X things I think I've learnt about writing...

[khiemtran]

1) It's easier to make the details interesting if you start with interesting details

2) Writing a novel is easy. You just try to write a short story and fail.

3) Q. What do you call a financially secure writer?
A. A hobbyist.

Q. What do you call a financially secure YA fantasy writer?
A. Joanne.

4) I'm increasingly convinced now that 90 % of the game is voice. Once you have that, you can get away with a lot. Once you have that, you get an awful lot for free. It's also the one thing that not present in other media forms. If you don't understand voice, you can still write movies or plays.

5) If you're not being true to reality, you have to be better than reality

6) Beware of trusting the advice of an unpublished author.

7) Story ideas are worth their weight in gold. Oh, hang on...

8) For any problem, there will be several already known solutions. You are free to use them or find a new one of your own, as you please.

9) This list is subject to change on a weekly basis.

10) It doesn't count until it's down on paper

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I'm increasingly convinced now that 90 % of the game is voice.

Interesting you should say that... I had reached a similar conclusion. Yet it's something the How To books never seem to tackle. I don't think it's something we've ever talked about on rasfc either.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I think it might depend on whether you consider voice to be the capstone or the starting point. I think if you start with an understanding of the voice you want, then a lot of things will fall into place by themselves. Description, pacing, word choice, how much to hint at, how much to tell. If you start from the other end and build up, the voice will be the last thing you get right and will probably be changing all the time. Each time you change your style a bit to alter the description or the viewpoint or the phrasing, you are also making decisions that will ultimately affect the voice, whether you're aware of it or not.