It's the first Wednesday of the month so it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!
The awesome co-hosts for the September 4 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Jean Davis, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando!
Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?
There are two things I was taught at school that messed me up as a writer.
The first is that you should never use contractions in writing. So no can't, don't, wouldn't. It took me a long time to get over that which left a lot of my writing feeling wooden and formal, especially dialogue. People just don't say, "I would not go there." or "I cannot do that."
Once I realized that using contractions in fiction writing is completely okay, I really found my voice as an author and I haven't gone back.
The other thing I learned in school that hampered my writing for a long time was being encouraged to use adverbs. At school I was told to use them liberally (see what I did there) and my early writing is full of colorful adverbs to describe the way characters move and talk. I do still like to toss in the odd one, but very judicially these days and to make a point in most cases. I prefer to lean on good, strong verbs these days instead.
I'm sure there are other things I learned at school that screwed me up, but those are the things that sprang to mind when I saw the question.
What did you learn at school that hasn't helped you as a writer?
It's interesting that you were taught not to use contractions. Yes, they make our writing sound more natural. I think adverbs are good in other types of writing, just not in creative writing.
ReplyDeleteI have a character in one of my books who, for whatever reason, decided he would never use contractions when speaking. Writing dialogue for him is definitely a challenge.
ReplyDeleteI learned the adverb thing in school, and also not to start a sentence using 'But' or 'And'. And now I use adverbs sparingly and constantly start sentences (in creative writing, anyway) using But or And...and think of my teacher every time I do so.
It wasn't the rules that messed me up in school, it was the teachers.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall any lessons on writing from school that were harmful. I can think of some that were good lessons that I flat out ignored because I was an impatient teenager. LOL
ReplyDeleteOne of the best parts of writing is knowing your characters and getting a feel for how they would talk or react in a given situation. Then it is easier to decide which rules to break.
ReplyDeletehttps://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/
More than one person has said they were encouraged to use adverbs. Crazy, right?
ReplyDelete