Week 4: Story Laboratory, Advice To Writers Collection

An individual utilizing test tubes in a lab. Web Source: Pixnio




For my story laboratory assignment, I chose to explore the information provided from Advice To Writers. Within the website, there exists a variety of advice from different individuals. I appreciated how each person has something insightful to offer their readers. I have never considered myself an avid reader or writer, but being enrolled in this course has helped me examine my skills and enhance my abilities regarding reading and writing.

The first snippet of advice I found super beneficial, is called You Can't Write What You Wouldn't Read by Norah Roberts. Nora's advice is to find something you are passionate about and enjoy, so you can fully digest and comprehend it. She emphasized that desire, drive, and discipline are three necessary components to writing about what you read. I can resonate with this, because as I said previously, I have never been a huge reader or writer. This class requires a lot of reading and writing, and the stories we have read are interesting and informational to me, so it is not difficult for me to really write with desire. Any writer that puts their deepest effort into their work, can more than likely be categorized as a good writer.

The second piece of advice that I enjoyed reading, is called Be Specifc by Rick Bass. This particular advice, focuses on the quality of your writing. Rick Bass urges readers to be more specific in their writing, because it paints a picture which leads to directly influencing your readers and captivating their attention. Being specific in my stories, is something I have been working on in this class. I have found that not only is being specific helpful to my audience, but it allows me to establish a connect with my own story. I yearn to be excited about my own work, and I feel like that is something we all should strive for.

The last sliver of advice that stood out to me, is called Bring It Back To What You Really Feel by Robert Lowell. Robert talks about the general difficulty of writing, being relative to centering the story to how you genuinely perceive it. Similarly, I have noticed when writing my stories, I always try to round the ending off with a lesson that I took away from it. Having a personal perspective is essential to your writing, because it makes the story seem more whole and honest. It also reflects the direction of the story, the writer's wishes it to flow. It is like the conclusion of an essay or report.