Best piece of advice

[showtimecircus]

I am currently writing a horror novel. This is the first novel i have actually managed to get to a second draft. YAY!!! I have been reading the posts on this site and found it a amazing souce of advice and help. I was wondering what is the best piece of advice you have ever got when writing a novel. Sorry about the typing. It's awfull i know.

[wandergirl]

I'm just going to paste my advice from this thread (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122990). I think it's especially appropriate for a horror novel.

Here is the best writing advice I've ever gotten:

Give them what they want -- NOT what they expect.

If a plot goes as expected, it's predictable and boring. A plot needs to be unexpected to truly satisfy. But that doesn't mean you can hurl something at your readers from way out in left field. You have to give them what they want -- even if they didn't know they wanted it in the first place.

And giving them what they want doesn't always mean ending happily. Look at Atonement. It shatters its readers in a completely unexpected way, but it's done so well, and lingers so long, the book is exactly how it should be.

We need twists and turns, minor and major, to keep books interesting (why read the same plot over and over?). But they need to fit with the tone, the voice, the characters and the plot. And they need to satisfy -- even if they devastate at the same time.

[Gillhoughly]

Welcome to AW! :welcome:

Advice?

Read the whole library.

Get a copy of Strunk and White's ELEMENTS OF STYLE and READ it often.

Write every day. Write every day. Write every day.

Never invest in anything that needs paint or eats grass.

[NeuroFizz]

Two things:

It's all about the readers.

Strive for excellence in the craft.

[maestrowork]

Keeping learning, keep going, keep writing.

[peachiemkey]

Write the damn book.

:D

[blacbird]

Make a soft place on the desk for the cat to sleep.

caw

[sheadakota]

write as if your face were on fire

[donroc]

All of the above plus every writer faces choices in the writing as we all do in life. Making the correct ones is an art.

[sleepsheep]

And always bring a towel...

[willietheshakes]

Always check for a conspicuous Adam's Apple.

And don't mix your hard liquor.

(Oh, and writing-wise? Trust what works. There are no hard-and-fast rules, just what suits the situation. Trust your instincts, but only if they get good results; if they don't, screw em.)

[ScottAJohnson]

Read everything you can get your hands on, and write every day. Both pieces of crucial advice, says I.

[JasonChirevas]

Let go.

-Jason

[ccarver30]

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124565&highlight=FINISHING

[Toothpaste]

And always bring a towel...

Also . . . don't panic.

[Lyra Jean]

If you can't decide if you want your story to go path A or path B write them both ways. You might even get two stories for the price of one. Bonus!

[deserata]

The most freeing piece of advice, for writing the first draft:

"Don't get it right, get it written."

[gabbleandhiss]

Not the best, but of current influence:

"We should always remember that the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world, so that the first thing we should do is to study that new world as closely as possible, approaching it as something brand new, having no obvious connection with the worlds we already know. When this new world has been closely studied, then and only then let us examine its links with other worlds, other branches of knowledge." -- Vladimir Nabokov

[TTCleveland]

Show > Tell

[oswann]

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no-one knows what they are.

-Somerset Maugham

[tehuti88]

Not so much advice as what I've learned about advice. The best advice I've found is to take all advice with a grain of salt--if somebody says you MUST do something or you MUST NOT do something, examine the issue for yourself, think it over, and see if the advice is right or not for your particular story. A lot of absolutes aren't that absolute at all. Sometimes writers beat themselves over the head for nothing. So you have to learn to judge for yourself.

That, and write, write, write, then write some more, in order to improve. :D That's the one piece of advice that, IMO, is never wrong.

[NeuroFizz]

Not so much advice as what I've learned about advice. The best advice I've found is to take all advice with a grain of salt--if somebody says you MUST do something or you MUST NOT do something, examine the issue for yourself, think it over, and see if the advice is right or not for your particular story. A lot of absolutes aren't that absolute at all. Sometimes writers beat themselves over the head for nothing. So you have to learn to judge for yourself.
I have no agrument with this, but if someone makes a statement based on experience, you might want to give it a little more weight. Much of what is said here by people who have been through the publication game is more experience than advice (actually, it's both--experience-based advice). Still, in an endeavor as subjective as this, experiences can be very different as well.

[scarletpeaches]

A lot of people who ignore the rules or any advice do so not because they desire to properly serve the story but because they're too proud to be told what to do.

Best advice I can give/have been given?

STFU and write.

[maestrowork]

- There are three elements to success: talent, luck and discipline. The only thing you have control over is discipline, and you just hope you have the other two. (Michael Chabon)

- What is art if no one is going to see it? (Kathy Joosten)

- Don't expect fame and fortune and try to write the next best-seller. Just be the best writer you can be.

[Ms.Write]

Create strongly opposing characters and have ALL your characters disagree MOST of the time.

[Devil Ledbetter]

Create strongly opposing characters and have ALL your characters disagree MOST of the time.But don't have them bickering most of the time.

[maestrowork]

Give your character a life before, during, and after the story.

[TrixieLox]

Write.

The Canadian novelist Robertson Davies once said: "There is absolutely no point in sitting down to write a book unless you feel you must write that book, or else go mad, or die."

In other words, it's all about PASSION. Passion will make you write and write and write. Your story needs to grab you by the soul and shake you about. It needs to possess you like it's some kinda crazy writing ghost. You don't have to write in order, or write every scene. Just write how you FEEL.

Then go back and redraft it.

Many may disagree but if you find, most of the time, you're struggling to write your story, then you haven't got enough passion for it. Find a new story.

[Mad Queen]

Don't expect a story to just be good. You must make it good. You must create your own passion.

[Judg]

Every scene should have a conflict, even if it's minor. One of the characters (or more) has a goal, and there are obstacles to achieving that goal.

OK, so I break this sometimes. But those tend to be very short scenes that serve as breathers. And sometimes the goal is just to get through the day. But of course, then it isn't easy.

[dawinsor]

Be brave.

That's the best advice I've ever gotten for life, actually.

[tehuti88]

I have no agrument with this, but if someone makes a statement based on experience, you might want to give it a little more weight. Much of what is said here by people who have been through the publication game is more experience than advice (actually, it's both--experience-based advice). Still, in an endeavor as subjective as this, experiences can be very different as well.

I actually agree--my original comment made note that a writer must judge what works, which means taking advice and seeing for themselves if it applies--both the thought that it might work, and that it might not. My only problem is with people following advice blindly, JUST because somebody experienced said it--anyone can be wrong, and sometimes advice doesn't apply (as you yourself indicate). I just hate seeing beginning writers beat themselves over the head when they happen to be somebody for whom the advice of experienced people doesn't work. I'm saddened sometimes when people tout writing advice from famous people without giving it any serious thought for themselves, or without considering that it might not work for everybody. That's just as bad as completely ignoring advice which comes from experience. People need to learn to try things out, judge things for themselves, and not be too upset when something doesn't apply.

My apologies if my point was unclear. At least I can clarify now! :)

[MDei]

1)Take the advice and if you don't really like it, don't be afraid to discard it.
2)When you start, try to follow the rules, but when that get's boring, break them.
3)It may be crap, but if it appeals to an audience, it will sell. Ex. Stephanie Meyers: Twilight
4)It's easy to write the book and even edit it, but damn those queries to hell! Your book can be gold, but if you don't write a dynamic query, it's not going anywhere!

[Arkie]

I read something a veteran writer (I believe his name was May) gave to first-time authors about advice: He said disregard all advice.

[wrinkles]

You win some, you lose some. But you have to dress for every game.

[Eldritch]

Make a soft place on the desk for the cat to sleep.

And don't forget to turn on the desk lamp. They like it nice and toasty

[jannawrites]

Best advice? Love begins with us.

Oh wait, wait... You meant about writing? ;)

Just do it. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the what ifs and the thinking and plotting and brainstorming, we hesitate to just write. We have to keep at it, or nothing will get down on paper (or in document). Keep reaching for that dream.

Good luck!