Sam Clover's Blog - Posts Tagged "learning"
Learning To Write: 6 Tips
My first Goodreads post is advice for writers because that's what I do: my entire life revolves around giving pep talks to nervous or struggling budding writers. I love it. I'm not even being sarcastic; watching writers overcome their insecurities and develop their voice gives me life.
I started writing when I was 11. I wrote this terrible horror movie script called the Haunted Attic, and to this day I vividly remember how awful it was, but it was fun! Somewhere along the way, my friends got involved, and it turned into this community-written monstrosity that we acted out on the front lawn for confused neighbours.
Writing can feel so solitary, but it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be. That script never got better, but I did. That was a jumping off point into a lifelong passion for the magic that happens when creative souls feed off each other.
I am 34. I have been writing for 23 years now, beta-reading for 18, and for the last year and a half, I have been running a discord server for erotica writers where I have had the honour of watching so many amazing beginners cut their teeth. And, 2 years ago, I finally got up the nerve to submit a manuscript to actual publishers that led to my first book's recent release.
That's why I picked this topic: because writing is about community to me. The following tips are for writers who are struggling. Whether you have just begun, or have been writing for a while and are feeling stuck, I hope I can help.
1. Go Easy on Yourself
There is no such thing as a perfect writer.
Language is an evolving creature, and art is incredibly subjective. Understand that not everyone will love your writing, and that's okay. That doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or something wrong with them - unless they're a jerk about it, in which case, it's all on them!
Take breaks. Writer's block happens. Real life gets in the way. It's okay to stop and breathe and put the writing aside for a few days. When a few days turn into weeks and months, however, maybe it's time to buckle down and get back to it.
2. Prioritize your Learning.
Know what your goals are. It's okay, they can be fluid. They can change as you discover new weaknesses you want to work on. The important thing is that you know what you want to target so you can focus on it.
Do you want to be better at dialogue? Do you need to learn how to use active voice and passive voice? Is pacing an issue for you? The internet is full of amazing resources for every specific issue. My personal favourite place to look for knowledge is on YouTube.
3. Learning Requires Listening.
When we get feedback, sometimes we get this urge to explain why we wrote something the way we did. Sometimes we want to argue with poor advice or advice that doesn't work for us.
Most of the time, countering feedback appears insecure or defensive. It also makes other writers less keen to give feedback in the future. Doesn't mean you should take all the advice you're given, but your craft will improve so much better when you learn to listen and absorb and percolate on feedback instead of countering it.
4. Learn to Let Go
Not all advice is right for you. Not all feedback, not all reviews are created equal, and part of learning how to write includes learning to discern between what you should absorb and what you should ignore.
If it's something you disagree with, but you're getting the same advice from several people, it may be time to consider it. If it's advice coming from a single source, then consider that source. How well does this person know your genre and the craft of writing? If they're a writer, are they someone you want to emulate?
5. Try New Things
It's so easy to get attached to your own methods. If you've done something the same way for years, you feel you've perfected it. Maybe you feel like it's your way of doing things and those other ways of doing it are antithetical to your style.
Try them anyway.
For example, say you write strictly in 3rd limited POV, past tense. Maybe you outline your stories to death before you dare write a single word of your first draft. Maybe you have a beat sheet you follow to the letter. Break out of that box. Try 2nd POV, even if you hate it. Try discovery writing. Or maybe try a vague 3 act outline. You can learn so much just by dipping your toes into different waters.
6. Find Your Community
Try Facebook groups. Try discord. Try twitter. Talk to other writers. Reach out. If you can't find a community that suits your needs, perhaps you should create one. The most important thing is to find peers you respect that you can learn from, who can learn from you. Exchange tips, discuss craft, just chill together.
It's okay to lurk until you feel comfortable. I'm 90% introvert. I have severe social anxiety. If you are anything like me, it can be hella scary, and I get that, but it is also so worth it.
I'm here. If anyone has questions about this post, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be found on twitter: @CloverErotica.
I don't know who you are, but if this is what you want to do with your life, welcome to the writing community. It might be hard. It might be easy, but either way, I believe in you. You got this.
I started writing when I was 11. I wrote this terrible horror movie script called the Haunted Attic, and to this day I vividly remember how awful it was, but it was fun! Somewhere along the way, my friends got involved, and it turned into this community-written monstrosity that we acted out on the front lawn for confused neighbours.
Writing can feel so solitary, but it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be. That script never got better, but I did. That was a jumping off point into a lifelong passion for the magic that happens when creative souls feed off each other.
I am 34. I have been writing for 23 years now, beta-reading for 18, and for the last year and a half, I have been running a discord server for erotica writers where I have had the honour of watching so many amazing beginners cut their teeth. And, 2 years ago, I finally got up the nerve to submit a manuscript to actual publishers that led to my first book's recent release.
That's why I picked this topic: because writing is about community to me. The following tips are for writers who are struggling. Whether you have just begun, or have been writing for a while and are feeling stuck, I hope I can help.
1. Go Easy on Yourself
There is no such thing as a perfect writer.
Language is an evolving creature, and art is incredibly subjective. Understand that not everyone will love your writing, and that's okay. That doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or something wrong with them - unless they're a jerk about it, in which case, it's all on them!
Take breaks. Writer's block happens. Real life gets in the way. It's okay to stop and breathe and put the writing aside for a few days. When a few days turn into weeks and months, however, maybe it's time to buckle down and get back to it.
2. Prioritize your Learning.
Know what your goals are. It's okay, they can be fluid. They can change as you discover new weaknesses you want to work on. The important thing is that you know what you want to target so you can focus on it.
Do you want to be better at dialogue? Do you need to learn how to use active voice and passive voice? Is pacing an issue for you? The internet is full of amazing resources for every specific issue. My personal favourite place to look for knowledge is on YouTube.
3. Learning Requires Listening.
When we get feedback, sometimes we get this urge to explain why we wrote something the way we did. Sometimes we want to argue with poor advice or advice that doesn't work for us.
Most of the time, countering feedback appears insecure or defensive. It also makes other writers less keen to give feedback in the future. Doesn't mean you should take all the advice you're given, but your craft will improve so much better when you learn to listen and absorb and percolate on feedback instead of countering it.
4. Learn to Let Go
Not all advice is right for you. Not all feedback, not all reviews are created equal, and part of learning how to write includes learning to discern between what you should absorb and what you should ignore.
If it's something you disagree with, but you're getting the same advice from several people, it may be time to consider it. If it's advice coming from a single source, then consider that source. How well does this person know your genre and the craft of writing? If they're a writer, are they someone you want to emulate?
5. Try New Things
It's so easy to get attached to your own methods. If you've done something the same way for years, you feel you've perfected it. Maybe you feel like it's your way of doing things and those other ways of doing it are antithetical to your style.
Try them anyway.
For example, say you write strictly in 3rd limited POV, past tense. Maybe you outline your stories to death before you dare write a single word of your first draft. Maybe you have a beat sheet you follow to the letter. Break out of that box. Try 2nd POV, even if you hate it. Try discovery writing. Or maybe try a vague 3 act outline. You can learn so much just by dipping your toes into different waters.
6. Find Your Community
Try Facebook groups. Try discord. Try twitter. Talk to other writers. Reach out. If you can't find a community that suits your needs, perhaps you should create one. The most important thing is to find peers you respect that you can learn from, who can learn from you. Exchange tips, discuss craft, just chill together.
It's okay to lurk until you feel comfortable. I'm 90% introvert. I have severe social anxiety. If you are anything like me, it can be hella scary, and I get that, but it is also so worth it.
I'm here. If anyone has questions about this post, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be found on twitter: @CloverErotica.
I don't know who you are, but if this is what you want to do with your life, welcome to the writing community. It might be hard. It might be easy, but either way, I believe in you. You got this.
Dream Sequences and How to Write Them
Content Warning: You may feel attacked because of my choice of language (f-bombs!), but I promise I’m not angry cursing. I curse when I’m passionate about something. And when I talk normally… I just fucking swear a lot, and I’ve given up on trying to pretend I don’t.
I have written my fair share of dream sequences, and I’m not proud of that. I don’t like them. I avoid them completely in my recent works. So why, you ask, am I writing an article about these fucking things? The purpose of this is to help writers understand the perspective of someone who may whip their books at the wall the moment their dream sequences pop up.
Don’t worry, I’m not just going to rant about why dream sequences are terrible and urge you not to write them. I’m going to talk a bit about what really gets my goat, and also ways in which they can be, and have been, done well.
Please go into this ready to take my opinions with a grain of salt. If you do everything I say not to do, and flip the bird at everything I say will work, I will not read your fucking book, but there are likely many readers who will, and who might even love it. Do what makes you happy. Write the book you’d like to read.
Your Intention
What purpose does your dream sequence serve? This is important. Through my conversations with other writers and readers about dream sequences, this is the single point that comes up the most often with people who hate them. Are you wasting our time?
Purpose 1: Backstory
If your dream sequence’s sole purpose is to spoonfeed us bits of back story, it’s essentially a flashback. Those of us who hate dream sequences tend to hate flashbacks just as much. It feels like an info dump. It takes us out of the story. Especially if you got yourself a page turner. Suddenly being forced out of the events while we’re hungry for more is frustrating in a bad way. Most of the time, I’ll skip it completely, or skim over it. If there’s more than one, I’ll go find another book to read.
Purpose 2: Character Development
These are usually brief glimpses into a character’s state of mind. Especially prevalent in stories about mental illness. I skip/skim these too. We don’t normally need to have a story-stopping glimpse into how a character is feeling to know how they’re feeling — body language, dialogue, and decision-making are effective ways to present a character’s state of mind without breaking away from the events of the story.
Purpose 3: Plot
This is forgivable. I still don’t super enjoy them. Usually wish the author had opted for a more immersive way to give us plot details, but plotty dreams can certainly work. Especially if they’re brief and interesting. You can slip bits of character development and backstory into these as long as you don’t go crazy with it. Like putting vegetables in brownies, if you do it right, us dream-hating-peeps won’t even realize you’ve done it.
Purpose 4: Setting
This is my favourite, and the only one I don’t blatantly hate. When dreams are woven through the narrative kinda like a fantasy element, but not completely. Pan’s Labyrinth comes to mind. Maybe even Alice in Wonderland, or stories about descending into a psychotic break where it’s hard to tell reality from hallucination. This method of storytelling can be compelling as fuck. It doesn’t have to be super important to the plot if it’s serving as an escape for the character. Or if the character’s state of mind is the plot.
Level of Weird
Okay, so you got your dream sequences, and you’ve established that some of us dream-sequence-haters would burn your book, or forgive it based on its purpose alone. But how surreal should it be? Dreams can get really fucking surreal, but we all know if it gets too weird, you’re going to lose even the most avid dream-sequence supporters.
Complete Inanity
Does your dream sequence resemble Naked Lunch? Are there cockroaches playing poker and dogs dancing on the sun? Does your character melt into a puddle of pistachio pudding and get licked up by an alpaca wearing a fedora? Unless your story is meant to be a fever dream and your target audience consists of people heavily dosed with hallucinogens, maybe pull back a bit.
Bad Trip
Weird can be good. Some people don’t like it to be weird, but if your narrative is already out there, making the dream sequences even more crazy isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as you keep the purpose of it clear. As long as the characters are recognisable, and your reader isn’t just confused the whole time, go for it. Do not confuse your reader. You do not want to dive so deep into metaphor that your reader comes out of the dream sequence not knowing WTF they just read.
Vaguely Twisted Reality
This is my favourite. When a dream is clearly a dream, but it’s not out there — when emotions twist into vague disorientation in moments that otherwise feel real-ish. If you’re writing a stress dream or a nightmare, this is the best way to go, in my opinion, because the ridiculousness of the last two options would work against you. If it’s too weird, it feels silly, and silly is not scary or tense, so you lose the impact of your character’s fear/anxiety.
Indistinguishable from Reality
These can be good. They can also enrage, so if you’re trying not to piss off dream-sequence haters, tricking us into reading a dream sequence is a good way to get your book yeeted out a window. I swear, if I read a significant section of a book, or even a whole book, that turns out to be a dream, and I was unaware until the end, I feel like my time has been wasted, and I never read another work from that author again. Some people really like that shit, so if you want to do it, do it, just be aware that you’re going to make enemies out of some of your readers. However, if you have super realistic dream sequences where no weird shit happens, but you’ve clearly signified that it’s a dream, you should be fine. Even better, if it’s brief!
Final Note
Okay, I think I’ve insulted enough of my fellow writers with my judgmental bullshit. If you feel called out, I’m sorry! I respect you and your dream scenes, and I recognize that my opinion says nothing about your ability to write and the quality of your stories, so please do not take this rant as an attack.
I’ve heard from a lot of writers on twitter on this topic. You may even be one of them! But if you have more thoughts on the subject, I’d love to hear them. Do you have examples where dream sequences were done well? Have you written them yourself and want to defend their honour with a rant of your own? Do you have a blog post on the subject you’d like me to link to? Hit me up! Comment here, or contact me on Twitter — my DMs are open, as long as you’re not trying to sell me shit! Good luck! ♡♡♡
You can find me on twitter: @CloverErotica
Original Post
I have written my fair share of dream sequences, and I’m not proud of that. I don’t like them. I avoid them completely in my recent works. So why, you ask, am I writing an article about these fucking things? The purpose of this is to help writers understand the perspective of someone who may whip their books at the wall the moment their dream sequences pop up.
Don’t worry, I’m not just going to rant about why dream sequences are terrible and urge you not to write them. I’m going to talk a bit about what really gets my goat, and also ways in which they can be, and have been, done well.
Please go into this ready to take my opinions with a grain of salt. If you do everything I say not to do, and flip the bird at everything I say will work, I will not read your fucking book, but there are likely many readers who will, and who might even love it. Do what makes you happy. Write the book you’d like to read.
Your Intention
What purpose does your dream sequence serve? This is important. Through my conversations with other writers and readers about dream sequences, this is the single point that comes up the most often with people who hate them. Are you wasting our time?
Purpose 1: Backstory
If your dream sequence’s sole purpose is to spoonfeed us bits of back story, it’s essentially a flashback. Those of us who hate dream sequences tend to hate flashbacks just as much. It feels like an info dump. It takes us out of the story. Especially if you got yourself a page turner. Suddenly being forced out of the events while we’re hungry for more is frustrating in a bad way. Most of the time, I’ll skip it completely, or skim over it. If there’s more than one, I’ll go find another book to read.
Purpose 2: Character Development
These are usually brief glimpses into a character’s state of mind. Especially prevalent in stories about mental illness. I skip/skim these too. We don’t normally need to have a story-stopping glimpse into how a character is feeling to know how they’re feeling — body language, dialogue, and decision-making are effective ways to present a character’s state of mind without breaking away from the events of the story.
Purpose 3: Plot
This is forgivable. I still don’t super enjoy them. Usually wish the author had opted for a more immersive way to give us plot details, but plotty dreams can certainly work. Especially if they’re brief and interesting. You can slip bits of character development and backstory into these as long as you don’t go crazy with it. Like putting vegetables in brownies, if you do it right, us dream-hating-peeps won’t even realize you’ve done it.
Purpose 4: Setting
This is my favourite, and the only one I don’t blatantly hate. When dreams are woven through the narrative kinda like a fantasy element, but not completely. Pan’s Labyrinth comes to mind. Maybe even Alice in Wonderland, or stories about descending into a psychotic break where it’s hard to tell reality from hallucination. This method of storytelling can be compelling as fuck. It doesn’t have to be super important to the plot if it’s serving as an escape for the character. Or if the character’s state of mind is the plot.
Level of Weird
Okay, so you got your dream sequences, and you’ve established that some of us dream-sequence-haters would burn your book, or forgive it based on its purpose alone. But how surreal should it be? Dreams can get really fucking surreal, but we all know if it gets too weird, you’re going to lose even the most avid dream-sequence supporters.
Complete Inanity
Does your dream sequence resemble Naked Lunch? Are there cockroaches playing poker and dogs dancing on the sun? Does your character melt into a puddle of pistachio pudding and get licked up by an alpaca wearing a fedora? Unless your story is meant to be a fever dream and your target audience consists of people heavily dosed with hallucinogens, maybe pull back a bit.
Bad Trip
Weird can be good. Some people don’t like it to be weird, but if your narrative is already out there, making the dream sequences even more crazy isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as you keep the purpose of it clear. As long as the characters are recognisable, and your reader isn’t just confused the whole time, go for it. Do not confuse your reader. You do not want to dive so deep into metaphor that your reader comes out of the dream sequence not knowing WTF they just read.
Vaguely Twisted Reality
This is my favourite. When a dream is clearly a dream, but it’s not out there — when emotions twist into vague disorientation in moments that otherwise feel real-ish. If you’re writing a stress dream or a nightmare, this is the best way to go, in my opinion, because the ridiculousness of the last two options would work against you. If it’s too weird, it feels silly, and silly is not scary or tense, so you lose the impact of your character’s fear/anxiety.
Indistinguishable from Reality
These can be good. They can also enrage, so if you’re trying not to piss off dream-sequence haters, tricking us into reading a dream sequence is a good way to get your book yeeted out a window. I swear, if I read a significant section of a book, or even a whole book, that turns out to be a dream, and I was unaware until the end, I feel like my time has been wasted, and I never read another work from that author again. Some people really like that shit, so if you want to do it, do it, just be aware that you’re going to make enemies out of some of your readers. However, if you have super realistic dream sequences where no weird shit happens, but you’ve clearly signified that it’s a dream, you should be fine. Even better, if it’s brief!
Final Note
Okay, I think I’ve insulted enough of my fellow writers with my judgmental bullshit. If you feel called out, I’m sorry! I respect you and your dream scenes, and I recognize that my opinion says nothing about your ability to write and the quality of your stories, so please do not take this rant as an attack.
I’ve heard from a lot of writers on twitter on this topic. You may even be one of them! But if you have more thoughts on the subject, I’d love to hear them. Do you have examples where dream sequences were done well? Have you written them yourself and want to defend their honour with a rant of your own? Do you have a blog post on the subject you’d like me to link to? Hit me up! Comment here, or contact me on Twitter — my DMs are open, as long as you’re not trying to sell me shit! Good luck! ♡♡♡
You can find me on twitter: @CloverErotica
Original Post
