Okay. I will avoid copying it then and get a sense for the syntax. As I feared it could be thought as plagiarism especially if done wrongly. I won't think of copying it word by word. Or I won't simply use a thesaurus just to do replace the words in the work. I'll try to exercise the memory. So I can get a general idea how they arranged it and see and sense the flow of the sentences. Then rebuild it without referring to it verbatim. Thanks for answering the question.
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
No, I said you can copy it with a view to self-tuition through the act of manually typing out the words — Hunter S. Thompson did that. Just don’t then pass off the ideas as your own, that’s shitty and, more importantly, unnecessary .Originally Posted by Theglasshouse
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It's great that you want to improve—but are you reading books? And by reading books, I don't mean instructional ones, but works of fiction—especially the kind that you want to write.
In my opinion, reading stories is crucial for a writer, both in terms of understanding the craft, and in terms of enjoying it. The more, the better. Good writers are usually voracious readers.
I understood what you said lucky scars. I won't be plagiarizing anything.
Kyle R. These are the 3 books I have on my reading list. I don't see me finishing these anytime soon. I like dangerous visions again because it exposes me to new ideas. The latest story I read was Ching Witch by Ross rocklyene. I noticed one thing she never explores is how the whole world is being eavesdropped. I wanted to write on this idea since she never mentions how these affect the characters. It is just delivered in exposition. It's a hard to grasp story since it uses made up words in english. I think that is uses a lot of neologisms since it is an alien protagonist. My interpretation of this story is that it could be better. I got an idea that maybe these aliens could be witches. These would tie in with salem's history and the history of witch hunting. She never does capitalize on that. It must be read carefully. (so this would be an idea that can be capitalized on I expect)
The Big book of science fiction by Jeff Vandermeer I purchased but need to continue reading.
Dangerous Visions Again by Harlan Ellision
Science fiction hall of fame. (collection of nebula and hugo winning short stories)
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Scie...942069&sr=8-29
I will give the information of the books I am using since I found some cheap versions on the google play store:
Writing from the Core: A Guide For Writing (this is the main book I mentioned. It deals with disjointedness)
The Mechanics of Writing: Which Comes First, the Comma or the Pause? Paperback – May 29, 2008 (deals with punctuation)
Eleven Steps to Instantly Improve Your Writing Kindle Edition (deals with style issues)
Last book I will be buying is a revision book based on the 5 wh questions and h question. (this I need since it talks about descriptive details. This one is not mentioned here. I've been told to write with these questions in mind in one critique.)
As for novels, I want to purchase some but don't know where to begin. I assume I can research some authors in the anthology. But writers here probably have enjoyed many good books that are novels. I am reminded of a supernatural novel you mentioned once. I am interested in purchasing that one. It's how to revise writing and is a high school book. I doubt anyone would use it besides myself. It shows how to construct a descriptive paragraph.
Don't get me wrong. I do purchase them. But not high profile novels by well known authors. I wish I knew some that were trending right now. I don't recall the name of the novel you mentioned. I did read a brief excerpt and remember it had good prose. I believe reading can indeed improve the output of writers or the quality of the writing. You know then how to build for instance a ghost story. There are many kinds of ghost stories. Or the more you read genre the more you know how to build a story in a respective genre.
I like short fiction more. But the last one I bought was a novel called Capsule by a russian author translated by an american author.
Last edited by Theglasshouse; December 22nd, 2019 at 03:57 AM.
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
Unless you're reading an hour or two of fiction (and challenging fiction at that) every day, you're not reading enough. Reading is to the new writer what eating vegetables is to the toddler.
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I appreciate your honest comments. I admit I need to take it more seriously. I need to do more reading, and be a smarter note taker when reading and do it for a longer period of time. Thank you for being honest in your comments in this thread, and I will take it as a sign I need to improve in more than one area as a writer.
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
Reading a lot definitely helps one write. I don't think you'll find an accomplished writer who isn't also an avid reader.
As far as finding books goes, you could try Goodreads. It's one of my go-to resources when searching for new reads. You can search/browse/read previews/follow authors, etc.
Your local bookstore/library is also an excellent alternative.
There so many great books out there, for most every taste and preference. You just have to make the effort to find them.
The only one I've ever come across who (claims) they don't read very much fiction is Cormac McCarthy, who in an interview says he prefers to read stuff by scientists.
But that obviously doesn't mean he didn't once read voraciously, and I'd say McCarthy's generally a special case. A lot of his work is also rather abstruse, which may or may not be a symptom of lack of interest in fiction...
Deactivated due to staff trolling. Bye!
I think I do remember reading that, now that you mention it. It seems odd, to me, but I'm sure Cormac has his reasons.
Granted, I don't believe writers need to read constantly . . . but we should certainly be able (and willing) to pick up a few books now and then. Not just for the learning opportunities they can provide, but also from the sheer pleasure that great stories can give.
It's one of my favorite cures for writer's block—getting excited over another writer's work, then channeling that same energy into your own writing.
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