{"id":2271,"date":"2012-04-11T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=2271"},"modified":"2012-04-11T06:00:24","modified_gmt":"2012-04-11T11:00:24","slug":"i-smell-a-learning-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=2271","title":{"rendered":"I Smell a Learning Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is the most bullshit you'll probably ever see in one place. Impressive, no?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week\u2019s question was tough to tackle. My first response was kind of a bullshit answer. I\u2019m going to share it with you anyway.<\/p>\n

Bad writers teach me so much about what not to do. I\u2019ve learned about awful dialogue, poor story arcs, ugly sentence structure, and shoddy character development. On the other hand, good writing disappears, and I\u2019m so invested in the story that I don\u2019t even notice the writing itself.<\/p>\n

But like I said, that\u2019s the bullshit answer. I\u2019ve learned plenty from some of my favorite authors.<\/p>\n

From Maggie Stiefvater, I learned that I will never be able to write prose that\u2019s so beautiful the sentences dance across the page like a\u2026well, like a beautiful dancing something that I don\u2019t have the ability to write.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From Laurell K. Hamilton, I learned that sometimes a series can go on too long. I love the Anita Blake books. I truly do. Urban fantasy wasn\u2019t really its own genre until those books started coming out. I waited impatiently for each new book to come out. Over the years, I was less impatient. And then I missed one. Next thing I knew, I was behind by three or four books. Why?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think the quality of the books went downhill. I think it has more to do with the never-ending story arc. When a series becomes more like a television show that\u2019s renewed a few too many seasons, I find myself not as concerned about the fate of the characters. Know when to call it quits.<\/p>\n

Theodore Geisel taught me that words can be fun and colorful and amusing, but beneath all the rhymes and humor, they can still contain strong emotions, hidden meanings, intricate patterns, and life lessons. I think, in many ways, Dr. Seuss taught me more than any other writer. Most of what I write is ridiculous and silly on the surface, with an attempt at telling a more emotional story underneath it all.<\/p>\n

From Robert Heinlein, I learned that there are rules. Rules like \u201cyou can\u2019t go back in time and kill your own father before you were conceived.\u201d And more importantly, he taught me that if you\u2019re good, I mean really good, you can flip the bird at the rules and write whatever you damn well please. First, though, you have to think it all through. You can\u2019t break rules until you understand the rules.<\/p>\n

Maybe these are all bullshit answers that dodge the original question. So, here\u2019s the short answer, bullshit free:<\/p>\n

Pay attention to what you\u2019re reading. Everything, whether it\u2019s from a beginner or a master, someone you admire or someone who leaves you cold has the potential to teach something.<\/p>\n

In life, we are shaped by our experiences, both good and bad.<\/p>\n

In writing, our work should grow from what we\u2019ve learned from other writers.<\/p>\n

Both good and bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s question was tough to tackle. My first response was kind of a bullshit answer. I\u2019m going to share it with you anyway. Bad writers teach me so much about what not to do. I\u2019ve learned about awful dialogue, poor story arcs, ugly sentence structure, and shoddy character development. On the other hand, good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-process"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}