Comments on: Advice From My Writing Professor

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:02:55 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen — my writing professor!

Hey, holy crap, that’s exciting to see you here, Doc. Thanks for all your imparted awesomeness. Wouldn’t be the same without your influence!

– c.

By: Michael Kobre

Michael Kobre — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:39:32 +0000

This guy sounds like a serious blowhard to me, the usual source of dubious academic wisdom by people who talk a lot and don’t get nearly as much done. And I should know: I’ve been living inside his skin for decades.

Thanks for the kind words, Chuck. It sounds like you’re doing really well. Keep at it, keep at it.

By: TERRIBLEMINDS: Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey » Blog Archive » Kiyaa! I Punch Your Face With Writing Tips!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:35:25 +0000

[...] Advice From My Writing Professor [...]

By: TERRIBLEMINDS: Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey » Blog Archive » Photography For Writers

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:38:52 +0000

[...] the thing: writers need to find ways to disconnect. As noted the other day, concentration is a finite resource. You need to find things that don’t ensnare your thought [...]

By: Shadow Freak

Shadow Freak — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:09:26 +0000

Wouah! Copying that next to White Wolf’s general style guide.
That is AWESOME!

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:25:48 +0000

Yeah. Yes. Sure. There’s a couple different things going on with that rule — certain genres or modes of writing have a more generous allowance when it comes to flashy, poetic, or purple language. And, let’s be honest: some very literary work has some very purple prose. (Example — The Road, which I loved, has some turns-of-phrase that stood out overmuch.)

I don’t think “killing your darlings” really has to do with eliminating interesting language. I think it has to do with eliminating language whose sole purpose is as ornamentation. It’s a debatable point, but I’d argue that the communication of most stories is strengthened when that kind of language is taken out behind the shed and shot.

(I’m going through my novel to do one final clean-up on language before the query letter goes out. It’s downright bloody; I’m exciting fatty tissue left and right, and it reads a lot leaner and meaner because of it. Anytime I find language that stands out, I check it to see if it’s necessary that it stands out — does it communicate something? Does it enhance the theme, the mood, the way it reads? Or is it just there because I like it? If it’s the latter, I kill it. And it always seems to read better when I do.)

For the record, I wouldn’t hold this blog up as an example of ideal writing. It’s certainly not the way I’d want to write fiction. It’s a good place to experiment with language, though.

– c.

By: Will

Will — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:40:46 +0000

I’m all for killing one’s darlings as a valuable part of the editing process, but I’m also fine with writing that draws attention to itself. I like poetry that emerges occasionally in the prose. Great dialogue, as an example, sometimes calls attention to itself with unexpected phrases and startling riffs. Look at the way you blog, Chuck, and tell me that some of this writing isn’t meant to draw attention to its own language.

I think that first rule is two different things.

That apostrophe thing, though, is so important that I put it in Things We Think About Games, even though it has virtually fuck-all to do with game design.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:55:09 +0000

Yes — there exists a kind of “no-mind” Zen thing where you can recharge your batteries. I take walks. I might take a nap. I might drink green tea. Oddly, Photoshop has become a kind of no-mind battery fill-up for me. Not sure why. Photoshop used to be a source of grave frustration.

Photos, too — which might lead into a post later this week about Photography For Writers.

Glad you stopped by, Jagash!

– c.

By: Jagash

Jagash — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:45:53 +0000

Thank you very much for this particular post. I gave come into writing without much in the way of formal training in writing/english/literature and some of these points were new to me.

Admittedly it is more specifically applicable to fiction, but it can also be integrated in other writing contexts. I believe the “not every day can or should be a writing day” is linked into “concentration as a finite resource”. Sometimes non-writing time doing normal day to day actions (grocery shopping, trying to slice through someones face with a katana, cooking in the kitchen ect) can give you a chance to think and give you more ammo for those writing days.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:20:11 +0000

Exactly. I don’t mean you should write on a single project all the time (though, I find if I take too many breaks from a project, my momentum slows) — but you should flex your Writing Muscle at least once a day.