My blog: In-depth creative writing analysis including prompts

Ride the Pen said:

Hi, my name is Alex, and I just launched a blog about creative writing yesterday: www.ridethepen.com

My blog was created, because for a long time I have been asking myself why there are so few REALLY useful creative writing tutorials out there (online as well as offline). I was looking for some in-depth EXPLANATION of writing principles, some EXAMPLES and finally a PROMPT that would fit to said explanation and example. Nope, nothing! Most prompts you can find on the internet are like "Describe your mom in 5 sentences." This is not helpful, because it doesn't aim anywhere, it's not specific enough! Also, often people giving you useful feedback are missing.

The articles on my blog are f..reaking long, and that's because once I have started, I can't stop, ha ha - but it's also because they incorporate all of the good stuff above: explanation, example, and prompt. The very first article, for example (which just went online yesterday), is about plot development in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (it also features an amazing image of Shakespeare using twitter…).

So check it out and good writing to all of you guys - may the muse be with you!

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You couldn't find a creative writing course anyplace? That seems odd.

Your credentials for attempting to teach one seem nonexistent, from what I can tell from perusing your site. By the way, you might want to edit said site, if you'd like people to believe you can teach them things.

Also, not for nothing, the Black Plague swept Europe in the 1300s.

Ride the Pen said:

Well, I'm not gonna blow my own horn here, because that would be as ridiculous as somebody standing on dry land, going on and on about how great of a swimmer he is.

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If he wants to be professionally recognized as a swimmer, that's not "blowing his own horn."

You're attempting to provide some information you believe is valuable. But you start with two problems.

First: The claim that you couldn't find creative writing courses. There are thousands online, some affiliated with very respectable universities and writer's workshops. For me, that's a ding on your credibility.

Second: There's, "The articles on my blog are f..reaking long, and that's because once I have started, I can't stop..." For me, that dings your professional stature. Crisp, concise prose is one of many hallmarks of excellent writing. Not everything needs to fit "above the fold," if you get my drift. Some topics require depth and extensive coverage. However, you're basically saying you don't control that in yourself, even as you proclaim, "In-depth creative writing analysis including prompts."

In light of that, plus the simple fact that, for some, this is more than a hobby or an added past-time, it's a profession in which we seek success, leads me to one simple question: Why should I listen to you?

What brings you up to par with established writers, successful agents, credentialed professors?

Does that feel like an attack on you? I don't like hurting anyone's feelings. I'm sorry is I have. But this isn't an attack on you. It's business. My time, just like that of other writers, agents, and professors, is valuable. And it's a limited resource. I have no obligation to put any of it toward your blog. You, on the other hand, if you want some of my time, need to show me how it's worth that to me.

Ride the Pen said:

Not an attack, it's cool! Of course, all of our time is valuable, and the internet is abundant with information.

If you don't like the article, then I'm afraid there won't be much I can do to convoínce you. And that's ok as well.

Frankly, looking for "credentials" when you got the writing in front of you seems a bit silly to me - it's like believing everybody with a white coat can cure your cancer, and everybody without a white coat won't ever be able to do that (no attack either, I'm sure you understand that).

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Using your analogy, would you really go to a guy on the street who had no credentials over a doctor who did? They're not the same, nor is the likelihood of their ability to help you similar.

I don't believe someone needs specific credentials for some things, though I think they help in nearly all cases. However, without them, I'd need some real reason to think the person purporting to teach something knew what he or she was talking about.

Ride the Pen said:

Well, I'm not gonna blow my own horn here, because that would be as ridiculous as somebody standing on dry land, going on and on about how great of a swimmer he is.

Instead, I will link to my first article, the one I'm talking about in the post above and let the readers decide if I can write or not:

http://www.ridethepen.com/shakespeare-macbeth-plot/

So how do you guys like it?

Any sincere feedback is welcome.

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I didn't click your link because of the mistakes I saw within what you posted here. Comma splices lost your credibility.

I clicked the link and skimmed through party of the Macbeth post. Let's see...

I liked the layout of the site. It's bright and functional and there's a nice lack of distracting things. I also liked the fact that your posts are peppered with plenty of pictures. Hopefully the pictures are yours, or you have permission to use them on the site.

However, content-wise, there were a few things which jumped out at me and made me stop reading. First off, what bugged me was the excessive use of exclamation points. It made it hard for me to take your post seriously. If you look at the first paragraph of your Macbeth post, three out of the four sentences end in "!" It's distracting and annoying. Use your exclamation marks wisely.

Aside from the excessive use of exclamation points, there's the swearing. I read Chuck Wendig's blog. He swears a LOT. It doesn't bug me at all, because there's a natural, effortless feel to his swearing. I get the feeling that this is how he speaks in his day to day life, and I appreciate that honesty. However, the cussing in your Macbeth post, by contrast, feels very forced, like you're doing it to seem hip and edgy. It didn't work for me at all.

For example: "First act, first scene: Enter witches. First immediate QUESTIONS: Are those bitches crazy?"

That comes off really, really contrived. First off, no, I don't think the immediate question people would ask is "are those witches crazy". And referring to them as bitches isn't making you sound hip or edgy or humorous. By the time I get to "It is in the third scene of the first act that the bitches, I mean the witches", I'm done reading. The forced humor doesn't work at all for me.

Third and final point, I didn't agree with many of the questions which popped into your head. Those weren't the questions I had. I don't think you're illustrating your point well enough. There is an assumption in your post that everyone will ask the same questions you did when they first read or watch Macbeth, which is impossible.

Having said that, I think the underlying message to the post is a good one. Yes, you need to somehow hook your audience into wondering what has happened and what will happen next. However, the method that you used to illustrate that point isn't quite working.

My overall suggestion is to approach it from an entirely different angle. Don't look at it as: "I need to impart my wisdom to everywun else who is struggling to understand how to write!" Lose the gimmicks. People know when a post is being written with honesty, without any forced humor or whatever other bells and whistles you've got going on. Look at it as: "This is what I, personally, thought of when I watched or read Macbeth. Hopefully, some of you guys would be able to relate to my experience."