How Do Authors Learn To Write?

How do you learn to write and write well?

Recently I have been reading the advice of several successful authors and publishing editors. More often than not (all humility aside), I have been pleased to see that my instincts and what I had learned via osmosis have been right on the money.

I still have to admit that I did not get all of this skill on my own, just out of the air. That we all have unique, innate talents is obvious to each of us. But we also have intuitive reasoning; subconscious abilities that sort out chaff from grain, if you will. I was pleased to see that mine have usually been in tune and working smoothly.

I learned a tremendous amount about the skills of writing a well-structured story by reading well-structured stories by the best of authors. I was doing this as a kid and as a teenager; not knowing it was preparing me to write novels and vignettes of my own. I was reading for entertainment value alone at that time. But an amazing thing happened in the process; the skills needed to follow the lead of these master writers seeped into my brain as I read their works. I learned without knowing that I was doing so. Subliminal learning at its best. Let me tell you, I read so many books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Lester Del Rey and others that it would have been a miracle if I had not absorbed their methods. These were true masters; of Sci-Fi, for the most part, but they were plainly and simply master storytellers, first and foremost. I learned from the best.

I learned to make it interesting from the start, to establish person, place and problem at the first page. I learned to describe enough to allow the reader to see what I envisioned, in rough form, but not describe too much and thereby rob the reader of being an active participant in his own imagination. I learned how to introduce in stages and steps all the elements that maintain interest and make a good story great—an algebraic formula of sorts, for writing good fiction. This was confirmed as I read Algis Budrys’ Writing to The Point—A Complete Guide to Selling Fiction. This man is a master also. How gratifying it was to find that I was instinctively following his recommendations. I knew then that the responses I got to my audience testing was no accident.

Once having written my first novel’s manuscript, I put it to the test—the most brutal test an author can endure. I actually asked strangers, armed with the naked truth regarding what they liked or disliked about my work, to let me have it with both barrels and without reserve. They owed me nothing but the truth and I wanted no praise--unless it was deserved (hey, I’m only human). I went to two basic groups of readers—those who liked thriller/romance novels and those who didn’t.

The first group would be my “experts.” They were familiar with the genre and could tell me how high my “suck factor” was.

The second group was the acid test. If they didn’t usually care for this type of writing and they didn’t like mine, so what? But, if they did like it…. YES! We have a winner!

You need to have a thick skin and a genuine desire to know the truth about your abilities (or disabilities) when you place your “baby” on the table and wait to see whether your readers will devour it…or DEVOUR it. (Either way, with relish…mmm, relish….)

Again, my instincts paid off. This was the right test to perform. I learned a lot, from those who did entire manuscript edits for me (thank you again, Christine), to those who loved it as is. They told me what worked and what didn’t work. This is invaluable to me as an author. I suggest it can be invaluable to you, too.

Responses ranged from, “I found it to be entertaining, which surprised me, being this genre” to “I couldn’t put it down!” Overall, I considered this to be extremely gratifying and a success as a test. Those who suggested changes in the storyline or wording were taken seriously, although I did not always follow their advice in all things. I still had to trust my instincts to a great degree. After all, they had not seemed to let me down at that point. You will have to trust yours, also. The day may come that you stand up to an editor and politely say, “Not this time. It works—why mess with perfection?” At other times, you will just know the editor is correct in his suggestions. Give and take—opposition in all things.

I must say that I was somewhat surprised to find that not all authors go to these lengths to test their work. I guess I knew that all authors would have slightly differing approaches, to some degree, but it still struck me as a surprise that successfully published authors might not test in this manner--and I can’t truthfully explain why it surprised me; it just did. I can only say that I am glad I went that route and that I intend to repeat that method in the future.

Whatever method you may choose to follow, I wish you the best. And please come back and share it with me—whether it works or not. We all learn from one another.

My conclusion—authors get to be good writers by first being good readers.

All articles posted here are copyright of Steven G. O’Dell, unless otherwise noted.