Learning Links

Writing is a learning process, the catch is knowing who you're learning from. While I discuss writing here, be assured that I'm not an expert. Yes, I'm published but not in a big way or in any way that would be considered a success story for newbies to copy. I'm stumbling along with the rest of you.

With that said, I found this link to an interesting essay about "The Myth of Finding Your Voice". There are a lot of good points in this essay but it failed for me on one point. When you start writing in another author's voice, you're not being true to your own voice. Yes, you're learning how to turn phrases and develop a voice, but is it your own or just a pale imitation of the one or two writers you're trying to imitate? Here's the link http://sboydtaylor.livejournal.com/399619.html

You should know that I did a search of the author of this piece and could only find one short story that he'd written and had published, in a well-respected zine, I should add, which was the story mentioned in the essay. Anyone can blog about writing, just like I do. Newbie writers need to check out who they're learning from, otherwise it might be a case of the blind leading the blind. That said, Mr. Taylor makes some very good points about the process of developing a voice, which makes the essay worth the read and the reason I passed the link along.

And if you're having trouble with setting, head on over to Jonathan Maberry's website and learn from some well-respected regional writers. Very good stuff here and something that hit home for me as I'm finding that setting my stories in the country and in the small towns that I know works so much better for me than trying to fake my way through a big city setting. Here's the link http://jonathanmaberry.com/regional-mysteries-and-thrillers And if you go to the main page here and scroll down, you'll find a great interview with John Connolly.

When you're writing, use the lessons that work for you, the ones that make your stories unique to the writer in you.