And before anyone gets concerned that I’m advocating against Beta Readers (which I don’t personally use but if you do, that’s entirely fine), I’ll state outright that they’re not giving writing advice. At least, they shouldn’t be. Beta Readers give feedback on how well what you’ve written did or did not work for them. If a Beta Reader is telling you how to fix a sub-plot, they’ve misunderstood the assignment. That’s the writer’s job, and sometimes the editor’s. They should totally be telling you they don’t understand why a sub-plot is happening because it doesn’t seem like it’s adding to the main story. And there are some published and widely-read writers I wish would get that advice regularly. They should also tell you things like when a character’s eye colour changes or where there’s a continuity issue.
Back to the point: never take writing advice from non-writers. I should probably expand that a bit, because editors are certainly a valuable part of the process (and that includes copy editors if you don’t function as your own), but I think you should only take writing advice from an editor who’s going to publish your work or if you agree with it.
But outside of that editorial guideline, never take writing advice from non-writers, and the reason seems pretty simple to me. They’re not writers. As in, they don’t write and generally don’t know how to.
I’m taking that as they don’t know how to write a story/novel/non-fiction article or whatever it is a particular writer writes. I’m going to say story from here on in for simplicity’s sake. Substitute whatever form of writing (or other creative art) makes you comfortable. Most people can string a couple of sentences together, but that doesn’t mean they can write a story. That takes some study or learning and some practice. There are things to figure out and things that are hard to be naturally without work. If the person offering advice doesn’t understand those things to some degree, how can their advice be taken as serious or legitimate.
Other art is the same way. If I offer advice to a painter, that painter should roll their eyes or laugh at me. I’m not that kind of artist and I haven’t studied that kind of art. My opinion is uninformed and should be ignored because I know nothing about the subject. It surprises me a bit on how willing people are to wade into something they know nothing about and act or talk as if they’re experts. I have opinions on Canada’s foreign policy, but I don’t know enough about things to set foreign policy. That’s not art, but the parallel is there, and there are plenty of folks who aren’t an expert on a lot of things they dispense advice on.
Back to the point, though. In addition to not taking writing advice from non-writers, I don’t think a writer should usually take advice from other writers, either, at least not without a kilo or so of salt. And the reasoning there is just as simple if not necessarily as obvious on the face of things: we’re all different. I’ve talked about my writing process any number of times. I’ve never (I hope) suggested that my writing process is universally applicable or should be used by anyone other than me. The process I’ve developed for writing fits how my brain works and how I like to write. Every writer is different. Even if you like a writer’s work and really enjoy hearing about the way they do things.
I’m a fan of Dean Wesley Smith, as I’ve mention now and again, someone whose pace and skill I envy, but he works on a single draft process for most of his writing. I’ve had tiny success with that and it has to be something I write in one session which puts a fairly firm limit on anything I’m going to try that way, and it’s mainly flash fiction. But that’s how he works. He also will be the first one to say that not everyone can do that and that every writer is different. For most of us, the first draft if not the final product (and if it is, that’s almost never a good thing).
So whose writing advice should you take?
An editor who wants to pay you (using actual money in some form, never for exposure and absolutely never if you have to pay them), a writer whose process makes sense to you if the bit of advice they’re giving also makes sense for you, and your own.
Especially your own.
But in order to give yourself good writing advice, you have to practice a lot. Practice as in write. Be well, everyone.
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