This is a wonderful lecture by crime fiction author, George
Wier. He suggests, like all successful authors, that to write well you have to
read a lot. He makes a valid point that it’s important to read outside
of your genre. He states that by reading only in your chose genre, you run the
risk of just being a copier of other styles, instead of learning to originate
your own unique voice.
Another good piece of advice he has is that you should just go with the flow, instead of ‘thinking about what you’re writing’.
I find I tend to analyze what I’m writing while I’m writing, constantly trying
to edit as I write. He sees himself as a reporter of what’s going on in his
made up world, so he can just write what’s happening and not get in his own
way. I definitely need to take this advice to heart!
He also posits that once you finish writing, before you begin editing, that you should go through and read your work as if you were brand new to it. It helps to minimalize your own self-critic to read your work as if you've just picked it up
off the shelf, as if it’s someone else’s work.
