The Perils of Books on Writing

Hello again! Since I only post in months that have 5 Fridays, it’s been a while since I shared any thoughts in this space. I’ve been enjoying the posts from the regular contributors, though—they’ve set the bar high.

Let me confess something. Ever since I realized that I wanted to write fiction, I started reading books on writing, and I haven’t been able to stop. Oh, I don’t read them constantly. But whenever I start a new story, whenever I want to feel like I’m finally going to write like a real writer, as opposed to daydreaming about having my (as yet unwritten) novel selected for Oprah’s Book Club and becoming an international bestseller—well, I start looking for a Plan, and to find the Plan, I read writing books.

Unfortunately, there are several problems with books about writing. The first problem is that if I am reading one of them, I’m not writing.

Just Another Excuse?
Any professional writer knows that there are lots of ways to procrastinate that don’t seem like procrastinating—just that one thing that needs to be done before you can write. Back when people didn’t have computers to write with, I’m sure they wasted a lot of time sharpening pencils, or cleaning their inkwells. Me, I spend way too much time on the Internet. Reading blogs can be described as research, right? I might discover an anecdote or personality trait that will make my character practically jump off the page!

Yeah, right. I do feel virtuous when reading books on writing—they make me feel like I’m about to start writing something really good. (Except for the writing prompts some of them have at the end of each chapter, which always wipe my brain clean of anything remotely interesting to write about.) But the real test of any instructional book is how well it helps you do what you’re trying to learn to do. That’s why I think there’s nothing wrong with books about how to write—I’ll list my favorites in a separate post—but just be careful that they aren’t a distraction from what you really need to do, which is write.

The best tip I’ve gotten from a writing book: “The first rule of writing is, ‘Apply seat to chair.’”

Tried and True Advice
One last warning: if you read a number of these books, you’ll notice that most of them have basically the same advice. Read a lot, especially in the genre in which you want to write; write every day; keep a journal; show, don’t tell, etc.

These statements are all very good advice for a reason: they’re true. But you don’t need to read them seventeen times to get the idea. Solomon was right: there’s nothing new under the sun, and instead of looking for the magic key that will enable us to unleash our genius upon the world, maybe you and I should try practicing writing. Often. So that when we sit down at the keyboard or the notepad, words automatically start coming out. Maybe they aren’t very good words, but that’s okay; you have to write badly at first to write well later. (I learned that from several books.)

There Is No Magic Key
What most beginning writers are looking for is that magic key: the specific writing process that will make it easier, or even just possible, for them to overcome their blocks and anxieties and write. If a book helps you find that process, so much the better. But I think that the writing process is different for every writer, and the only way you can find it is by trial and error and a whole lot of practice. So try what others recommend, and discard any advice that doesn’t work for you. And have fun, but don’t forget to write! (I’ll be writing too. I promise.)

--Alison (aka Hairline Fracture)

Download "Beautiful Children" Free

Sorry to cut in when it's not my week, but ...

Beautiful Children by Charles Bock is the current hot literary title and Modern Library, the publisher, is offering it as a FREE Download until February 29, 2008. (I have no idea of the quality or content, just that it's scoring raves everywhere.) They say it'll take about 1 minute to download if you have broadband, but took me about 12 on DSL (along w/the new Adobe 8.1.2 Reader).

What a 21st Century move!
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, will download the book because of the "3 Days Only" deadline. Very few people will actually read it all via Adobe Acrobat, but they will start it & once they're hooked, they'll decide to buy the hard copy for portability. Modern Library will know within 2-3 weeks if print sales rocket - & if they do, expect more downloadable exclusives on books that unexpectedly get hot.

Kudos to them for this maneuver!