Chronicles of a Procrastinating Novelist Volume 15: 10 Stupid Quotes about Writing
Since generating content is becoming an established lament of this blog, I'm shortcutting my way to this week's blog post by reversing the topic of the last post! *thumbs up dripping with sarcasm*
In truth, while great quotes on writing from writers abound, the flip side is that writers hear buckets of advice from an array of sources constantly, but none more frustrating than from those WHO DON'T FREAKING WRITE! Ninety percent of the time, it's easy to spot bad advice for what it is simply because one's own experience contradicts it, but neurotic wonders that we are, newbies among us can often internalize bad advice and allow it to chip away their confidence or metastasize into stifling insecurities. My advice to writers who've heard any of the nuggets on the following list is to take a deep breath, groan loudly, and move on with your life.
1. "It's a fallacy to think you should read widely to learn to write. You should only read best sellers." - Gomez OnlyReadsOneGenre
2. "You need to write what readers like, not what you feel like writing." - Penelope MissedThePointOfWhyWritersWriteInTheFirstPlace
3. "Independent publishing is no better than self-publishing. It's all vanity publishing." - Ezekiel NeverHeardOfAnEntrepreneaur
4. "You're not a writer unless you're living off your writing."- J.K. RollingMyEyesAtYou
5. "Poets aren't real writers." - Helga NovelSnob
6. "You shouldn't write in a bunch of different genres because you'll never find your voice." - Travis ToGoodToPractice
7. Addressed to a writer of one sex: "You should never write from a [character opposite to author's sex]'s perspective. You won't sound authentic." - Simon NarrowMind
8. "Proof reading is fine, but more than one or two revisions is just evidence of insecurity." - Georgina GlassCastleMommyNeverToldHerNo
9. "No one has the attention span for dense books anymore. You should write YA." - ThatKidWhoNeverDidTheReadingInEnglishClass
10. "If you write books that only appeal to women, you'll never write a best seller." - *incoherent snarling noise*
Like the previous quote post, feel free to participate and share some stupid advice you've received on the writing front. Let's connect, readers. And as always,
Thank you for reading.
B
