Develop a thick skin. You thought this phrase had to do with your response to critiques, right? So did I.
No, it means much, much more than that in the publishing pursuit.
I'm the type that has to have things explained to inside and outside, backward and forwards. In high school, I had to know not just how to solve the equation but the reasons why the formula worked. Yeah, it was a pain, but I wasn't satisfied just ‘going with it’. So, with grammar, I found it frustrating when there were certain fluctuations acceptable to the standard because to have a clear understanding of something in my way of thinking, it must have concrete rules the same as 2+2=4. But that was only the beginning I would discover. But first, let me lay a little more groundwork.
For decades I've been instructed time and again to read more, read ferociously, because reading was the best way to learn how to write well yourself. That is a reason classical literature is required in education, you learn from the greats: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, et cetera.
In this blissful state of ignorance, I wrote my book, never knowing the trials awaiting me once I completed my manuscript and delved into the world of seeing it published.
But the bitter truth finally got through to me: the game has changed.
Everything you think you know, flush it down the literary toilet. And if that sounds critical mingled with a few stray wavelengths of cynicism, you wouldn't be far off because, to be honest, I'm struggling.
In this 21st century writing industry, I learned:
Keep your vocabulary small, and easily readable (Oops, I should have said, personal word list. I don't think anyone can handle a five-syllable word in this day and age!)
Keep inside your character's head, only write from their point of view.
Show, don't tell.
Be straight to the point, concise, don't chase that rabbit!
Basically, follow the formula.
Don't misunderstand me, I agree with these rules to a certain degree. But I don’t think they should be taken to extremes or as a decree that cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians.
My point is learn from the classics, right? But if Miss Austen or Ol' Charles queried their books today they would be rejected on all these counts. Pride and Prejudice is a volume inundated with a complicated lexicon that sends us scurrying for the dictionary to make sense of her work. The Cricket on the Hearth plops down right at the starting gates to devote several paragraphs to describing the idiosyncrasies of a kettle of boiling water! Neither of them are easy reads, meaning they require intelligence and will certainly hone your mind further if given the opportunity. Without a doubt, neither of them was required to show and don't tell, to cater to the visual age of entertainment we are increasingly being crippled by.
I believe in the fundamental tenets of story structuring and character development that make for a pleasing novel, and I understand the logic behind most of these rules. But just like a painter who understands the value of composition and the concept of light and shadow, we as writers should be given the creative license to write as we please, with a clear understanding of the basics, and not constrained to only primary colors and certain shapes on our canvas.
I’m not lobbying for avant-garde techniques. Part of the issues I'm encountering are the modern methods of throwing off good grammar, (I recently discovered some authors are eschewing quotations in their dialogue, which is confusing to the reader, in the least), and I’m also told the italics used to demonstrate a character's internal dialogue or thoughts in the multitude of fiction I learned from in yesteryear are not to be used henceforth. What modern advice really boils down to is: forget the established authors, you write what we think should be written.
Does this claim sound a little bold? Just remember, the ones calling the shots are the ones in the position to make the most money off you. But most importantly, take a look around you. If we authors follow in line with this thinking, we are assisting in dumbing down society until they altogether sacrifice literary meat for the smooth and less-nutritional diet of milk.
With regard to common sense and good business sense, I want the freedom to write well, according to the clear rules of grammar, and according to my own judgment of what a good story is and what I think my reader will enjoy and not according to what the publishing houses think will profit them most in the marketing world.
What do you think? Do you agree or are you shaking your head, thinking, “You're just full of sour grapes, Alissa! This is how the world spins, so get over it!” Go ahead and start that discussion down below! I promise to be civil!
-Alissa
I was disappointed myself recently when given advice to write simple words as if speaking to someone with 8th grade or lower education. I wondered to myself what have we done to get to this point.