I enjoyed this article from Hannah Guy at Kirkus Reviews. I subscribe to their newsletter and it wouldn’t hurt anyone else to check that out, too, because that’s how I find great thoughts on occasion. Sometimes I stumble across them, and sometimes they leap out and smack me on the noggin, but they won’t do either if you don’t give them some access to you, so look for the ones with value and invite them into your email.
You can even subscribe to my blog! (hint, hint…) There are things of value in it from time to time, mostly culled from people much smarter than me, I’ll admit, but at least I’m smart enough to recognize awesome things I wander into, so there’s that.
This is a discussion on writing advice that exploded across Twitter a while back, so there’s another good thing about finding it on Kirkus Reviews because Twitter has revealed itself to be too much of a GuanoStorm for me. So far, at least. Maybe if I grow another head to help store and filter and analyze that enormous fire hose of opinions…
Take a look and enjoy, and realize that a lot of the “harsh” part is just wit and deep thoughts. Some pretty superficial, but at least enjoyable. And sometimes the truth might sound a little harsh, but you need to hear it anyway, don’t you?
Our Favorite #HarshWritingAdvice Tweets
BY HANNAH GUY
February 11, 2021
Normally we don’t pay too much attention to tweets that go viral. But there is almost always an exception to a rule.
On January 29, 2021, author A. M. Hounchell tweeted the following: “HARSH WRITING ADVICE: Your writer friends are also your competition. Sorry.” Immediately, the writing and publishing Twitterverse responded in kind, igniting a weekend of arguments, discussions, and retaliatory tweets under the hashtag #HarshWritingAdvice. A ton of folks from various parts of the writing community, including some heavyweights, weighed in and shared their own writing advice.
Even a few Hollywood folks chimed in. Seth Rogen (@SethRogen) dedicated an entire thread to answering questions about writing. Some of his advice included, “Do lots of loose notes and outlines and lists that are low pressure and if you do enough of that thinking on paper, before you know it you have stuff” and “I firmly think you have to LOVE your idea or else you’ll burn out on it.” (Rogen’s response to dealing with writer’s block? “I smoke weed and watch movies that inspire me and remind me of what effect I’m trying to deliver to the audience.”)
The trending topic has, of course, faded in popularity, but we wanted to share some of the best advice and wisdom left behind by well-known, bestselling, and/or popular writers and authors.
Are other writers your competition…or your friends?
A number of folks didn’t waste time dismissing the notion that other writers are competition. Instead, they emphasized that the writing community benefits when we all support each other. “The actual HARSH WRITING ADVICE is that it’s really hard a lot of the time and your fellow writers are the other people who understand this and will help you get through,” tweeted Food and Wine senior editor and author Kat Kinsman (@kittenwithawhip).
Other authors agreed, adding:
—Lilly Dancyger (@LillyDancyger)
—Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright)
Naturally, there is always someone who sees “competition” and takes it a little further than one might expect.
“HARSH WRITING ADVICE: You have to hunt and eat your fellow writers,” was Chuck Wendig’s (@ChuckWendig) offering. “They will taste of Cheetos, pink wine and despair. But this is how the Publishing Gods are fed. Sorry.”
Less competition, more writing
Others were quick to remind writers (especially aspiring ones) that worrying about competition was less important than focusing on the actual writing you do. After all, the best way to create a great book isn’t by competing for it but by writing it.
“HARSH WRITING ADVICE: Thinking of your friends as competition isn’t going to make you a better writer, because no matter what imaginary horse race you invent, you can only write what you write,” tweeted writer/director Jessica Ellis (@baddestmamajama). “So write it.”
—Deesha Philyaw (@DeeshaPhilyaw)
—Jenna Guillaume (@JennaGuillaume)
—Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli)
Lay off the social media
In A Tale-Spin 