In the area of reading writing advice.

[alex_beecroft]

I feel I ought to blog, but only because you’re supposed to blog once a week on a regular basis. It doesn’t mean I’ve actually got anything to say.

I had a very nice day on Saturday, dancing at Ely Apple Day with the Riot. We were unusually together and danced with both vigour and accuracy. Usually we manage one or the other, but this time we were on top form and achieved both.

I’ve reached the stage with The Glass Floor (now 50-odd thousand words long and looking to be about 120k when it’s done) where my inner editor has kicked in and is nagging me to go back to the start and correct everything. I am instead making a list of notes for revision on the second draft, and pressing on. It haunts me to think that a lot of what I’ve done so far will need to be changed, but that’s better than my old process. (Which involved making dozens of revisions on the first five chapters and then abandoning the book unfinished.)

I read a book recently that claims you have to enjoy every part of your writing process, or it’s a sign that you’re writing something boring. This naturally has made me feel very anxious. (Everything makes me anxious.) But, given that I suffer from regular depression and don’t enjoy being myself, it would be very out of character for me to enjoy anything all the time. I don’t think I have the kind of wiring capable of such a thing. Given this fact, I take the knowledge that I don’t hate my writing to be the equivalent of the positive person’s ‘OMG, I love it!’

And speaking of writing advice and other people’s processes, I’ve decided to have a go with the whole right-brain mind map thing and do one for each of my main characters, as well as my own sweet spot map. I’m such a left brain person, I normally even do things like this in lists, and can’t help a mental sneer at the untidiness of the whole brainstorming squiggle thing. But that disdain probably just means that it would do me good if I tried.

Anyway, that reaches my limits of stuff I have to say today. If you’re looking for a rather more interesting blog post, you could try this one by Kay Berrisford on the subject of the forest in folklore:

http://lgbtfantasyfansandwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-today/

Mirrored from Alex Beecroft - Author of Gay Historical and Fantasy Fiction.

Comments

[bimo]

I read a book recently that claims you have to enjoy every part of your writing process, or it’s a sign that you’re writing something boring.

You know, this is exactly the kind of writing advice which makes me wonder whether the person giving said advice has ever written something substantial (well, except for advice books ;-)), because to me it sounds far too broad and downright silly. Not every writer enjoys plotting. Some do, some don't. Not every writer enjoys editing, writing certain types of scenes and, and, and... Maybe this does leave you with some clues about the writers' personality or their genral attitude towards life, work and the universe itself. But does it say anything about their texts? No it doesn't. More often than not, here is absolutely no correlation between enjoyment/struggle and the actual quality of the outcome.

Oh, and don't get me started on "boring", because what's boring and what's not probably is as subjective as what is interesting or beautiful...

You shouldn't worry about stuff like this, you really shouldn't. :-)

[alex_beecroft]

Perhaps I misinterpreted her and what she meant was that if you've plotted out a scene which bores you before you write it, you should re-shape it until it doesn't bore you before you do - because there's no point in writing stuff you know is boring. That would be true. But some days you think you're writing exciting stuff, and you're still bored because human nature is fickle. I don't think that can ever be eliminated. And yes, I don't ever find anything interesting about the third lot of edits, but that doesn't make every book a bad book. It just means that work can't be pleasure all the time.

*g* I worry about everything, but I'm aware it's a bad habit and I'm trying to cut it back where I can. Thank you!

[sharpiefan]

I read a book recently that claims you have to enjoy every part of your writing process, or it’s a sign that you’re writing something boring. Oh what rubbish. (Mind you, I can talk! The only thing of mine that's ever been printed was a letter I sent to a magazine, years ago!)

But four-fifths of the way through the first draft of what will hopefully eventually be a printed novel, I can say with certainty: I don't like writing about bad things happening to my characters... but if they don't happen it WILL be a boring book, guaranteed.

And if you're supposed to write a post once a week or be a bad blogger, I'm a bad blogger. :D

[alex_beecroft]

It helps me to think of my characters as actors in the story of their lives. Actors love the death scenes and the points where terrible things happen to their characters because it gives them a chance to show their range. So my characters don't mind being put through the wringer, as they know it's their chance to shine ;) (It's a bit of a hall of infinite reflections inside my head, when even my characters think of themselves as actors in my drama. But lets not think about that too deeply, because the abyss stares back!)

By which I mean, if you can persuade your characters that the readers will love them for the pain, they might agree it will be worth it.

I'm a bad blogger too, not only because I don't update often enough but also because I don't tackle things in an interesting and/or learned enough way when I do. I don't think non-fiction is my thing. I like DW for the journalling, not for the whole 'hold forth at length as if you're some sort of expert' thing.