quinnolyn said: Warning: Questions Ahead How did you discover your writing voice/style? Does it come naturally every time, or do you have to fight for it? What’s the best writing advice that you find yourself remembering whenever you go back to edit a piece?

Haha. I discovered my writing style the boring way. By writing and thinking I could do better, and then reading and thinking I could do what Mr. X did. Then writing more, and knowing I could do better, and then reading and thinking I could do what Ms. Y did too. Basically I just kept stealing until the conglomeration of stolen things morphed into whatever it is now. 

Part of it comes naturally. For instance I seem to naturally use alliteration all over the goddamn place. A lot of the poetic devices (assonance, metaphor, “imagery” [which is a term I never understood, seems to me all writing is imagery, words evoke an image and that’s that[) are the ones that come the easiest (except for poetry itself, which is like climbing a sheer wall of ice with a pair of old suction cups for me, and which is also why I just write foofy prose instead.) Other pieces, plot, dialogue, motivations behind characters, I have to fight for. I’ll change a character’s reason for doing or not doing a thing probably thirty times before I’m satisfied. But there’s a certain gut feeling that comes with getting it right that just feels really good. 

The best writing advice I find myself remembering (not only when editing, but throughout the whole process) belongs to Mr. Neil Gaiman. Who never really gives specific development advice, steps, or “tricks” in how to do a narrative thing correctly (and that sort of advice only ever served to irritate me anyway, because half of the joy I get out of writing is trying to break as many rules as I can and still make a good story. Whether i succeed or not is another matter.) but always instead tells the people who come to him saying, “I want to write a story”: 

Then write a story. 

Which in the end is the only real advice a writer can give and be honest. There are other tools and tidbits. Stephen King says kill your adverbs and Anne Lamott says kill your darlings, that’s some good advice. Patrick Rothfuss says read out loud when you edit so you can actually pay attention to each word and find all the wrong ones; that’s good advice too. John Green says find a mentor if you can. College professors say it’s all 20% pre-writing, 10% writing and 70% editing. Tolkien says Secondary Belief is key. And Oscar Wilde said to be a writer (artist) one has to be able hold utterly conflicting beliefs within oneself simultaneously. But every dialogue on writing I’ve ever seen take place between two or more writers employs the phrase: “I think you make a good point, and to some extent that’s true, but…“ 

I’ve never seen any single bit of advice on writing be universally agreed upon, except for Mr. Gaiman’s. And it’s not even really his, he just says it well. 

If you wanna write a story. Then you gotta sit down and write a story. 

Aaron Sorkin 

Introduction to The West Wing Pilot Script. 

I want it understood that I am taking this action under extreme duress. But the logic of it has been inarguably pointed out to me. So blblblblbl, I guess. 

I’m starting a separate writing blog. It’s non-fandom centric. I don’t plan on actually posting much writing there, but plan instead to talk about writing. By which I probably mean bitch. I plan to bitch about writing. Exclusively. 

I’ll also be putting up quotes and examples of the writers who have influence me most. And what I’ve learned from them, blah blah, schmlah. It probably won’t be as active as this blog. But considering how much whining I do at my betas on these subjects, I image it will see some use. 

The blog is mostly (let’s face it) self serving. Because I do think about writing ALOT and I do whine about writing ALOT and it only makes sense, I guess, fine vialatt and scarletjedi you were right, to channel it somewhere. 

I’m letting you know here just in case any of you might be interested, and because vialatt is making me. There’s not much up there right now cuz I’ve been agonizing over whether or not to keep it secret for the last 24 hours.  

P.S. I will be following one or two of you in a double capacity now, b/c you post writing things and I find it relevant. 

PPS if any of you have suggestions for good writing blogs to follow with le’ writing blog of schmangstdom let me know. <3 

(via ununpentium)

subjecttochange8 asked: "If Dean will not leave Cas behind, then Cas must become some other thing." This. This, Proxy. I love your incredible imagery, I always *always* do, to the point of worshipping it, but sometimes (most of the time), it's your simple sentences that do me in. I love your figurative sentences, they're like your stories' flesh, alternately bloody or voluptuous or putrescent, seething, just SEETHING with connotation and emotion. But your sentences like this one?

If I may use this as an opportunity to be react entirely with my writer’s ego instead of the better (and wiser) parts of my brain. I feel like this is a good opportunity to blab about some Clive Barkers of my own. 

The simple-line as the punch technique (which I use rather clumsily—but which I’m always astoundingly gratified to hear has done its job) is something I learned from older and classier heads. Patrick Rothfuss especially I might say does it destructively well. His language flows and has rhythm and is poetic, and then he’ll just slam you with a simple sentence. 

Wait, I’ll see if I can’t get an example. 

Ah okay, from book II of the Kingkiller Chronicle, A Wise Man’s Fear, containing no spoilers. 

“Then he spun on his heel, walked back to his chair by the hearth, and lowered himself into it as if it were a throne. He clapped his hands twice, sharply. “Entertain me!” he said with a wide, mad smile. And even from where the others stood near the bar, they could see the blood on his teeth.” 

Ugh. Bam. Right where the feels live. 

You’re welcome for the heads up. 

The deadline is October seventh. 

Excuse me, I have some ghosts to condense. 

Draft 1: I HAVE AN AMAZING IDEA I AM A GENIUS ALL THE WORLD WILL BREAK BEFORE MY WORDS BLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBL

Draft 2: this is shit. i am shit. all is shit. 

Draft 3: Okay…okay I think this will be okay. I have salvaged the shit-wreck. Perhaps I can show this to someone without also paper-clipping it to a suicide note. 

flexbone:

As a writer I really do resent the phrase “Words fail”

Words never fail

You just have to read them right

As a writer I have to completely and utterly disagree with this and side with Shakespeare.

“I have no words,”

Not the right ones anyway. And never the perfect ones. There will always be a gap between the pure idea and it’s written bastardization.

The beauty of words lies in the the tragedy of their inevitable imperfection.

(via fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment)