@ixtlidekami ah, so lack of humour as well as creatvity?

@huskyteer same. I won't even necessarily know where the book is going to finish the draft without some editing throughout. I assume who ever started that advice wasn't a pantser.

@stevendbrewer yep, there's a lot of points of agreement on advice that became rules that don't always make sense or work in reality.

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 3: Is there one piece of well-known writing advice you ignore?

"Write what you know."

If I could only write what I know, I'd be bored to tears, and the reader would be too.

I like to say that I strive to "know what I write" instead. Writing for me is about exploring worlds, lives, and experiences that are different from my own, and that I may not know much about when I start. But hopefully I know a lot more about them when I'm done writing.

@marcr I've never had an established writing routine. I've published 2 novels and drafted another 5. I'll happily argue with anyone who says its crucial to every writer 😉

@johnhowesauthor I think you're absolutely right. I have a scene where a character summarises a myth (in a fantasy world) and a critical reader (also a writer) advised me 'show instead of tell it'. I was like, 'Sure, I could have the characters passively sit and watch an entire play of the myth, the problem is, I don't see how that could manage to not be boring to the reader.'

@stephenwhq love the first sentence of your answer!

#WritersCoffeeClub 3: Is there one piece of well-known writing advice you ignore?

"Do not talk to me of the Deep Writing Advice. I was there when it was written."

Advice is fine, you consider it, work with it, look for its use in writers you admire, decide how to use it if at all. The key is the word "advice".

Endless regurgitation of what say Chekhov said when writing Chekhov as though it is legally binding and handed down by Aslan, no.

#amwriting #writerslife #writersofmastodon

@Chriscutler I've seen advice to name them such if you're querying. As a an indie author I just call it 'prologue' when I include them (currently just in book 1/3).

@orionkidder totally with you on this one. I've dropped writing for months at a time because life is busy and burn out or overworking till you get sick sucks.
As a teacher I don't have the headspace to juggle how my 20 something students are performing in 16 different subjects and my cast and plot in my head Monday - Friday. Writing for me is weekends only, and in busy terms, just school holidays.

#WritersCoffeeClub 3: Is there one piece of well-known writing advice you ignore?

Any and all absolute advice.

My #writing rules:
1. Every rule has its exceptions.
2. Sure, try to understand rules before you break them but more importantly do what works for you!
3. Neurotypical people made the rules. Yes many readers are neurotypical & we need to cater for them, but I am neurodiverse (ADHD) & I will not force my brain to write to meet all neurotypical expectations and I will die on this hill.

@Bern I was terrible at remembering a few things in my earliest drafts. My favourite consistency error was splitting characters up, forgetting which people one character was with and accidentally having them just disappear for 5 chapters 😆

@ixtlidekami are these devoted non-fiction writers who forget that speculative fiction exists?

@tobadzistsini I refuse to drink any form of coffee too, but I'm enjoying the prompts 😉

@Bern my own drafting and editing process is similar. As a pantser, editing as I go and re-reading as I go helped me keep track of the story.

#WritersCoffeeClub 03 September: What's one piece of writing advice you ignore?

Anything that claims THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE A WRITER!!!

You have to find the right way for *you* to be a writer. Your way of writing is as individual as you are.

@ZiraPhema By the time I started teaching I had a good head start on multiple wips, so I could break what still needed to be done into smaller, manageable parts on weekends/ holidays. Aw, thanks!

@PaxAsteriae oh I'm prone to underwrite initially (because I don't know where I'm going). Then I overwrite (because I'm not sure how to get there). Then I cut back too much. Then I edit more in (with beta reader help). Let us not discuss re-writing 😂

@joyce you can do a lot of pantsing with a mystery element, but there's a lot of going back to earlier sections to foreshadow things you didn't know were the end point until you wrote the ending, and its a lot of work (and how I write mystery threads into my fantasy books 😉 😆 ).

@PaxAsteriae I find the same. There are some issues with plot that I just have to fully draft to know how to fix (even if that mens fully drafting, then deleting or completing re-writing a few chapters 😉 ).