1. READ A LOT

This is obvious, and everyone I've ever read on writing essentially says the same thing: If you don't read, you can't write. A few personal extras:

(a) I read whatever I want, whenever I want, even if this means taking a hiatus from a long novel to read a few short pieces.

(b) I never allow myself to read more than a handful of novels of the same genre; after four or five, I read at least one novel of another kind. Since reading is the primary source of my inspiration, this help it from being static and incestuous.

2. WRITE A LOT

Again, rather obvious. I shoot for 1,000 words a day (using the Microsoft Word's word count). I also write whatever I want. I know, this seems to be stating the obvious, but if you're anal like me, you need to remind yourself that your free to write whatever you want whenever you want.

3. WITH EACH STORY, YOU MUST FIND YOUR OWN WAY

This was a hard lesson for me to learn. I went back and forth between outlining and not outlining, between editing while you write and waiting until the first draft was finished. I tried all sorts of writing techniques -- there are as many out there as there are diets -- and I finally discovered that, like diets, you have to find the one that works for you.

I used to think I was strange. What else is more obvious than going with your creative flow? But when I read Dorothea Brande's BECOMING A WRITER, I realized that I wasn't trying to find a technique as much as I was trying to find the magic. Writing is difficult--even for established writers--because writing takes an enormous amount of faith. So what if I've written one story I'm proud of? Will I be able to write a second? A third? How about a fourth?

The answer to this question is yes, but that doesn't mean that what worked for Story-A will work for Story-B. So with each story, you must find your own way.

4. VERBAL SENSITIVITY

Basically, I made a commitment to verbal sensitivity. After I studied the principles of composition--grammar, punctuation, diction, sentence structure--I noticed a substantial improvement in my own work. To borrow from Stephen King, when you know how to use the tools the work becomes a lot easier.

Taking John Gardner's advice, I'm working my way through the dictionary, picking out all of the relatively common and relatively short words that aren't part of my active vocabulary. I'm not picking out words I don't know, but, rather, picking out those words I know but don't use. It's like learning French--just because you know how to read it doesn't mean you can speak or write it. Again, I'm surprised as how much this has helped my writing.

Always be true to the character

Not only in dialogue but in action. If it's not 100% true for the character-- even verbage, how I describe something from their POV-- then it gets nixed.

Unfortunately, it also means that sometimes they run away from me and start doing their own damn thing DESPITE my initial conception of them.

But you and I have something in common, we both like reading and writing whatever we want when we want.

I have made a commitment to use words, and lot's of 'em. Good ones, bad ones, even ugly ones. woooawoooawooooo- WAAA WAAA WA WAAH

Do not "show off" my superior vocabulary at the expense of clarity.

Do not use vulgar language to shock. Do use vulgar language for a character that would use it. (ie. The little kid says "poopie." The war-weary soldier says "shit.")

Write more. No, really. Write more than that. No. Even more.

Lord Darkstorm -- Good points there, especially the bit about finishing the stories! Jon Hassler (he writes colorful mainstream stories set Minnasota) said that one of his principles was not to work on more than one thing at once so that he can pour everything into one of his novels. Of course, that probably works better for mainstream fiction than speculative fiction. I offer this in case you ever find yourself stuck. You might find taking an idea from a short story and putting it into your novel works wonders.

JB -- I've heard this as well, and for the most part I agree with it. The problem I have with it is this: when I look at the reading habits of authors I admire, they don't follow it. Look at the back of Stephen King's ON WRITING and count how many horror novels there are. Not many.

My own reading habits tend to be exclusive. I'll get on a SF kick, or a mainstream kick, or a horror kick, etc. After four or five of the same kind, I force myself to read something else (it's not that hard), even if after reading it I return to whatever tend I was on before.

I also -- and I don't know if I mention this -- keep a reading list (call me anal, it's true). This way I can go back and see what I have NOT read (a mystery, for example) and read something in that genre. Just think, if Isaac Asimov hadn't read any mystery novels, he would never have written his CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN.

So the goal of working through the dictionary is to call attention to those words you know, but don't use. This can be done if you're a careful reader. If you're like me, you get so wrapped up in the story you forget about everything except the story. But even if you were a careful reader, sharpening your vocabulary by reading isn't very systematic, it doesn't seem very practical. In a few months, I'll be done with my dictionary exercise, and my hope is that my writing will be better because of it.

We shall see.

Every day I stick my butt in my very worn office chair and spend 6 to 8 hours writing (or rewriting). I read while eating. I read while watching TV (yup, weird, I know)

I finish each book before I edit--period. Even when I go back and reread what came the day before, ( a ritual to get me started on the current day) I do not change a word--even typos. I'll get caught up in fixing things.

What do I read? Mostly mystery. I was a SciFi buff for many years--everything I read was SciFi, I would read nothing else. Then came the Fantasy phase. Now it's mystery, has been mystery for a good 15 to 20 years now.

I still throw in a SciFi or Fantasy when it's by an author I like, but not very many.

What do I write? Alt History, SciFi/Fantasy (sword and sorcery on an alien world) NO MYSTERY -- but it contains elements of many genres.

quote:

---

To subscribe to the list by email, send a blank message to:
join-WordoftheDay@lists.lexico.com

---

A list

Anne Perry (mysteries set in the early 1800's england)

Tony Hillerman (set on the Navajo reservation)

Sue Grafton (Books in the order of the alphabet--you don't have to read the ones that came before to enjoy the others--think we are at Q now)

Patricia Cornwell (female forensic pathologist as the main character--these came out long before the TV series Crossing Jorden)

J.A. Jance (Writes two series. One with a male Seattle WA detective, first person, done well, many one lines of humor. Other in Bisbee Arizona female sheriff, third person.)(she did one book where the two characters met, the most recent one as a matter of fact, and alternated chapters between third and first person)

James Doss (Good story lines, good plot--a study in how not to do all knowing POV--they head hop a lot, but he has 7 or 8 books out. Tony Hillerman wanna be)

Margret Cole (also take place on a reservation, but at a Jesuit mission. Can see why she has a following but they are only OK as far as the writing goes)

More if you want. LOL

Shawn

Laurie R. King, the Mary Russell series, which follows a girl who meets Sherlock Holmes. If this sounds like a terrible premise, just trust me, she does wonderful things with it.

Elizabeth Peters, who writes more humorous mysteries... I think the Amelia Peabody are the most read, but the last two Jacqueline Kirby mysteries follow a developing genre author and are hilarious, especially if you write. (On that topic, Sharyn McCrumb apparently set a mystery at a science fiction convention that's hilarious- I'm still looking for it.)

She writes more horror-style mysteries as Barbara Michaels, in case you want to try those as well.