What does it take to be considered as a good writer?

Answer 1

Mike, quite honestly as an author I do care if others think I am a good author. If they don't they don't buy my books and then I am in trouble. So yes, an author does very much care and I don't know any authors who don't read the NY Times list ever week (first thing I open in the paper Sunday morning) or who read a book without saying "I can do that just as well or better!!"

It takes being born with a gift. Then it takes training and honing that gift into a skill and a talent. Add to that the ability to be a great communicator. Then it takes discipline and lots of it. Being able to write every day - day in and day out at the same times. Then it takes patience - dealing with a lot of research, a lot of learning the ropes of the publishing business and advocating for yourself... Add a hide as thick as a herd of buffalo - because you will have to deal with a lot of rejection. But add in the ability to learn from what others tell you in critiques, to allow your writing to evolve and grow. It takes a lot of observation. As Stephen King would say, you have to be a great reader to be a great writer - read everything and learn from the good as well as the bad. It takes a lot of homework - research, character studies, outlines, and at times a great collection of contacts to help you with that research. Next it takes a really kick tail first line that draws your readers into your work and doesn't let them go until THE END. Add to that an active imagination, a little bit of mania and a good deal of empathy. And that is what I think adds up to a good writer. Pax - C

Answer 2

According to Kurt Vonnegut (he was referring to short stories, but I think it applies to long ones too):

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Here's my advice:

I read "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. I actually quite disliked this book for many reasons I will not go into right now. However, despite the fact I did not hold this book in high regard I finished it very quickly. And the reason my impatient self was able to do this was because something was always happening. If you can catch the reader's attention the way "The Da Vinci Code" did and write with the languid verbiage of Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" you would be a literary force to be reckoned with.

Answer 3

Hi,

I'm not an authority on what makes somebody a good writer. However, I do know that great writers don't care if others think they're great. They write and let the work speak for itself.

Perhaps it comes down to a mixture of attitude, talent, and passion. And, of course, hard work -- the most important ingredient of all. I'd be hard-pressed to think of a great writer who didn't possess all of those qualities.

Mike

Answer 4

You mean besides the ability to form sentences, spell correctly and such things as that. I would say an insight into how the general population looks at what you write.

Answer 5

It's usually measured in market value.

Consider Harry Potter

Consider Steven King

Answer 6

Talent, passion

Answer 7

Maybe getting published?

Answer 8

have a storyline that makes the reader forget they are reading a book. then write it well.

Answer 9

chilling descriptions that bring the reader into 'your world' so they are no longer reading but imagining vividly.

Answer 10

maybe an award...or just getting published...