[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 18 Feb 2011

I've got conference envy. I was looking at the program for Life, the Universe, and Everything over here http://www.ltue.org/2011_Schedule.html and sighing about not being able to go. And then it struck me... some of these headings are kind of interesting to think about. So, with no further ado, let's take a look.

The very first one is "best and worst writing advice ever given." They have a panel with a moderator to talk about this at 9 AM in the morning. Fortunately, we don't have to get up that early. But we can still talk about what is the best writing advice you've ever gotten (or given)? Along with that, what's the worst writing advice you've ever stumbled over, and wished you had never heard of.

I'm going to recommend two different pieces of writing advice as best. One is the relatively long-term advice given by Heinlein, which I remember as four steps. Write. Finish what you write. Submit. Keep submitting. That may not be exactly the way it was stated, but it's pretty close. Second is the short-term advice that I've seen many places, but I think has been best summed up in Howard Tayler's pithy acronym -- BICHOK. Butt in chair, hands on keyboard. Yes, you need thinking time, pondering time, research, filling the well, and lots of other stuff. But the key to writing is to write. Get those words out.

Worst writing advice? I need to think about that a little.

What about you? What's the best and worst writing advice you've ever encountered?

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