Writing Tips, Advice and Cover Letters

Here are two quick links with advice about writing fiction in general and some advice for writing cover letters. I haven't read much on these two sites, but the portions I skimmed though seem worthwhile reading. Hopefully I'll have time to read more on there in the next few days.

Wordsmitten's Advice on Cover Letters & Holly Lisle's general tips for writing fiction.

Writing Advice

After reading the Jeff Vandermeer advice for writers below I started to think of what advice has really stuck with me over time. A few things seem jammed in the wet confines of my Hippocampus:

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
— Salvador Dali

And so, by giving myself permission to fail, I was able to begin.
— James Patrick Kelly

And the now famous The only 12.5 writing rules you'll ever need:

1. If you write every day, you'll get better at writing every day.
2. If it's boring to you, it's boring to your reader.
3. Get a writing routine, and stick with it.
4. Poetry does NOT have to rhyme.
5. Resist stereotypes, in real life and in your writing.
6. Writers read. Writers read a lot. Writers read all the time.
7. Make lists of your favorite words and books and places and things.
8. There doesn't always have to be a moral to the story.
9. Always bring your notebook. Always bring a spare pen.
10. Go for walks. Dance. Pull weeks. Do the dishes. Write about it.
11. Don't settle on just one style. Try something new!
12. Learn to tell both sides of the story.
12 1/2. Stop looking at this list. WRITE SOMETHING!

I've always thought that in writing and reading fiction it's more about the journey than the destination.

And whatever you do, please never go for one of Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations, let your story develop on it's own.

Jeff Vandermeer

My buds over at Skullring.org just clued me into an interesting read on advice for writers from Jeff Vandermeer entitled "Evil Monkey Guide to Creative Writing," it's worth a read and maybe even printing out.

Never seek validation from others. Some people will always think you should not be a writer. Some people will always think you should be a writer. All of these people are fools. There is only one way to determine whether or not you are a writer: you must find the secret tunnel leading to the hidden door. Once there, you must place your hand upon the doorknob. If you are really a writer, the door will open. You will be ushered into a magical palace. Inside of this palace, a beautiful woman (or man, depending on your wont) will take your hand and whisper in your ear, “I’m glad you made it here. I need someone to mop the marble floors. I’ll pay you good money. This will keep you from starving while you write.” Of course, everyone is chosen. The door opens for everyone.

Go read it right now. Refresh your coffee later.

Jennifer Weiner's Advice

Jennifer Weiner is an author of chick-lit or book club books or something. I'm not sure. I've never read any of her novels but she does have a page with some good advice for those wanting to write and get published. Here's a sample:

I sold my first story to Seventeen magazine - one of the shrinking number of mass-market magazines that still publishes fiction. No agent. I just printed up my story, wrote a cover letter saying who I was and what I'd done, and mailed it off, and was thrilled and delighted a few months later when I got a phone call….and, eventually, a check.

Now, granted, I went to Fancypants U., and I was able to do some name-dropping on my cover letter. Did that help? Sure, probably it did. Is it necessary? I don't think so. I think if I'd submitted the same short story (it was called "Tour of Duty," and published in the spring of 1992), with a letter that left out all the stuff about Princeton, and just said I was a recent college graduate working as a reporter, the story would have met with the same happy response. No matter where, or whether, you went to college, good writing finds a home.

Not all of it applies to everyone but it's worth a read.