Brandon 2
KitaTon's Ten Pieces of Advice for Writers
December 10th 2007 13:20
1. Know how to spell. If you’ve read an Irvine Welsh novel you’ll know that you don’t have to spell well. As Welsh might write ‘It’s nae gud tae stick tae the rules if thae dinae git things interestin’. However the reason Welsh can mess with the English Language so intensely is because he has some idea of what the rules are, so he can break them effectively. If we can’t read your draft because we keep hitting words like ‘nessisery’, you’ve already lost your credibility (and your potential publisher.)
2. Blog. I know that all you Starbucks writing snobmongers will turn up your precious little noses and wave your quaint little copy of Heart of Darkness at me and tell me that a ‘blog is barely a form of art’. It sure as hell isn’t, but the first few days of a kid learning drums sure isn’t music. Blogging doesn’t amount to good writing, but it does amount to constant writing which really does one thing for you in a massive way – it helps you develop your voice as a writer. Once you have your voice, the rest is easy(ish).
3. Be BRUTAL. Your first draft is NOT a masterpiece. It is a lump of clay that you are going to have to absolutely massacre and remould to give any kind of value to at all.
4. NO PASSIVE VOICE DAMMIT! I really hate passive voice. Passive voice is where something ‘just happens’. ‘Brenton was punched by Ahmed’ is so much less interesting than ‘Ahmed Punched Brenton’.
5. Distance is Vital. You can’t see what needs improving straight after it’s been made. You have to give some space before you can come back and find all your big mistakes – inconsistent characters, timing stuff ups etc.
6. Get Feedback. You really need someone who is going to be really honest. You need somebody who is willing to tell you ‘this is shit’ and not even care if they take away your only reason to live.
7. READ! If you don’t read, you can’t write. That simple.
8. Submit your work to competitions. Lots of competitions. Lots and lots. So many. Too many. L.L.L.L.O.O.O.O.O.T.T.T.T.S.S .S.S. It gives you a chance to develop your skills of genre and helps you learn what others are looking for in a story.
9. Get some real life experience. You’re not going to have a great story if your life experience is limited to sitting in your room watching Youtube. Go live a bit.
10. ENJOY IT! If you don’t like what you’re writing how can you expect other people to? That’ why I write poems about cats and slapstick violence – because they’re fun to write. And hopefully fun to read.
11. I know I said 10, but I wanted to add this one – be willing to make people angry. It gives your writing a real energy, and is an effective way to write for social change.
2. Blog. I know that all you Starbucks writing snobmongers will turn up your precious little noses and wave your quaint little copy of Heart of Darkness at me and tell me that a ‘blog is barely a form of art’. It sure as hell isn’t, but the first few days of a kid learning drums sure isn’t music. Blogging doesn’t amount to good writing, but it does amount to constant writing which really does one thing for you in a massive way – it helps you develop your voice as a writer. Once you have your voice, the rest is easy(ish).
3. Be BRUTAL. Your first draft is NOT a masterpiece. It is a lump of clay that you are going to have to absolutely massacre and remould to give any kind of value to at all.
4. NO PASSIVE VOICE DAMMIT! I really hate passive voice. Passive voice is where something ‘just happens’. ‘Brenton was punched by Ahmed’ is so much less interesting than ‘Ahmed Punched Brenton’.
5. Distance is Vital. You can’t see what needs improving straight after it’s been made. You have to give some space before you can come back and find all your big mistakes – inconsistent characters, timing stuff ups etc.
6. Get Feedback. You really need someone who is going to be really honest. You need somebody who is willing to tell you ‘this is shit’ and not even care if they take away your only reason to live.
7. READ! If you don’t read, you can’t write. That simple.
8. Submit your work to competitions. Lots of competitions. Lots and lots. So many. Too many. L.L.L.L.O.O.O.O.O.T.T.T.T.S.S .S.S. It gives you a chance to develop your skills of genre and helps you learn what others are looking for in a story.
9. Get some real life experience. You’re not going to have a great story if your life experience is limited to sitting in your room watching Youtube. Go live a bit.
10. ENJOY IT! If you don’t like what you’re writing how can you expect other people to? That’ why I write poems about cats and slapstick violence – because they’re fun to write. And hopefully fun to read.
11. I know I said 10, but I wanted to add this one – be willing to make people angry. It gives your writing a real energy, and is an effective way to write for social change.
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