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Day 230 - writing advice from Douglas Coupland
Dail is tied up with RL for a while so I'm pitching in with Some Practical Writing Advice today from Douglas Coupland. Most of it is for people who want to make a living at writing, but there are a few things that I think are pretty relevant to all writers, pro, fanfic, and 'just for myself' writers:
This one is my favorite, and one that definitely applies to most of us in fanfic: "The moment your writing feels like homework is the moment you should stop doing it. It means that your project is either wrong or has gone off the rails. This is when you have to be honest with yourself about why you’re writing whatever it is you’re writing."
This one is one that I find hard to argue with, even though I do tend to beat myself up about it, anyway: "Writer’s block will happen. Don’t get too cosmic when it does. Writing will come back to you, so beating yourself up is a waste of time. Go easy on yourself. And keep putting yourself in a regular place and time to write."
And this one - another one that I tend to forget: "There’s no way to erase your high school teacher’s grammar voice in your head — or your lit prof’s voice. This is good because grammar is important. But the moment you follow any rules they gave you about content, you’re lost. You and only you decide what the content is that you’re going to write. Channeling a long gone prof’s elitism or quirks is crippling."
I think this is less true with fandom, but still something we see: "Writing can be a profoundly jealous business. Don't let yourself be sucked into jealousy spirals. You’re doing what you love doing, right? It’s the only reason you’re doing it."
And lastly, but no less important: "A good teacher is someone who taught you what to love. A bad teacher is someone who taught you what to hate. Use your judgment."
The recurring theme through his advice is the reminder that we write because we love to write, which is something that is easy, at times, to forget.
This one is my favorite, and one that definitely applies to most of us in fanfic: "The moment your writing feels like homework is the moment you should stop doing it. It means that your project is either wrong or has gone off the rails. This is when you have to be honest with yourself about why you’re writing whatever it is you’re writing."
This one is one that I find hard to argue with, even though I do tend to beat myself up about it, anyway: "Writer’s block will happen. Don’t get too cosmic when it does. Writing will come back to you, so beating yourself up is a waste of time. Go easy on yourself. And keep putting yourself in a regular place and time to write."
And this one - another one that I tend to forget: "There’s no way to erase your high school teacher’s grammar voice in your head — or your lit prof’s voice. This is good because grammar is important. But the moment you follow any rules they gave you about content, you’re lost. You and only you decide what the content is that you’re going to write. Channeling a long gone prof’s elitism or quirks is crippling."
I think this is less true with fandom, but still something we see: "Writing can be a profoundly jealous business. Don't let yourself be sucked into jealousy spirals. You’re doing what you love doing, right? It’s the only reason you’re doing it."
And lastly, but no less important: "A good teacher is someone who taught you what to love. A bad teacher is someone who taught you what to hate. Use your judgment."
The recurring theme through his advice is the reminder that we write because we love to write, which is something that is easy, at times, to forget.