I seem to have touched a nerve when I asked about advice for writers that the writers themselves found irritating. Perhaps we're all just better at giving advice than getting it. Here are a few early suggestions, including the one I started with:
▪ "Show, don't tell." What's that supposed to mean? I can't just say that someone is tall? I have to show him hitting his head on a door frame? Yes, I agree that long descriptive passages can be deadly, but there are also times when nothing will do the job better than a simple adjective. And, for that matter, how do you "show" something with words? Isn't that just "telling" in another form? It's a silly phrase, one that makes the so-called adviser sound like an expert, perhaps, but so over-used by now that it deserves a compassionate burial. (Carolyn Schriber) ▪ The one that comes to mind is: "If you want to write you have to read--a lot." How can I write if I'm reading--a lot?! Besides, I have this paranoia about unwillingly plagiarizing someone. I'm working on a fantasy book and I refuse to read or watch Harry Potter. (Terry Gould) ▪ Oh, and while I'm at it--I see over and over again to never use adverbs and to never ever use the word 'that". Now that is purely and simply impossible. : ) (Terry Gould) ▪ I don't like to be told by friends: "You should never change anything that you get up in the middle of the night to write. That's when you're the most inspired." (Nancy Bullington Turnbo) ▪ I think a whole big old bunch of folks need to learn how to use the comparative and superlative forms. That isn't 'zactly what you're talking about, but it is one of my pets. (Michael D. Mullins) ▪ "Write drunk; edit sober."— Ernest Hemingway. It may have worked for him, but most drunks I know make no sense whatsoever! (Carolyn Schriber) ▪ I bet your list will be "awesome", a very overused word, in my opinion. (Linda Crim) ▪ “Never use a long word where a short one will do.” -- George Orwell. Nope. I write historical fiction, and in the 19th century people adored using long words. (Carolyn Schriber) What are your pet peeves? What advice makes you want to move to a cave in the desert? |
