Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bad Advice


Bad advice. At least once, we’ve all listened to it, then kicked ourselves for being stupid.


As serious writers, we are forever looking for ways to improve our skill and change more lives with our words. We read books, attend conferences, go on as many fellow writers’ blogs as we can, to get the best advice possible. But sometimes we come across a bit of bad advice. If we know it’s bad, good. We can spit it out like a cow spits out the worthless stubble, and only swallow the nourishing grain. If we are unaware that it’s bad, that's not good. We can go down a wrong path in our career, or at the very least, waste precious time.

A frustrated writer once told me not to read craft books, 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. Notice I didn’t say I wouldn’t be as great a writer as I am--- I am not a great writer. Yet. I hope to be one someday, with the help of all the craft books I am reading, in spite of that person’s bad advice.

Now it's your turn. Have you ever read or heard some bad advice concerning your writing, or writing in general? Did you know it was bad, or did you listen to it, later realizing it wasn’t sound? Perhaps we can learn from each others’ mistakes, and avoid taking bad advice in the future. Blessings on you as you write for your Audience of ONE...

14 comments:

  1. Wow, that WAS bad advice!!! Or maybe prideful advice? We're never to "great" to learn and have a teachable spirit, right?

    I honestly can't remember getting bad writing advice. Thankfully, even my family (my husband and mother) give me encouraging advice. In fact, it was my mother who really, strongly urged me to enter the writing contest earlier in the year. I was planning to wait another year so that I could get my stories polished more. But she said, "What do you have to lose doing it now?"

    With any advice on our books, I think it's important to weigh it first and consider the subjectivity. I may not have agreed with everything others have told me about my stories, but I do weigh their words carefully.

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  2. Oh, I can't think of one. I guess I live in a little hole, or run with the right crowd.

    Glad you didn't listen to that one, though!!!

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  3. If I got it I don't know it yet. LOL I think I've had misguided advice before, advice that's so rule-driven it wipes out style (not saying I don't follow writing "rules" just that they're not set in stone). Great info! I feel bad for that writer. Craft books are very helpful.

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  4. I have learn to choose critique partners wisely. I want someone to truly examine my writing telling me ALL the mistakes or problem areas they see. Some people just say: Oh that is wonderful! This is NOT what I need.

    Blessings, andrea

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  5. I think someone once tried to convince me to write for others. I'm guessing they meant for me to make sure my work is understood and something people would like to read (valuable points). But it muddled my thinking. When I write I like to go into a zone and bringing all those people with me would get crowded and I believe it would weaken my writing.
    Making sense? Hope so.
    ~ Wendy

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  6. While writing books can certainly hamper a person for the most part they help. It's about knowing how to filter out that information which we don't need. Every book about the craft, no matter whom has written it, is colored by that author's perceptions and experiences. We have to keep that in mind.

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  7. It's not so much that I listened to bad advise - It's that I adopted the attitude that my writing was only a hobby. That writing seriously is only for people like James Mitchner. That attitude kept me from doing what I should have been doing all along.

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  8. Jeanette:
    I have found in other arenas of life that the ones who seem to have all the answers have not dealt with certain questions about how things should be done. A friend of ours owns a small business. Another friend of theirs who has NEVER been in that arena told him how things should be done in his business.
    I have several books about the craft. I was studying one until recently but I put it down, I need to get back to it.
    Not every writer writes the same way. What works for one might not work for another. But we need to keep checking out what they say.

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  9. I really don't think I have had any bad advice yet. I have been pretty pleased with the people and the skills that I have come into contact with :)

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  10. Ooh, what a FUN blog! Bad advice? Huh.

    That if you work hard enough, you will get published sooner or later.

    That you can't have backstory b/f this # page or that # page. I just don't think we can be that rulesy (is that a word???)

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  11. Thanks, everyone. I find it encouraging that not too many of you have received terrible advice. You must hang out with the wise!
    Blessings,
    Jen

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  12. Bad advice? The old saying, "If you keep writing, your writing will naturally improve."

    Not so much. I needed every craft book I've read, and I need plenty more. I write the same mistakes over and over, so my writing did not naturally improve. Whoever said that should be kicked.

    Nice post, Jen!

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  13. Some of my first critique partners were a poor choice and ended up confusing me more than I already was. I used to make all of their changes and the story actually got worse. In a nutshell they wanted my voice to sound more like theirs. Another, got out the rule book and highlighted everything I should never, ever do. Well, that is all well and good but try to write a manuscript and never ever use the word "that" - lol.

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  14. Most of the advice I've been given has been very helpful and encouraging. When I get a piece I don't like, I think it over very carefully and then discard it. Or, once in a while, I'll use it. I read a variety of books and I have to be able to discern what works for me. I have been practicing that skill for a long time.

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