writingforyourlife

I came across this YouTube video a while ago, and I’m not sure I agree with it.  I’d like your opinion on the matter.

It’s called “Novel Writing Made Easy,” presented by novelist Andrea Rains Waggener .

While the video offers some good advice for beginning writers, what troubles me more is that Waggener says novel writing can be “dumbed down to such a simple system that it becomes almost like paint-by-numbers.”

In fact, Waggener has created a whole Novel Writing Made Easy system that can be purchased online.

Here’s her promotional video:

I’m sure Charles Dickens would be pleased to know that “Great Expectations” might be little more than a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.  (Okay, maybe I’m being a tad harsh there…)

Sure, you can ‘dumb down’ the writing process.  Does that mean the end result will be good literature?

I’m not saying this system is a scam.  On the contrary, it seems Waggener has some good tips.  I’m simply wondering if it’s really fair to tell people that novel writing is easy.  I think the title is more of a gimmick than anything.

Think about it:  if novel writing is so easy, why are most manuscripts rejected? Why aren’t we all published?

Writing a novel may be easy, but writing a novel someone will want to read is not.

Let me know what you think.

Lately, the pursuit of a writing career has prompted me to pay closer attention to the experiences of those who have been successful in the online writing market.

If you want to read some truly useful information about copywriting, blogging, content creation and general writing, check out Copyblogger.

With article titles like The Art of One Butt Cheek Blogging,  Avoid Copy That Makes You Look Like An Ass , and The Winnie The Pooh Guide To Blogging, you can’t help but be interested.

Apparently, there are 40, 000 subscribers that agree with me.

Another good example of online success is Steve Pavlina.com–Personal Development for Smart People.

If you’d like to know more about how Pavlina ended up earning $1000 per day through his website, check out his article How to Make Money from Your Blog.  It’s amazing what you can do with a little motivation.

What websites do you find particularly encouraging?

I recently finished The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, a favourite amongst book clubs.

In the 60’s, a doctor is forced to deliver his own twins during a snowstorm.  His wife is unaware that one of the twins is born with Down’s Syndrome. The doctor tells his wife the child died, and convinces his nurse to take the child to an institution.  Instead, the nurse keeps the child and raises her as her own.

While I really enjoyed this book’s premise and plot, I thought the quality of writing was mixed.  It started strong and faded near the end.  It’s a classic choice from which to draw writing dos and don’ts.

• Do create a fascinating premise: One healthy baby, one with Down’s Syndrome, separated by 1960’s intolerance and a thrilling family secret.  
• Do create suspense:  When will the mother discover her daughter didn’t die, but was hidden from her for over 20 years?
• Do hook your reader:  Chapter one features strong writing and the premise is set quickly.
• Don’t tell… Show! :  The story covers such a long period of time, Edwards often resorts to carelessly inserting major plot events by simply saying they happened rather than showing them.
• Don’t write sloppy endings:  There is so much build up to the climax, the ending is sweet but feels rather thrown together.
• Don’t exhaust your reader:  Character development is one thing, but piling on inconsequential details can get old, fast.  Be selective.

Please don’t let my criticisms stop you from reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter .  A writer must look at reading selections from a critical perspective in order to learn from them!

It’s worth a read, and I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys mainstream literature.

My last post highlighted several writing tips gleaned from Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale, Little Women .

The writing elements I noted as exemplary were:

• Use of dialogue to build characterization
• Effective use of narrative
• Appropriate language for intended audience
• A great ending

Today, I’d like to share one writing ‘don’t’ from Little Women .  This does not imply the author fails in this area. Rather, writing is necessarily different today.

My writing don’t is:

Don’t try to teach your readers a lesson (at least not in a painfully obvious manner).

Many of the story’s episodes serve to teach characters obvious lessons.  Meg learns not to be taken up with her appearance;  Jo is taught to be more patient with her sisters; Beth overcomes her painful shyness; Amy learns to swallow her pride when she is caught smuggling a banned treat into school.

These morals work in Alcott’s era when times were simpler, which is why we enjoy reading this type of literature. However, we can’t get away with the same type of writing today.  Children’s book editors especially hate anything that seems preachy.

While most books have an overall moral, it must be delicately woven through a story instead of immediately obvious to the reader.

I’m currently reading a childhood classic for the first time:  Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

I grew up watching the 1949 film,  starring June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor, which was fantastic.  The 1994 version, with Winona Ryder and Christian Bale, was excellent too.

Because I’ve seen the films, there won’t be any surprises reading this novel.  However, as with most books, there are many writing lessons we can learn from its author.

First, Alcott adeptly creates interaction between characters through dialogue.  Though not much happens in terms of ‘action’ (sadly, there are no ninjas in this book), the reader is always aware of a life-like family dynamic.

Second, the narrative creates intimacy between the reader and each character.  We get to see the story evolve from many perspectives, each unique in its understanding of unfolding events.

Third, the simplicity of Alcott’s language matches the simplicity of the story.  This is meant to be a children’s book, and the language works perfectly.

Fourth, Alcott refrains from writing a saccharin-sweet ending.  She makes use of the adage, “Give the reader what they want, but not in the way they want it.” Yes, the ending is happy, but if we had our choice, would we not choose a different outcome?  It’s genius because it’s real: in life, we don’t always get the perfect ending, but we may get a happy one.

If you haven’t read Little Women , I highly recommend it, from both a reader’s and a writer’s perspective.