(no subject)

So, I know this is kind of old, but something happened kind of recently(ish) that reminded me of it.

A while back, nihilistic_kid wrote a post called "Ten Bits of Advice Writers Should Stop Giving Aspiring Writers." And I pretty much agreed with all of it.

Some time later, ken_schneyer posted "What do you tell young writers? A response to Nick Mamatas." And I pretty much completely disagreed with him. And said, "Eh, I don't agree," and then went on about my business.

And then Hal Duncan posted another couple entries in his advice for young writers sort-of-series, which honestly I think everyone who's serious about wanting to write should read, and that reminded me of Hal's "Ten Rules for New Writers" which, read it, but this:

You’ve been writing since you first scrawled your name. You’ve been making up narrative since your first daydream. Does it matter if you didn’t even start doing those together until you hit forty, if you write The Naked Lunch? That’s the point: all that really matters is whether you’re skilled or unskilled, and thinking of yourself as a novice or amateur… that’s a rationalization that you lack skill because you’re a learner, an amateur. Bollocks to that. You’re always going to be learning. You might never be published. The nearest you come to a graduation is the day you cease to accept any excuse for a lack of skill in your work. In fact, if you’re looking at other writers like they’ve achieved a special status you wish you had — call it established, professional, whatever — you’re engaging in a fantasy of being a writer when you should be writing. Because you are a writer. Not a beginning writer. Not a new writer. Just a writer.

That. I mean, seriously, that.

And then I got to thinking more. ( Read more )

(no subject)

So, I know this is kind of old, but something happened kind of recently(ish) that reminded me of it.

A while back, nihilistic_kid wrote a post called "Ten Bits of Advice Writers Should Stop Giving Aspiring Writers." And I pretty much agreed with all of it.

Some time later, ken_schneyer posted "What do you tell young writers? A response to Nick Mamatas." And I pretty much completely disagreed with him. And said, "Eh, I don't agree," and then went on about my business.

And then Hal Duncan posted another couple entries in his advice for young writers sort-of-series, which honestly I think everyone who's serious about wanting to write should read, and that reminded me of Hal's "Ten Rules for New Writers" which, read it, but this:

You’ve been writing since you first scrawled your name. You’ve been making up narrative since your first daydream. Does it matter if you didn’t even start doing those together until you hit forty, if you write The Naked Lunch? That’s the point: all that really matters is whether you’re skilled or unskilled, and thinking of yourself as a novice or amateur… that’s a rationalization that you lack skill because you’re a learner, an amateur. Bollocks to that. You’re always going to be learning. You might never be published. The nearest you come to a graduation is the day you cease to accept any excuse for a lack of skill in your work. In fact, if you’re looking at other writers like they’ve achieved a special status you wish you had — call it established, professional, whatever — you’re engaging in a fantasy of being a writer when you should be writing. Because you are a writer. Not a beginning writer. Not a new writer. Just a writer.

That. I mean, seriously, that.

And then I got to thinking more. ( Read more )