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/lit/ - Literature

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1587136 No.1587136 [Reply] [Original]

Are reading and writing really skills?

When I think of skills I think of like being really good at basketball or gymnastics. You're taught how to read and write properly...but other people just do other stuff. I mean, obviously Dickens' books are way better than you know like Stephenie Meyer's. But I think Meyer is completely capable of writing an "A Tale of Two Cities," she just never has. And again, it's easy to read, almost everybody does it, but whether or not it's in book form is a different story. Just because I'm a tripfriend doesn't mean I am a troll so anon haters please stay away~~!

>> No.1587139

>tripcode
>saged and hidden

>> No.1587138

this one was really lacking

>> No.1587140

If you can't make me rage, at least make me a little more irritated.

>> No.1587143

That's because the term "skill" usually implies a physical skill. What matters is that writing takes talent and knowledge. Stephanie Meyers might be capable of copying "A Tale of Two Cities" on her own, there's no talent involved in that regard, but she likely wouldn't be able to actually CREATE something like that.

The "skill" of writing comes from knowledge, creativity, and talent.

>> No.1587146

It only takes 5-6 faggots to ruin a really good board

>> No.1587148

>>1587140
>thinks it is a tripfriend's job to irritate anonymous
we do not work for you !

>> No.1587149

She's only capable if she practices. If she continues to write at the same level, them no, she'll never be able to write a classic novel. Writing is a skill that takes practice, just like math. Anybody CAN write, what matters is that you have to have the drive and focus to do it.

>> No.1587151

> I mean, obviously Dickens' books are way better than you know like Stephenie Meyer's
>way better than you know like
Yes, it's a skill. It's a skill you god-damned teenagers need to be taught. All this, "it's, like, y'know, waaaaay better" is, like, y'know, soooo annoying. Get off my lawn.

>> No.1587217

The thing about writing "skill" is that most people do not realize what it is, so they don't know how to practice for it. It is very much a skill like sports or singing or painting.

How to learn how to write (fiction):

1) Read only authors you very much enjoy from the first few pages. If a book is uninteresting for more than a few pages, drop it and move on. You can only learn to write well from books that are written well, do not waste your time reading shitty books.

2) Read how-to books. All the time. For the rest of your life. How-tos are essentially technical manuals that contains different techniques for improving your writing, you choose what you like and discard the rest until you have formed your own school. You will eventually read enough how-tos to be able to discern which ones will contain useful information and which ones are useless.

3) Write as slowly as you need to. The popular maxim "write every day" is bullshit. You are better off writing one page of gold than a thousand pages of garbage, because at the end of the day you can look at your gold and realize that you have accomplished something. From there you can write a few pages of gold every few days and have a novel in one year. Once you have written one page of truly great writing, your confidence will soar and even in the harshest times you will know that you have the potential to become a great novelist.

(cont.)

>> No.1587220

Ultimately, after reading many novels that you enjoy and many how-tos (not necessarily on formal literary theory) you will develop your own system of rules, what fits and what doesn't, until you can produce fiction as easily as an email or text message. From then on it only a matter of persistence, continual learning, and, if you want to become a successful commercial novelist, a few truckloads of luck.

Regarding "writer's block", I'll only suggest Robert Orlen Butler's how-to, "Dreamscapes". Read this book, learn to apply its techniques, and you will never suffer from procrastinating from writing again.

Sincerely,

Random Anonymous Writer On The Internet

>> No.1587221

>>1587217
you're the faggot that got ass raped in your troll thread earlier

>> No.1587231
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1587231

>>1587221
actually I thought I held my own quite nicely in that thread but thanks for noticing

>> No.1587232

>>1587231
yeah but that's what the ass raped faggot always thinks

>> No.1587238

>>1587232
really, ass-raped faggots usually come out the situation feeling like winners?

the more you know, I guess

>> No.1587241

>>1587238
yeah they do actually

i can tell you have little experience with the metaphorical underworld

and stop saying campy things

>> No.1587242

writing is a skill, there are people who will never be able to write well.

>> No.1587250
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1587250

>>1587241
>I can tell you have little experience

pic related

>stop saying campy things

u mad bra? I'm being me, and you're a tripfag starting shit. now I see why everyone hates tripfags. this is my first day with a name and I'm already helping another tripfag make this thread suck dicks

>> No.1587258

>>1587250
It's a stag thread

we're not ruining shit

if you weren't a total youngfag you would know that

inb4
>i've been on /lit/ since it started

maybe you should just drop your trip if you can't handle the responsibility?

>> No.1587264

>>1587146

The board isn't really good anyways but the 5-6 faggots sure don't help.

>> No.1587270

>>1587264
>>1587264
go away

>> No.1587297
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1587297

>>1587258
>maybe you should drop your trip if you can't handle the responsibility
>responsibility

LOL WAT

u delusional boi

>> No.1587305

>>1587297
>more trite posts
like i said

you make tripfags look bad

>> No.1587310

>>1587270

>nothing legitimate to say

>> No.1587318

>>1587310
>implying i should put any effort into dealing with someone as worthless as you
you're not worthless i'm sorry

but you're boring

>> No.1587321
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1587321

>>1587305
>my posts are better than your posts

nuh uh!!!

>> No.1587323

>>1587321
well i'm leaving this thread behind

you're a shit troll

>> No.1587349

>>1587318

You are also boring. Can you give me an example of a time when you have said anything even remotely interesting?

All I see from you is bitch fights in every thread, implying constantly, telling everyone how great you are and just shitting up the board.

>You're boring and lesser than me, anon
>I'm interesting and hilarious, Oscar Wilde is my fursona
>Oh you don't like me? Okay anon legion hurt durr, you just don't like my trip
>Flowery bullshit sentences composed of words I don't fully understand

So just pick one and that's a Fabulous post.

>> No.1587390

Reading and writing are skills. Most people can do them, but they have to be learned. People do them with different levels of proficiency. For instance, I had a boss who could not write one email, a short paragraph of 3-4 sentences, with less than 10 errors. It was atrocious. He could not conjugate verbs properly, always used the wrong homonym somehow for to, wether, etc. and generally could not spell. I can not believe someone gave him a college degree, much less a management job ( not just because of the writing, he was a nice guy but super-lazy, so he never really learned how to do the job we were doing. He'd try to help if we were busy and fuck up, so everyone stopped letting him help.) Reading is on a continuum also; some people read a story and come out with themes and metaphors galore, and some can either barely read (one of my friends takes about 5 minutes to read a page, she keeps getting lost and having to start over,) or just don't get/look for meaning or symbolism, etc.