A Writer's Perspective
by Josh Vogt
Inspirational Insanity
July 27, 2006
I’m cautious about the writing advice people offer me. This is particularly true about what other writers tell me because I know they don’t want any more competition. I’m not thinking about specific dos and don’ts. Neither am I focused on different techniques to get rid of writer’s block like: “Take a cold shower,” or “Suck on pennies and old mints found under the car seat.” Wait. Sorry, different advice category.
What I do with the suggestions gets me in trouble. My non-writing friends—or normal ones, as they like to think of themselves—don’t understand how a writer thinks. They can’t comprehend how most of my work involves staring out of a window. Nor do they sympathize with the complex, underlying emotions causing me to attack my computer with a baseball bat when it deletes my only copy of a rough draft. So I must be careful how I act around them when implementing any advice I’m given.
Here’s a perfect example.
Many writers post inspirational quotes around their workplace. Whether this gives them something to stare at other than a window, or perhaps serves as a shrine to successful writers, I’m not sure. Still, I decided to collect several quotes and make a shrine of my own.
- “When the plot flags, bring in a man with a gun.” (Raymond Chandler)
- “When you find an adjective, kill it.” (Mark Twain)
- “The true novelist listens to [his characters] and watches them act; he hears their voices even before he knows them.” (Andre Gide)
- “Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” (Red Smith)
Only one problem presented itself. Instead of copying the quotes word for word, I summarized them so it wouldn’t take as long to read, allowing me to get back to my own efforts. Near my computer screen sat a paper full of abbreviated writing wisdom that to my unenlightened friends read like my To Do list.
Use a gun.
Kill it.
Listen to the voices.
Sit down and slit your wrists.
Can you see the problems this created?
I’ve learned a couple lessons through this:
- Make sure my writing, especially when I paraphrase others’ advice, is concise and clear.
- Keep my friends out of my workplace.
Now, please excuse me. I have an appointment to keep with my counselor.
Josh Vogt graduated from Colorado Christian University in 2005 and recently completed the NYU Summer Publishing Institute. He is an assistant copy editor at Simon and Schuster.
He had a short nonfiction piece published in the anthology, Letters to My Teacher, and a fantasy short story selected for the October 2006 issue of Leading Edge, a science fiction and fantasy magazine.
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