Post by account_disabled on Jan 5, 2024 22:33:13 GMT -7
Reading the post on the first rule of creative writing written by Lisa, I wanted to reflect on the concept of rules. There are those who say to follow them, those who say they should be broken. The truth, as often happens, lies in the middle. Some time ago I talked about my personal creative writing rules , the ones I tend to follow when writing a story. Everyone has their own, even if some may coincide, just as there are those writing rules that can be broken when there is a real need. But are there real rules when writing? Is it by knowing and respecting them that you really learn to write novels and short stories? Beyond creative writing manuals Does reading books on writing help the writer? I haven't read many of them, actually only 3: On Writing by Stephen King: it can be considered as an artistic autobiography of the King.
I liked it a lot, I read it in the original and found Special Data interesting ideas. The writer's profession (On Becoming a Novelist) by John Gardner: I also liked this one, it speaks bluntly about the author's activity as a novelist. Written minutes by Annamaria Testa: very useful, it makes you understand how difficult it is to write. There are writing exercises that really cause difficulty. Highly recommended. Did these books help me? Yes, but perhaps precisely because they are not writing manuals. The real manual is experience. I think it's good to learn to write by reading and writing, just as King recommends. Reading helps us discover the secrets of writing, if we are attentive readers, if by reading we try to understand the structure of the novel, the techniques used by the author. Here's what I feel like saying: don't read too many manuals, otherwise you risk having your head stuffed with unusable notions.
A writer must not have a notional culture, but a literary one. Therefore go beyond creative writing manuals. Read those books on writing that talk about the author's direct experiences, because they are the only ones that can teach us something. 10 rules of creative writing Having said that, I think there are still rules that an author must respect, because they are rules that make a story readable and understandable. Grammar : it is the first par excellence, because perhaps the most broken. Grammatical rules must be known to break them when the story requires it. Otherwise they must be respected as laws. Style : create your own writing style to differentiate yourself from others, to be recognisable. Style is always changing. Language : we can choose to use crude, direct language or language made of metaphors and similes . Or simple language because we write for children and teenagers .
I liked it a lot, I read it in the original and found Special Data interesting ideas. The writer's profession (On Becoming a Novelist) by John Gardner: I also liked this one, it speaks bluntly about the author's activity as a novelist. Written minutes by Annamaria Testa: very useful, it makes you understand how difficult it is to write. There are writing exercises that really cause difficulty. Highly recommended. Did these books help me? Yes, but perhaps precisely because they are not writing manuals. The real manual is experience. I think it's good to learn to write by reading and writing, just as King recommends. Reading helps us discover the secrets of writing, if we are attentive readers, if by reading we try to understand the structure of the novel, the techniques used by the author. Here's what I feel like saying: don't read too many manuals, otherwise you risk having your head stuffed with unusable notions.
A writer must not have a notional culture, but a literary one. Therefore go beyond creative writing manuals. Read those books on writing that talk about the author's direct experiences, because they are the only ones that can teach us something. 10 rules of creative writing Having said that, I think there are still rules that an author must respect, because they are rules that make a story readable and understandable. Grammar : it is the first par excellence, because perhaps the most broken. Grammatical rules must be known to break them when the story requires it. Otherwise they must be respected as laws. Style : create your own writing style to differentiate yourself from others, to be recognisable. Style is always changing. Language : we can choose to use crude, direct language or language made of metaphors and similes . Or simple language because we write for children and teenagers .