AUTHOR TIPS
Raymond Carver on Writing
Raymond Carver was an unusual thing — a successful author who focused entirely on short stories. He wrote poetry and a bit of non-fiction too, but no novels at all.
He’s one of my favourites.
His piece “On Writing” is one of the best examples of advice for authors, too, and I often find myself sharing his thought on ‘no tricks’:
“I hate tricks. At the first sign of a trick or a gimmick in a piece of fiction, a cheap trick or even an elaborate trick, I tend to look for cover. Tricks are ultimately boring, and I get bored easily.”
Here, ‘tricks’ doesn’t mean surprises, but rather violations of the basic understanding between author and reader.
In my genre, fantasy and LitRPG, I see many examples of tricks. Typically, these come from inexperienced writers.
Maybe you don’t find out who your narrator is until chapter two or three, or perhaps a fantasy species looks and behaves totally differently from the norm… The issue comes when you aren’t given enough information to get your head around this until the author later reveals it. Then, it’s like they are saying, “Ah-hah! Reader, look how clever I am!”.
I agree with Carver — tricks are best avoided from the outset.
What are your favorite pieces of advice for authors?
p.s. you should get my posts direct to your inbox. Do that here! Also, if you’d like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it genuinely supports writers, and you have the chance to make serious money with your own writing as well! By signing up with this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won’t cost you extra. If you do so, thank you so very much!
