Writing Advice from My Favorite Authors

I have a lot I can say about writing. And I have. I have a lot more to say about writing. But instead of me telling you about how I write, which I will, I'm going to leave it to the greats. Two of my favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut and Ernest Hemmingway. Both had great advice to give to budding and aspiring writers in need of some guidance.

I discovered Kurt Vonnegut early in high school. I don't remember if I read Breakfast of Champions or Slaughterhouse-Five first, but when I did, I was hooked. I never considered myself a science-fiction enthusiast, and I never considered Vonnegut a science-fiction writer, though he certainly was labeled that. I instantly appreciated his honesty, his humor, and his satirical view of the world. The way he wrote, made me feel like I was in the stories with his characters. He didn't waste time on the details, giving the reader just enough for the story.

So what did he have to say about writing? In his book, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, which is a great read, Vonnegut shared his writing advice.

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do on ef two things: reveal the character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. De a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters are, make awful things happen to them in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to teh world so to speak, your story will get pneuomonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with the suspense. Readers should have such a complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

I found Hemingway late. I was one of those rebellious middle school and high school students, college too for that matter, who didn't want to be told what to read and when. So one day in college, I was walking through the campus bookstore and came across The Sun Also Rises. I had to buy it. I read it in just a few days and ever since I have been hooked on Hemingway. I even managed to visit his house in Key West a few years back (take the tour if you go.) Hemingway was one of those writers who could paint a scene with very few words, but at the same time, you always know that it is distinctly Hemmingway. He obviously recognized that mistakes are going to happen. 

What were Hemmingway's thoughts on writing? Surely this man had something to say about his craft. To find out, I consulted openculture.com, who in turn had consulted Larry W, Phillips's book, Ernest Hemingway on Writing, which will now be a must-read for me. These are seven selected bits of advice.

1: To get started, write one true sentence.

2: Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next.

3: Never think about the story when you're not working.

4: When it's time to work again, always start by reading what you've written so far.

5: Don't describe an emotion - make it.

6: Use a pencil.

7: Be Brief.