Im interesting in getting published, which is why I subscribe to every literary agent, publisher and writers blog I can find when searching. Keeping a finger on the pulse of the agents will help you potentially get past their slush pile. That's why I've harked so much on active openings because the agents don't want the gimmicks. *sigh* To each his own...
Yes, except that published writers are saying the same things. I also refer you to rule 14 - which is exactly where these two authors fall. And on another note, Meyers admits it herself, taking a jab at her writing through the voice of Bella in Breaking Dawn (the second part).
- Ooh, oooooh! Question! Does that apply with major antagonists only, or everyone in the story that's (more or less) tagged as a baddie? Also, I have one to add, a sin I've been made aware of recently. Not giving your protagonist a major stumbling block, and/or allowing your protagonist to overcome every single challenge thrown at them. And I don't think I've seen this one on the list either: Spelenk ewrors. EDIT: I'm sorry, but I found one more. Using the word "in" when you should use the word "in". ...Wait, am I even allowed to give suggestions, being a one-post n00b to the site? *shrinks inside my turtle-neck sweater*
I'd trash Robert Jordan looooong before I'd trash Rowling. They both produce widely-loved books, so obviously for many people, their sins are outweighed by their virtues. But that doesn't mean that their writing wouldn't be even better if they tried to correct those sins.
A lot of these rules are useful if you'd like to write well. However, writing well apparently does not = getting published and selling well. Meyer and Rowling are prime examples of that. People compare Rowling's work to Tolkein's, and there are similarities in the characters and archetypes, obviously. But the level of writing skill is nowhere even close. (I do love HP, though). The idea and how well the reader can become immersed in the world the author has created seems to be the determining factor when it comes to predicting a book's success or failure, more so than writing skill (although it does help). I've read some crappy writing in my day, to the point where I wonder..."How did this woman ever get published?!". And most of the time, it's stuff that's popular and selling well. And then I go pick up a different book that no one around me has ever heard of, and it's written competently. Happens too often. Another thing that frustrates me when I read some peoples' books...long, meaningless descriptions of characters. It just annoys me to no end. For example, I was reading this book a friend gave me (author: Laurell K. Hamilton...) in which entire paragraphs were spent describing somebody's eyes having three different colors in them, skin (almost always pearly white and sparkly and sh*t...), and various other things I didn't care about. It's as if someone having tri-colored eyes and sparkly hair makes up for the fact that they have no character. I think some one else called this phenomenon the "laundry list description".
44) When you write, know that your first draft sucks and keep going. That is why there exists a word called 'edit'. 45) Do not make token minority characters, or resort to stereotypes or caricatures. Humans are not made that way. 46) Learn from the masters, but do not compare yourself to them. You must find your own voice and not sound like a Stephen King, Jr. or worse, a Stephen King Wannabe. 47) While all things are cliched, do not be afraid of them. Take some cliches and add your own spin to it. Even Harry Potter had the 'orphaned hero with abusive relatives' cliche. If the story is good, and the characters are relatable, readers are willing to endure it one more time. 48) 'haters gonna hate'. That tired internet meme is true. Not everyone will like what you write. If you try to please every single being on this planet, you will not be able to write a single word.
Absolutely, this is exactly where my story suffered. When I rewrote and gave my baddies reasoning and desire my book took off on its own. I think another sin is making you're protagonist(s) arrogant and undesirable. Oh sweet hell, I shouldn't have read through this whole thread... Now, I'm going to head back to my story which breaks all rules stated here. *Always been a rule breaker*
Definitely true. I spent a while searching for this post from somebody who gives writing seminars I'd read, and I finally found it. It says: (Catheryne Ryan Howard). ...So while all the rules above are pretty good, do NOT bind yourself to them. Like the "two-dimensional villains who are evil for evil's sake" thing above...I'm sure everyone can think of several books with that cliche that people love anyway.
It's all about writing to your target audience, which is marketing 101. A literary genius' book could be the best writing since The Odyssey, and yet not sell due to a lack of market and/or target audience. Once you've defined WHO you're writing for, then you darn well better make sure it's a product they want and that comes from studying trends, looking at market research, and some plain old common sense.
I heard that. I'd never read that of Beowulf if it weren't for school. Now Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" I actually enjoyed.
I find your post very comforting, with that quote, because I know for sure my writing isn't going to win literary awards. It's not poetic, it's not anything that can be compared to the greats of literature, but it's what I like and I enjoy reading it even though it's my own work. Thanks you!
BRILLIANT POST. TEN STARS! I always have to remind myself that a first draft of almost anything is going to be crap. Hemmingway agreed. But editing is such a you-know-what. As a minority (black female), I despise token minority characters that are stereotypical and two-dimensional. My story represents all ethnic groups because the world is more than just white. I wish more authors would follow suit, but unfortunately non-white characters can't sell well as MCs, for the most part. My story has angels and demons (cliched, yes), but I have given them a new spin and the angels aren't "purely good" and the demons aren't "purely evil" (yawn), and they aren't cherubs or monsters of the night. And yes, you are definitely right. Great writing is subjective, but as long as you reach a (sizable) audience, who cares? Many people dislike Stephenie Meyer, but she has written her own ticket.
Doing something differently simply for the sake of doing something differently. But in the end, if you write something you want to write, you are bound to break some of these arbitrary rules, and that's fine.
Same here. I wanted to try something different by writing from the perspective of other races and sex, because I'm a white guy who wants to write outside the social norm. Most of my MCs are female, and two of them are black. Like you, I put in all the ethnic groups, because the world's bigger than how the movie protrays it. We should work to protray everyone as realistic humans, as that's what we are, fictional or not. And my stories have elves and other magical people, but I do put a spin on it. xD
Updated list! 1. Plagiarism 2. All "telling" or "showing" without a mix 3. Bad punctuation 4. Using adjectives like Stephanie Meyer 5. Using adverbs like JKR 6. Two-dimensional villains who are "evil for evil's sake" 7. Misuse of semi; colons 8. Subject/verb disagreement 9. iMpRoPer UsE oF CapiTols 10. "Using adverbs in dialoge tags." He said dramatically (c.f. Deadly Sin 5) 11. Utilizing a magnanimous variety of verbosities with the express intention of pronouncing exceedingly concise ponderings. (Saying little with many words.) 12. Describing things in TOO much detail. 13. Being a lazy writer (c.f. 29, 34) 14. Not breaking any of the other rules to make your writing interesting. (except for rule 1 - E.C. Edit). 15. Oh! Cliches! 16. Believing that dialogue should literally reflect conversation 17. Confusing homynyms, like "capital" and "capitol" 18. Also "there", "their" and "they're" (an abuse seen with irritating frequency on this site) 19. Comma/Semicolon confusion (c.f. 3 - and threads on whether to even use a semicolon) 20. Not varying sentence length 21. Making the MC too snarky or sarcastic 22. Mixing metaphors (never mix a metaphor, it's the end the hell on earth if you do - or something to do with being up a creek without a monkey wrench) 23. Pronoun confusion 24. Treating your readers as stupid (leading a reader to a question that you want them to ask, but then putting it in the text yourself just to make sure they get it [originally written as "thinking out loud"]) 25. Overly dramatic (including pauses - I stretched this one to include all types of drama, not just pauses) 26. Run-on sentences 27. Writing to impress, rather than communicate 28. Spoonfeeding conclusions (c.f. 24) 29. Lack of precision (c.f. 13, 34) 30. Bumlicking/brown-nosing 31. Naming a character Skeeter (almost as bad as Eustace Clarence Scrubb, isn't it?) 32. When the writer can be seen behind the writing (dare I say, that especially includes self-inserts? See next three for explanation) 33. Character with no goal/no depth 34. Cardboard landscapes/vagueness (He walked into an apartment. . .)/hazy descriptions (a flower, etc.) (c.f 13, 29) 35. Cringeworthy Dialogue/making your characters speak in ways they never would (c.f. 4, 5, 10) 36. Exclamation mark abuse (c.f. 3) 37. Making a book sounds like a game, leveling included 38. Not utilizing the right word/misusing words according to their definitions 39. Constant repetition of words (echoes) 40. The cliche mirror description, or, just saying she had blue eyes and brown hair with lack of any 'real' description. 41. Writing with the assumption that obnoxious, smirking, self-absorbed, generally mean or unpleasant character behavior is charming. 42. Run-on Sentences - including overly long and complex sentences with no discernible purpose; such sentences normally do not have to be like that except for specific reasons: Dialogue; running internal thoughts (which, of course the author should try to stay away from using italics in these cases, as there's a discussion concerning whether such uses may hinder the writer from being published - a concern that many of us may have and all of us should keep in mind for future hope in publishing), whether in first person or third person points of view; and certain other situations that may come up from time to time 43. Trying to make a character's name overly cool 44. Overuse of foreshadowing 45. Abusing the thesaurus 46. Thesaurus solecism or misemployment, including malapropism (okay, deep breath) 47. Using weak verbs/to be too much 48. Writing to impress the reader rather than writing to move the reader 49. Not giving your protagonist a major stumbling block, and/or allowing your protagonist to overcome every single challenge thrown at them 50. Spelenk ewrors 51. Worrying to much about the rules instead of just writing what you feel works the best (c.f. 14) 52. Improper use of "to" and "too" (c.f. 17, 18) 53. Long, meaningless descriptions of characters 54. Quitting because your first draft sucks 55. Making token minority characters, or resorting to stereotypes or caricatures 56. Comparing yourself to the masters 57. Becoming too afraid of cliches 58. Trying to impress everyone with your writing 59. Not writing for your target audience 60. Doing something differently for the same of doing something differently 61. Bad metaphors ____ Writing process - 1. Submitting work to a critique group without doing your own editing/proofing first. 2. Procrastination 3. Reading only within your chosen genre, as opposed to widely and voraciously
Number 42 is not a run on sentence this is a run on sentence. However, I do agree that rambling sentences that cross three state lines with no clear destination are another mortal sin.
Yeah, I know, I originally tried to write a run-on sentence but couldn't for some reason. I just went with the second part of that mortal sin - including overly long and complex sentences with no real purpose. EDIT: "cross three state lines" made me chuckle.
