Yesterday, over at Do Some Damage, Dave White had a thing or two to say about how a fledgling writer should approach the heaps of writing advice they'll find on these-here innertubes. His post resonated with me, because when I first decided to try my hand at writing, I eagerly consumed every bit of advice I could find, and the wild disagreement on nearly every point damn near paralyzed me.
Here's the thing, though. Most of the advice I was reading wasn't on random writers' blogs; it came from well-regarded books on writing from folks who've proven time and time again they've got the goods. Folks like Block and King and Grafton. Folks a fledgling writer would be nuts to just dismiss.
Right?
Wrong.
See, the thing about writing is there's no one way to do it. So like Dave suggests in his post, you've got to learn to take what you can use, and jettison the rest. Easy if it's some quack you've never heard of telling you he's got the secret to bestsellerdom. Tough if it's someone whose writing you admire. But developing the confidence to know what to keep and what to discard is key to actually ever getting anything down on paper.
All of which serves as a rambling preamble to my first-ever regular (okay, semi-regular) (or maybe not that regular at all) (hey, there's a chance I'll do another one sometime; get off my back about it, would you?) feature here at _holm: Kill Your Idols. Kill Your Idols will focus on specific advice from people I dig that for whatever reason just doesn't work for me, and why.
Now, since I've prattled on for like a book and a half already, I'll make the first installment a short one. And since this is about killing idols, I'm gonna aim high. So howsabout we start with this gem from Mr. Stephen King:
"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule."
Youch. That ain't no mamby-pamby suggestion; that, my friends, is a capital-R Rule. And I'd bet for Mr. King, it's just as iron-clad as it sounds. For me, though?
For me, that rule blows.
Why does that rule blow (again, for me; your mileage may vary)? Here's why: tattered, battered, timeworn, white-hot, and a half a dozen other words that appeared over and over (and OVER) again in my most recent novel, so often in fact that seeing them upon rereading yanked me right out of the story every time and reminded me that it was nothing more than words on a page, and mighty repetitive ones at that. They're all sort of default adjectives for me, words I didn't have to reach too far to find, and although there's nothing wrong with any of them, their sheer repetition made them wince-worthy every damn time.
Now, it's not that I had to use those words; off the top of my head, I can list plenty of synonyms for each of them. But in the moment, when that's what my brain's supplying me, thinking of a synonym is like trying to remember the melody of a song while another one is playing. And when that happens, I reach for my thesaurus.
So does that mean King's wrong? Yes, but only in his formulation of the rule as universal. For him, I bet it works every time. For me, it'd result in a lesser manuscript than if I just ignored it. So I ignore it.
Should you ignore it? How the hell should I know? I'm not in the business of giving writing advice. All I can tell you is what works for me. But if knowing I'm idiot enough not to listen to advice from people who can really write helps you do the same, then... well, I don't know what, then. But I think it would've helped me to get that message when I first put pen to paper (er, fingers to keyboard.)
So there you have it -- my first sorta regular feature. Unless it's not. Next time on Kill Your Idols, maybe I'll dispel some of this nonsense regarding adverbs...
12 comments:
I've read King's On Writing too, and I thought it generally gave great advice. And I remember that but in particular. I've always felt he meant fancy-pants words, though, rather than using a reference to widen your choice. If you feed your reader words a reasonably well-educated person doesn't understand, then your vocabulary is getting in the way of the story. At least that's how I read it. I'm not sure I agree 100% with that, even, but I see where he's coming from.
As with any advice on writing: Use what you find useful and give the middle finger to the rest.
Surprisingly, my word for word verification is "redrui" one letter off from redrum. Is King lashing me from beyond my screen?
You're right, I'm sure; I suspect King really meant something more along the lines of "Don't use words you don't know." The problem is, the guy's got one hell of a bully pulpit, and the rule as written is, in my humble opinion, a lousy one.
That said, I think On Writing is fantastic both as a memoir, and as a book about the craft of writing. And I also think that writing advice you don't agree with is just as valuable for crystallizing your own beliefs as advice you do agree with.
Shaun, I'd initially responded "That's it exactly," and then realized I wasn't sure that was true. Giving the middle finger to the rest is all well and good, but the fact is, one person's crap rule is another's golden one. The trick, I think, is internalizing what you like without denigrating that which works for others, or issuing blanket statements about how others should write based on your own personal tastes.
Says the guy who just said one of Stephen King's rules blows.
I know writers who think it's their job to educate readers, give them words to look up. I think King (and myself) are in the opposite camp. My theory: Put in nothing to slow the flow.
Oh, I'm with you there, Jack. As far as I'm concerned, my golden writing rule from which all else flows is "Clarity is God". My point in this post is that sometimes, I need a little synonym assistance to ensure the words don't detract from the story. Same goals, different methods. In an ideal world, my prose would be beautiful if you pay attention to it, and invisible if you don't.
Absolutely, Chris. My method exactly. I need help. My Mac has a Thesaurus on its Dashboard. I used it a lot last month ago doing another draft of the WIP. Had to look up CLIMB, MOVE, and TURN, among others. I needed synonyms.
Heck, I use the one on my dashboard, an online one, and/or either of the two I've got on my desk. They sit beside two dictionaries and a half a dozen style sheets. Usually, they all sit untouched, but you never know when you're gonna need 'em.
argggh, sometimes the pretty word is just right. sometimes it blows. i'm not sure how you know, exactly, other than to *know*. great new feature, ch, even if it's a one-off. i like your style, as always
Aw, shucks, Sophie. And I yours, as you well know.
I think you've hit on something Block talks about in TELLING LIES, but few other instructional writers acknowledge: writing is mostly instinctual. Some of it can be taught, but the bulk of it is just what feels right and what doesn't. The best thing one can learn is how to listen to that gut response.
My two cents:
Sometimes, my brain shits the bed.
When it does that, I cannot think of the word I want to say.
And so, I must turn to a thesaurus.
Not only do I often find the word I want, but sometimes, I find other great words.
The assumption is always: "The thesaurus is full of big words, and you don't need big words."
True.
But the Thesaurus is also filled with little words.
And sometimes, I need those.
-- c.
Exactly. That's all I'm saying.
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