Dear Writer

by Carmel Bird

Many people wanting to write do not know where to begin.

Carmel Bird, author of three books of fiction, has taught writing to a wide audience and understands the difficulties facing the new writer.

Dear Writer, a collection of letters to an aspiring author, speaks on the one hand about writer's block, about plots, about publishers, and on the other hand, about the nature of fiction, offering the inspiration required for writing.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Australia

135 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Dion Yulianto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku lain ttg bagaimana menjadi penulis, tp lebih disempitkan lagi menjadi bagaimana menjadi penulis cerpen yang baik. bahasan dan contohnya menarik, penerjemahnya juga hebat, hanya saja materinya terlalu dikit. Satu tema hanya dibahas antara 2-3 halaman sehingga banyak hal lain yang belum terjelaskan. Bagusnya adalah penulis mampu menyoroti gimana emosi kita saat menulis, diantaranya mengapa begini dan mengapa begitu, mengapa judul itu penting dan mengapa kita harus menghindari menggunakan terlalu banyak kata keterangan dan kata sifat.
sering kali, tanpa saya sadari, saya akan mengangguk2 setuju dengan uraian dan pendapat si penulis. Buku ini cocok dibaca oleh mereka yang lagi macet di tengah2 proyek penggarapan novel or cerpennya. Sip

[Owen Townend · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never come across Carmel Bird prior to reading this book. I find there is a certain foolishness in taking advice from writers who are not widely known.

Nevertheless there is a lot of truth to this book. It sold me on its epistolary style and I found most of the advice quite reasonable, such as the importance of using only the most effective adjectives for a sentence or reconsidering curious secondary characters as the protagonist of the plot.

One thing I could not get on board with though was Bird's aversion to 'word processors' . While I agree handwriting and typewriters are just as effective means of getting words down, Bird's luddite attitude severely dates the book.

Then again I do wonder what she would think to this age where most people jot down ideas into their phones. That would possibly be a step too far for her.

This aside, Bird obviously knows what she is talking about and genuinely loves the craft. I recommend this book to anyone who prefers practical writing advice over the spiritual and who has a fondness for letter-writing.

[sofiia · Rating 4 out of 5]

perhaps under usual circumstances i wouldn’t have deemed this book special or its advice revelatory but these days i have a need for a simple reassuring and inspiring non-fiction that will tame the monkey in my head and will make me take my aspirations seriously. and if that said book is a collection of letters… i need it.

in these 21 letters, you, an (Aspiring) Writer, get a unique opportunity to have your work, ‘The Scream at Midnight’ proofread by someone who knows how to write. Virginia (not Woolf) covers everything from finding the source for your writing, to the practicalities of putting words on paper, and bringing this work out from the creative solitude and into the world, to readers. it’s an inspiring read (and at times quite an amusing). if you’re looking for a place to learn about fiction writing and to get a little friendly punch, the brief companionship of this book can be a start.

Virginia’s advice is clear and concise: if you want to write fiction, dedicate yourself to it, be introspective, connect with your inner child. find space and time to immerse yourself in the creative process and practise, practise, practise. beware of adjectives and adverbs that overwhelm your prose. do not fall for “pathetic fallacy”, where you attempt to be creative by making ridiculous stylistic choices. think why you chose 1st vs 3rd person pov. don’t let people read your unfinished work. (and more)

amidst all recommendations, two stood out to me because i haven’t thought of them before.

1. the power of understatement.
2. real life is stranger than fiction.

the power of understatement lies in crafting prose that leaves room for the Reader to think. in practice, this means carefully choosing what to tell, and what to leave for imagination. the opposite — overstatement — is a feature of highly descriptive prose, that may be more suited for screenwriting. however, i noted that overstating prose permeates the kind of “light” literature that tends to bore me in most cases; it indeed, as Anne from the Green Gables would say, leaves no room for imagination. but this intense detail can sometimes prove relaxing, like watching a movie, when things are pre-chewed for you, you just need to swallow. Virginia notes that when you ask others to read your work, they might lament that it’s not overstating enough. perhaps that is a misconception that things have to be obvious. but what fun is having no room for dialogue between the Reader and the Author? of course, unclear writing is problematic, yet it just might be the understated writing done poorly.

real life is stranger than fiction… it’s intriguing how even when “truth” is put on paper, it may not be believable because of the way it’s written or because its details seem to be so random that it seems no better explanation exists than the Author not knowing what they are writing. paradoxically, fiction is to be less fictitious to be believable; characters are not to speak in word-for-word transcription to be alive; the story is a planned puzzle that needs to align. meanwhile, life is not and needs not — it can be random out of nowhere and into nothingness. only when life is a story does it becomes full of life. and yet, if you are telling a story, you are not living; there’s nothing like living and there’s nothing like storytelling. (i need to re-read Nausea regarding this)

***
favourite quote from the book:

Gerald Murnane said: “I write not because I understand the world but because I don’t understand it.”

***
i’m setting off on my third re-read of “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller” after this, i think it’s going to be a fruitful experience.

***
i need to read more of epistolary-style books. it's fun.

***
YES, this book is quite outdated in terms of paper vs technology, and i wonder if the advice is "complete" in a sense of its generalisability across genres, BUT, this is such a warm read, and if you're looking for the most up-to-date info... what are you doing here looking at books published in 1988?? let us, the pen and paper people, have our fun with our little letters and ink and finger corns.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This charming, quirky and sometimes magical book for beginners unfolds as a series of letters from a fictional character called Virginia – not Woolf, but a professional manuscript assessor. However, Carmel Bird quotes Virginia Woolf (among others; especially Nabokov, Christopher Koch and Anaïs Nin). The epistolary format evokes a sense of intimacy not common in guides like this. In fact, over the years since I bought it I’ve hardly used it at all, partly because I could never find what I sought, despite the index; Virginia’s distinctive voice would distract me from mere technical queries. I’d sooner open one of Bird’s novels for inspiration. (And why aspire to be a writer when there’s a surplus? I need help to analyse what I’ve already created; not motivation.)

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit basic. I found Appendix II to be the most useful and interesting part of the whole book.

[Shanna Daniella Tiffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great advice about fiction writing and practices to improve your writing. Reading this book also made me feel more motivated and grew my desire to write more.

[Novella Dwisri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cara Mrs. Carmel memberikan tips menulis dalam buku ini menarik sekali. Ia tidak menggunakan susunan paragraf baku, tetapi menggunakan susunan paragraf dengan gaya menulis surat kepada begitu. Caranya ini membantu kita memahami dunia fiksi, bagaimana bisa dikatakan penulis jika tidak menulis dengan tekun (?) Kalimat tiap awal bab yang berisi 22 bab ini berisi kutipan inspiratif dan penyemangat untuk pembaca yang juga jadi penulis bila baru pertama kali mencoba menulis fiksi, meski di setiap bab bertebaran kutipan, hal itu mengganggu penasaran kita untuk membaca hingga tamat. Kalimat-kalimat bagus yang memancing motivasi pembaca untuk tekun menulis. Menyenangkan membacanya.

[Femmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book with useful advice for writers, but I prefer more practical, technical books like Characters and Viewpoints by Orson Scott Card.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1988, some of the information is dated such as the talk of typewriters and the 'new' word processors. Plus, the publishing world is different 24 years later. Those couple of points aside, quite a bit of the writing advice is timeless and it was an enjoyable read.

[Lutfi Retno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isinya tentang tips menulis cerita fiksi. Di edisi bahasa Indonesia judulnya "Menulis dengan Emosi"

Sebelum baca aku ngarep bisa dapet cara menulis supaya menyentuh, sayang isinya nggak kaya gitu.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

An op shop find (50c). A how-to-write book, presented as a series of letters to the wanna-be author. A good read, however there's nothing terribly new about this. To be fair, it was written in 1988.

[Winston Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Neens West · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books on fiction writing i've ever come across!

[Jessica Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading for the budding writer. Every chapter is in letter form, short, and to the point.

[Alison Stegert]

Another Lifeline Bookfest find!

[Henny Sari · Rating 4 out of 5]

suka banget dengan isi buku ini. soal EMOSI-nya itu. cucok!