Conflicting Advice

There seems to be no shortage of writing advice. You could fill a bookcase with the amount of books telling you how-to, when-to, how-much-to write.

We are exhorted to:

Write the mother of all outlines.

Some books advise writing outlines so meticulous they strike me as the same thing as a first draft - but in point form. "You're nowhere without an outline!" these books declare, "Every good writer always prepares an outline!"

Never write an outline.

We also have the books that promote eschewing outlines. These books put forth the argument that a real writer can just sit down and write. Any outline would stifle the creativity. You must trust in the process and the road will become apparent as you travel along it. Every good writer never prepares an outline.

Write comprehensive descriptions.

Physicality is important and therefore it is the writer's duty to impart every speck of detail in their writing. Rooms must be dissected and meadows must be discussed as well as frolicked in. There is no detail too tiny. Put it all in.

Write broad descriptions.

Descriptions of places and characters should be limited to the important, not the mundane. Meaningless detail adds to nothing but the word count. Leave most of it out.

Every plot line must be concluded.

If there's a plot, there must be an ending. Leave nothing up in the air. When a reader closes the book they should have all the answers.

Open-ended plots are valuable.

Like in life, your book does not have to have endings to every plot. Minor plots can be left unresolved or have conclusions hinted at but not confirmed. This is especially important in any series. When a reader closes the books they shouldn't have all the answers.

There are, of course, many many more. I've imagined new writers eagerly reading all of these books and ending up totally confused and never actually writing a thing. I've learned to take all the advice with a large grain of salt and know what works and what doesn't work for me.

I try to write strong character-driven plots simply because that's the sort of book I like to read. As a reader I will skip over long descriptions; as a writer I don't put them in. I outline, but not to excess. I don't start writing until I know the ending and who the main characters are. But I don't know every step along the way. I will tie up my main plot, but there might be a few minor ones whose conclusions are only hinted at.

Do you have shelves of how-to writing books? Do you follow them?