Bad Advice

I mentioned before that I am sort of between writing processes right now. I feel that I have lost touch with my writer's intuition, and the organic process of creating that used to guide me. This problem started, I believe, about six years ago when I started attending writing conferences again after many years away.

Now, I love writing conferences and other conventions. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I love visiting, commiserating, and networking. I love attending classes and workshops. But, I think that along they way, I been given some bad advice at these conferences. (Bad for ME, mind you. This advice might be great for other writers.) Outlines, structure, character arcs, etc., etc. are all great things. They are also hampering my creativity. Big time. I feel almost paralyzed when I sit down to write for fear that I'm going about it all wrong.


Something's got to change, and fast.

So, I'm very sorry, but I am ditching story structure. I am ignoring character arc. I'm not outlining. I'm going to sit down and tell stories the way they unfold in my head. The way that feels natural and right to me. Yeah, maybe I am doing it wrong. I don't care anymore. I just want to feel creative again.

We'll see how it goes.

Why We Have Rules (and why you should break them.)

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it. 

~Henry David Thoreau

Haven't had a Thoreau quote for a while, and this one seemed appropriate to what I've been thinking about lately.

The Writing Rules. 

Yes, I've blogged about this before. That's okay. It's worth talking about again. I'm sure you've heard these "rules" for writing. To be verbs, adverbs, show don't tell, blah, blah, blah...

There are actually good reasons for these rules.

Avoid using "to be" verbs (is, was, etc.): Because this often indicates a passive sentence and those are, well, passive. Active is more engaging. But, really, we can't eliminate one of the most used verbs in the language now, can we?

Don't use adverbs: Because adverbs don't leave a strong impact on the reader. Unless you use them judiciously and sparingly. Then they'll have an impact.

Ditto for dialog tags other than "said."

Don't start sentences with an -ing verb: Because if you overdo it, your sentences all have the same cadence and become sing-songy. Readers will tune out. But, hey, once in a while isn't a problem.

Show, don't tell: Because telling distances the reader from the story. There are times when you need a little distance in the story. Don't show when showing would be boring or unnecessary.

This will hold true for any writing rule you've ever heard. It's important to know these rules. It's important to know why they are brought up. It's important to know when to ignore them.

We each have a unique voice.  Don't stifle yours by obsessing about the rules. Only you can decide what is right for your story. Trust yourself to know.

Writer's Intuition and Revising

It's sad, but true. Your story won't come out perfect the first time through. You're going to have to revise. You're going to have to get critiques. You're going to have to watch others tear your baby to shreds. And you're going to need some Writer's Intuition to guide you here too. Because not all revisions are created equal. Not every suggestion from your crit partners or beta readers is going to be good for your story, no matter how good of critiquers they are.

It is hard to get critiqued. I know that. And you shouldn't just dismiss anyone's suggestions out of hand. (Well, maybe some you can reject out of hand. Like I once got a critique that said, Your main character should be an energy being instead of flesh and blood. Um, okay.) But in general you should at least consider all the suggestions made. Then use your intuition to know which to use and which to ignore.

My rule of thumb is that any suggestions that make me excited to make changes are good suggestions. Those that don't, just aren't right for the story. Just remember that it 's your story and no one else's. Only you know what will make it truly shine. Your Writer's Intuition will show you the way.

Writer's Intuition Where It Really Counts

Blogging about LTUE and book reviews and blog fests has been fun, but I'm ready to get back to what I was talking about before.

Writer's Intuition. Remember that? If not, you can read my other intuition posts here, here, and here.

Of course, where Writer's Intuition really counts is in the actual writing. Writing a first draft is not easy for me. I go rather slow (no NaNoWriMo feats for me). I edit as I go. But I don't always consciously think about what's going into the story. I have to just tell it the way I want it told and trust myself to know what's right for that story. I want to point out that I have had to learn to trust myself. I had to develop that intuition.

I'll give an example. I wrote a novel in 1998, and after getting a bunch of rejections, I put it away. For ten years. (I have probably talked about this before.) My friend asked to read it. I told her, "Sure, but it's probably really bad." She read it and assured me it was not really bad. I read it too. I was shocked. Amazed. I loved that book. I couldn't believe I had just set it aside and forgotten it. I had forgotten how much work I put into it. How much I loved the characters. And the plot. Yes, it needed revising. It needed tightening and changing. But for the most part everything the story needed was there. In some cases I just had to bring it out or adjust it.

So, trust yourself. You know how your story should be told. Know the rules, but don't bind yourself down with them. Let your Writers Intuition guide you. Yes, you will still have to revise. You'll need your intuition then too. But you have a story to tell, so tell it!

Writer's Intuition in the Planning Stage

Plotter or pantser, you're still going to need some intuition to guide you in the planning phase of writing. Once you've found that perfect idea, there are a million different paths that idea can take. How do you know which paths to choose? Yeah, you guessed it. Use your Writer's Intuition.

When I'm planning a story, or even when I get stuck in the middle of one, I like to sit down and do some brainstorming. It helps me to list out all the different possibilities, even those I know I won't use, even those that seem cliched or just plain dumb or totally silly. Then I decide what I feel will work best in the story. Sometimes I come up situations I never expected. You've probably had that happen too.

Don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild. Think up all the cliches, the nonsense, the dead-ends, and what-not. Somewhere in there, your Writer's Intuition is going to dish up the perfect direction for your story to take.

Writers Intution and Finding Your Story

We need our Writer's Intuition throughout the writing process, starting with choosing ideas. Notice I didn't say finding ideas. Finding ideas takes curiosity and good observation and a little imagination. Finding ideas is downright easy. Choosing which ideas are worthy of being written is a little harder.

That's where Writer's Intuition comes in. From all the jumble of ideas battling in your head, you'll find the one (or two, or three...) that really lights a spark for you. The idea you just have to write. The one you know won't leave you alone. That's your Writer's Intuition talking. Listen to it. Even if it seems like that particular idea has already been done to death. Even if that ideas not the next "big thing" you've been hearing so much about. Even if someone tries to tell you that no one will want to read that kind of story.

Trust your intuition. Just make sure you have something uniquely yours to bring to the old ideas. Make sure that your passion and excitement for the story shine through. Then it won't matter what's big in the market right now.

Choose the idea that you are aching to write, and a great story will be just around the corner.

Rules Are Made to be Broken

I can't think of one single rule of writing that can't be broken successfully. I'm sure you're aware of many examples. So, how do you know when you break the rules and when you can't?

I don't know.

But, I offer it as my opinion that we have to use our  

Writer's Intuition.

Do you believe there is such a thing? I do. I think we can know intuitively how the story were trying to tell can best be told. However, I also believe we are not born with writer's intuition. Well, maybe some people are, but it's not a prerequisite for becoming a writer. We have to develop it. How?

Read, read, read, read, read. Read the type of books you want to write. Get a feel for how words are put together. The more you read, the more the wonderful flow of language will become ingrained inside of you. This shouldn't be too hard. Writers are pretty much born readers.

And write. Write, write, write, write, write. You have to practice. It will take time to gain your own writer's intuition. But you will gain it. I believe that.

I'm going to do some more posts on using writer's intuition in every stage of the writing game, so stay tuned...