Being a Better Writer Topic Call! · 6:41pm Jun 30th, 2021
THE TIME HAS COME! And yes, I almost linked that bit from Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained #82 there. It was … tempting.
Anyway, those of you that have been around for a while will know exactly what this post is for. It’s time … to submit reader-request topics for Being a Better Writer!
See, Being a Better Writer works off of a list. An actual, physical list, made on a notepad on my desk. I fill a page, and those are the topics for the next few months. Once that list nears its end … well, it’s time for more topics, isn’t it?
Which is where you come in. See, I’m fine generating new topics. I’ve even got a couple on the next list already. But I also want you to be able to ask after topics. What sort of topics do you want—or need—BaBW to cover? What do you want to hear about? What aspect of writing, of story, of character, etc, do you want to see delved into?
Got more than one? That’s fine too! Ask for two, or even three?
Point is, BaBW is helpful to a lot of readers, yes, but it’s even more helpful if it’s tackling some of the questions readers want to know. So if there’s a particular topic you’re curious about that hasn’t been touched on recently, go ahead and post it in the comments! Let me know so that it can make it to the list!
That’s all there is to it! So, got writing questions? Put them in the comments below!
self-advertisement,
why self-publishing is not the boogeyman that the market makes it out to be,
agents: good or bad?,
diversifying your writing,
finding an audience,
recognizing bad storytelling,
separating yourself from your children (stories)
Assuming you haven't already: perhaps a segment on copyright? It might be a good idea to help potential authors know what they can and can't get away with, as well as the various types of copyrighting that people can use under different circumstances.
Maybe a topic about learning to recognize implicit biases in our own writing?
Over time I've learned to be more conscious about the kinds of themes and ideas I put into my writing (both fictional and functional). As my palette of critical thinking expands, it's sometimes jarring when I go back to a piece of older writing I did. Often the first thing I notice is how shallow or self-unaware my worldview was, and how I just accepted and regurgitated ideas uncritically on a subconscious level.
These days I try to be more critical of my own writing not just from a technical or narrative standpoint, but from a metatextual level about the messaging I'm putting out. It's not something I'm exceptionally good at, and I think a deeper dive on that kind of thing would be interesting.