 |
|
|
Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Writer's Discussion: Questions :
Becoming a Successful Writer
Becoming a Successful Writer
We have moved to new forum software and posting here is closed!
PLEASE BOOKMARK THE NEW FORUMS
Let’s say you want to write for a living. Do you need to practice? Is writing essays for school enough? Or do you need to do more than that?
~Rogue
You need to practice A LOT!
I've heard recommendations that you should write one full-length (>80,000 words) novel for practice before attempting to become published. Other sources say that five to six short stories will get you in the swing of things, if short stories are your style. Roger Zelazny published 16 short stories before he was brave enough to start writing his first novel.
Another recommendation--I think from Asimov, though I'm not certain--is to write one million words. In any case, you need to make sure you aren't practicing bad writing habits. To help with this, obtain a copy of "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. Read it cover to cover and have it by your side as you write. Also, I'd recommend "Beginnings, Middles, and Ends" by Nancy Kress to help you learn proper pacing and scene construction. Also, another exercise that helps you learn to write like a professional is to re-type the opening chapters from your favorite modern books (don't re-write chapters from classics, but from best-sellers, or award-winners in your intended genre).
So schoolwork isn't enough? How often should you write each day? Roughly... excluding schoolwork.
Thanks for your response.
Sorry, I started this thread because of my boyfriend...
Question:
~Belle-Bambi~ -- Love is one soul living in two bodies says:
How is what I do not as good of practice as writing my own story, when the format is completely different from how I'll be applying what I know in journalism? I don't understand that.
"What I do" refers "Writing about video games on a Forum or the fall or Rome for a school essay."
Well, in regards to the first question, it varies. I prefer to write 2,000 words every day, but it's understandable if that seems daunting. The 2,000 words only include fiction: not forums, not MSN messenger, not email, not schoolwork. If 2,000 words is too much, try 1,000.
Writing your own story is better practice than writing a school report or writing on forums because you need to learn how to structure stories as much as you need to learn how to write.
What is a good writer? Different people look at that differently. Everyone would agree that spelling, grammar, communication, and structure are all important. Beyond that, creativity is the most important thing to me. To others, it's style. To others, sharply crafted structuring. If you're talking about good writing in journalism, it's a mixture of how much and how clearly you perceive things, and how effectively you communicate these points. You need to write and write and write, and read and read what you've written. Get conscious on your voice -- how your writing communicates.
Bad Journalism:
The other day, in the town of Mirkwood, something strange happened. Mrs. Daniels got up, got dressed, came down stairs, and at her front door stood a man she had not seen for years. It was her brother. She thought he was dead. He had drowned in a lake, or so she thought. It turns out...
Good Journalism:
On Friday 17'Th of April 2005, Mrs. Daniels awoke in her simple country home in the town of Mirkwood, Illinois to a ring at her front door. When she opened the door she was shocked to find her brother standing there, holding a bouquet of white roses, with an expression on his face that the woman described as "jovial." This might not sound so unusual, until you hear that they had not seen each other in almost twenty years. The story begins 19 years earlier...
I think you're comparing apples and oranges, here.
Take the business of an accountant and a programmer - both use numbers on a daily basis, but just because someone is good with numbers, doesn't make them a good accountant or a good programmer - nor does an experienced accountant make a particularly good programmer, nor the other way around.
Writing is a craft that needs to be practiced as much as possible in order to become good. It's also important that you practice in ways that apply to your avenue within the craft. If I wanted to write philosophy essasy, I would not practice by writing fictional novels - that's not to say you 'can't', but that's just not how I would go about it.
|
|
|
|
|
LuthienRogue
Discussion
