How many friends do you have that say they are writing a novel? How many of them do you think will ever start, let alone finish? Well I am one of those guys who is currently writing (co-writing with my sister actually) a novel, although I don’t like to talk about it for fear of toolness (so don’t tell anyone). I’ve never found it hard to write, I’ can’t think of a time when I was affected by writer’s block, but “writer’s suck” is something I am very familiar with. Writer’s block? Just whip an alien at the story or kill someone. Good writing? Hmmmmmm……

I’ve taken writing courses before, but I was never sure how much I trusted my teachers. They’re academics, what do they know about dragons, right? (Foolhardy, because as I found out many teacher are well versed in the topic of dragons.) I looked to the experts. You probably won’t be reading this blog unless you’re already into the literary arts, but to those who are beginners, like myself, I think this post might be helpful. I’m not anyone to be giving advise, I can only relay what information I thought was beneficial.

For any aspiring writers The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White is a great place to start, yet it is more a treatise on the structure of prose, not the structure of character and story. On Writing by Stephen King, part autobiography and part “how to,” was a book I found extremely helpful, and not because it gave me any particularly specific tips on character building or storytelling. Chuck Palahniuk’s tips for writers, found on his website, were also very helpful. Palahniuk and King, both very popular writers, are not what you would call pillars of the “serious” writing community, but they seem to be the least pretentious and most eager to share their knowledge over most other authors. Their tips were strikingly similar.: write often. Both Palaniuk and King knew enough that they knew they couldn’t impart their success onto others, but “write often” is something that many beginning writers, like myself, need to take to heart, even when you have nothing to write about. The muse visits during the act of creation, not before.

I’m not anyone to be giving advise, I can only relay what I thought was helpful. You could read a million books on writing, and King’s On Writing is a very interesting one, but that won’t give you any grand ideas—those will come to you after the first hour of writing. Never mistake writer’s laze for writer’s block, if you’re truly blocked, whip an alien at your story, even if only to be edited out later.

Anecdotes