A writer friend posted a “helpful”
blog post about writing. “23 (More) Websites that Makes your
Writing Stronger.” It was very nice of her to let all us other
writers know about this. (Author's note - I only reference this post to give you a look at what I was talking about. I am not promoting nor did I get anything for mentioning it here.)
But here is the thing. Okay, actually
its several things.
First off . . . why do we always feel
obligated (and by we, I mean me) to say “first off” or “first”
or "Number One” when we have a list of things to say? . . . sorry, I
digress.
First off, the idea of 23 blog sites as
resource material to make my writing stronger is a little daunting.
To be honest, the only thing I clicked on was a reference to an old,
now defunct blog. And only then because the writer of this post said
“Well you've heard of the legendary Miss Snark” and I hadn't. I
thought that was a bit disconcerting. I felt like someone was saying
“well you've heard of McDonalds” and I was like “Mc-who?” So I had to check it out, only to find that it was some literary agency
person handing out advice years ago. When I wasn't in “the biz.” And even then it only lasted two years. A mere blip in the ethereal miasma of the internet.
Talk about a tad condescending of this
author to assume that “omg, like everyone has heard of this brief
stint on the WORLD WIDE WEB with like KaJillions of websites on it so
like why haven't you.”
Wow, again I digress. So as I was
saying, here is this list of 23, TWENTY THREE, (more) websites to check out (as if the first list of 23 wasn't enough).
Even when I am researching a topic for a ghostwriting assignment I
don't visit 23 websites. So the idea of visiting 23 websites to make
my writing stronger seems a bit much. I always thought that writing
made my writing stronger. It was almost as if the author of this
blog had the case of spastic “can't make up my mind” syndrome and
just narrow it down or she was being paid a kickback to promote these
websites and got greedy and/or carried away.
Just saying, 23 seems a bit overkill.
Secondly, or on another hand, or next –
or whatever you prefer – just about any schmoo can write a blog . .
. yours truly included. Doesn't make them any better a writer or
better qualified to make my writing stronger. Just means they have
the time to churn out a blog. (Kind of why my blogs tend to languish
for a few days, or weeks or months between posts . . . time.) It
makes me wonder how good they are at their job as copy editor,
literary agent, self proclaimed author / expert in our business, if
they have time to churn out the daily bit of advice. Which makes me
think back on my ghostwriting gigs.
Hey, wait a minute, these posts
probably AREN'T even written by these people of notoriety / experts
in the field of what we do. These are probably churned out by
ghostwriters . . . people just like me who get paid to write up
snazzy little advice pieces.
Kind of leads me back to what I said
about writing making my writing stronger. Maybe if we all wrote
advice blogs we could make ourselves stronger writers.
Sort of connected to the previous
point. Next, I have to wonder who they really are. Sure, you can say
you're with a literary agency, but what do you do there? Are you the
senior level “pick the next King or Hawthorne talent scout” or
are you the mail clerk? I mean, a Senior Advanced Sanitation Engineer
is simply the janitor, right? What is in a title? Hell, I'm the CEO
of my company. Granted I am also every other title in my company
because I am the only employee in my company. But does that make me
any less the CEO? Although I don't think Trump, a fellow CEO, is
going to take my calls any time soon, do you?
Now if you go with my favorite tome of
advice / inspiration that could make your writing stronger, On
Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, then you have something. Not only is it by a
recognized “expert” in our business, but it was thought to have
enough good information for a publisher to fork out the money to
print it. Anyone can write a blog, but to invest cash into soemthing in the belief it will give you a return on your investment . . . well
that's lending it a bit more credence.
Don't get me wrong, there's lots of
tripe out there that has been published. But its not like you have to
slog through the KaJillion websites that proclaim how great they are
to make your writing stronger.
So here is my own bit of advice. I
don't say its groundbreaking, I don't say it will help make your
writing stronger or get you published. I am not even claiming to be
an expert in this at all. But for me it has always been a common
sense approach.
In order to make your writing stronger,
you need to read and you need to write. And when I say read, I don't
mean “how to” pieces. I mean read what you write. If your into
horror, read King or Maberry or Strieber or Gaiman. If you write
non-fiction history, then read Morris or Chernow or Pietrusza. Even
in college writing courses, the only “how to” things you read are
the text books (hmmmm, something someone invested money into actually
printing). But when it comes to making your writing stronger, they
have you actually read and write.
I know this seems a bias toward print
over digital, but it really does come down to the almighty dollar –
which may seem ironic coming from someone who has been mostly
published online during my thirty some years writing. Digital may be
the wave of the future and holding a solid book in your hand where
you have to physically turn the page may be a thing of the past. But it
sure does lend a great deal of credence in my mind that someone was
willing to shell out hard earned cash to print a book up versus the
free and easy digital publication of a website.
That's my two cents and you can
certainly take it for what its worth. (Considering it is being
published digitally, that may not really be worth much to anyone, but
hey, what the heck.)
Have yourself a very great day.
Charles