Authors and Their Books: What makes a writer better?

[Neil]

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a writer better. Certainly, you have to be creative, that’s a given, and you have to love stories and reading. But what is that will make you better? Here’s my answer; time.

What do I mean by that?

With the exception of a few very talented people, most writers take years to hone their skills. Some writer’s like Stephen King say that a writer’s schooling is never finished. That writer’s always have something more to learn about the craft. There’s always a better descriptive phrase or character trait out there in the field of the imagination. And I do believe that.

A few things that I’ve learned over the years that have helped make my stories better is blogging. I try to post every two or three days if possible. The constant pressure of trying to come up with a subject and then write a post for the world to see has honed my storytelling skills. A now famous newspaper journalist-turned-novelist once said that the daily articles she provided for her editor prepared her for the rigors of writing a full scale novel. This writer’s name was Jennifer Weiner, bestselling author of numerous chic-lit novels.

The other thing I’ve learned about becoming a better writer is you have to talk to yourself a lot. I mean a lot! I know it sounds crazy but a few of you will relate. Tell yourself stories during the day. Make up things about people you pass on the street. I spend a good portion of my social activities imagining things about people I see, sometimes talking out loud to my wife about the fantasy lives I’ve concocted about these folks. She’ll look at me a little weird.

The last quick note I want to say about becoming a great writer is that you must write something every day. I know everyone’s heard that a million times but it’s so true. It makes you better and faster. My first novel took me three years to complete, my eleventh novel took one. And now I’m in the throes of a four book dystopian novella series that I’m planning one complete book every three months.

Writing is a profession as difficult as any. You can’t take a magic pill or a single college course and learn all there is to the craft. A real writer knows this and knows with time they will only get better.

http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

[Kimberly]

Neil, I've found that critiquing hones a writer's self-editing skills. It's easy for most of us to see things that work or don't work in others' novels; harder to do that in our own work. Critiquing trains us to back off from any work (our own included) and consider the larger picture. It forces us to understand why we didn't like a certain passage and couldn't identify with a certain character so we can explain our reactions to the writer whose work we're critiquing. All those analyzed reactions to others' work trains us to avoid the same mistakes in our work.

[Minnie]

Kimberly wrote: "Neil, I've found that critiquing hones a writer's self-editing skills. It's easy for most of us to see things that work or don't work in others' novels; harder to do that in our own work. Critiqu..."

Kimberly, I agree with you. I've learned quite a bit by reading and critiquing other writer's work. Funny, just the other day I was asked my opinion of an excerpt written by my editor. I responded with what I thought and the editor wrote me back thanking me. She said it made her look at the work from another's POV. It made her think.

IMHO, I will take all anyone has to give about my work, sort through it, learn from it, and be grateful.

Thank you.

Minnie Estelle Miller

[Richard]

For me, it's two things. One, knowing that, given time, I can rewrite/edit any of my material (even my very best) and make it better. Two, listening to my editors so I only spend rewriting/editing the parts that they say are in need. Otherwise, I'm just wasting time, or, worse, not fixing the weakest link. I spend 50% to 75% of my editing time working on two things: the weakest links and the scenes that really HAVE to work to make the book a success. (Strangely, I never know which scenes those are until after my six or seventh editing pass, which, by that time, is happening with pencil and double-spaced printouts.

[Boyd]

My experience is similar, Richard. I set a limit of ten drafts, only because I could go on editing forever and never get it out there.

Boyd Lemon-Author of Retirement: A Memoir and Guide; Eat, Walk, Write: An American Senior’s Year of Adventure in Paris and Tuscany; Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages; and 4 other books. Information, reviews and excerpts: http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com. Amazon Author Page: http://www.Amazon.com/author/boydlemon

[Minnie]

Boyd, to each his own. For me, ten drafts leaves too much room for errors.

IMO, each draft has to be thoroughly read once otherwise changes down the line may not take into consideration what had been said earlier. This could also lead to contradictions. I usually do 2 or 3 drafts, fully reading each one before I send the MS to my professional editor. And I let in a lot of fresh air in between each edit--at least a week. It amazes me how my mind can make my fingers say something else (thinking something and writing something different).

One of my big writing problems is the use of the word not. Leaving it out of a thought, as most of you know, can completely change a sentence or meaning.

Again, whatever works for you is what matters to you.