THE WORST WRITING ADVICE EVER by CHERYL PIERSON

What was the worst writing advice you ever received? Is there any such animal as “bad writing advice”? Not according to novelist and screenwriter Chuck Wendig. "There's only advice that works for you and advice that doesn't."

Is that true? Sometimes it seems, as writers, we can get so caught up in “the rules” that we forget the story and how to tell it. We become frustrated, and it can be downright maddening to try to remember every piece of advice from every writing source we’ve ever come across and tried to use properly.



Translating our ideas into language is one way of looking at our writing process, but how do we start? I have to admit, I am truly a ‘pantser’, not a ‘plotter’—which is really out of character for me in every other aspect of my life. But somehow, orchestrating everything to an outline and strictly adhering to that brings out the rebel in me. I just can’t do it—and I’ve tried. Here’s an example of the differences from Richard Nordquist’s “About.com” publication on writing:

In his essay "Getting Started," John Irving writes, "Here is a useful rule for beginning: Know the story--as much of the story as you can possibly know, if not the whole story--before you commit yourself to the first paragraph." Irving has written far more novels than I. Clearly he knows what works for himself in a way that I don't always for myself, but this seems to me terrible advice. I'm more inclined to E.L. Doctorow's wisdom. He once wrote that writing . . . is like driving at night: You don't need to see the whole road, just the bit of illuminated blacktop before you.
(Debra Spark, "The Trigger: What Gives Rise to the Story?" Creating Fiction, edited by Julie Checkoway. Writer's Digest Books, 1999)

Yes. That’s what I do. I don’t always see the entire big picture, and I don’t need to from the very beginning. But I do see more than “just the bit of illuminated blacktop”—in other words, the immediate “coming up next” section of the story. So I guess I’m in category #3—Swiss cheese author—I know the basics of what’s going to happen, but even so, there are a LOT of little (and big!) surprises along the way.



Nope. Neither is this one...And by the way, this anthology held the #1 western slot at Amazon for a few days a few years back, and contains my short story IT TAKES A MAN, which was a Western Fictioneers Peacemaker nominee in the Best Short Fiction Category for 2013


Aside from being on one side of the “plotter/pantser” fence and being told you’re wrong by the other side, what is the worst writing advice you’ve ever had? You don’t have to say who gave it to you—but I’m curious…what was it? And do you agree with the idea that there is no bad writing advice, just “advice that works for you and advice that doesn’t”? Bring on the comments and opinions! The worst writing advice I ever received? “Try to write an Amish romance. That’s what’s 'hot' now…” (from an agent). What’s yours?


No. It's not an Amish Romance...
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A HOME ON THE RANGE

Researching for the books I write leads me down interesting trails. I have to admit I'm guilty of meandering off the topic. I can’t resist learning more about the Old West. Today I’ve been looking at home photos for another book. I needed a nice one to put on Pinterest, but came across intriguing information on sod houses.

Victorian home in Pacific Grove, California
from Deposit Photo

Some things about modern houses are consistent: indoor plumbing, electricity, air-conditioning, central heating, windows, and doors that seal. This list is of things that are important to me and probably to you. Consider the pioneers moving west and making their home from whatever the land offered them. They were so eager for a fresh start and their own land that they endured many hardships. Entire families crowded into homes the size of a room. How hopeful of the future they must have been. 

Log cabin in the woods

Paintings usually show early settlers living in a log cabin. That wasn't necessarily accurate. Where I mostly lived growing up was Lubbock in West Texas. There were no trees. Well, now there are trees because residents have planted them, but the land was pretty bare when Anglos arrived—except in the canyons where there was water.

Half-dugout

The first Anglos to settle in America’s massive Great Plains would have had to live in tents, covered wagons, or sod houses. I’ve seen sod houses, or soddies, in museums, but I’ve never seen one in which someone was living. They could be dug into a hill (called a "dugout"). Another style was partly dug and then built up from about three or feet (see photo above). This makes me think there would be trouble when it rained. One style was where the home was completely dug and then a roof was added as in the photo below. Another style was built on top of the ground from cut sod. From what I’ve researched, there were numerous problems with all of them.

Dugout with real roof
This one appears thoughtfully-constructed

Imagine eating dinner in a soddie and having a snake drop onto the table. Euww! I read of this happening while someone was visiting a family in a soddie. The matriarch speared the snake, dispatched, and continued the meal as if nothing had happened. I suppose she was used to this happening, but the visitor was shocked.

Some soddies were lined with cheesecloth to prevent that sort of uninvited guest. I’ve read tales of people watching bugs crawl inside the cheesecloth. Euww again!

Soddie in Kansas
There are six in the photo and
another sod home in the background. I wonder
how many live in that tiny house.

Folks occasionally whitewashed the inside of the soddie to limit falling dust and brighten the interior. Unfortunately, the whitewash was made primarily of slaked lime and chalk. Many people were allergic to the substance.

I suspect people with allergies didn’t last long in that environment. One of the stories from my ancestors includes that of a boy whose asthma turned into pneumonia and the family had to move him into a tent outside the sod house. He survived and the family eventually was able to afford a typical frame home.

Sod home taking advantage of the rolling prairie

The elaborateness of the sod home varied due to the builders. Some were made of sod formed into bricks and constructed into a fairly stable structure. Most were simple and—to my mind—unsatisfactory. However, I have read accounts stating they were cool in summer and snug in winter. Compared to the later hastily thrown up wooden homes, perhaps they were better.

In our family is the story of one of my relatives and his brother staying in a boarding house one winter. They weren’t that far from home but had stopped due to strong wind and a coming snowstorm in which they were afraid to travel at night. The sturdy female owner brought them the thickest duvet they’d ever seen. The brothers told her they really didn’t need that because of the blankets. The woman told them they would before morning. Sure enough, when they woke the next morning, they were dusted with snow that had blown through the cracks in the walls and around the windows. There was even snow on their eyelashes. Hmmm, maybe a soddie would have been warmer. ☺

Dugout on the Oklahoma PrairieDo you suppose all six and the baby live in that home?
(courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society)

A friend told of her great-grandmother Jane living in a soddie. While Jane’s sons and husband were working in the field out of sight, two bulls got into a fight on the roof. Dust drifted down into the home and she feared the animals would fall through. They didn’t but that must have been a terrifying event for a lone woman with two small girls to protect. In fact, being an early settler must have been an ordeal that required grit and resourcefulness every day.

Apparently, the sod bricks were durable

I don’t know how you feel, but I’m grateful for my mid-twentieth-century-built brick home. The weather outside is hot, but here at the computer in my little pink writing cave, I’m cool and comfortable. Electricity provides for the climate controlled interior, the computer, and the music playing while I write. Hero has brought me my favorite beverage, a Cherry Dr Pepper, in my favorite glass (you see why I call him Hero). 

I positively love writing and reading about the Old West, but I’m so glad I live today instead of then!

Caroline Clemmons is an award winning and Amazon bestselling author who lives in North Central Texas cowboy country with her Hero and their menagerie of rescued pets. Her latest release is LORRAINE, book 6 in the Bride Brigade series.

Coming July 15 is SNARE HIS HEART, book 5 of the Loving A Rancher series for Debra Holland’s Montana Sky Series at Kindle World.

Check out her Amazon author page and her website at http://www.carolineclemmons.com. Sign up for her newsletter and receive a FREE novella, HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.

Cowboys, Animals, and Romance by Paty Jager

Men who take up jobs that deal with animals can find themselves in less than heroic situations a good deal of the time. Yet, seeing a man deal with animals and children without losing their tempers, can also be an endearing quality for a hero.

You'll find six such heroes in the 6 novella contemporary western box set, Cowboy Six Pack. 

Each of the stories has a hero in a job that requires them to deal with animals and in many cases, feisty or ornery women. ;) 

To Steal a Cowboy’s Heart by Kari Lynn Dell has a hero who is a rodeo announcer. Here is the tagline -  Rule #1: when undercover, never get personal. He’s the exception she can’t afford…or resist. If lying is your job, is true love possible?

In Cowboy Courtship by Allison Merritt the hero is an auctioneer, running his family's auction yard. Here is the tagline -  Despite work-place trauma and domestic drama, Dean and London might be able to overcome any relationship trouble with a little patience and a sweet cowboy courtship.

Changing a Cowboy's Tune by Stephanie Berget uses a past relationship to spark the attention of the hero who has come home to help out with the family ranch. Here's the tagline -  After years apart, can the barrel racer and her cowboy see past their own dreams and cultivate a life they both love?

Catch the Rain by Paty Jager has a hero who is a veterinarian. A city boy who loved the country when visiting his grandparents in the summer and set up practice in a rural community. Here is the tagline -  Zach MacDonald, the new veterinarian in town, sees in stable hand, Kitty Baxter, more than she sees in herself.

Broken Vows by Melissa Keir has a cowboy turned big city firefighter. Tagline -  Distance causes problems for Rick and Julie. It turns their world upside down. When Julie puts her foot down, will Rick make the right choice or will their vows break?

Cowboy Wrecked by D’Ann Lindun has an injured bull rider as the hero. Tagline -  Can a schoolteacher who wants nothing more than a family of her own and a bull rider unable to father children find a way to build a life together.

This collection of novellas are all well worth the read for $.99!

Every woman loves a six-pack! Six sexy cowboy stories sure to make you swoon as they ride, rope and two-step into your heart!

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072LR2WFL

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 30+ novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. She has a RomCon Reader’s Choice Award for her Action Adventure and received the EPPIE Award for Best Contemporary Western Romance and a RONE for her Murder Mystery. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

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