Week 6 Lab: Advice to Writers

Light bulb in thought bubble. Source: Max Pixel 

The best advice I found on Jon Winokur's Advice to Writers website was in "22 Rules of Storytelling from Pixar" by Emma Coats.  The following are some of my favorite pieces of advice that I would want to try while writing my own stories:

• "#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different."
• This may help me in figuring out plot twists that I can make.
• "#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front."
• It seems like I always get stuck on the endings, so this might be really helpful to me.
• "#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time."
• I can relate to this one.  If something isn't turning out the way I want it to, I can sometimes get frustrated and just want to scrap it and start something new, but I also hate the feeling of leaving something incomplete, so I have to finish it.
• #9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up."
• This could help for whenever I have writer's block.
• "#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it."
• This could me when I'm struggling with what direction I want to take my stories in.
• "#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining."
• This is a big one for me.

Source: 22 Rules