Most Writing Advice is Garbage

I am not a published author. I’m not an expert on “the market,” and I still make embarrassing mistakes with my own novels. However, I’ve read roughly one jillion books full of writing advice, so I can safely call myself an expert on reading books about writing.

When I was a teenager I read any advice I could get. It turns out that most how-to-write books are written by college professors or authors who’ve published only one book. It took my adolescent self years to figure out that while they had a few helpful tips, there were much better guides out there. So after years of reading I’ve concluded that there are only three kinds of writing books that are actually worth your time.

1. How-to books written by an author you already know and like.

2. Reference Books.

3. The books that focus on the big picture.

How-to books written by an author you already know and like.

This bit is pretty obvious. If you have a favorite author and that author wrote a book on writing then by all means, read that book. Don’t worry that it’ll make your style too similar to theirs; everyone unconsciously imitates everyone and yet everyone comes up with something utterly unique. What really matters is improving your craft, and books written by the best will do that for you. Some books written by popular writers include:

One of the first good how-to guides I ever picked up. It has your basic genre conventions and it gives you a good map of Sci Fi/Fantasy. I was a big Orson Scott Card fan when I was younger so I took his advice seriously.

This one is a podcast, not a book. Each podcast covers a different topic and you benefit from the advice of three (now four) successful artists.  Not only do I learn a great deal about writing, but I find that listening weekly keeps me focused on my goals.

This one is still on my "to-read" list. Ray Bradbury is my writing hero. He wrote every dang day and he left behind a staggering body of excellent work. He's a big believer in working hard but working smart. His writing advice is always clear and useful.

The books you use as a reference.

I rely more on google than I do on actual books. But articles won't give you the same depth that books can. If I were writing about an unfamiliar time or setting, then you’d better believe that I’d be devouring books on the subject. If my main character were a heart surgeon, computer hacker, or a Mexican immigrant crossing the border, then that would require a book or two so I could give the character depth without embarrassing myself.

But I don’t keep a copy of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style on my desk. In fact, I just keep one reference book regularly on my desk.

Sometimes I notice that all of my character clench their fists when they get angry and bit the inside of their cheeks when they hold back a comment. When this happens I go to the emotion thesaurus and they give me some useful alternates to fist clenching and cheek biting.

Reference websites I frequently use:

• Every writer needs a list of names. For Americans I recommend searching baby names by year. But for characters from elsewhere you need a broader database where you can search by country of origin.

• Need to describe the facial features of an Ecuadorian woman? A Chinese man? It helps to have a picture. The Face of Tomorrow gives you several composite pictures of faces from around the world.

• Keeping Your Fantasy Armies a Little Less Fantastic is a useful tool if you're constructing a pre-industrial revolution army.

• Google Translate I need it for fantasy spells, because not every ritual sacrifice is written in English.

A word of caution. There is such a thing as too much research--namely when you start to use it as a procrastination technique to avoid the real work of writing. Ask yourself if you really need to know the mating patterns of the slender-spined porcupine fish in order to write a steamy love scene between those two marine biologists.

The books that focus on the big picture.

These are the books you come back to again and again. These are the books that you recommend to beginners and experts alike. For me, I use STORY by Robert McKee. It was written specifically for playwrights, but the principles are universal.

My personal favorite.

A truly excellent how-to guide focuses on the plot as a whole. Does it make sense? Does every scene move forward? Do your characters grow every time we see them? Does it build to a satisfying conclusion?

Books with a big-picture view of writing often seem like a waste of time because they tell you things that you already know. This is a good thing because writing isn’t a secret, we all know how, it’s a matter of execution. Just having all of the “obvious truths” laid out in a sensible roadmap makes a huge difference.

On the other hand, some authors attempt to dazzle you with writing secrets. They resort to listing their highly specific pet peeves. They want you to sneer at anyone who uses the word “fewer” when they should say “less.” While these tips are accurate and useful, they don’t tell you anything that a quick google search couldn’t.  More importantly, it’s the sort of thing you don’t need to worry about until the final draft. Nitpicky little grammar tips never created an outstanding novel.

A Final Word

Writing isn’t a mystery. It’s just hard work. Natural ability has less to do with it than being a lifelong reader. People who don’t read for fun can’t write books that other people will enjoy. I’ve seen it attempted. It’s not pretty. How-to-write books are nice but reading for pleasure is essential.