jasonandrew | The Dangers of Writing Advice

Nick Mamatas recently wrote a post about writing advice. I think there are a lot of good points there and certain plenty to think about.

I don't agree with every point, especially point #4.

Nick Mamatas's style when blogging tends towards the caustic and it on occasion offends people with thin skins. In person, he is very warm and gregarious. He was kind enough to specifically invite me to a drink with some friends when I was a shy writer going to his first con as a writer not too long ago. It was very much appreciated.

Mamatas argues that what you post on the internet doesn't hurt your career in the long run. Maybe he is right. I wonder if Harlan Ellison had been less of an asshole, if he would have had a better career. (Yes, I know his career is way better than mine ever will be, but I believe he could have been up there with Bradbury if he hadn't gotten in his own way. Imagine the sort of things he could have written if he hadn't been caught up in so many feuds or legal battles.)

Note: Mamatas has never groped Connie Willis in public to my knowledge. He did, however, pat me on the bottom. (Author's Note: For the sarcastically impaired that was me attempting to be funny. Mamatas has never tried to pat my bottom.)

There is a lot of good advice here. I think every writer is a little different. What works for me might not work for you. I try to write every day to spark my brain and I post about it because I have a good circle of friends that either lie a lot to me (in a way that comforts my lizard brain) or they enjoy seeing my daily posts about writing.

You can see the post here about bad writing advice: http://nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com/1732344.html

You should check out some of Mamatas's writing. I really enjoyed his short story collection: You Might Sleep. I posted a review about it here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/266152347