCRIBE, fine, but don't go telling everybody about it trying to make yourself look sophisticated. It's annoying.

[kippurbird]

Earl Grey tea is very sophisticated. Captain Picard drinks it. You can't get more sophisticated than that. ^_^

I wouldn't know about generals, but I know in my own personal daily life if someone is going to offer me luck, I'd like to know what kind.

It is an interesting look at how he thinks, which is very important in understanding him. It really does at time, despite his massive outlines, feel like he's stumbling along.

[falconwhitaker]

Oh bless his little cotton socks e-e He's trying so hard to be helpful, isn't he?

[kippurbird]

He does. Which makes it worse, in a sad sort of way.

[reverie_shadow]

Uh yeah, a piece of me just died while reading this, haha.

Is it just me or is there something incredibly annoying and condescending about that "As someone who once wrote 200,000 words in three and a half months, I know exactly what you’re going through" statement?

Iunno, I'm only failing NaNo this year on account of work and having a life in between that. Which sucks, but so long as I keep up with writing, I don't think it matters how many words I puke out this November.

Besides. Paolini is the last person I want to hear a pep talk about writing from.