Here's a tip. - by aguywhoplaysthief
Queue on 23/7/2009 at 15:27
...her mouth is better.
PeeperStorm on 23/7/2009 at 16:15
Another oldie but goodie: Don't argue with an idiot. People won't be able to tell the difference.
Don't immanentize the eschaton. It's all fun and games until you stub your toe on an eidos.
fett on 23/7/2009 at 16:20
This thread started to suck pretty bad starting with my post.
oudeis on 23/7/2009 at 16:46
Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.
Fringe on 23/7/2009 at 16:54
Quote Posted by Stitch
Why not?
Writers are perfectionists, and tend to have exacting standards about both about their work and the books they read. That's healthy. But considering the variety of ways there are to approach writing, that trait doesn't lead to many productive conversations. The more you listen, the more contradictory the advice gets.
Just read some of the (
http://www.alternativereel.com/includes/top-ten/display_review.php?id=00108) slapfights writers (
http://gawker.com/5069587/toni-morrison-is-john-updikes-latest-lit+fit-victim) get into with each other. Now put yourself in the place of a beginner, someone without the status or self-confidence of a Hemingway or Faulkner, and being told that something you like is antithetical to everything that is Good and True about Lit'Ra'Ture. It's difficult not to internalize, and at exactly the point at which it's least helpful.
After a while, listening to writers' advice is like trying to sketch out a building proposal in a room full of architects, all from different schools. Or putting together a meal in the presence of a hundred culinary school Desmonds, all of whom use different tools and are not afraid to tell you which is better. Paying too much heed to that shit will get in the way of developing your own style and habits.
I should note that I've taught creative writing and my initial post was more than a little tongue-in-cheek. But I tried not to be as douchebaggy about it as dethtoll's instructor, and devoted the last week of the course to questioning everything I'd said before.
Ulukai on 23/7/2009 at 17:26
Never trust a man who stands with his hands clasped in front of him.
Never trust a man who sits with his hands clasped in his lap and legs crossed in such a way that it can only mean his testicles have retreated back inside his body.
Stitch on 23/7/2009 at 18:04
Quote Posted by Fringe
Writers are perfectionists, and tend to have exacting standards about both about their work and the books they read. That's healthy. But considering the variety of ways there are to approach writing, that trait doesn't lead to many productive conversations. The more you listen, the more contradictory the advice gets.
I'd argue the above is either evidence of someone not being able to parse suggestions outside their easy frame of reference, or of ill-conceived writing advice in the first place. Writing is like any other skill-based creative endeavor: you ultimately have to do what you think is right, but suggestions from someone experienced can open up possibilities while shortening the labor-intensive journey.
Jokerman on 23/7/2009 at 18:06
Don't whiz on the electric fence
nicked on 23/7/2009 at 19:57
If you have a small (about an inch wide) lump just above the crease where your thigh meets your torso, that bulges out slightly when you cough, it's probably a hernia. Go to the doctor. I did and now I'm all better. Well the hole in my abdomen is all better anyway.
june gloom on 23/7/2009 at 20:15
Don't tell people what TV shows you watch.
