A NEW IDEA THAT’S REALLY OLD

With everybody and their brother giving writing advice, what makes an idea new? Since any idea is probably something that’s “been there, done that” a thousand times in the past, the fact is, it’s only new in the way it’s presented, not the basics.

You think anything I present here at Fred Central is really new?

It’s just my take, my own way of saying it, that makes it new to you…maybe.

Maybe I make it more palatable to you, the reader. Maybe I just explain it more clearly for you because I have a teaching/instructor background. I say stuff nobody else ever thought to explain, or assumed you’d know.

Like any other writer, I have my own take on things for you to either accept or reject. Nothing I say can’t be found somewhere in the hundreds if not thousands of books on the subject of writing. So, why should you read my articles, or for that fact, anyone else’s?

OLD IDEAS PRESENTED IN A NEW WAY

Any idea, regardless of how often it’s been presented in the past, has the opportunity to be presented in a way that clicks for the new reader. Even the experienced one.

I’ve had plenty of books on writing and barely cracked most of them. Instead, I stumbled along and just wrote and learned by trial and error, learned through my writer’s group, and by anecdotes from fellow writers and mentors.

In other words, think of my articles as mentor material.

I try to keep this stuff as simple and condensed as possible, with of course, my take based on sixty plus years of reading experience thrown in. After all, I started as an actual reader, loooong before I ever became a writer. I look at it from both perspectives.

My stuff is presented in a new and shorter version of what may take up fifteen or twenty pages in a book, and in a new way. I hesitate to call my stuff blogging (I’m a bit more long-form).

PLATFORM NOT QUITE BLOGGING

The principle behind blogging, is frequent short blasts to get the reader’s attention, to grab them and get clicks. Blogging appeases the short attention span, from what I’ve come to see and understand. Blogs are for people on the go.

That’s not what I do.

I have a platform, which goes along with what I do, write. I write fiction and rather than rave on and on about some hobby, which I do (but those hobbies are not related to what I write about), I wanted a platform somehow related to what I do in the writing world, but not necessarily about the genre because I write in multiple genres. So why not writing, which covers them all?

The difference is that my site is not a blog. It’s a long-form writing advice site. My articles break the 500 word rule, the short blast-beat and often, daily attention-getting rhythm expected of a blogger. My articles range from 800 to 1,200 words on average because they’re advice on writing.

So, my platform is on writing. Am I breaking ground here? Are other writers that write about writing breaking ground?

Not really.

We’re presenting new ideas that are really old, established ideas in new, unique ways.

I’m not alone in this. I’m here for those of you that have found that “resonance, or click” with my particular brand of advice.

NEW IDEAS THAT ARE REALLY OLD BUT PRESENTED IN NEW WAYS

Most of the stuff I present here isn’t particularly new. Some is unique in the way I present it. As I said above, as a teacher and instructor, I break it down into the simplest elements for you.

My goal is to cut out the bull, and give you the facts.

The difference is that I also add in my own take, my own biases (granted) based on my experiences from not only reading, but writing. There are also unofficial polls of other readers and writers and lots and lots of reading critiques. I’ve also been a silent observer to conversations between others and the fly on the wall at over a decade of writer’s conferences.

Many may not agree with all that I say here, but that’s okay. These aren’t rules I present, they’re advice. That’s a word with a meaning in the dictionary which you should not have to look up! Whether you follow what I say, use all, part of or none is up to you. I just know that what I say works in the best books out there as evidenced by the best reviews and some of the most popular books. Also, they’re the ones I personally can’t put down and they’re books that I breeze though without extra baggage, without being jolted out of the story, without unconsciously reaching for the red editor’s pen. They’re the books I can close at the end with a big smile on my face.

I hope you use at least some of what I propose because I really believe it will make the world of books a much better place. There’s way too much crap out there to punish readers as it is.

Alas, that’s not always the way the world works.

My old ideas are new in the way I present them, not in principle. They’ve been presented before. What makes them new is that they’re condensed here at Fred Central and you don’t have to dig through countless volumes at the library or bookstore, though I’m not discouraging you from doing so if you’re so inclined. Books on writing are great source material and there are some outstanding examples out there. If they’re what it takes to get the fire in your belly, if books work better versus web articles, use them! Maybe web articles can supplement what you learn from the books. Maybe you won’t need articles like these at all because of the books. Everyone is different. However, if books are not your way of learning, people like me are here for you.

Use my articles as well as others on line to help hone your skills. We, as advisors, are here for you! New ideas that are old are just old ideas presented in a new way that may be more palatable for you, easier to understand and use.

Happy writing!