But I don't understand why that matters? For me, and many other people, simple writing is the best writing--or at least, just as good as purple prose done well. We don't all have to be Nabokov.
I hated reading back in public school; the books I was forced to read all reeked of a pretentious odor and there was nothing realistic or engaging about them. I don't know who this Nabokov was, but I assume his writing were just as pretentious. @ILaughAtTrailers - Where was it said that you must only use grandiose words? I spent a lot of my youth on various writing sites and none of them ever said to use words that would make even college professors reach for the dictionary. People who write books aimed for toddlers have to use simple words.
Are you saying I'm writing for toddlers? Because that would be exactly what I'm talking about when I say I don't have an expansive vocabulary lol....
@Link the Writer Nabokov wrote Lolita, among other novels. IMO he's one of the very few authors who does 'purple prose' well, and I adore his writing. But I don't think many authors are capable of writing purple prose well. Most of us are better off sticking to simple language.
Now where did I say that? I don't believe I said anywhere that you are writing for toddlers. What I said was that you don't have to write in long, verbose, grandiose vocabulary to get the story down. You just write in words the average joe would understand. This isn't a scholarly journal for some scholarly board who would expect you to use said long, verbose, grandiose vocabulary @Tenderiser - Oh, yeah, now I remember. I read some of his works back in college (that moment when you realize you've been out of college for nearly three years now.) I guess I kind of liked his works.
If you think using simple words makes your writing suck, then you're also calling me a sucky writer. Sure, I'd like to be able to put in some fancy words, but frankly I'd rather understand my own writing, and more importantly, have the readers understand it. If ever I feel a need a new word for something (for the sake of needed variety or because the word(s) I know just don't cut it), I look for one in the thesaurus and then research it a bit to make sure I'm using it correctly. If a book has a bunch of fancy words I don't know, I stop reading it. I don't like feeling stupid for not having a huge vocabulary. As for the issue of not being able to just get words down, I had that problem for YEARS, and still have it quite often. I started taking my writing seriously longer than four years ago, and I still don't have a complete novel. It took me the first 1-3 years just to be able to write about fourteen pages of a novel, which, by the way, I had to scrap and re-plot. I had the same thoughts, the same doubts, and the same self-hate that you're now describing--and I still have to fight them a lot. The difference is, I no longer let those feelings control me. I remind myself that I'm determined to be a writer, that many writers feel this way and some point or other, and that daggone it, if I want to write, I'm going to write! I just keep forcing myself to keep trying and learning, which is the only way to get better. Heck, I joined this forum to learn, and I've learned a lot! Just worry about getting the idea on paper. After that, you can work on perfecting it. P.S. I read a little of your chapter, and so far you've got great writing potential! I plan to read more and give better feedback later (on the workshop thread, of course).
Next time I want feedback in the workshop I'm going to post a separate thread talking about how crap I am and wait for the 100 critiques to flow in. Insecurity is a pre-requisite to being a writer. Fact.
Sod pretentious words. Pretty much every piece of writing advice out there will tell you to keep things simple. Long, flowery sentences with long, pretentious words just plain put readers off. I'll assume here that you're not trying to write literary fiction, and are aiming at a more mass-market audience, but the general feeling tends to be write how you speak. Nobody wants to read a novel in which "The prepubescent waif circumnavigates the platform, seeking the locomotive, picked out in its resplendent crimson livery, to embark on that peregrination to the matriarchal domicile", when it could just say "The young girl boarded the train to her mother's house" instead. It's jarring, it's difficult to read, and it's just plain unnecessary garbage. Put the words down on the page. If you don't like how they look, go back to them later. You can't edit a blank page.
Speaking as someone who has reviewed articles for scholarly journals, they tend to look down on unnecessarily flowery prose as well - they expect you to be precise in your language, not show off your vocabulary.
That's just how the human brain works: when you hear something, you believe it, and it takes a conscious effort to remind yourself not to believe it. It's like how the two-headed cats in the sky aren't actually two-headed cats, they're just clouds that look like two-headed cats. Likewise, many ancient cultures used to believe that the heart was the center of human cognition. Let me just repeat myself: the human brain used to think that the human heart was the organ that did the thinking. Don't listen to your brain, the human brain is stupid. You're smarter than your brain is.
My opinion, based on a fairly superficial reading of your posts in the workshop? I think you need to learn to write. I don't mean that in a bitchy way - I think you're totally capable of learning, but I think you're right in your self-assessment that you aren't yet doing it well. It seems like you've got a good story, some interesting characters... but you don't know how to write them, yet. So don't start with a novel. Start with something shorter, something that can give you some confidence. Or write a specific scene from your novel and focus on writing the crap out of it - not getting all flowery and fancy, just making sure you're creating a story. Instead of rewriting someone else's words, maybe break down their words. Get a photocopy of something you admire and a bunch of different colours of highlighter and figure out, say, what parts of the writing are dialogue, what are internal dialogue, what are description, etc. Then do the same with your own writing and compare the colours. Or maybe break down your writing into its component parts, based on one of those old-school "elements of fiction" templates. Do you set a scene? Do you develop characterization? Do you have a clear and interesting plot? etc. Try to think about your writing from the perspective, not of someone like you who knows exactly what you're trying to do, but from the perspective of someone who has no idea and needs to be introduced to things. Long story short? Anyone with an imagination can come up with a plot and interesting characters. (Lots of people don't seem to really have an imagination, so don't think you've got nothing valuable, here). But just imagination isn't enough. I can imagine the most beautiful wood carvings and furniture, but I don't know the first thing about carpentry so I can't make them. The actual writing may be your carpentry, here. You need to learn how to use your tools. (And, no, fancy vocabulary isn't a necessary tool. But that doesn't mean there aren't other useful tools you should be developing).
First drafts are meant to suck. Some writers can create pure gold when they write, no need for second-drafts or balls-deep editing. Most of us aren't so lucky. I know that most of what I write is shit, and from what you've said, you seem to think the same about your own work. But here's something you might not know. There is actually gold in shit. Really, look it up. Only a little bit, sure. But it's there. As long as you're prepared to do a lot of pooping, you'll end up with a nice little bit o' gold. Don't be afraid of writing something badly, or get disheartened when you can find the right words. All of that can be fixed up and tweaked later. As long as you're willing to put the time and effort in, you'll end up with something decent in the end. And along the way you'll learn more about how to write and you'll pick up your own way of doing things. Don't think your writing is fancy? That's totally fine. Hell, better than than intentionally trying to be as fancy and scholarly as possible and coming off as pretentious. Still think your writing could do with a wider vocabulary? Look into ways of doing that. At the end of the day, a crappy first draft is always better than an abandoned project. Sentences and paragraphs can be rewritten, edited, reworked. You can't refine a blank page. As long as you keep at it, you'll get there eventually.
Exactly. Better to have a horrific first draft than to have nothing at all. With the former, you've at least accomplished something. With the latter, you can't say that.
I don't know what to say. Thank you guys. I'm still trying to write. I have been endlessly writing all weekend torturing myself with this just writing outlines. Maybe that's why my writing -- no, it definitely is -- is so summarized. I feel so bad and like a failure and like I'm never going to get there. I always start and just "know" it's not it and I scrap it and go back to the editing board. It's just that there's so many plot points I want to include that the launching pad has to be perfect. Any extra advice would still be helpful, no matter what it is.
If it makes you feel any better, I was exactly where you are now. For eleven frickin' years. It's a miracle I still even have a drive to write at all. And no, the opening isn't gonna be perfect. I'm sorry, it just ain't. The opening to my colonial mystery starts in a frickin' tavern for crying out loud. I'm surprise Amos hasn't moseyed over to a group of elf warriors who discover an ancient sigil burned into the crook of his arm and declares him to be their Chosen Oneâ„¢.
The fun part is making up the story ideas, what-if scenarios and characters. The rest is the not-fun part.
Everyone's given you some extremely helpful advice. I'm far from the most experienced here, so my two cents of advice aren't quite as hefty, but I figure it's worth something: The Writing Forum could be your best ally. Go into the workshop and critique 3-4 stories with as much detail as you possibly can imagine. Try to answer the question, "Why or why doesn't this work?" When you sit down to do your own writing, you'll find it's a little bit easier to identify the mistakes. And secondly, get away from the big project in your head that has multiple storylines, in-depth characters, etc. You know what? Write me a story about a fly in a hot car in the middle of July. It's 100 degrees in the car and it's all alone. Start wit the fly getting trapped in the car, and end with it's release. Super simple plot with plenty of room for detail and a good starting point with character development. You have to strengthen your small muscles before your big ones can work efficiently.
The one thing I didn't notice anyone mention was ... read read read. Don't read it for pleasure read it to learn. Read like you need to write a critique on the piece. Why did that author just mention that seemingly random fact? Was it foreshadowing? Was it to define a character trait? Was it to hint who the killer was? Whatever... dissect a novel that you like.
It's taken me almost 4 fucking decades to learn how to write and I think I may be starting to get the hang of it. You may quote me. Edit: If you're going to give up, give up now and do something else. Don't torture yourself for decades trying to do something you'd rather not be doing unless you can't help it. And if you can't help it then you don't need our encouragement.