LJ IDOL: thoughts on writing

[rm]

So, I've been reading LJ Idol entries, and I've been seeing a strong desire from people to really tell stories, but a lot of people who either don't really know how or have been given some really bad advice in the past.

Now, this list of advice may not be the best either, because afterall, we're talking about a subjective thing. And my credentials as a storyteller are in many ways mediocre. However, I have published fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism. And I'm a performer. I have a lot of flaws as a writer and a person, but I was well educated and do know how to hold someone's attention, so here's some stuff you may want to consider.

Don't be cute.
This is not a college admissions essay. You're not going to get extra points for writing on tree bark or thinking of adjectives that start with each letter in your name. It's not as original as you think, and it's not as cute. It's trite, jejune, and distracting.

Know where to start.
You don't have to start at the beginning. In fact, sometimes it's best to start at the end or in medias res. Sometimes, you have to start before the beginning. But you have to choose a place to start and you have to choose a reason for it. Rephrasing the question, although I know you were told to do that in some sixth-grade essay writing class, IS A SHITTY, BORING PLACE TO START. It immediately identifies your writing as amateurish and removes the power from the story you're going to tell. If you have to do this to get going, fine, but chop that shit off before you post.

Be strong.
Storytelling is an act of proclaiming your existence. It is an act of prayer, of remembrance, of hope, of fury, of claiming. Regardless of the tonal quality you choose and the type of story you are telling, tell it with conviction and certitude. Among other things, be careful of over qualifying or mitigating your words and beliefs - "It sort of seemed like", "Maybe I thought at the time", etc. These constructions have their places, but you must use them deliberately and not as apologies for choosing to be a storyteller. There's a huge difference between "My mother never loved me" and "Sometimes, I thought my mother never loved me." Know which one you mean and use it, unapologetically. The fact is, whether you remind us this is just your opinion or memory or not, the reader knows that, so why weaken your position for any reason other than intentional art?

Know which details matter.
One or two key, trivial and possibly irrelevant details per character (this can include inanimate objects) in the story, tends to work really really well. Too much description can bog you down and causes the reader not to know what to focus on. When you meet a person face to face you immediately seize on something -- the shape of their jaw, the curve of an eyebrow, a crooked smile. Too many details and the reader doesn't know what to seize on. Choose carefully. Help them love or loathe.

Remember that there is magic in the world.
One of the things that really struck me about the response to my LJ Idol story about Chicago is how much people seemed to be saying that nothing like this had ever happened to them. I don't think this is true. The world is full of magic and serendipity, the hand of God, the mathematical beauty of coincidence. Find it. Use it. Believe in it. Even a day climbing a tree by yourself can be made into a day where you were chosen the strange master of a certain private earth. Find that power, and in telling the story, loan it to your reader.

Skill matters.
There are two ways to be defiant about lack of skill in writing, or really, anything else. One involves telling your audience, "tough, this is how it is" and/or apologizing for it. The other involves not drawing irrelevant attention to your flaws (self-perceived or otherwise) and working on them. There's this real tendency, particularly in America, for people to be defiant about their lack of education, training and skill in communication and writing, and to be frank, I find it tacky. Defy it by working at it, but unless that's the very story you're telling, I don't want to hear about it.

CADENCE.
Words have rhythm, sound and shape. So does life. Walking, dancing, traffic, sex, flight, anger, frustration, sport, politics -- everything has a pace, a speed, an internal syncopation, a heartbeat, a cant, a turn, a rasp. Think about how your story sounds aloud, how it feels to listen to, how it feels to speak. If it feels good to you, it's going to feel good to your reader, and even the stories of the most terrible things we read for a feeling, for a sensation, for a hush, for a visit to foreign flesh and soil. Find your beat. Then make the act of reading your story change mine.

Finish deliberately.
Sometimes this is a punchline, sometimes the whisp of a haunted heart. But make sure, at least for a moment, that the reader feels like they will never, ever forget what you just told them. Whatever you do, don't trail off in a ramble or apology or with a lack of any conclusive point, focus or emotion.

Comments

[jennieknits.livejournal.com]

These constructions have their places, but you must use them deliberately and not as apologies for choosing to be a storyteller.

Reminds me of auditions. "Thank you" has it's place, but not as an apology for taking up the director's time, and not as an "Okay, I'm done" statement. :)

I'll have to take another look at this a little later when I have more time to really read it.

[lawnrrd]

You said "jejune"!

[spiralflames.livejournal.com]

nobody really SAYS 'jejune', do they? write it, maybe, and only when one can get away with it..

(which she did :-D)

[torenheksje.livejournal.com]

Of course, now I'm completely convinced that I've made every one of these mistakes. Damn good thing I'm not really playing - I'm too paranoid.

Excellent suggestions all.

[spydielives.livejournal.com]

I do not disagree with any of your points. In fact, I applaud them... as they reflect what I am looking for when I read. My only other suggestion has to do with presentation. Know when to break a paragraph up. Know how to show conversations. Used judiciously, bold, italics, and other html formatting codes can add some serious punch.

*shrug*

I am not a published writer (ok, that isn't quite true... I had a poem published when I was 13), but I think when working in an online/blogging medium, one needs to make sure it looks good too.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think that's a really excellent point. I know type faces and endless paragraphs can be real obstacles for me when reading entries that are otherwise awesome.

[baronalejandro.livejournal.com]

Good advice.

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is going to come in handy with my recent project.

[missinfinity.livejournal.com]

I clearly need to find a new hobby, because jejune =/= jejunum.

That said, well done. :)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha. I had to look it up. Special. Med student or just weird?

[ewok-626.livejournal.com]

After reading what you have here, I went back over my own "week one" entry. The beginning fit well. Then I went back to week 0 and found that my beginning was just plain terrible. (Good thing that was a practice round!)

I'm going to remember these as I write in LJ_Idol. Thank you for helping us better our entries. *applauds your greatness*

[spiralflames.livejournal.com]

lovely. may i use a paragraph of that to post in my journal, with full credit of course?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Sure!

[mme-furiosa.livejournal.com]

Seriously, how can you manage to even make an instructive piece so lyrical? I'm definitely not blowing sunshine up your ass, either. This is just a really solid piece of writing about how to write solidly.

Testify!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Truly, this (storytelling) is what I do for a living -- because it is the only unifying theme in writing, acting, dancing and fencing.

[belenen.livejournal.com]

Remember that there is magic in the world.

I fervently agree with this whole paragraph ♥ *shiver*

I find unnecessary apologies to be irritating to the extreme. If you haven't wronged someone don't apologize! Just be.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Word.

[angstzeit.livejournal.com]

It is always pleasant when someone gives solid form to the thoughts in my head. I couldn't have written this but it crystallized the annoyances I've had reading some entries. (Especially the cuteness--put an "lol" in and I'm gone.)

I'd only add one thing specifically for this contest at this time: If you don't feel like you're "on" with a topic--make it brief. :)

[rm.livejournal.com]

That's a really good point too. People need to justify the time investment they are asking of their readers!

And as you can probably guess from my tonal quality, the cuteness is my big pet peeve too.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Part of me wishes you could post this over at Idol, but I'm sure it'd scare off some people *looks around furtively*

[rm.livejournal.com]

I did post it in a thread in the green room, but I don't know how many people will notice it.

[aumonae.livejournal.com]

Thank you for caring enough to speak out and give direction to those who may not know this. Constructive criticism is always welcomed in my writings.

*hats off* Good show!

[rm.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! There may be more in the future.

[maleficently.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for posting this. This whole project is a bit overwhelming and this is a nice thing to keep in mind when I'm staring blankly at that monitor wondering; "What on earth do I say this week?"

[rm.livejournal.com]

See, but it's great that you ask that question! It means you're looking for a focus, and I'm not sure everyone actually is.

[anchasta.livejournal.com]

Bravo! *applauds*

I'm impressed. I was linked over here by spydielives on her journal.

These are wonderful reminders - especially for someone like me who hasn't written for school or professionally in a long time.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think the hardest thing is writing when you're used to only writing for school or professionally, where a lot of bad habits actually are perfectly acceptable.

[shay-writes.livejournal.com]

Bravo!

Busy backgrounds. (Fairly LJ specific.)

[n-decisive.livejournal.com]

These are excellent tips. Thank you for putting them out here for us to utilize.

Am I the only one who has a difficult time reading entries when a journal's background is too loud or busy? I'm not able to focus on the content of the post when an LJ theme is visually assaulting. Such a response might be detrimental to the entrant; it feels like the opposite of cute and gimmicky entries. With the cute entries, I start looking for flaws in writing style. I immediately wonder what the person is trying to hide. With busy backgrounds, it's possible that the content is solid, but I'll never know given how often I have to look away from the page.

Re: Busy backgrounds. (Fairly LJ specific.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

You're not teh only one. I drives me crazy. Also the tiny little font that sems to say "I'm really into anime, please don't look at me, because I am also REALLY EMO."

[elva-undine.livejournal.com]

You have no idea how cathartic this is for me to read. Not because I'm a great writer, but because I read manuscripts for subsidy publishing. Most are shitty, bland, and obnoxious, and each author/poet thinks they are the first to say whatever they are trying to say. My job is to write a neutral review so that they can feel validated that their work was read, so I am constantly employing euphemisms and I NEVER get to say what I mean - even when the manuscript happens to be fabulous. So thank you! Much of this needed to be said.

[rm.livejournal.com]

OH my god, what an astounding job. Of the type you could write an incredible essay collection about.

[ex-mijra932.livejournal.com]

Curiously, in a post where you mention college addmissions essays as an example of an almost-genre of unsuccessfuly writing, you also mentioned the theme (though not the thesis) of the one I sent to the University where I eventually went: There's this real tendency, particularly in America, for people to be defiant about their lack of education, training and skill in communication and writing, and to be frank, I find it tacky, which I still believe.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Ha, that's very funny. Of course, a lot of what I've written here also speaks to "how to avoid writing a bad college essay", but we've all seen those bad college essays orhave experienced our parents or seen our friends' parents trying to write them for them.

[sircaliban.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I really think it will help me!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Awesome. What makes me happiest is people seeing things in here that can help them as opposed to either viewing it as irrelevant (it's relevant sometimes for all of us) or feeling discouraged by my tonal quality. Considering the things that I've since thought of that I've left out, I may try to do a weekly round up of things to watch out for.

[chite.livejournal.com]

I just read an entry that literally said nothing in 500 words. And didn't talk about a favorite childhood memory.

Being concise does not necessarily mean writing less, but it does mean making every word count. Thank you for posting such great advice.

[rm.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, and that's a really good point. There were a lot of entries I read that contained interesting details I'd like to know more about, but were not, themselves, actually about anything.

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[40sw.livejournal.com]

Know where to start.

I think what I hated most were entries that spent a paragraph or two whining about not liking the topic or saying all of my childhood was soooo terrible I don't know what to choose or all of my childhood was soooo nice I don't know what to choose...

[40sw.livejournal.com]

Don't be cute.
This is not a college admissions essay. You're not going to get extra points for writing on tree bark or thinking of adjectives that start with each letter in your name. It's not as original as you think, and it's not as cute. It's trite, jejune, and distracting.
...

I think it actually depends on whether you're doing it for kicks or if the point is to communicate something.

You can tell a story with more or less than words.

Declaring it juvenile strikes me as the arrogance of a writer who depends strictly on words so can understand only words.
Then, I'm not a writer & don't even play one on tv.

[rm.livejournal.com]

What else, exactly, is a writer supposed to depend on if not words?