It's pretentious to offer writing advice, but since there is no right or wrong and absolutely no "how-to" in writing, it's the next best thing! In this rant, I, along with the amazing readers and commenters, attempt to play devil's advocate, offer life experiences to assist in the push for hyper-realism in fiction, and just complain about writing in general. Please don't take offense (but if you do, good for you for being passionate about something!)
Anything can work. You can write the most cliché story on Earth filled with every trope imaginable and pull it off. But this rant is an effort to challenge writers to step out of their comfort zones, explore flip sides of common situations, and share their own ideas.
That's the goal of this rant, anyway. In reality, I just bitch about things and hardly accomplish anything. But at least we have a lot of fun!
I'm in no way qualified to tell you exactly what to do in your writing and I have no intentions of doing so. This is merely a place for me to vent frustrations and offer my own point of view (however useless it is) to the writing world. To me, every bit counts, which is why I love comments.
The comment section is probably where you'll find the most interesting tips and advice, though. Seriously, commenting is highly encouraged, because I love people sharing their knowledge. You can read the chapters if you like, but the best stuff comes from the amazing people who have decided to put their two cents in each argument, and I am forever grateful to people who do.
So take everything I say with a grain of salt, because I am in no way an expert on anything. But I'm always willing to help. Any and all questions, concerns, and complaints are welcome and encouraged. You may leave them in the comments, my message board, or my PMs. I always respond (though it may take forever.)
Of course everyone always wants to know credentials before they take the advice of a raving lunatic on the internet (and I don't blame you all). Quick background on me:
Between my best friend and I (and you'll hear about him a lot in this rant, sorry), we've done quite a bit, so I'll do my best to be helpful in as many areas as possible.
I have three degrees—one in English (American Lit is my passion, but I know my way around Brit and Medieval as well), Education (focus in secondary and higher ed), and Psychology (focus on adolescent development). I currently teach junior and senior English in a tiny, low income, high domestic violence school. My best friend has three bachelors and a masters and is currently in active duty (and he has one of those terrifying military jobs we're not allowed to talk about).
In high school we were both triple majors (business and visual arts for both, physical development (code for athletics) for him, performing arts for me)(but keep in mind that was high school, so my information and experience with that is probably dated by now). We've both worked as professional musicians. In high school we both worked retail and we were both waiters at a local restaurant. (Who am I kidding, I still pick up shifts at the restaurant.)
That's a basic overview of who you're about to read advice from. I try not to share things unless I have personal experience or have done adequate preliminary research. If you have questions, let me know. I'll do my best to help. If I don't have an answer, I'll get you one! So hopefully you enjoy this rant and hopefully you have enough confidence in your own opinions and ideas to share. We love hearing from everyone!