[ Poll ] The Anti-Guide

How do you try to improve your writing?

I try to avoid old, stupid things.		17.1%	[ 1660 ]
I add new things.		15.3%	[ 1477 ]
A combination of both (if one more than the other, pick it).		67.6%	[ 6547 ]

Total Votes: 9684

[avearia]

Manga/Comics are completely relatable to the written word. They translate perfectly, and it's okay to use things stolen inspired from these mediums as blatantly as possible. i.e.: "He used his magic like a Bankai from Bleach".

[Only Becca]

It really is best if you discard any and all advice from actual published authors. Make sure, also, that you never ever ever ever study successful author's work to find out what sells in the current market. The best-sellers are sell-outs anyway; no one with real genius wants to end up like, say, J.K. Rowling.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Only Becca

It really is best if you discard any and all advice from actual published authors. Make sure, also, that you never ever ever ever study successful author's work to find out what sells in the current market. The best-sellers are sell-outs anyway; no one with real genius wants to end up like, say, J.K. Rowling.

The exact same goes for English teachers. Never take they're advice, call them names when they correct you, and never study works they like or assign

[Only Becca]

Exactly.

And make sure you don't let people who you know are honest look at what you write.
Sure, they're honest the rest of the time, but as soon as they look at your writing, they'll decide to lie about what they think. Those lies will come in the form of "this part isn't very good" and "you need to work on this". Trust me, they're lying, and they only lie to you!

[Albireo of the Sky]

While I do agree with the spirit of this, advice from anyone should be taken as a suggestion and tested for its validity regardless of the source. A lot of critiques have recommendations that are, dare I say, idiosyncratic?

But yes... no one knows the true value of your work but you and everyone who lives 100 years after you die. Ignore the current writing environment, defy being classified by a genre, and use nonstandard conventions that completely disorient readers.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Albireo of the Sky

While I do agree with the spirit of this, advice from anyone should be taken as a suggestion and tested for its validity regardless of the source. A lot of critiques have recommendations that are, dare I say, idiosyncratic?

But yes... no one knows the true value of your work but you and everyone who lives 100 years after you die. Ignore the current writing environment, defy being classified by a genre, and use nonstandard conventions that completely disorient readers.

((A good teacher will give suggestions on how to defy genres and when to break rules))

[Albireo of the Sky]

The Phoenix Rises Again

Albireo of the Sky

While I do agree with the spirit of this, advice from anyone should be taken as a suggestion and tested for its validity regardless of the source. A lot of critiques have recommendations that are, dare I say, idiosyncratic?

But yes... no one knows the true value of your work but you and everyone who lives 100 years after you die. Ignore the current writing environment, defy being classified by a genre, and use nonstandard conventions that completely disorient readers.

((A good teacher will give suggestions on how to defy genres and when to break rules))

See, I have a problem with that. You can't defy a genre. That gets you into no man's land when it comes to publishing. You have to be able to tell an agent/publisher my book is fantasy, sci-fi, romance, literary, etc. It needs a place on a recognizable shelf. Also, abandoning genre conventions just indicates you don't know your genre well enough. Don't get me wrong. You can break rules and defy conventions, but even defying the conventions is drawing upon them so to speak.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Albireo of the Sky

The Phoenix Rises Again

Albireo of the Sky

While I do agree with the spirit of this, advice from anyone should be taken as a suggestion and tested for its validity regardless of the source. A lot of critiques have recommendations that are, dare I say, idiosyncratic?

But yes... no one knows the true value of your work but you and everyone who lives 100 years after you die. Ignore the current writing environment, defy being classified by a genre, and use nonstandard conventions that completely disorient readers.

((A good teacher will give suggestions on how to defy genres and when to break rules))

See, I have a problem with that. You can't defy a genre. That gets you into no man's land when it comes to publishing. You have to be able to tell an agent/publisher my book is fantasy, sci-fi, romance, literary, etc. It needs a place on a recognizable shelf. Also, abandoning genre conventions just indicates you don't know your genre well enough. Don't get me wrong. You can break rules and defy conventions, but even defying the conventions is drawing upon them so to speak.

((One convention of Sci-fi is what I call the Politics Diapers. A good teacher could help someone get a sci-fi into the pants of being a normal story.))

[Albireo of the Sky]

The Phoenix Rises Again

Albireo of the Sky

The Phoenix Rises Again

Albireo of the Sky

While I do agree with the spirit of this, advice from anyone should be taken as a suggestion and tested for its validity regardless of the source. A lot of critiques have recommendations that are, dare I say, idiosyncratic?

But yes... no one knows the true value of your work but you and everyone who lives 100 years after you die. Ignore the current writing environment, defy being classified by a genre, and use nonstandard conventions that completely disorient readers.

((A good teacher will give suggestions on how to defy genres and when to break rules))

See, I have a problem with that. You can't defy a genre. That gets you into no man's land when it comes to publishing. You have to be able to tell an agent/publisher my book is fantasy, sci-fi, romance, literary, etc. It needs a place on a recognizable shelf. Also, abandoning genre conventions just indicates you don't know your genre well enough. Don't get me wrong. You can break rules and defy conventions, but even defying the conventions is drawing upon them so to speak.

((One convention of Sci-fi is what I call the Politics Diapers. A good teacher could help someone get a sci-fi into the pants of being a normal story.))

Oh, I agree a good teacher can be invaluable. I had one myself a few years ago. I'm just saying that any suggestions should be first evaluated for their validity. I could read your story and tell you you need more vampires that act like Mr. Darcy, but that's just my opinion of how to make the story better. My opinion should be weighed against other reader's opinions of how to improve the story before incorporating my suggestion. Otherwise you'll make the perfect story for one reader.

The caveat here is that good teachers know how to make suggestions that aren't as idiosyncratic. Their advice typically is from a more objective perspective, but even then you can't take any advice at face value without thinking about it a little bit.

[Retaya]

Everything story is made better with a sex-scene.

[I_Write_Ivre]

Technology run on steam: Awesome
Technology run on glowing crystals: close to nature
Technology run on anything else: EVIL

[avearia]

I_Write_Ivre

Technology run on steam: Awesome
Technology run on glowing crystals: close to nature
Technology run on anything else: EVIL

Well, technology in general is evil because clearly Humans Suck because they need to destroy nature to live on their technologies. All the rest of tech is evil, the first two you mentioned are just less so.

[Ludera]

avearia

I_Write_Ivre

Technology run on steam: Awesome
Technology run on glowing crystals: close to nature
Technology run on anything else: EVIL

Well, technology in general is evil because clearly Humans Suck [fixed]. The first two are just less evil than the rest.

((Spent too much time potholing things on TVTropes, have we?))
Generally, if technology is talked about in a story at all, expect it to be evil.

The only exception to this is pseudo-Victorian technology--stuff that works using steam or clockwork--because it is never bad, even if it has robots. (Steampunk robots are also the only ones that routinely avoid AI is a Crapshoot.)

[marshmallowcreampie]

Ludera

marshmallowcreampie

That's why Marvel Comics and DC Comics companies went bankrupt in their first year and no one has ever heard of them!

There are only two comic companies in North America, and these are them. Also, ALL western comic books are about superheroes, so you have to sell your comic as a "manga" if you want any CULTURED readers.

Quote:

((Actually Japan puts much, much more emphasis on subtlety and nuance.))

((I'm going to say the lack of it in manga then is because translators aren't capturing it properly, then.))

Agreed. Everyone who reads American comic books is an uncool nerd. There are totally not any superhero-like Japanese comics. Magical Girls may go around saving the world wearing costumes and using odd powers, BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM AMERICAN SUPERHEROES!!!!! HONEST!!!!!!! AMERICA SUX!!!!!! ITS THE WORST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!! HUMANS SUCK TOO ALL THEY DO IS DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT!!!!!

When it comes to your MC, the bigger hybrid of random species she is, the better. A vampire-human-demon-angel-mermaid-werewolf-neko is totally not some stupid, lame idea only a ten-year old would think is cool. Also, your MC will gain ALL of the powers of everything she is mixed, no matter how far generation vampire/werewolf/angel/demon/neko/mermaid she is.

Being a werewolf (werecats and other creatures don't exist, by the way) or a vampire is totally not a curse and was never intended to be a curse. In fact, they're actually gifts! Werewolves can totally transform into giant wolves at will, and neither vampires nor werewolves have weaknesses.

[twilek_jedi]

Ludera

avearia

I_Write_Ivre

Technology run on steam: Awesome
Technology run on glowing crystals: close to nature
Technology run on anything else: EVIL

Well, technology in general is evil because clearly Humans Suck [fixed]. The first two are just less evil than the rest.

((Spent too much time potholing things on TVTropes, have we?))
Generally, if technology is talked about in a story at all, expect it to be evil.

The only exception to this is pseudo-Victorian technology--stuff that works using steam or clockwork--because it is never bad, even if it has robots. (Steampunk robots are also the only ones that routinely avoid AI is a Crapshoot.)

Humans in general suck.
We love the wonders of life, so what do we do?
Eat it. Then poop it.
Even vegetarians do it.
Even VEGANS! do it.
And if we refuse to eat/poop the wonders of life out our bums, well then we no longer get to be a part of it.

Make sure you get your reader to angst about this regularly. The more depressing the better. If it gets banned for being so damn depressing, well then that's FREE PUBLICITY!!!!!!!