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Most helpful thing you've learned


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Let's see, the WE podcast has taught me to go ahead and just get it all down on paper. All of it, no matter where it's suppose to be in the story. I have found that once I have written what I have in my head down and can look at it again, I find ways to improve it or am able to move on from what might have been stumping me in the first place. In general WE has helped me to be able to just write my stories better and be able to outline them in a more through manner. It's hard to describe all that it has done for me, but that has been one of my biggest pushes to just get it out of my head & into a physical form so my mind can process the story further.

Often enough everything comes at me in different snippets during my day, in vastly different orders, so I just make certain to write it all out and leave it alone for a time. Most of the time I have these little bits come to me during my day-job so I don't have time to dwell on them much, I just write it down & go on. Yes I do keep pen & paper at hand AT ALL TIMES. Then later in the day I will sit down and see if it still fits into the original story, does what I wrote down improve it? Is there anything here that I need for maybe a key turning point or pinch? I am still quite new to WE so I know I have much more to learn and grow from, but I hope to improve with their voices in the back of my mind from time to time to help me push on & make the best story I can.

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  • 1 month later...

Writing Excuses has taught me so much--I never bought into the "we're not that smart" tagline. I'm so grateful for all the wisdom that Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mary pass along to us. Here's a quick list of the most important lessons:

-If you try to write perfectly the first time, you'll never finish.

-When you feel stuck, just keep writing--you'll eventually practice enough to find a way to move forward.

-If you write, then you're a WRITER--even if you're not published yet!

-You can't write unless you're sitting down with your fingers over your computer--Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard.

-Writing routines are important--for so many reasons, but I don't feel like typing them all out.

-Don't delete any of your drafts! You never know which trash might inspire gold later on.

-Any many more...

 

Also, I've learned so much about the other genres out there as well as how the publishing world operates.

 

Thank you Writing Excuses!

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I’ve definitely learned a lot so it’s difficult to pinpoint something specific. Still, if I have to think about a few important lessons that will be: Revisions and the importance of criticism, not to mention moving beyond Chapter 1.

Edited by Refero
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The most important thing I learned was that it doesn't matter what your first draft looks like or reads like.  That the process of revision gets rid of a multitude of sins.  Seeing Brandon's first page of Words of Radiance where, in the first paragraph, he has a pretty large "error" to be corrected, brought it all into reality.

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  • 1 month later...

One episode I haven't found yet, is how a short story writer could carry over into novel writing. However the part about world building was very helpful. I for whatever reason can't seem to get past that 2,500 word mark, for whatever reason. I have this practice of revealing information very quickly.

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  • 3 months later...

One episode I haven't found yet, is how a short story writer could carry over into novel writing. However the part about world building was very helpful. I for whatever reason can't seem to get past that 2,500 word mark, for whatever reason. I have this practice of revealing information very quickly.

There's definitely been a discussion on that, I think from ep. 8.20.

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