Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Bad Advice: Spit it Out!

 

I know this is snarky but I love it!
 
Bad advice. At least once, we’ve all listened to it, then wished we’d spit it in a bucket somewhere on the back forty.

As serious writers, spouses, parents, or cooks, we are forever looking for ways to improve our skills and reach more hearts. We read books, attend conferences, and go on as many blogs as we can, to gobble up the best advice possible.
But sometimes we come across a bit of bad advice. If we know it’s bad, then good for us. We can spit it out like a cow spits out the stubble, only swallowing the grain. If we’re unaware it’s bad, then not so good. We can go down a wrong path in our career or our life, or at the very least, waste precious time.
A frustrated writer once told me
not to read craft books, stating that my writing was good enough, and those books would only confuse me. Had I listened to this bad advice, I would be a much poorer writer than I am today. With the help of all the craft books I’ve read in spite of that poor advice, I believe my writing is improving every time I sit down to type, or get out my journal to muse.
Have you ever read or heard some bad advice concerning your writing, or another skill you take seriously? Did you know it was bad, or did you listen to it, later realizing it wasn’t sound?
 
How do you sift advice to weed out the stubble from the precious grain that nourishes?

10 comments:

  1. I've been very blessed to receive an abundance of good advice! I admit I've heard people describe bad writing practices, and I've watched them defend those habits, but I can't think of any bad advice they've given me. Just bad examples. That could mean I'm really good at sifting or that I don't know what my bad habits are. ;)

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    1. How wonderful, Tanya! I think you must have a great mind for discerning the wheat from the chaff.

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  2. Although I would welcome it because I really want to improve my writing, no one's really offered any advice to me on it. As for advice elsewhere, I am a big workout enthusiast, and there is so much bad advice, advice that could really physically hurt a person, out there about exercise that I take anything told to me in the gym with a grain of salt and discernment.

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    1. Good for you, Shelly. I've noticed we humans like to go overboard with anything and everything!

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  3. Someone I love once told me quit wasting tome with my "scribbling" and concentrate on real work. Unfortunately I listened to that poisoning advice, and for three years I didn't write a word. Stories continued to play out in my mind. I finally had to start writing them down again. I started in writing in secret, and it has taken years, but that person who told me to stop writing has finally started to appreciate the scribblings that I can't stop writing.

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    1. Wow, Christina, I'm so glad the Lord set you free from that negative, untrue word! If all the writers of the Bible had quit their scribbling, we'd not have God's mind on paper!

      You go, girl!

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  4. Sometimes the one who gives me bad advise is myself. I have to break myself of this habit.

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    1. I don't remember any bad advice I've ever heard from you, dear Cecelia!

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  5. I am loving your book sweet friend, and so is my husband. Each day, I read one of your stories to him, and we laugh together. That is no bull, lol

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    1. Wow, Denise, I am honored that you're reading it to your husband, and he's liking it. Thanks for making my day!

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