Hello, writers. Last week the subject of writing teachers came up. I have had five: my fifth/sixth grade teacher Mr. Coster, my mom, teh guru and his protege, and an editor at Random House.
I majored in creative writing in college. From my creative writing professors I learned this about writing: nothing. Sorry. I feel awful saying this. But it's true.
After college, I applied to the Iowa program, didn't get in (which surprised me, because my professors always said my stuff was dandy), and then, without really meaning to, stopped writing for 12 years. Well, except for a couple of nonfiction books for an educational press.
When I started again, I wrote a middle grades novel and sent it off to an agent who wrote back and said, "You really need to learn to write."
Yeah?
So I went to teh guru. He teaches science fiction writing. I don't write science fiction, but I wrote it for him. Because finding an instructor who teaches commercial fiction, as opposed to literary fiction, is not exactly easy. Finding one who charges what he charges is pretty close to impossible... well, unless you look in the same place.
My creative writing professors back in college taught fiction-writing as a form of self-expression. Which it is. But if you want to sell commercial fiction, you've got to think of it as a form of entertainment. Very few people will read your book to admire how clever you are. (One's mother is occasionally mentioned in this context.) Many more people will read your book to be entertained and/or informed.
Maybe you don't need a writing teacher. But ultimately you need someone-- a critique group, a sibling, a spouse-- who will read your stuff and tell you what's wrong with it. Because you need to discover what it is that isn't getting through to the reader and figure out how to get it through. And you need to figure out how to make what you've written a story and not just a pleasant wander in the park.
(One of my professors railed against the tyranny of The Plot. You will generally not find anyone in commercial publishing railing against the tyranny of the plot. YMMV.)
Someone (James Rhetor, in fact) asked for a rundown of what I learned from teh guru. Well, the really important thing in finding a writing teacher is having your stuff read and critiqued, but here are some things he said, or his protege said, or someone else said, or that I just thought of while taking his class.
Things teh guru said (paraphrases not quotes):
Engage at least three senses in every scene.
When approaching* a new setting, describe it from a distance and from the outside first.
The two most important sentences are the first and the last.
About the ending your reader should say "How unexpected. Yet how perfect."
Your only response to a critique should be in the revision.
If you think it's good enough, ask yourself, am I Stephen King**? If the answer is no, you still have more to learn.
Nobody ever sold a manuscript that was sitting in a desk drawer.
* Not in the opening of the story, of course.
** He means as to success, not as to literary quality.
Things that other people said or I thought (paraphrases not etc):
Every word matters. If it doesn't, it's out of there.
Don't imply what you're trying to say. Say what you're trying to say.
Research everything. Someone who knows more about the subject than you do is going to read this.
If there's food, make sure your reader can taste it.
When your character is in deadly danger, delay builds suspense.
Are you willing to work harder on this than you've ever worked in your life?
But really, the important thing isn't to read such stuff but to interact with other people who can help you learn more about writing-- in whatever way you find to do that.
Write On! will be a regular Thursday feature (8 pm ET) until it isn't. Be sure to check out other great lit'ry diaries like:
sarahnity's books by kossacks on Tuesdays
plf515's What Are You Reading? on Wednesday mornings.
cfk's bookflurries on Wednesday nights.
Your happy writing links for the week:
The New York Times on how e-readers make reading a social experience.
Nicola Morgan on what the recession means for published and unpublished writers, respectively. And also on suspension of disbelief.
What your query should contain.
Should you mention self-publishing credits in a query?
The New York Times on how John Updike wrote. (And no, a book a year doesn't make you among the most prolific writers of your time.)
Resources for Writing Memoir.
On multi-book and single book contracts. (YMM definitely V extremely.)
On why writers shouldn't think about getting published too much.
One of these FAQs may be yours.
About advances, and the arguments for doing away with them.
Here's a new diary series for nonfiction writers, h/t WineRev. While I am a firm believer that in publishing the money should flow one way --toward the writer-- the series promises to be very thorough and informative for those who want to write a nonfiction book.
Never, ever sign anything with any agent or publisher whom you haven't checked out at Writer Beware or Preditors and Editors. If you can't find anything on the publisher there, that's not good news.