This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by the one and only, Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you're a writer, insecure, or
just supportive of insecure writers, please join us. It happens the first Wednesday
of each month.
This month’s prompt is:
What writing rule do I wish I’d never heard of?
Hmm?
What writing
rule do I wish I’d never heard of?
I have to say it's Stephen King's #1 rule in his “20 rules for writing” from his book,On Writing.
1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. “When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”
And I liked that tip when I first read it, I really did…
But after an editor told me my manuscript…
While unique and interesting, rambled all over the place.…
I went on to rewrite the whole monster of my first draft.
But if I had been thinking of the audience first when I wrote…
I wouldn't have included all those unnecesssary scenes,
All the verbosity…
And **hanging my pen in shame** the adverbs!
Truth be told…
While
writing my first draft
My head knew I
was writing too much…
But my heart (ego) kept saying
“Write for me,
write for me!”
Oh, Stephen
Sorry to drag
But you have to know your book, On Writing is still the best!
But you have to know your book, On Writing is still the best!
And I'm sure you don't suffer from insecurity now, do you?
So?
What's the worst writing tip you were ever given?
Always,
Em-Musing
6 comments:
Proof that what works for one writer doesn't work for another.
I think writing for ourselves only works if we never intend to publish, right? OF course we need to write what we enjoy, but if we want an audience, we've got to consider them, too.
If I just wrote for me, I'd still have a messy first draft and no books published.
Happy 2017!
If I just wrote for me the pacing would be slower than most readers would tolerate, since I'm so enamored of my characters and setting--I enjoy just hanging around listening to the clever and funny things they say. Funny post!
I do write for myself, and yes I do need to cut some of it during the editing stages, but I find that easier than not having enough to work with.
I like King's rule and get what he's saying, but what you're saying makes a lot of sense as well. Guess it's good to make sure we are entertaining ourselves, but filtering correctly in a rewrite in order to make our writing a better fit for the larger audience.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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