SubscribeSo I’ve recently taken up trolling the blogosphere: how to, agents, editors, everything and anything that I can find relating to the craft of writing. This is because I just recently learned what that silly little RSS icon is all about and how to use a reader, in my case Google Reader. And I must say what an amazingly convenient way to aggregate information it is.
In the toolbar to the right you’ll be seeing links to some of these blogs. Google Reader has a sharing widget that allows me to share which individual posts I’ve found particularly useful as a sort of announcement. Also, as I begin to make more and more connections, I’ll link to friends, authors, agents, and editors in my links section.
Most often, if a blog strikes me as being especially interesting or useful it will appear in the “Blog posts of note by others” category, so please do follow those links and see what all the hubbub is about. Other times, like today, I’ll come across a blog that didn’t really strike me as being particularly noteworthy, but something in it still rang true, and so I’ll make note of it in a blog post.
Today’s interesting note comes from an interview of romance writer Jo Beverley done over at the Writer Unboxed blog. While most of it seemed to be a plug for Jo, there was a couple of nice bits towards the end. When asked what the stupidest bit of advice that she ever got with regards to writing was, she replied:
JB: That it’s stupid not to pre-plot. That there’s any “best way” to write a novel.
Q: The smartest?
JB: That the end completes the book in the reader’s mind. Beautifully, or disastrously. Also that the beginning sells the book and the end sells the next, which is partially the same thing.
The first point struck me because of what I’ve been talking about on the blog lately and personally agonizing over with my own writing, plotting. It’s tempting to throw everything that I’ve been working on by the wayside and say, “forget it, I don’t need to plot, Jo just said I didn’t.” But then again, this will be my first attempt at making a real go at it, so how can I say it will or will not work? Then again, if you refer to her answer to the first question she answers my doubts.
I guess my point with this post is that until you’ve tried many different styles, you have no way of knowing which one is the best for you.
It is raining off and on today, and my wife is taking the little one with her to town, I see a brief window of writing opportunity presenting itself. Time to get to it.
1 comments:
First of all, you've got an interesting blog here and I'm looking forward to reading more!
Second, as an aspiring writer too, I totally understand the idea of trying to find your style of "pre-planning" a story. I thought, for myself, that I could be an "as I go" type, but I've found that I kept getting stuck because I didn't know where to go.
After talking it out with a loved one, I created a 'roadmap' kind of outline for myself. I know that I want to make certain stops along the way, and I know where my final destination could be. But it doesn't take the fun out of writing the story and living it as I go, which allows for new ideas and new avenues.
Anyways, just my thoughts! This is something I've been working on too!
- Paige Bruce
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