Young-in-Craft Fiction Writers: 2

In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* Young-in-Craft Fiction Writers: 2
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

“Moltbook is a genuinely fascinating experiment—it very much feels like speculative fiction come to life.” Matteo Wonghttps://www.theatlantic.com/author/matteo-wong/ in The Atlantic (see Of Interest)

Stage 1 Fiction Writers

This post is going to be a little long. Here’s another brief (I promise) introduction.

Nobody likes to admit to experiencing unreasoning fear, but practically all writers experience it at one time or another. Especially the fear of inadequacy.

A fear of inadequacy pretty much permeates all Stage 1 writers almost every time they want to sit down and write. That same fear affects Stage 2, Stage 3, and even Stage 4 writers, albeit less frequently and to a lesser degree.

Due to that fear of inadequacy, Stage 1 (and other) writers will often put off actually sitting down to write as their conscious, critical mind “reminds” them they haven’t fed the goldfish yet or filled their dogs’ or cats’ water or food dishes or they really should brew a cup of coffee or tea first, etc.

As I wrote above, this fear of inadequacy also seeps into the more advanced stages. Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction can help you overcome a lot of that.

Stage 1 writers don’t believe in themselves. In fact, they believe themselves incapable of writing ‘good’ fiction, or of writing fiction at all. Despite any number of successes in other endeavors in life, when faced with a blank page they feel wholly inadequate.

Before sitting down to write, Stage 1 writers

aren’t aware of potential readers at all. To be fair, they don’t know they aren’t aware of readers, and most believe they are.
Stage 1 writers believe there is a complex formula for success, and that if they stack this story component on that one and then place another one next to those in a particular sequence, they will succeed. Most won’t.
Most also believe they must do all of the above in a prescribed sequence: for a novel (and with some writers, even for a short story), that sequence typically includes writing character sketches, making notes for world building, and then outlining or “sign posting” at least every major and some lesser “plot points.”

(Note: In actuality the plot exists only after the characters have lived the story and left the events of the story behind. Like “symbolism,” “plot” is more a contrivance of critics for use in deconstruction than a component part of fiction.

Hence, when writers intentionally “plot” a novel, they are constructing, not creating. If you’ve ever tried to plan real life, you know how difficult it is to plot a story that hasn’t happened yet. See the next bullet point.)

Stage 1 writers have no concept of Story except as something to be constructed from component parts. (I call this Construction from Deconstruction, or writing from a critic’s point of view.)
They spend a great deal of time focusing on what they’ve heard and believe is the “right process” of writing: Did they outline correctly? Did they revise correctly? Did they rewrite correctly? Etc.

(Note: For a wonderfully freeing alternative to this labor-intensive process, read yesterday’s post. And if you begin with the post before that one, you can read this series from the beginning.)

Stage 1 writers’ focus is split between writing the “beginning, middle, and end” correctly or on “rising (or falling) action,” various “action beats” and “narrative beats,” “symbolism” and other literary critics’ terms, and negative affirmations like “kill all your darlings,” “show, don’t tell,” and other goofy advice most so-called writing instructors can neither define nor explain. (I can.)

I should add that none of this is their fault. We’ve all been there.

Like all of us, these young-in-the-craft writers were mostly taught how to write fiction by

people who do not write fiction (for example, most Lit and English teachers), or
professional writers who promulgate the myths primarily so they can sell younger writers books about (you guessed it) how to follow the myths. This vicious cycle keeps many fiction writers in Stage 1 and 2 for years.

(Note: Don’t believe me. Think about it, follow the money, and make up your own mind.)

That said, I’ve observed that most English and Literature teachers who DO write fiction, even seriously, are stuck in Stage 2. Few if any ever get beyond early Stage 3. Stephen King did, but name five more.

During the actual writing, Stage 1 fiction writers

wonder how and where to start a story.
In all things writing, they seek perfection.
They might even pitch their idea to other writers and ask them, “Is this worth my time to write?”
Later at various times they wonder where the story’s going.
Later still, they wonder whether readers will like it.

(Note: When readers DO like it, especially if the story is popular among readers, the fear doesn’t subside. Instead it intensifies: What if I can’t do it again? What if this novel isn’t as good as the last one?)

They “make up” the characters and the world and the story and largely write from the conscious, critical mind.
Their primary focus is on the physical act of typing and on following the “rules” of writing (the myths).
They have little or no real concept of the components and nuances of fiction writing—e.g., hooks, openings, cliffhangers, dialogue and dialect, setting and character description, POV, pacing—or of how a story flows, or how the “components” of a story flow into each other to mix and intermix.

(Note: Writers can become aware of all those skills by reading fiction and nonfiction works by other writers, but they can only actually learn those skills by practice: putting new words on the page. And following the myths leaves little time for that.)

They focus on and fret over individual words and individual sentences—for example, over whether or not to use adverbs in certain places (or at all)—and over making each sentence grammatically correct, eliminating contractions, etc. Often, this results in stiff, unnatural narrative and even stiffer, more unnatural (and thoroughly unbelievable) dialogue.
Many might spend hours (or even days!) in an attempt to make a single sentence or paragraph or page “perfect.”
Many also still believe each paragraph should “cover a topic,” as they were taught while writing essays in high school and/or college. (Doing this will destroy pacing.)
Many don’t understand punctuation, many fear it, and most have no clue how to wield it to direct the reading their work.

(Note: The most abused mark of punctuation is the lowly comma. Most comma errors are unnecessary commas, so if you’re in doubt about whether to use a comma, leave it out. See a great deal more in Punctuation for Writers or in Writing Better Fiction.)

Some melodramatically complain about writing being a “solitary endeavor” while simultaneously believing—often without realizing they believe it—that it “takes a team” to write a story or novel (critique groups, an editor, beta readers, etc.).
They often worry about not doing something that will ruin their “career” as a writer even before they’ve written and published so much as a short story.

Traits Stage 1 writers display after the writing is finished

Most Stage 1 writers have either never heard of Heinlein’s Rules or have dismissed them—especially Rule 3—as being archaic or (my personal favorite) as not being applicable to their writing because they don’t write speculative fiction.
Stage 1 fiction writers have heard and firmly believe in the admonition that “A writer is the worst judge of his own work.” However, they tend to apply that admonition only if they believe their own work is ‘good.’ If they believe their own work is bad, it’s as if the admonition never existed.

(Note: The admonition is actually true in all cases. Regardless of what you personally think of your story or novel, if you make it available to other readers by publishing it, some will love it, some will like it, and others won’t. “So what?” is a great attitude to develop.)

They are dependent-on and seek approval and validation from “book doctors,” “developmental editors,” other editors, agents, and publishers (in almost every case, people who don’t write fiction).
They might also believe in order to be a “real author” or make money, they must pursue traditional publication and therefore need to find a literary agent and/or need to “network” at writers’ conferences to meet influential types (mostly literary agents and publishing house editors) etc.
Even if they want to self-publish, they put off spending the few minutes required to open an Amazon or Draft2Digital or other aggregator account. And even if they open an account, they put off actually uploading their cover and the document that contains the text of their work.

Stage 1 is the rough equivalent of the infant/toddler/childhood years. How long the writer remains in Stage 1 depends largely on where s/he gets information on writing.

If they trust blindly and completely in the myths, chances are good they’ll be in Stage 1 a long while.
To improve, you must put new words on the page, and following the myths leaves very little time for actual writing. You can’t improve a story or your skills by revising and rewriting. And finally,
Stage 1 writers tend to spend a great deal more time talking and thinking and reading about writing instead of putting new words on the page.

Next up a new short story and the Bradbury Challenge report. Then on Tuesday, the traits and attributes of Stage 2 fiction writers.

Of Interest

The Chatbots Appear to Be Organizing This is a good article so I’m repeating it.

Dr. Mardy’s Quotes of the Week: A Divided Self

The Numbers

The Journal………………….. 1610
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 1610

Writing of

Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX

Fiction for February………………………. XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for February.…………………. 7580
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 27170
2026 consumable words………………… 27170

2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29

In Today’s Journal

Quote of the Day