# The best advice I ever recieved, whats yours?



## WALTEREGO (May 31, 2016)

As a newbie I will start this at the begining, when i started to splash words on paper, no training only the urge to scribe. I gave the first couple of pages to a freind of mine to read. She had underlined every time I had used the word "*which"  
*at the botom of the piece she had writen "great story  dont be f*****g Lazy." 
With my fragile ego lying in pieces on the floor I asked her to explain. You are telling me a story every time you use the word WHICH it leaves a great big hole and its now up to the reader to fill in the details. I want to know, not have to make it up my self so you need to do the writing. which means that, which is, which meant, which was, which might, are all phrases I now actively seek and destroy from any writing I do   

It might be a good excersise to distill the one piece of advice other members recieved that has remained with them.  condensed into a single sentence.....:read:


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## Ariel (May 31, 2016)

Hi, Walterego.  Welcome to the forums.

That is an interesting piece of advice and would probably be better served in the writing discussion forum.  We'd like to know a bit more about _you_ here in this thread--so, what brought you to writing?  What do you write?


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## WALTEREGO (May 31, 2016)

Thanks for the compliment and direction on forum use. I write military adventure fiction. and it is loosely based on my own career with lots of extra nonsense and imagination 
I write to prove to all the nay sayers who said I couldnt wrong (insert smug smiley face here)


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## Bloggsworth (May 31, 2016)

My father always told me to never put anything in writing...


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## WALTEREGO (May 31, 2016)

Bloggsworth said:


> My father always told me to never put anything in writing...



Be true to thine self.:wink:


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## WALTEREGO (May 31, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> Hi, Walterego.  Welcome to the forums.
> 
> That is an interesting piece of advice and would probably be better served in the writing discussion forum.  We'd like to know a bit more about _you_ here in this thread--so, what brought you to writing?  What do you write?



Is it possible to move it to an appropriate thread?  after thaught


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## Phil Istine (May 31, 2016)

I didn't agree with this, but an old friend of mine said, "After 'but' comes bullshit."
It did give me cause to examine how often I used that word - and 'however' entered my vocabulary.
I found that I used 'but' more frequently than I ought.

EDIT.  I didn't notice this was in the welcome thread (I picked it up from the main feed).  If it's moved, hopefully the whole thread will be shifted.


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## Deleted member 56686 (May 31, 2016)

Moved to writing discussion


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## Jigawatt (May 31, 2016)

I'm self-taught. There weren't any writers in my family or circle of friends. Some of my earliest memories are of me creating stories. In Intermediate school I took a typing class for the purpose of writing. I was top of the class, beating the girls, blowing-away the boys - not that I should be bragging about this. But I wanted to type because I wanted to be a writer. My mother had a fancy electric typewriter with a built-in correction ribbon and an honest to goodness button for returning the carriage, _ka-ching!_ When I got my first job and moved into my place, I purchased an electric typewriter. It was a cheap Brother. It wasn't as fancy as my mother's, but it worked; and Wite-Out had been invented by then. Sometime after that, computers were designed for home use, by companies like Apple, IBM, and Compaq. I used a computer at work and saw how useful a word processor could be for writing. This was a time when few people had computers in their houses, and for good reason. The expense of a computer at that time didn't make owning one a practical investment. The computers then would be laughable by today's standards, given how featureless they were versus the cost. And they were expensive. After deliberation, and deciding I could live off potatoes and noodles until I got the loan paid-off, I decided to purchase a computer. _Wow! _Word processing, built-in spell check, a thesaurus, this whirring mechanism sounding like a helicopter taking off and eating whopper floppy disks really upped my writing game. I commenced a five year period cranking-out short stories, sometimes two or three a week. I spent this period focusing on my writing instead of the day job. In retrospect, I probably should have devoted some of this time toward continuing education, and getting more sleep to make it to work on time, napping less at my desk. But I grew as a writer. I figured-out a lot of stuff on my own. It would have been easier with a mentor. That's the beauty of being a writer today. With the internet, writers today have such available resource. 

What's the best advice on writing I ever received?

The first advice given was the best. It came from my third grade teacher after reading a story I had written. The teacher took the time during class to sit with me and discuss the story. It's not the advice that matters. Having someone important acknowledge my work and offer suggestions meant the World to me. This was the moment I realized I was a writer. No advice after this can compare.


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## WALTEREGO (Jun 1, 2016)

Jigawatt said:


> I'm self-taught. There weren't any writers in my family or circle of friends. Some of my earliest memories are of me creating stories. In Intermediate school I took a typing class for the purpose of writing. I was top of the class, beating the girls, blowing-away the boys - not that I should be bragging about this. But I wanted to type because I wanted to be a writer. My mother had a fancy electric typewriter with a built-in correction ribbon and an honest to goodness button for returning the carriage, _ka-ching!_ When I got my first job and moved into my place, I purchased an electric typewriter. It was a cheap Brother. It wasn't as fancy as my mother's, but it worked; and Wite-Out had been invented by then. Sometime after that, computers were designed for home use, by companies like Apple, IBM, and Compaq. I used a computer at work and saw how useful a word processor could be for writing. This was a time when few people had computers in their houses, and for good reason. The expense of a computer at that time didn't make owning one a practical investment. The computers then would be laughable by today's standards, given how featureless they were versus the cost. And they were expensive. After deliberation, and deciding I could live off potatoes and noodles until I got the loan paid-off, I decided to purchase a computer. _Wow! _Word processing, built-in spell check, a thesaurus, this whirring mechanism sounding like a helicopter taking off and eating whopper floppy disks really upped my writing game. I commenced a five year period cranking-out short stories, sometimes two or three a week. I spent this period focusing on my writing instead of the day job. In retrospect, I probably should have devoted some of this time toward continuing education, and getting more sleep to make it to work on time, napping less at my desk. But I grew as a writer. I figured-out a lot of stuff on my own. It would have been easier with a mentor. That's the beauty of being a writer today. With the internet, writers today have such available resource.
> 
> What's the best advice on writing I ever received?
> 
> The first advice given was the best. It came from my third grade teacher after reading a story I had written. The teacher took the time during class to sit with me and discuss the story. It's not the advice that matters. Having someone important acknowledge my work and offer suggestions meant the World to me. This was the moment I realized I was a writer. No advice after this can compare.



Straight from the heart, with passion, structure and good punctuation. My teacher A Mr Edwards told us we would never amount to anything, unfortunately we believed him. It took me 30 years to dump the crap I was taught at school and be my own man. Their are teachers and then their are educators, one pays a mortgage until they retire. Educators make an investment in children that will carry them through through life. Am I bitter, yes, did 30 years of believing what he said teach me anything, no. I have however lived a life, not as good as I could have but better than most. That life has taken me around the world, I have met fascinating people, loved, lost loved again. Seen and done things beyond my own expectations. Why, because Mr Edwards was an arse and shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near a school. So thanks again Mr Edwards for failing to be an educator.......


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## BobtailCon (Jun 2, 2016)

This is directed at the person reading this at 2AM, wanting to write but holding themselves back from beginning.



> [h=2]The best advice I ever recieved, whats yours?[/h]



None. All of my "advice" was stupid online articles of "10 ways to be a better writer!" All of them were useless, because they were taking up my time reading the articles, not writing.

My best "advice" comes from life. The only way to get better is to practice, no matter how nebulous and seemingly pointless that sounds. I could spend 10 hours reading articles about how to write, or I could spend a 10 hour session blundering through my writing, attempting to sound cohesive. Can you guess which will produce more learning opportunities?

You want to be a better writer? I don't give a damn why, just write. I don't care about your motivations for writing, I don't even care about your uniqueness, or "quirkiness" for writing, just write a damn story. I see so many people asking questions on online forums and boards asking for advice on how to write. There's no advice you need but to write. Write. Write.



> It might be a good excersise to distill the one piece of advice other members recieved that has remained with them. condensed into a single sentence.....:read:



So what's my one sentence?

A writer is an observer; so observe, analyze, learn, yearn, and share. Be a scholar. Be an intellectual. Be yourself.

That's more than one sentence, but I'm a writer, I have my own voice, and I can write what I damn well please.


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## msjhord (Jun 3, 2016)

Welcome, Walter!  

Best advice I got?  Well, it took a few times for the words to take hold in my stubborn mind.  But here they are:

1)  Don't be afraid.  Just write.  No one is going to jump out and attack you for writing a bad sentence.  There's always rewrites (As a side point, a book I read recently had comments from the author at the back stating that only ten pages from the original draft remained in the finished product -- everything else was rewrites and edits)

2)  Be kind to yourself while writing.  You want it to be good and, yes, sometimes your efforts will frustrate you and get you down.  But being kinder leads to more productive, satisfying writing.  Trust me on that!


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## Arrakis (Sep 10, 2016)

"You might die tomorrow. Seriously. Then not even the first page of your story will survive."


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## Jay Greenstein (Sep 10, 2016)

Never fart in a small room.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist.


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## Sam (Sep 11, 2016)

The best advice I ever received was simply: "Be wary of advice".  

Some of the worst 'advice' has been repeated and regurgitated so often that it's become ingrained into the industry, often to the detriment of those who come upon it, believe it, and try to adhere to it. 

In the words of Joseph Goebbels, "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed".


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## Winston (Sep 11, 2016)

“*Economy of effort. Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can lie down.*“

Attributed to Winston Churchill, paraphrase of a Scottish folk saying.

Of course, taken to extremes today by a population that uses such a philosophy as an excuse for sloth.
In practical terms, it would mean do not check your Facebook status ten times an hour when once will do.  Or, in my case, at all.


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## Mutimir (Sep 11, 2016)

Be careful not to get set in your ways.


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## Bishop (Sep 12, 2016)

Writing is work, and will sometimes be very, very hard.


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## Terry D (Sep 12, 2016)

Never assume you are more clever than your readers.


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## Arrakis (Sep 12, 2016)

Sam said:


> The best advice I ever received was simply: "Be wary of advice".
> 
> Some of the worst 'advice' has been repeated and regurgitated so often that it's become ingrained into the industry, often to the detriment of those who come upon it, believe it, and try to adhere to it.
> 
> In the words of Joseph Goebbels, "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed".



Reminded me of this quote:

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense." ~The Buddha

Passive acceptance of viewpoints IS a monster in its own right.


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## Bishop (Sep 12, 2016)

Terry D said:


> Never assume you are more clever than your readers.



I don't assume I'm more clever than my readers.

I know I am.


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## aj47 (Sep 12, 2016)

Bishop said:


> I don't assume I'm more clever than my readers.
> 
> I know I am.



That's why you're on the production end of the book and not the consumption end.


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## msjhord (Sep 12, 2016)

Best advice?

No one's gonna jump out of the closet and attack you because you write a bad sentence.  So get in there and write!

Or something like that.  Bishop said it.  Kicked me into high gear big time.  When post-seizure fallout and work aren't getting in the way.


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## LeeC (Sep 12, 2016)

Bishop said:


> I don't assume I'm more clever than my readers.
> 
> I know I am.


Judging by many of the books out there that are selling, I won't contest your assertion


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## Tettsuo (Sep 13, 2016)

The best writing advice I ever received - "Take it there."

What that means is, when you have an idea, you take it to it's logical conclusion and explore how that alteration will effect your entire world.

Do you have a world filled with ninjas?  Why?  What does that mean?  Who's paying these ninjas?  What does it look like during conflicts? etc.

Keep asking questions for your world and nail down how all of this effects your characters.  The world you create is felt by the reader through the characters.  If your characters don't seems to reflect the world in a logical way, it all feels disjointed to the reader and makes it harder for the reader to suspend disbelief.

So yeah... "Take it there."


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## Tettsuo (Sep 13, 2016)

msjhord said:


> Best advice?
> 
> No one's gonna jump out of the closet and attack you because you write a bad sentence.  So get in there and write!
> 
> Or something like that.  Bishop said it.  Kicked me into high gear big time.  When post-seizure fallout and work aren't getting in the way.


Not if you wrote "Misery".


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## Newman (Sep 13, 2016)

Take a story and make it your own.


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## msjhord (Sep 13, 2016)

Tettsuo said:


> Not if you wrote "Misery".
> 
> View attachment 15487



You Cockadoodie Brat hahahaha!  True . . .


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## LOLeah (Sep 16, 2016)

Countless times someone has picked me up out of the depths of self doubt and given me what I needed to continue but when it comes to practical advice about writing itself, the time that sticks out is when someone read something I wrote and said "Take adverbs completely out of your writing until you learn to use them." LOL Sounds harsh but I did what he suggested and my mind was blown. I had no idea how much adverbs (that I added unconsciously) bogged down my writing, made my sentences clunky and/or downright redundant.

That was a game changer, for sure. Altered the cadence of my voice forever, in a good way.


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## stevew84 (Sep 22, 2016)

It might sound stupid, but I've had issues with giving my characters emotion, but I have a valid reason for it.

I'm not a writer by trade, but I would write screenplays for fun, and in that medium the character's emotions are shown through dialogue. But with literary fiction, you're allowed to describe the feelings of a person NOT using dialogue. The basic rule of screen writing is "if you can't see it on screen, don't write it". Does that make sense?

So, the best piece of advice I've received was to somehow take the rules of screen writing and apply them to literary fiction. I think I've been able to do that, but I'm still learning and using critique to help me along the way.


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