WARNING! This is one of my ‘grumpy’ posts. Although I first set up this blog to have a grump about things which irritate me, hence the user name, I don’t do that often now.
What has irritated me recently? Bloggers who think they are psychologists, philosophers, even psychiatrists, and/or are competent to advise on writing fiction though either they have never had their writings, particularly a novel, published or only self published. I don’t mean to knock self publishing – I’ve read some great writing on blogs, which is after all a form of self publishing, but I think the test for any would-be novelist has to be the market – has the ‘advisor’ had a novel published by a commercial publisher?
I know there are some outstanding exceptions but even with that there seems to be only one bit of good advice: don’t be discouraged by rejections and keep submitting (after all, if I’d have received Harry Potter I’d have rejected it!). Having said that, do get it edited by a good native speaker of the language in which it’s written. (No. I don’t want the job.)
I know, I know – such blogged advice usually gets a lot of ‘likes’ and grateful comments – some people are even willing to pay for it – but I wonder how many would-be writers in fact go on to be successful writers based on such blogged advice.
Short story writers and poets have it easier; it is simpler to get into an anthology though I would not belittle that.
Blogging is different
Blogging is somewhat different; if you want thousands of followers (I do not) there are several things you can do in your writing to achieve this; most of them are ‘mechanical’ and could be done by a robot. In fact there are ‘digital robots’ out there which will analyse your writing and ‘advise’ how to increase readers and followers or even do it for you. And there are some really ‘successful’ blogs on which the writing is terrible.
One exception is of course bloggers writing in imperfect English, that not being their native tongue. I follow several blogs like this and have great admiration for these bloggers, quite apart from the enjoyment I have from what they post.
If your blog has a ‘theme’ then even if the writing is poor you may get followers who are interested in that subject. .
One of the blog things which most impresses me is a number of non-native English-speaking bloggers who post in two languages – both their own language and English – and in which the standard of English is excellent. I can only judge those published in Romanian and English as the only foreign language I speak pretty well is Romanian; in fact I usually only read the English if I get stuck with the Romanian, which is rare now.
Writers’ club
One of the things I really like about our writers’ club, Writing on the Wharfe, is that advice is given only if asked for (and we do have several published writers); the same applies to ‘criticism’ (which I use in its positive sense: “The analysis and judgement of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work“ – Oxford dictionary). Such criticism is anyway always kindly and supportive. There is never criticism in the other sense: “The expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.”
Writing fiction or poetry is something pretty new for me though I earned my living from writing, sometimes a very good living, for most of my working life. But even in my field I’d be wary of giving advice.
February 5, 2019 at 5:50 pm
have nothing to say about this. I usually share “my way” or “experience” and I always forget to add “I’m not a doctor” or “I’m not a dietician”, etc. I hope that doesn’t mean that I am 😀
February 6, 2019 at 9:01 am
Discussing experience with illnesses or food is something else and such discussions are one reason why I read/follow quite a few ‘foodie’ blogs or blogs which sometimes talk about food, diet or complementary medicine. What makes me ‘grumpy’ are bloggers who believe that because they think they can write are qualified to advise not only on writing but anything else which comes into their head that day.
February 4, 2019 at 9:47 pm
If I took on board every single comment or critique about my singing and took it personally I’d never sing another note 😀. I have to try to convince myself that the art form is so subjective I’m never going to please everyone, so as long as I meet my own internal goals and ever raising standards I’m happy and it’s a good day.
Even when you’re grumpy you make me smile 😀, just please don’t comment on my writing or i’ll pretend i’m Romanian with passable English multumesc.
February 6, 2019 at 9:16 am
Your final para made me smile and I’ve never found anything wrong with your English.
What I have taken from your blog, and as someone who has followed opera and singing for many decades – even singing myself though rarely solo – is a wealth of knowledge about opera and singing.
February 4, 2019 at 4:49 am
Isn’t it funny (and sad) how sometimes something or someone isn’t particularly exceptional, or even good, and somehow it or they are very popular and hence successful?
I take giving and receiving advice very seriously and I resent it when it’s just thrown into a conversation. We shouldn’t be irresponsible with it.
February 3, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Your post is spot on. I have also received some advice on how I can gain more followers, likes, and whatnot. I use my blog as an outlet to express a part of my creativity. I do not have the time or resources to turn it into a famous blog. However, I am bothered to see that some blogs that are considered extremely successful have lackluster content and meaningless posts based only on what the reader wants to see.
February 3, 2019 at 7:20 pm
Thank you. What did I say about English? I could not better the English in your comment. It was a delight to read as a former English teacher. I agree completely about the lacklustre (wonderful choice of vocabulary though I’ll stick with the British English spelling) blogs.
February 3, 2019 at 7:38 pm
Your words mean that I achieved one of the main purposes of my blog: improving my English. Other than living in an English speaking country I don’t think there’s a better way to polish English skills. It takes a lot of time and work and reading and rewriting but it’s worth it. Thank you!
February 3, 2019 at 7:45 pm
😊
February 3, 2019 at 4:09 pm
My father’s maternal uncle used to say ‘ give advice only if you are asked otherwise be prepared to hear the words of others.’
I think writers who enjoy what they are writing are able to convey the best..Regards
February 3, 2019 at 4:13 pm
I agree completely – with both sentiments.