fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2569 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2569 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

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02.

[The Little Mermaid]

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03.

[Star Trek: The Next Generation]

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04.

[Team Fortress 2 and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert]

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05.

[Fresh Meat]

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06.

[Attack on Titan / Shingeki no kyojin]

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07.

[Skin Horse]

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08.

[Jon Richardson/Sarah Millican]

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09.

[Elementary]

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10.

[Saint Young Men]

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11.

[Game of Thrones]

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12.

[Arrested Development]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 052 secrets from Secret Submission Post #367.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Here be a rant.

Is it just me, or do most "Writing Tips" essays, books, etc. not really give actual writing tips so much as lists of "Things You Should Do/Not Do Because I Personally Like/Dislike Them"? Almost every one I've come across does this, whether it was written by a professional, amateur, or someone who doesn't write but reads a lot.

And what's with all these "How to Write" books blindly enforcing bits of advice that are good in general, but not necessarily applicable in every situation? In case it's not obvious what I'm talking about, here's the first one that comes to mind: One of the most common writing tips is "Show, don't Tell". Yes, it's sometimes applicable. Yes, it's important to show readers that your character is a good person through their actions instead of having the narrator straight-up say "she was a kind and noble person". But FUCK this stupid, stupid idea that you have to spend three paragraphs "showing" something that would take a single sentence to "tell". That's not a sign of good writing; it's a fucking stylistic choice, and not every author can pull it off effectively (and besides, sometimes less really is more).

I think it depends on the book. Some I've read actually go beyond that and give good information. Like one I've been reading recently all about planning a series, and another about structuring the story with specific points, and character archetypes.

I think it depends on which books. Some of it may be obvious to one person but to other put in wording that makes it more useful and such.

Also on the showing thing, I think when it comes to that, it's more that there are some things you should show and others you can just tell. Like you shouldn't just say someone has a personality trait , or is smart you should show it. (like saying your character is brilliant but having him / her constantly do dumb shit (*cough*BELLA*cough*).

But I do agree with you that I hate it when books say "Never do this thing" when the thing they're talking about CAN be done well. They should attack the actual bad writing and not the entire "thing"

Example: Instead of saying "don't write abused characters because some people write it wrong and make it cheesy." you should say "If you're going to write this, do your research , don't be melodramatic, use bask-story to develop the character into who they are rather than making their past a huge misery sundae; make sure the abusers are 3-dimensional characters themselves and not 'Evil!!' plot devices/ robots that do things out of jealousy of the character or have no reasoning."

I tend to look at those tips as things to keep in mind rather than laws that should never be broken. I break these kinds of "rules" all the time.

I agree with this tbh. If I want to research writing, I usually read up on the actual subject I'm writing about, and I usually take how to write advice with a healthy pinch of salt. There's no definitive way to write, ever. I don't believe in the prase 'rules were made to be broken', but it's certainly one I apply to all writing 'rules'.

That's because everybody wants to be a writer and will pay money for a book that claims to be able to get them there.

I don't know how you feel about this one, but I think Stephen King's On Writing is actually a pretty good book about writing. It's part memoir, part manual about craft, and I don't find it prescriptive in the least.

I also think that Show, don't Tell has become overused to the point that it's meaningless. I think it's more useful to suggest something like writing in scenes and using dialogue effectively.

I'm an editor, and I usually tell my writers this: show what's important and tell what's not. Knowing when to show and when to tell is an advanced skill, and it's something that's difficult to explain.

"But FUCK this stupid, stupid idea that you have to spend three paragraphs "showing" something that would take a single sentence to "tell". That's not a sign of good writing; it's a fucking stylistic choice, and not every author can pull it off effectively (and besides, sometimes less really is more)."

THIS, THIS, THIS! This makes for vague, long-winded, pretentious, flowery writing. Get to the point and tell me what the hell is going on. I like a clear, simple, straightforward writing style, not "beautiful, poetic" language.

I like long-winded writing when it's done well. But I agree that "show, don't tell" isn't good for everyone all the time.

I agree. I hesitantly admit that I've bought a "How to Write" book or two - I think it's kind of like, if I pay for something I will automatically gain writing experience points and be better. But I'd never buy one again. Most of it is common sense stuff, another chunk is opinion, and the actually useful stuff is few and far between.

I agree that most "rules" can (and should) be bent, and some are pure literary snobbery.

[ SECRET POST #2569 ]

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