{"id":428,"date":"2009-03-06T20:49:57","date_gmt":"2009-03-07T00:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=428"},"modified":"2009-03-06T23:20:55","modified_gmt":"2009-03-07T03:20:55","slug":"favorite-books-on-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=428","title":{"rendered":"Favorite books on writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently finished a novelette of around 11,400 words.\u00a0 (I’m using the SFWA<\/a>‘s definition of a novelette: a story between 7,500 and 17,500 words.)\u00a0 I think that’s the longest work I’ve ever written and actually finished.\u00a0 The story is called Dreamgiver<\/em>, and you might be able to guess what it’s about: a man has the power to give people dreams.\u00a0 I’m sure it’s been done in fiction somewhere before, but hopefully my story still has some newnesss to it.\u00a0 I could probably write many more stories from that same idea; I think it leads to a lot of possibilities.\u00a0 I could probably write a series of novels based on that premise, if I could actually finish writing novels.\u00a0 I’m not sure the name Dreamgiver<\/em> is the best, but it’s straight-forward and to-the-point.\u00a0 It sort of instantly tells you what the story is about.\u00a0 That said, it does seem just a wee bit cheesy to me.\u00a0 But then, my writing probably seems cheesy to some people, so I guess it will match.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I’m going to send this story through Critters<\/a> some time to get it critiqued, though I realize I won’t get many (if any) because of it’s length.\u00a0 Right now my previous short story, No One Was Abendsen<\/em>, is in line waiting to get critiqued.\u00a0 I’ll be very interested to see how people react to that story as it was somewhat experimental for me.<\/p>\n

I’ve got some other ideas for short stories floating around in my mind, so I’ll probably try my hand at another one before I get back to composing music.<\/p>\n

Favorite books on writing<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, I’ll just tell you what the books are:<\/p>\n

The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers<\/a>\"\" and\u00a0The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers<\/a>\"\" by Ayn Rand<\/p>\n

Characters & Viewpoint<\/a>\"\" and\u00a0How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy<\/a>\"\" by Orson Scott Card<\/p>\n

And now I’ll blather about my reasoning:<\/p>\n

I think reading books on writing is much easier than actually writing, so I think it can be dangerous for wannabe writers to constantly seek out books on the subject.\u00a0 They can only be helpful if you actually spend some time writing<\/em>.\u00a0 No amount of reading can replace that.\u00a0 That goes for the other arts as well.\u00a0 You can’t learn how to compose music by reading music theory books.\u00a0 You just have to do it.\u00a0 I think sometimes there’s a fear of failing, so the wannabe artist spends more time reading about the subject than actually practicing it.<\/p>\n

Similarly, beware of writing about writing.\u00a0 I think writing about writing is also easier than actually writing.\u00a0 There seem to be a lot more people wanting to talk about writing tips and hints and how-to’s and strategies than there are successful authors.\u00a0 I don’t think that’s necessarily bad in and of itself, people can talk about whatever they want, and even unsuccessful authors can have some very helpful tips.\u00a0 Just make sure you don’t forget what it’s all for: actually writing<\/em>.\u00a0 (On a side note, sometimes it seems like some writers who write about writing just sort of regurgitate advice they’ve heard before and don’t really understand why it exists.\u00a0 For instance: “show, don’t tell!”\u00a0 Make sure you filter any writing advice you hear through your own opinionated mind; you are allowed to disagree.\u00a0 Never blindly follow advice, otherwise you can’t really follow it.)<\/p>\n

That said, there are very few books on writing I’ve read all the way through.\u00a0 Usually I find books on writing to be empty or boring or pointless or simply a collection of regurgitated advice.\u00a0 I find advice like “make your main character interesting!” completely unhelpful.\u00a0 Duh, I wanna make my character interesting.\u00a0 If a writer doesn’t know that intuitively, full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.\u00a0 (On a boring a tangent, I hate<\/em> when people suggest you need to know every tiny little thing about your character, like their eye color and height and shoe size and favorite ice-cream, as if you’re playing The Sims.\u00a0 That’s great if it helps you, but to me it’s a complete waste of time.)<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the best writing books are not actually books on “How To Write”, they are books on “What This Author Thinks About Writing”, and I think that’s the way it should be.\u00a0 Writing is an art, not physics.\u00a0 It is guided by people’s tastes and opinions, though some academic writing books might want you to believe otherwise.\u00a0 Therefore, I think the best writing books for you are the ones written by the authors you already know you enjoy.\u00a0 For some reason, I think that kind of helps you know where they’re coming from.\u00a0 Because you already like their fiction, you’ll probably agree with most of the advice the writer gives and the opinions he or she has.<\/p>\n

If the only writers you like are ones that have nothing to say about the process of writing, then you’re out of luck.\u00a0 Too bad; I guess you can never be a writer.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for me, that’s not the case.\u00a0 Two of my favorite authors are Ayn Rand and Orson Scott Card, and they both have books on writing, so those are pretty much my favorite books on writing.<\/p>\n

Ayn Rand’s Books on Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"I can’t say I agree with all of Ayn Rand’s philosophies, but I’ve found her writing to be quite immersive.\u00a0 In my opinion, she’s fantastic at describing characters’ motivations and attitudes.\u00a0 Her stories also have very strong themes<\/em>, which I think is lacking in some of the fiction I read.\u00a0 So much fiction these days is purely about the action and has nothing to say beyond that.\u00a0 It’s like the author saw an action movie and just wanted to regurgitate it with different characters.\u00a0 Anyway, Ayn Rand talks all about themes and how they relate to plotting.<\/p>\n

Rand also talks about creating believable characters and dialogue.\u00a0 Usually I think some beginning writers (I’m obviously a beginning writer too) think those are the easiest things: creating believable characters and dialogue.\u00a0 Personally I’ve found it difficult.\u00a0 When you have two characters who have completely different world-views, you really have to get inside their heads for each line of dialogue.\u00a0 Back and forth and back and forth you have to go between trying to trick yourself into believing things you don’t.\u00a0 Tricky, in my opinion.\u00a0 Well, some scenes aren’t, some scenes are pretty fun, especially if you’re writing humor.\u00a0 Other times, it’s just plain hard.<\/p>\n

Finally, Rand talks about style and writing descriptions.\u00a0 If you’ve read her fiction, you might know she can be very verbose in her descriptions, and in my opinion, it works.\u00a0 For her.\u00a0 I think if you try to mimic her, you’ll just come off as being far too wordy.\u00a0 So, in my opinion, what she has to say about style is very helpful.<\/p>\n

Although The Art of Nonfiction<\/em> is about writing nonfiction, I think a lot she says in that book still applies to writing fiction, so it’s a great companion to the other one.\u00a0 I won’t blather much about this book, though, because I have a headache.\u00a0 If you like The Art of Fiction<\/em>, then The Art of Nonfiction<\/em> is also worth a read.<\/p>\n

Orson Scott Card’s Books on Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"As I stated above, I find that characters can be quite tricky.\u00a0 Fortunately, Orson Scott Card wrote an entire book on the subject: Characters and Viewpoint<\/em>.\u00a0 However, don’t let the title trick you into thinking this book is about a small subject in fiction.\u00a0 Characters without stories and stories without characters are extremely hard to find; they’re very strongly linked.\u00a0 Thus, in my opinion, learning about creating characters is<\/em> learning how to create a compelling story.\u00a0 So it’s not like you’d get this book and then say “Oh, now I need a book on plot!” . . . though Card doesn’t talk about it by itself, you’ll still find that it relates strongly to characters (character development, duh!).\u00a0 That said, this book is part of a series called Elements of Fiction Writing<\/em>, the other books by other authors.\u00a0 I found this addition to the series to be the only one worth buying.<\/p>\n

Card’s How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy<\/em> lets him deal with the entire subject.\u00a0 There is just a wee bit of overlap, and Characters and Viewpoint<\/em> I thought was overall more helpful (for me), but this is still a very worthy mention.<\/p>\n

The End<\/strong><\/p>\n

These books aren’t long; they’re all under 200 pages.\u00a0 I’ve found them so useful that they are among some of the only books I reread every now and then.\u00a0 They’re the most worth buying, in my opinion, or at least checking out from a library.<\/p>\n

To restate what I said above, I think the best books on writing for you<\/em> will be the ones by writers you enjoy.\u00a0 I’ve taken a look at many books on writing, and they can certainly get empty and useless.\u00a0 Above all, don’t blindly agree with what you read in books on writing.\u00a0 Just because it’s published doesn’t mean you have to like it; you’re allowed to disagree.\u00a0 There are no “rules” in art, only observations and opinions.\u00a0 Think for yourself.\u00a0 Then when you come across a book on writing you do<\/em> agree with, it will be far more helpful.\u00a0 Ayn Rand and Orson Scott Card do not agree on all subjects when it comes to writing, as is evident by these books.\u00a0 So I get to determine who’s right and who’s wrong.\u00a0 Neener neener.<\/p>\n

So write<\/em>!\u00a0 Now!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently finished a novelette of around 11,400 words.\u00a0 (I’m using the SFWA‘s definition of a novelette: a story between 7,500 and 17,500 words.)\u00a0 I think that’s the longest work I’ve ever written and actually finished.\u00a0 The story is called Dreamgiver, and you might be able to guess what it’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[18,4],"tags":[47,51,46,52,39,48,49,50],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gI4B-6U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":429,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions\/429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}