Writerly Words of Wisdom

The following is advice I've collected from my favorite writing books just for you:

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan

Hooked by Les Edgerson

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

On Writing by Stephen King

Why We Write:

• "Good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species who needs and wants to understand who we are."  Anne Lamott
• "If God gives you something you can do, why in God's name, wouldn't you do it?"  Stephen King
• "Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex, and work." Stephen King

Getting the Job Done:

• "A radio talk show host asked me how I wrote.  My reply--'One word at a time'--left him without a reply.  I think he was trying to figure out if I was joking or not.  I wasn't.  In the end, it's always that simple."  Stephen King
• "All good writers write shitty first drafts.  That is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts."  Anne Lamott
• "I believe the first draft of a book--even a long one--should take no more than three months, the length of a season."  Stephen King
• "Don't wait for the muse.  He's a hardheaded guy who's not susceptible to a lot of creative fluttering...Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon or seven 'til three.  If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic."  Stephen King

Starting the Story:

• "What most good hooks have in common is that they have strong inciting incidents that plunge the protagonist immediately into trouble.  The trouble that will occupy the rest of the story.  Too often we start with setting up the scene or explaining our protagonist's life while it is stable."  Les Edgerton
• "Just ask yourself 'What can I do to create a scene that will introduce my character's real problem?'  Get that right and the rest of the story will follow."  Les Edgerton

Character:

• "Perfect characters means shallow and unreal and fatally uninteresting."  Anne Lamott
• "Don't pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don't.  Stay open to them."  Anne Lamott
• "I put my characters in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free.  My job isn't to help them work their way free, or manipulate them to safety, but to watch what happens and write it down."
• "I have never demanded of a set of characters that they do things my way.  On the contrary, I want them to do things their way."  Stephen King

Conflict/Opponents:

• "To build conflict, simply put constant pressure on your characters."  John Truby
• "A true opponent not only wants to prevent the hero from achieving his desire, but is competing with the hero for the same thing...find the deepest level of conflict between them.  That must be the conflict of your story."  John Truby
• "Your hero is only as good as the person he fights.  Make sure your opponent is well developed and is right about some things.  For them to truly be an opponent they have to attack your hero's weaknesses.  And when your hero and his opponent battle they both need to be put to the ultimate test."  John Truby

Details:

• "Description creates the illusion of reality, inviting the reader to move in, unpack his bags and settle in for a spell."  Rebecca McClanahan
• "Similes and metaphors are a great language tool, because they explain the unknown in terms of the known.  But they only work if they resonate in the heart of the writer."  Anne Lamott
• "If I tell you that Carrie White is a high school outcast with a bad complexion and a fashion-victim wardrobe, I think you can do the rest, can't you?  I don't need to give you a pimple-by-pimple, skirt-by-skirt rundown.  We all remember one or more high school losers after all; if I describe mine, it freezes out yours, and I lose a little bit of the bond of understanding I want to forge between us."  Stephen King
• "I think locale and texture are much more important to the reader's sense of actually being in the story than any physical description of the players."  Stephen King

I could list so much more, but that's all for now.  Maybe I'll do another list in a few months.  Which of these writerly words of wisdom did you like the best?  Or what's the best writing advice you've ever read?