My Philosophy On Teaching Writing
Hey authors! This post is going to be formatted a little differently from normal, because I'm going to talk about my philosophy on teaching writing. It's going to be more a chill monologue about what I think about the stuff I write on this blog. *cue non-existent theme song*
Let's get to!
The thing about writing is that, there's only one rule: There is no rule. There's no hard and fast law that every author has to follow. There's no secret ingredient to writing a guaranteed bestseller.
Everything I say here, and everything other author bloggers say, are guidelines. Except for, maybe, grammar and topics like that. But everything else is a giant ehh, maybe?
Honestly, I skip out a lot of "generally" and "typically" and "usually" and "mostly" and...you get the gist. If I did add them, my word count would increase by at least 10%. I try to add them when I first bring up a point, but I write as if I'm talking so it doesn't always happen. Keep that in mind as you read these tips.
That's why they are, after all. Tips. I might call them "secrets" or "rules" just for the clickbait factor. Clickbait is, ultimately, how we drive traffic to our platform. (Yes, I do try to give pay-off so it's not totally clickbait!) But they're all guidelines.
Knowing all this story theory is one thing. Part of being an author is knowing when to break the tried and true methods. Rely on your instinct, beta readers and editors.
I blog because I try to find out what works and what doesn't, so I can share it with you guys. But as I've said, it's what generally works or doesn't work.
Take the "murder all adverbs" tip for example. Some cases require some adverbs. See: I laughed happily vs I laughed sadly. Completely different meanings, both using adverbs.
Another point to make are the "how to" posts. Most of these are how I personally do things. My process might not work for you. And that's okay. Every author has a different way of doing things. Who knows, maybe my current method will change.
Whatever I say is not law. As the reader, you can decide what you think is valid and what you think is total trash. If you agree with me, that's cool. If you don't, that's also cool.
Some people think writing is an art, others a skill. Frankly, I don't see a difference. You still have to practice and hone your skill, no matter if you rely primarily on instinct or known techniques.
Everything here are tips to guide you in what's normally the right direction. Choose whichever path you want.
Your book, your way. Everyone else is here to help. (Except those jerks who don't deserve your time.)
Until next week, happy writing authors!
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