In the last post on the 'getting of knowledge' I talked about reading and how that helped in learning how to write. This post I'd like to talk about writing.
I subscribed to a number of writer's blogs until I found one or two that were written well and had useful information. You might like to browse around the writer's blogs like I did and choose one to your taste. This post is about looking at other writers and seeing how they do what they do. I'm not sure that's grammatically correct (I know someone who will probably tell me) however it does convey the idea I want to get across.
To start you off here's a link to the Top 100 Writing Blogs which is updated regularly and worth a look now and then to make sure you're not missing anything. Click here.
I decided to spend my time with Fiction University because the information on this blog (by Janice Hardy) although from the US is all about writing. Janice has guest bloggers who also share what they are doing and how, plus she has what I would call 'lessons' on specific topics. The material posted is definitely 'how to' rather than 'talking at'. Janice has written books on the subjects of plotting, planning and structure. The posts come in daily and some of them have activities to do and others are information based. I've archived the posts that interest me. I remember one day saying that I had a problem knowing where to take a piece I was writing and that morning a post came from Janice that answered my unspoken question. I would recommend this blog for anyone who wants to learn about the art of writing fiction.
Early in the piece I looked at Writer Unboxed this one also comes in daily however I didn't find it instructive enough for my needs. You might think differently.
You can think about writing, you can read about writing and you can talk about writing, but it's only when you are writing that you learn how it's done. Over most of my professional career I wrote commercial material. Newsletters, articles for newspapers and magazines, reports, proposals, training manuals; all things that were fact based. Writing fiction is very different the techniques are different, plotting is important, characters (good and bad) need to be developed, back stories, descriptions of places, behaviours and emotions need to be conveyed to the reader. All this comes from your imagination, not a pool of facts.
It's only when you sit staring at a blank screen (or a blank sheet of paper) that you realise how different it is to write fiction. It isn't something that comes easy for everyone. I know people who have no trouble, they sit facing a blank screen and the words just flow. Others, like me, need to know the plot and structure of what I'm writing and how one scene leads into another.
Practice is the answer (isn't that the answer to almost anything worth doing?). Short story competitions are the best form of practice. Of course you can write short stories and leave them in a file (or a desk drawer) this way no one can have an opinion of your work, except you of course. When you put your work out for strangers to look at you could get some productive feedback that will help you develop your skill. You might have seen an earlier post by our first guest contributor which said something along the line "who are they that judge my writing?" 'They' are probably writers who have worked through the same issues as you have to get words on paper.
Another form of practice involves joining a writing group and this can be a great way to get feedback from people you know and who like you. I sometimes think it's more productive to get feedback from someone who doesn't know or like you. Horses for courses.
Look for blogs that tell you about short story competitions and send off your work (with your fingers crossed of course) be brave and see what comes back. You could be surprised.
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