Forget learning how to write (well, not really but for the sake of this post, just let it go). It’s imperative you learn how NOT to write. Many people learn by doing, learn by example and any other myriad of ways that one can learn something. But everyone needs to learn how not to do something from those that are doing it now. The size of their royalty statements be damned. There are just some things a writer shouldn’t do in their writing. Of course, those elements are outlined in the Turkey City Lexicon (also posted in my links list in the sidebar for extra emphasis) compiled by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

“Well what if I don’t write science fiction or fantasy?” you may ask, to which I answer, “just read the damn thing.” You don’t have to write science fiction or fantasy to learn that excessive use of thesaurus-wielding dialogue tags is bad and that Deus ex Machina is the bane of the literary world. 90% of that article spans all genres, if not more. You don’t even have to read science fiction or fantasy to recognize what these guys are talking about. Such errors are prevalent.

Most of them can be remedied by simply not being a lazy writer. A cohesive plot, a world that makes sense and characters that have more than one dimension are all things that writers should strive for. If you’re not willing to work to make your writing good, put the pen down now and step away from the computer. Don’t make the rest of us look bad by association because you don’t feel like putting more than a half an ass into your work.

This, of course, is pertaining to works seeking traditional publication. Granted, even if you’re not, you should still put your all into your writing, especially when others are going to see it (posting on the internet, for example) but I’m guilty of writing some lazy fanfiction that’s equivalent to a first draft of anything I write. Then again, I think fanfiction is in its own spectrum entirely but even then, a modicum of effort and logic wouldn’t hurt 98% of the stuff that’s out there.

Writing for fun is one thing but even then there are different levels to the word. Fun with the intention of improving yourself even though you have no desire to seek anything but your own satisfaction. Fun with the intention to just write, everyone else be damned. Fun with the intention of becoming popular on the internet. I could go on. I would like to think that anyone who writes anything, be it for themselves or for other eyes to see, would want to improve on their craft. Even with nonliterary hobbies, would you want to stay at one level forever? Say you build boats in jars. Do you want to stick to dinghies until the end up time or would you like to eventually work your way up to tall ships? It’s a completely self-fulfilling hobby but discontent will arise if one remains at the same stage of their craft for too long.

Everyone at every stage of writing has something to learn. Even the best of the best (regardless of their chagrinning that they already know it all) have room to fit in a little more information. Unfortunately, what fuels the bastard cycle of lackluster prose is enduring praise of its fans. Fanfiction is notorious for this. Many, many, many times over a god awful piece of work will get stunglorious praise, goading the author to keep writing as is. God forbid you correct sentence structure or point out illogical contrivances in the plot lest you get lumped into the flamer category and get pounced upon with ‘lyk omg y cant u gust red teh stori wat dus it matr teh stories gud gust red it.’ It’s a vicious, backwards turning cycle.

It’s even worse in the publishing world (albeit more grammatically correct) because if a pile of contrived crap can rake in the bucks, that sets the bar for all the other writers writing in that same genre. No, the masses aren’t concerned with sentence structure or even redundant descriptions but they’re not stupid either. They can spot the difference between entertainment and good writing. I’ve come across many people, for example, that were entertained by The DaVinci Code but readily admitted it left something to be desired in the writing category. Many will say write literary if you want to get praised for how well you can write. If you want mainstream, write something that will sell.

Unfortunately that is a very true statement but that’s also not to say a salable book can’t be well-written either. Not all books are written by lobotomized monkeys sat at typewriters but they’re not all written for the guys with suede elbows swilling brandy either. Just. Write. Well.

You can hone your writing as a craft until you’re blue in the face. You can take classes until your eyes explode and your brain is on the verge of rupturing but if you’re not willing to take what you’ve learn and, instead of writing by numbers, writing by your own fashioned voice, you’re not willing to be a writer. A book put together formulaically like a puzzle is just as bad as writing your detective just like Dick Tracy.

Like what’s been reiterated time and time again by so many writers, you need a middle ground between what you’ve learned from the classes and what you’ve learned from yourself. You need to learn that, as a writer, you must give it your all. Nothing less will do, regardless of the sales of the “hacks” that many are convinced are littering bookshelves across the world. Show pride in your work. Read everything you can in the genre you write in. You’ll be able to pick up on overused plots, mundane characters and what actually works within the genre, what kind of characters people like to read about and just what you can do with them to make them better.

Reading improves your work not only to help you get a feel for what kind of writing sells or what kind of stories are popular, it improves how you look at others’ work and gets your brain running as to how to improve upon it. You’ll come across a character that you love but he does something that leaves you going WTF? You then use that to fashion your own character, make his actions more believable, more steadfast, his consequences more reasonable. Read to learn what you do and don’t like about your genre. Read to learn how to write and how not to write. Listen to your gut on that and make sure your eyes are open. The do’s and do not’s are much more visible when you’re paying attention.

And get critiqued. The best advice in that arena is to ban your friends from doing it unless they swear upon an oath of blood to give you an honest report of how your story is. No ego-boosting or talent-stroking allowed, especially if the work isn’t rendered. Your best bet is to go to a critique group where you don’t know anyone but they know the genre you write in. They’ll be your best friends and dissect your work to help you make it better. Bring the armor, though. If you’re not used to honest, constructive criticism, the force of it might hurt until you get used to it.