Advice for new authors

Recently I stumbled over an interview with one of the masters of sci-fi/fantasy. His name is Glen Cook and he's got 30 or 40 novels published. His response to "what would you tell new writers" caught my eye. Now I know that this isn't a professional board, but the first and third parts of his answer does apply to this board. The second... well, that's why I welcome comments that aren't entirely positive.

I've seen this same advice in one form or another in countless interviews - and it's good advice.

The full interview can be found at http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012/04/sffwrtcht-glen-cook-on-dread-empire-garret-p -i-and-the-dos-and-donts-of-writing/ but unless you have the good fortune to be a Glen Cook fan you probably won't find it interesting.

And no, Cook doesn't write much with spanking in it. There's a "the retired marine has enough and spanks the spoiled rich girl who thinks she's in charge" spanking in the first Garrett novel and a scene where an aunt paddles her niece who is the "child born to bring darkness to the world" in another series (but the aunt's the one really nasty one you should be scared of!), and couple of causal spanking threats scattered in a few of his novels, but unless you're looking for it (like me!) you'd never notice it.

---
SFFWRTCHT: What's the best writing advice you have to offer new writers who ask?

G.C.: First and foremost, Do It! Don't talk about doing it. For God's sake, don't come telling me the whole story you're going to write someday. Sit your ass down with a pen, a typewriter, a word processor, or a computer, and start making words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. You will have to trash a lot of stuff before you start to get it right, but that is part of the learning process. And, someday, some of those primitive ideas might be resurrected as part of some worthy project.

Secondly, don't ask your mom, your significant other, or your close friends to read and comment on your stuff. They all like you so they will lie to you to keep from hurting your feelings. You need your feelings hurt so you'll stop writing all that crap.

Third, you should have a more than passing familiarity with the English language. Every craftsman has to know and take care of his tools. No, the editor is not going to fix it for you. Whatever you think, that isn't her job. If you can't write a coherent sentence, can't spell, can't punctuate, use grammar like you were raised by toads, your masterpiece is going to be rejected before the first reader gets to the second page.*

* "There are now hundreds of thousands of self-published titles available. A few are very good, some are okay, and most are dreadful. In many cases the authors got suckered by unscrupulous publishers, who took the authors' money knowing that the book would never be able to sell more than a few cases to the authors, which the authors will have to store in their closets for the rest of their lives. Many of these books have never been edited, spell-checked, grammar-checked, etc., and are offered at high prices and low discounts that guarantee that a bookstore will never buy a copy. For an extreme example of this check out The Worst Book Ever is "Moon People".

The point is, if you have to publish it yourself it's almost certainly not worth publishing. There were about 850,000 such books published in 2010.

Glen Cook's a great bloke. He always came off as pretty grumpy in interviews, but when I met him in person and saw him speak he was highly amusing and a lovely man. He was actually working in an auto factory when he first started writing professionally and remarked a few years ago that he got more written when he had a day job than he has since retiring and writing full time.

Interesting thoughts....some points like having a basic knowledge of grammar etc is very much needed, but the first point is the best. Don't just talk about, or think about it, sit down and write. Yes it will be hard work and when one sends in their first story one will be a nervous wreck while it is decided whether it can be put on the site, and how ones will react to it.

However, the pleasure derived by doing the needed work and getting it on site is great. Even better is getting comments back with positive feedback along with encouragement to continue writing. Those comments and the number of views gives one a thrill that is long remembered.

It cost nothing to try writing on this site, give it a try, you will be glad you did. If a few don't like your writing, then you will fit right in with the rest of the writers on this site. New writers soon discover they have regular readers of their stories and any effort put forward to write another story is greatly appreciated.

One thing you might do too is to find the writers here that you like, whose style or technique you admire. Ask them questions. Most will respond with (hopefully) helpful information. This site provides ample opportunity for readers to interact with authors and most of us welcome that wholeheartedly.

I think that's the thing I've found most gratifying about the spanking story authors I've spoken to both here and in other places. The willingness to give advice is most helpful.


Within this genre some of us have another more pressing reason not to ask our Mums or wives for comments upon our literary efforts, and that's not that they'll be too sycophantic but are more likely to reach for the garlic and the pointed stake.

I agree with rollin. The WRW is also very helpful. How other authors think and write gives plenty of reason to explore other corridors of the fiction writing mind.