Do you have any writing 'credos' ?

[Naruzeldamaster]

I don't mean like about the stuff you write (well, sorta, I'll give an example with mine in a second) I mean more stuff you always keep in mind when writing your stuff. Here's mine.

1: Even minor characters have lives, but no matter what don't let them overshadow the side/main characters.
2: When it comes to swearing, loose lips sink ships, but also, my characters are NOT me. If I'm writing a drunk and angry irishman you bet your ass he's sinking an entire fleet. (Provided it makes sense for that character, some of my characters are looser/tighter with their swears, even when intoxicated )
3: If I'm rolling my eyes while writing a scene, chances are the reader will too. Either change it or cut it out entirely until it 'works' or just leave it alone if the eyeroll is something I desired for that particular scene.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Mine are:

1) Always remember the basics. I can do as much literary gymnastics as I want, but I also need to remember who brought me to the dance in the first place.
2) Tone matters.
3) My team's writing should be visceral. Violence should be in the readers face, not hiding behind prose. The narrative should change to reflect the action in whatever scene we're working on.
4) A faerie knight with a potty mouth gets you five-star reviews that call you "vulgar." I'll own that. I was raised by a Navy man and a writer. Etienne is probably the closest to me when it comes to speech patterns.
5) Bring the feels. If you're crying while you write - and I often am - so will the reader. Authenticity with descriptions of emotions is critical to both reader engagement and character development, and perspective is everything.
6) Writers write. It's the only real rule to writing. Everything else is process.

 

[pmmg]

I can come up with a few. Some are personal to me, and probably would not help anyone else.


1) Never start a story with the word 'The'
2) Start where things change
3) Do waste time with descriptions of things that dont matter
4) Clarity
5) Be true to the characters, let them be true to themselves
6) Cut unneeded words
7) Write for impact
8) Story flow matters (which is sentences fit together nicely, and logical flow is not interrupted)
9) Story Logic matters
10) Avoid things that are just too hard to pronounce
11) and with that, dont use silver dollar words
12) Keep an eye for what can be inferred
13) Avoid White spacing
14) Avoid blocky paragraphs on trees and mountains
15) Filtering
16) Remove the boring
17) Fights should reveal character and not just be space consuming action
18) Write to fit the target audience
19) Have a map
20) Have a bunch of notes somewhere
21) Dont be afraid to write it ugly
22) Trust and dont trust beta readers
23) Experiment
24) Make it a habit
25) Make it a habit you prefer over other things


That seems like enough. I might come up with more.

 

[Mad Swede]

Writing credos?

1. Never lose sight of the basics: story arcs, characterisation and dialogue.
2. Emotions matter.
3. Stay true to your style.
4. Write!

 

[Ban]

Good question. I have a strong sense of what makes my prose mine, and the "rules" that guide it are particular to myself. In the hands of someone who approaches writing in a different manner than me, these rules could form a hindrance instead of a boon. I think it's important to write to your strengths and not dilute what makes your mode of writing and your insights worthwhile. So with that said, the rules I impose on myself alone are:

1. Don't overstay your welcome, but do meander the space assigned.
2. The plot is equal in importance to the prose, is equal in importance to the world.
3. Stay true to the characters as established, even if the plot must bend in order to do so.
4. Flow with the needs of the story as it unfolds.
5. Depict the ordinary, from meals to sleep, from travel to chit chat. Grand deeds do not immerse a reader in a world.

 

[Devor]

I've got a list somewhere, but I'm not sure how much I can say they're my credo when I seldom look at them. I'll give you one, though:

Look for the Hidden WOW!

There are hidden connections that you can make with the elements of your story, possibilities that are there just under the surface, an extra layer of depth that you're just not seeing. Look for those hidden connections. Find them and put them together.

For example, my MC is a sprite, and a police officer, who is upset that her partner was issued a cold-forged iron weapon, mostly to keep her in check because they don't trust her. As she's coming out of the building, upset by this, she dives into the fountain in the middle of the plaza to cool off for a second (her magic lets her dry off after). Sounds good, dramatic, emotion. But it's missing that wow factor. Where is it? It took me a bit to find. But the fountain is in front of a government building, so it stands to reason it could be the statue of a historical figure....

Aliffe took deep breaths and let the water pour over her face until she could smile again, making herself forget where the water was coming from: the edge of a special crossbow that would tear open bags of black iron pellets as it launched them, cast in stone in the hands of Silédoir Adolard, the hero who used it in the Second Forging War to help restore Crenifer’s Dignity. But the statues and the histories didn’t matter. Not usually. Only on days like this one.

To me, now that I've made that connection, between the statue in the fountain and what she's going through, there's a new layer of depth to the scene, that's brought out that hidden "wow" - as in, wow, she just cannot get a break from the feels, and has to be mature enough to make it work for her anyways.

 

[Insolent Lad]

Never write down to your audience. Even if they're kids.
Don't attempt to psychoanalyze/explain a character's actions. They should speak for themselves.
Attempt to limit the number of jokes. Always difficult for me!

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Never write down to your audience. Even if they're kids.
Don't attempt to psychoanalyze/explain a character's actions. They should speak for themselves.
Attempt to limit the number of jokes. Always difficult for me!

Not possible. I've never met a joke I didn't rip off... er, I mean, was inspired by. >.>

One of my favorite pieces of writing advice. Writing Urban Fantasy, we use this pretty much every day. Please ignore who said it. I'm still processing how to approach it, myself.

 

[pmmg]

Whedon wont like my writing.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Whedon wont like my writing.

Mine, neither. Writing while female and all.

 

[pmmg]

Mine, neither. Writing while female and all.

I guess I have the same problem

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Oddly enough, I have no credos. I could fudge 'em but what would be the point? Maybe if I had to make one up it'd be "thinking about a credo is time not thinking about story" heh heh. That should set me straight right there.

Who the hell is Josh--- Joss, who the hell has a name like Joss--- Whedon? Oh wait... I have this information machine... Well, there is literally nothing on his IMDB list I enjoy or probably even finished watching. I even tried Firefly once and made it an episode, maybe 1.5. Surprising I didn't know more of him during my screenwriting daze. Oh wait, way down there is a Toy Story writing credit... but he's far far far from the lead there.

 

[Finchbearer]

What’s the difference between a credo and a manifesto cause some of these are like manifestos to me. But keep em coming, I’m stealing all the ideas.

*cough* I mean permanently borrowing.

 

[Ban]

When I think of a manifesto I conceive of a work that has both a clear mission statement, and an implicit call to action to its intended audience. I suppose the former would apply to these, but the latter seems absent in most.

Brought to you by Ban™: Answering rhetorical questions on Mythic Scribes since 2015.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Not possible. I've never met a joke I didn't rip off... er, I mean, was inspired by. >.>

One of my favorite pieces of writing advice. Writing Urban Fantasy, we use this pretty much every day. Please ignore who said it. I'm still processing how to approach it, myself.
View attachment 3593

My rule on jokes/joke-y scenes is that if I'M rolling my eyes, chances are the readers will too and I need to either axe it or change it

 

[pmmg]

Hmmm...not going with you on Toy Story over Firefly, but to each their own.

Mr. Whedon has made some great stuff. If he wants to work on my movie, I'd feel I had one of the best. I dont have a lot of humor, so...he wouldn't want to (or maybe he would bring it). I do think humor is important, and Mr. Whedon has a lot to teach people about making it work.

 

[Finchbearer]

When I think of a manifesto I conceive of a work that has both a clear mission statement, and an implicit call to action to its intended audience. I suppose the former would apply to these, but the latter seems absent in most.

Brought to you by Ban™: Answering rhetorical questions on Mythic Scribes since 2015.

Well thanks for answering the rhetorical question Ban™, I largely agree - although there is such a thing as a personal manifesto in which the call to action would be actioned by the writer of said manifesto no? Either way.

 

[Ban]

The writer of a manifesto (let's go with art manifesto, because I don't like the other well-known kinds) ought to play a vanguard role, so indeed being the first to act, but I doubt anyone writes them without hoping someone else follows in their footsteps and joins said movement. Otherwise it's just an explanation for why a piece was made, not the kickstart of an art movement. That's what I reckon at least. Perhaps in time I will have my own art movement. Banism. Writers within the movement are obliged to write at least one food description per 1000 words.

 

[Finchbearer]

When I was at art school we all were assigned to make our own manifesto’s basically outlining our beliefs on what constitutes ‘good design’, that is also true to us, how we work and what our prevailing beliefs are about the wider medium. I pertain that to be both personal and external on account of any design you produce in a direct product of the beliefs / rules outlined in the manifesto. Dieter Rams made the best one in my opinion and it can be applied to just about everything. He didn’t mention anything about food descriptions but maybe he should have done.

 

[Devor]

Manifestos tend to be much longer, while credos are just a few maybe independent lines. I took a stab at writing a personal mission statement a while ago - which tend to be a short mix of prose and credos - which is why I have some credos written out. It was a helpful exercise, but I don't look at the result very often.