The Dark One
Auror
Dickens mainly wrote in weekly instalments for a magazine.
Pretty difficult way of writing a novel and no chance to rethink things already published.
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- Thread starter Incanus
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Pretty difficult way of writing a novel and no chance to rethink things already published.
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- #22
Incanus
Auror
Yes, I felt I needed to resort to a rather extreme example to make the point. Most of the time, things would be less extreme. Using a vampire vs. werewolf example would almost certainly have led to some misapprehension.
Genre expectation--I wish I'd thought of that when first posting. That just HAS to factor into this. I'm glad you brought up that term.
This issue plays out when offering feedback on stories/chapters as well. Not that I'm overly concerned, but I think it was 6 times running where I offered feedback at this site, and I guess I ended up killing the conversation dead each time (?). I assume the comments were ultimately unhelpful, but I don't really know one way or the other. Genre expectation may have played a part. I'll still do it from time to time though.
Genre expectation--I wish I'd thought of that when first posting. That just HAS to factor into this. I'm glad you brought up that term.
This issue plays out when offering feedback on stories/chapters as well. Not that I'm overly concerned, but I think it was 6 times running where I offered feedback at this site, and I guess I ended up killing the conversation dead each time (?). I assume the comments were ultimately unhelpful, but I don't really know one way or the other. Genre expectation may have played a part. I'll still do it from time to time though.
Prince of Spires
Istar
I think this also very much depends on how you look at it and what kind of advice you're looking for.
If you're going for very specific advice, then only advice aimed at what you're doing is helpful. For instance, if you're asking advice on how to improve a specific paragraph you're asking, then anything about that specific paragraph will be not very useful, even if it's from someone in the same genre. After all, even if you're writing Epic Fantasy, getting advice on a paragraph which says "Tolkien did this" is no help at all (unless there's a very specific point to the comment).
However, if you zoom out, different advice becomes useful. And then it very much depends on what kind of advice you're looking for. If I was writing Epic Fantasy, then perhaps Tolkien's advice would apply. However, if I wanted to include a romantic subplot in my story, then perhaps the advice of a Romance author would be more helpful. And if I wanted to write a novel that will be read in 100 years time and hailed as one of the great novels of the '20s, then actually Sallinger's advice about how to layer stuff in a novel might actually help as much as Tolkien's advice about building an epic. After all, The Catcher in the Rye isn't still being read only because it's about an angsty teenager introspecting.
If you're going for very specific advice, then only advice aimed at what you're doing is helpful. For instance, if you're asking advice on how to improve a specific paragraph you're asking, then anything about that specific paragraph will be not very useful, even if it's from someone in the same genre. After all, even if you're writing Epic Fantasy, getting advice on a paragraph which says "Tolkien did this" is no help at all (unless there's a very specific point to the comment).
However, if you zoom out, different advice becomes useful. And then it very much depends on what kind of advice you're looking for. If I was writing Epic Fantasy, then perhaps Tolkien's advice would apply. However, if I wanted to include a romantic subplot in my story, then perhaps the advice of a Romance author would be more helpful. And if I wanted to write a novel that will be read in 100 years time and hailed as one of the great novels of the '20s, then actually Sallinger's advice about how to layer stuff in a novel might actually help as much as Tolkien's advice about building an epic. After all, The Catcher in the Rye isn't still being read only because it's about an angsty teenager introspecting.
