Wednesday, July 21, 2010

It's That Time Again...

Question & Answer Time!

I usually do this about every other month, so it's time to open the blog up to questions. What can you ask? Well, just about anything as long as it's PG-13. Need an example, perhaps?

Christine H read my mind yesterday and asked a great question in comments: What type of training did you invest in? What about it was so helpful? Are there any courses that you would personally recommend?

I didn't invest in much, if you mean paying for writing classes, etc. My knowledge comes more from trial and error, getting lots of feedback, and reading.

In college I took all of one creative writing class. I didn't have to take freshman English because I scored high on my AP English test in high school, so the only other writing class I took was the required advanced course. I picked technical writing. Since I graduated in English linguistics with a minor in editing, I had a lot of language expertise, but not exactly in creative writing.

I also worked for BYU's multicultural magazine,
Eagle's Eye. I wrote, edited, and designed for them my entire time at school. I loved it.

When I started up writing stories again, I jumped into the online community and got lots of feedback, read agent blogs, made a lot of mistakes, fixed my mistakes, read a lot of books, worked my butt off, etc. Rinse and repeat.

So I guess I'm not the one to be recommending courses or whatever. If I'm being honest, the two I took weren't super helpful overall. What was more helpful was actually writing a whole book, realizing it sucked, and doing it again. And again. What also helped was reading a lot of stories, learning what worked. My agent was also a huge help in teaching me how to really dig into edits and improve a story.

Training can come from anywhere, I think. It's all helpful. So don't worry about spending a ton of money if you don't have it.

See how fun that was? You could have your question answered too! All you have to do is ask.

9 comments:

  1. What book are you currently reading/just finished?

    How do you decide which project to work on next if two are really really shiny?

    Favorite anime of all time (or at least the top five)?

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  2. Hi Natalie; I have a question... How can I find other writers online who are at my level, i.e., "Beginner"? :) Also, for beginners to novel writing, would you recommend reading agents' blogs at this point? Thanks!!!

    Stephanie

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  3. Oooh. Okay I've been wondering about this for a while. Is the wallpaper on your supercute blog just a stock background or is it scanned from your art doodles?

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  4. Aaargh! I was going to ask about the background on your blog. I assume you drew it? I'm wondering how you made it so seamless.

    How important do you think it is to establish a "brand" as a writer? If I start out writing YA, will I ever get to write those grown-up book ideas I have in my head?

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  5. hey girlie - gave you a blog award today :)

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  6. Do you find it easier or harder to write during the summer and why?

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  7. How do you get inspiration for all your daily blog posts?

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  8. Explain the end of Evangelion.

    And because that was really mean, I offer these links to Cowboy Bebop the series and the (entirely optional) movie on Amazon for only $47, in the hopes you won't yell at me.

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