"Genius Is Misunderstood As A Bolt Of Lightning"
Smart Seth Godin post on what it really takes. An excerpt:
Genius is actually the eventual public recognition of dozens (or hundreds) of failed attempts at solving a problem. Sometimes we fail in public, often we fail in private, but people who are doing creative work are constantly failing.
Sometimes people ask me to edit their stuff and I explain that I charge large sums of money to do that -- or anything that takes me away from my own writing.
"But, it's just X pages," somebody will sometimes say. Yeah, and it took me 25-plus years to develop as the person who has the ability to edit it like I can. (I edited a friend's first chapter of her next book, and she sent it to her agent, who wrote back that my edit was "bloody, but brilliant." Heh. I like that.)
To apply some of what I do, borrow some writing wisdom from the guy I borrow it from: Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing. And here's an amazing book on plotting (which Elmore would never use -- he just writes the characters, puts them in a situation, and lets them talk): Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish), by James Scott Bell.
What's great about the latter book is that Bell makes it clear that it isn't magic to come up with a plot; it's a technique you can learn. And he writes well, and lays it out well.
I consider writing poorly to be pretty rude -- if you're not just writing for yourself; if you're expecting somebody to buy your book or spend time on some article you wrote. And, by that I mean, a whole lot of poor writing is due mainly to the laziness and arrogance of the writer, thinking "It's good enough, just read the damn thing and quit complaining."
I, on the other hand, write with complete low self-esteem, going over passages thinking, "That's not funny, that's not very good, that has to be better," and then I work the thing and work the thing until it is. It's painful, it's horrible, but it's respectful of the reader.
I love this! I noticed once at some online forum or other that people tended to take shortcuts with writing when addressing their particular friends. I proposed that concept of respect for the reader and it was dismissed completely. Most people said something along the lines of 'with friends I can be casual'. I find it lazy. The people you embrace as friends don't deserve a bit more?
Mary Q Contrary at February 27, 2010 6:33 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/02/27/genius_is_misun.html#comment-1698651">comment from Mary Q ContraryI agree. Also, I don't want my writing to get lazy. I use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax when I e-mail people -- I also use apostrophes, etc., when I text on my phone!
Amy Alkon at February 27, 2010 6:38 AM
Florence King had the perfect description of good writing: Gustav Flaubert's writing of Madame Bouvary spending entire days looking for just the write word. Instead of writing for himself and getting lost in the potential melodrama and making it an unreadable mess he wrote with the "detachment of a bookeeper looking for a penny". A Misanthrope wrote one of the most user friendly books in history.
Florence King is one of the greatest editors that ever existed.
Richard Cook at February 27, 2010 6:59 AM
Maybe I should edit: should have been ....right word.
Richard Cook at February 27, 2010 7:00 AM
I find writing style to be as distinctive as a signature. Open and airy - Douglas Adams, Scott Adams (Hmm. Coincidence?). Tight and intense - CJ Cherryh. And if you pick up one of the "Op Center" series with Tom Clancy's name on them, you'll instantly realize he didn't write a syllable in them.
I have a copy of Strunk and White. Just as many do not think about how they think, many do not think about how they write. Amy does, it was clear to me the first time I saw her cutting somebody on an alt-weekly page, and that's why I'm here!
I love books because reading is literally an order of magnitude faster than video or audio at showing me things. Well, it's not as fast as a schematic or perspective drawing, but there you are.
Radwaste at February 27, 2010 7:20 AM
Ruthless editors make the world a better place. I just got through reading the latest book from one of my favorite authors (David Weber) and concluded, once again, that it's a good thing he can 1) plot very, very effectively; 2) kill off beloved characters when necessary; and 3) create gut-punch moments that you can almost see happening, because the man cannot write dialogue worth a damn and DESPERATELY needs a ruthless editor to rewrite, oh, virtually all of his fictional remarks/conversations, because humans will never talk that way, even 2000 years or so into the future. (Yes, yes, he also needs an editor who can force him to transform his signature character from a Mary Sue into a personality with actual human weaknesses, but I've come to terms with that now. Sigh.)
Anyway, I guess I'm lucky, because the only people asking me to edit sans compensation are loved ones who would and have helped me out in countless ways (by, say, giving birth to me and clothing, feeding and supporting me through college), and they generally are only asking me to edit, say, letters to the editor. They all seem to understand that, once you're even talking about more than one page, the level of effort is substantial. But, I no longer write for a living, so I need to keep my hand in. Amy is in the position of a plumber whose acquaintances want free drain repairs -- outside of one's beloved parents, everyone else needs to pay something for the work, or they'll keep asking to the point at which they'll bleed you dry.
And of COURSE I use proper syntax, grammar, spelling and punctuation when I text people. In my next comment, I will post a link showing what can happen if you fail to do so...
marion at February 27, 2010 8:51 AM
The perils of sloppy texting:
http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/archive.php?comic=849
marion at February 27, 2010 8:52 AM
At one point in my life I wrote several letters to the editor of our local paper. It was such a rush when the first one was published that I searched for topics that riled me enough to write about them.
The only letter I wrote that wasn't published was for legalizing marijuana. Jerks.
Before I turned in that first letter, I heeded my husband's advice of paring down my message to the point where I could state my case in 300 (coherent) words or less.
It's a great writing exercise. Your temper cools while you whittle the words and you start seeing different sides of the situation, which I'm trying to do (with limited success) to my emotional responses to some of the topics here.
Pricklypear at February 27, 2010 11:29 AM
Radwaste mentioned Strunk and White "The Elements of Style" ($10 or less).
I second the recommendation. "Write clearly and simply. Punctuate clearly. Throw away all of the useless stuff and get to the point."
This book can revolutionize your writing, and you will never be able to read a corporate memo again without laughing. It is written itself in a spare, direct style.
I was a poor writer in school until I found this book in college. I was in despair that I would never write with style, so I read this book, eliminated every stylish thing, and settled for effective writing. Amazingly, that was a style in itself. You be the judge.
Andrew_M_Garland at February 27, 2010 12:58 PM
> The perils of sloppy texting:
Or are those the perils of having a girlfriend who wants you to be an expression of her social pretension?
People who don't express themselves clearly almost always get what they deserve... And many of them don't worry about it, because they're soon off to a more important venture anyway. (As I would be, in that cartoon.) Their needs get met nonetheless...
...And that's where it ends.
I love me Flo King, but her enthusiasm is self-serving. Football players think it's important to run touchdowns; mechanics think it's important to change your oil every 3,500 miles; chefs think it's really important to keep your knives perfectly honed. And writers think it's really imporant to be a good writer.
One of the best things Flo King ever said was (paraphrase) 'I graduated from college fit for no job but completing the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink'.
Crid at February 27, 2010 3:28 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/02/27/genius_is_misun.html#comment-1698708">comment from CridAnd writers think it's really imporant to be a good writer.
So do readers. And they'll let you know when they think you aren't.
Amy Alkon at February 27, 2010 5:12 PM
There's a scene in an old I Love Lucy episode. Ricky is trying to read a bedtime story to his son. The story includes the words though, through, bough, rough, and cough.
I think our weird-ass language is fun.
I also think a lot of people could use a phone with a built-in nerd to correct them when they use the wrong word. Spell checkers may keep your (as opposed to you're, or yore) spelling correct, but they don't do squat when you use the wrong word entirely.
AND another thing: That song I'm Yours. The guy has a line about having the "god-forsaken" right to be happy, etc. To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what he thinks it means.
Pricklypear at February 27, 2010 5:44 PM
> So do readers.
Can't argue, Amy, you've never been misunderstood.
King also said something which you'll (Amy & Marion) probably think applies here, as the clumsy-texters would expect forgiveness for bad spellings from friends. "Familiarity does not breed contempt; familiarity is contempt."
I believe that to be true. My only point is that there are more important things than being smart (or tidy).
Here are a bunch of other neat Florence King quotes from a website years ago:
• A country that thinks Andy Rooney is a curmudgeon can't take too much unpleasantness.
• There is nothing wrong with "women's studies" that studying the right women can't cure, but feminist literary scholars have a penchant for dragging the rivers of deserved obscurity for third-rate neurotics.
• Child worship is the American woman's gross national product. She thinks she's the sexiest creature on earth, but sexy women have better things to do than swarm over children. No wonder we tolerate pornography. It's the only way left to say, "Adults Only."
• When pundits write, "No one is suggesting..." the American eye reads "I'm suggesting." When we hear, "This is not to say..." we translate it as, "I'm saying." The standard formulas of feminism, such as "our fighting men and women," have trained us to regard words as nothing but aids to fantasy, and the Clintons have reduced us to infantilism: agenda means something bad; plan means something boring; and ideology means something dumb.
• Nonetheless I have some thoughts on the NEA controversy. First, the general question of whether governments should support the arts. ....Only an absolute monarch can do it right because he wants his reign to be called the Age of Himself. Culture piped through great vanity emerges as great culture, but democratically elected leaders must pretend to be no better than anyone else. The pretense, which seldom strains credulity, elevates the lowest common denominator and produces cultural poobahs like Maya Angelou...
• We will never have a nation of cultured and reflective citizens as long as the press keeps printing that cautionary sentence: "Neighbors described the gunman as a quiet man who kept himself to himself."
• Real feminism is spinsterhood.
• [America is] a country where "equality before the law" has been shortened to "equality."
PS— Juliana likes that movie too.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at February 28, 2010 2:57 AM
The story includes the words though, through, bough, rough, and cough.
I love that scene! Our language is full of irregulars and appropriations from other languages, and it takes a mastery of it to communicate well. As an avid reader, I appreciate the time good writers take to make sure their words are descriptive and yet not too flowery. I can't stand writers who are too enamored of the sound of their own typing.
Your temper cools while you whittle the words and you start seeing different sides of the situation
I wish more people on the internet could be like you, Pricklypear. This is the only website I post on for that very reason. I was on Entertainment Weekly's website about a week ago and read an article I had an opinion on (or rather, saw comments on the article I had an opinion on). I was scrolling down the page and the people just got so irrationally angry. The anger degenerated into a lot of typo-filled, all-caps expletives, and I hightailed it back over here. What I like about writing to someone is that I can take the time to carefully organize my thoughts before I send it to anyone, time I don't always have in regular conversation. As I tend to cool down from a fit of temper in about five minutes, I can write something semi-scathing without sounding like a lunatic.
NumberSix at February 28, 2010 10:44 PM
heh. i rather get a kick out of editing papers for my friends and family. contrary to how i write here, i'm semi-good at it. not, of course, publishable that i know of, and it's not my job. so i get why it would be annoying to be asked to do your job for free or to help someone take the shortcuts you didn't take. and i would completely suck at editing a novel, dialogue is REALLY HARD. at least i think it is. but anyway. i just get a kick out of watching everyone i know get a's for the papers i fixed.
whatever at March 1, 2010 2:12 AM
> contrary to how i write here, i'm semi-good at it.
But is your wit 'rapier'?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at March 1, 2010 6:24 PM
occasionally. not generally. and only in writing, never in person.
whatever at March 2, 2010 12:19 AM
And yet isn't that how "English is used best"? I mean, out of the blue, you're holding strangers to a standard you've not once evinced in your own writings to them, right?
Now, why would you do that?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at March 2, 2010 9:40 AM
what are you talking about? and why do you get such a kick out of insulting people you don't know when there really isn't any reason to do that? seriously, you must be tiny to be doing so much compensating.
whatever at March 2, 2010 2:03 PM
I just want you to get to the rapier part. We need more of that on this blog, don't you agree?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at March 2, 2010 10:16 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/02/27/genius_is_misun.html#comment-1699305">comment from Crid [CridComment at gmail]I live for it.
Amy Alkon at March 2, 2010 10:30 PM
We are still waiting on that example of rapier wit from BOTU, aren't we? I am not holding out hope the excavation will prove fruitful.
NumberSix at March 2, 2010 11:08 PM
6, stop being such a Negative Nelly! We gotta have faith! Let's keep watching him! Let's watch him very carefully! Any day now he's gonna say something butterknife, if not rapier, and on that hour, you'll be glad you were watching!
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at March 3, 2010 1:29 AM
Hey, Crid, I found him in the "Buddy Heat" column! I'm still waiting...
NumberSix at March 4, 2010 2:19 PM
People think my computer skills just come easily to me. "It's just an hour or so of your time", I often hear, when asked to do something highly complex. I may make it look effortless, but it's not, my brain has to burn serious watts to do a lot of complex figuring-stuff-out and it's not easy, and getting my skills to that level also took 16 years of education and hard work and another fifteen years or so of practice, practice practice. So no, it's not "just an hour", it's "half my life doing serious amounts of hard work and practice to get my skills and knowledge to this level, plus one hour". That's precisely why what I do is so rare. And yet people think I should help them for free because it's "just an hour" and "it's so easy for you, we're not as clever as you" blah blah.
Lobster at March 5, 2010 10:20 AM
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