/rant on
Okay, I'm scratching my head on this one.
Writers write. That's what we do. You have to write a book to be able to send it to a publisher, or an agent, or whatever.
Endlessly chatting or writing about writing, publishing, marketing, advances, culture-building, worldbuilding (shudder), commas, grammar, names, character interviews, adverbs, winning awards, being rich, tried-and-true measures (don't believe them), small publishers vs. big publishers, New York, vanity presses, what not to do, what to do, what never to do, etc., etc., etc., etc. will not get you a book, a short story, or even a haiku.
What it will give you is a head full of useless advice (for the most part) and the ability to over-critique your own work as you write it (or try to write it.) You will not write stories because you'll be worrying about what markets will be suitable. You will not write novels because you'll be worrying about who won the Nebula awards, and is your WIP (which you've only written 1,000 words on in two years because everything has to be just right) going to be as good?
This is the worst kind of writer's block. It's the writer's block that comes when too many people try to give you too much advice, too much information, and too little space to allow your own voice to grow.
Because that's what you need to do to be a writer, after all. You have to write.
This is insiduous in every single online writers group I've ever belonged to. And I'm not saying that I haven't been in the position some of these people I see today are in now. That's one of the reasons why I stopped chatting and concentrated on writing.
That's also one of the reasons why I keep in touch with only a handful of people, and like it that way.
Writers write. There's no other way to look at it. Writers write, dammit. Your voice isn't going to be the same as Stephen King or Tom Clancy. There is no 'next J.K. Rowling', because if you begin writing a book expecting to be the next J.K. Rowling, you've just destroyed your chances of ever being read by me. (The 'next' J.K. Rowling--look at how HP was published, and how it took off. That's how the 'next' J.K. Rowling will appear.)
I'm not foaming at the mouth yet, but I'm getting close. :)
Writers tend to avoid writing. I've never understood this. I know people who will spend years carefully crafting a world right down to the type of dirt, for god's sake, climate, wind direction, etc., etc. until they have reams of information about the world they've created.
AND THEN THEY NEVER WRITE THE DAMNED BOOK!! They complain that they just don't know where to start, or they have to make sure the reader knows just how long they spent creating this world (sounds like they want to write a tour guide instead of a novel, imo.) They whine, expecting sympathy. They spend endless hours in chat. They start new projects, only to drop them because they're not damned marketable.
I am losing patience with these people, really fast. That's probably why I haven't said anything up until now. (And I've seen this on at least three of the mailing lists I'm on recently. And no less than four journals.) Thank goodness I haven't been in any chatrooms lately, or I might have blown a gasket. :)
THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE. If you take any advice from anyone, take this piece.
Worry about everthing else later. Write the damned book. If you've learned anything from the endless rounds of chat or email, keep it in the back of your mind for later.
And write. Dammit. That's what we do.
/rant off
Okay, I'm scratching my head on this one.
Writers write. That's what we do. You have to write a book to be able to send it to a publisher, or an agent, or whatever.
Endlessly chatting or writing about writing, publishing, marketing, advances, culture-building, worldbuilding (shudder), commas, grammar, names, character interviews, adverbs, winning awards, being rich, tried-and-true measures (don't believe them), small publishers vs. big publishers, New York, vanity presses, what not to do, what to do, what never to do, etc., etc., etc., etc. will not get you a book, a short story, or even a haiku.
What it will give you is a head full of useless advice (for the most part) and the ability to over-critique your own work as you write it (or try to write it.) You will not write stories because you'll be worrying about what markets will be suitable. You will not write novels because you'll be worrying about who won the Nebula awards, and is your WIP (which you've only written 1,000 words on in two years because everything has to be just right) going to be as good?
This is the worst kind of writer's block. It's the writer's block that comes when too many people try to give you too much advice, too much information, and too little space to allow your own voice to grow.
Because that's what you need to do to be a writer, after all. You have to write.
This is insiduous in every single online writers group I've ever belonged to. And I'm not saying that I haven't been in the position some of these people I see today are in now. That's one of the reasons why I stopped chatting and concentrated on writing.
That's also one of the reasons why I keep in touch with only a handful of people, and like it that way.
Writers write. There's no other way to look at it. Writers write, dammit. Your voice isn't going to be the same as Stephen King or Tom Clancy. There is no 'next J.K. Rowling', because if you begin writing a book expecting to be the next J.K. Rowling, you've just destroyed your chances of ever being read by me. (The 'next' J.K. Rowling--look at how HP was published, and how it took off. That's how the 'next' J.K. Rowling will appear.)
I'm not foaming at the mouth yet, but I'm getting close. :)
Writers tend to avoid writing. I've never understood this. I know people who will spend years carefully crafting a world right down to the type of dirt, for god's sake, climate, wind direction, etc., etc. until they have reams of information about the world they've created.
AND THEN THEY NEVER WRITE THE DAMNED BOOK!! They complain that they just don't know where to start, or they have to make sure the reader knows just how long they spent creating this world (sounds like they want to write a tour guide instead of a novel, imo.) They whine, expecting sympathy. They spend endless hours in chat. They start new projects, only to drop them because they're not damned marketable.
I am losing patience with these people, really fast. That's probably why I haven't said anything up until now. (And I've seen this on at least three of the mailing lists I'm on recently. And no less than four journals.) Thank goodness I haven't been in any chatrooms lately, or I might have blown a gasket. :)
THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE. If you take any advice from anyone, take this piece.
WRITERS WRITE.
Worry about everthing else later. Write the damned book. If you've learned anything from the endless rounds of chat or email, keep it in the back of your mind for later.
And write. Dammit. That's what we do.
/rant off
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