 What's shaking? My name's Cam, welcome back to another video. I make weekly videos about writing, so if you also are a writer, first of all, I'm so sorry, I hope it gets easier. But secondly, hey, why don't you stick around? So every now and then, especially if you're watching a lot of author tube, you might from time to time hear a piece of advice, or writing advice. That'll have you kind of scratching your head, you know, writing advice like, drink a cup of laxatives before you sit down to write, something like that. They just drop this advice on you like it's nothing, and then you're sitting there going. So basically, the way I write every day is I'll make a cup of tea, I'll put in three spoons of laxatives, and then I'll drink that as quickly as I can. That really gets the fluids moving, you know? Well, today I will be looking at a list of unusual writing advice. I'll leave a link to it in the description below, of course, but I haven't read it yet. I haven't gone through it. I'm hoping it's a genuinely unusual advice that most people probably wouldn't take. That's what I'm hoping for. I think that would be the most interesting outcome here. But tell you what, why don't you go down to the comments and let me know what the weirdest writing advice that you have ever heard is. Write whatever you want and then take out the first and last paragraph. Take out the first and last paragraph? Why? What's the reasoning there? Like what possible positive outcome could that have? I don't... I don't get that. No. The first paragraph is where you need to have the hook, the thing that grabs your reader. It also sets the tone for the story that's about to follow. In the end of the book, the last paragraph should be where you're leaving your reader with something. Like the last sentence is usually something that you want the reader to sit with. I don't understand the benefit in removing these things. Take a huge bowel movement every day. I didn't even plan... I didn't plan that. What did I tell you? There are people in the writing community that have some kind of weird thing about taking a shit before you write. I don't... Like okay, if you need this shit, obviously don't sit down and start writing. That's gonna distract you. Worst case scenario, you're gonna dookie in your shorts. But there seems to be like an active focus on like, you need to dookie out before you write. Make it happen. I don't know if that's necessary. I could be wrong. Maybe, uh... This feels really stupid to even talk about. Maybe the sensation or the aftermath or the after... Maybe the afterdump clarity helps with writing. Now I reflect on it. That actually kind of makes sense. Maybe there is some wisdom in here. It is very often undersold how much your health plays into your ability to write. I'm not saying I'm the healthiest guy in the world. God knows I'm not. But my ability to write when I have been trying to be healthy versus when I have given much less of a shit about it has been drastically different. I always thought it was like some kind of, you know, hashtag rise and grind pseudo-science stuff when they say, you know, drink water before you start writing, get in a healthy mindset, have a healthy meal kind of thing. I always thought that was just some kind of BS. But it genuinely helps and, you know, at the end of the day, taking a dump might help as well. Don't ask for permission. That's really good advice. I don't know about that one, my guy. I get the point. I know what they're saying. They're saying, be unapologetic in your writing, which is sure. There's nothing more distracting when you're reading someone's work than them kind of pussy-footing around it. And like, you can tell they don't have any real conviction in the story they're trying to tell, so I get that, sure. If you want to write a story about a 10-foot tall red dog and everyone tells you you're crazy, go ahead and do it. But I think it's important to keep in mind that there are authors very often that maybe take this don't ask permission thing a bit too much to heart and end up writing things that are completely inappropriate or insensitive. I am firmly of the belief that writers can include and should include, you know, for example, diverse characters. But if the story of one of those diverse characters includes a very real and intimate cultural background that you yourself have not experienced or are familiar with, I wouldn't say don't ask for permission. And I wouldn't tell you that you can't write it. I would just say make sure you're seeking out sensitivity readers and people that can advise you and make sure you're doing it the right way. You know, that's all. I just think there's a bit more nuance to that one rather than just saying don't ask permission. And again, I would not apply that logic to any other facet of your life. Write a lot. There you go, guys. Writing slumps solved. 2021, the year writing slumps were cured. Read a lot. I could make the same joke, but I agree. You should. Not only will it inspire you to give you ideas for stories or ideas of how to write your story. If you're reading within the genre that you're trying to write, you will subconsciously soak up how the story is written, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, all that kind of stuff. You'll soak it all up and it'll help to make your writing better quality. Coffee, just coffee. Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee. Be honest. That's not, again, not unusual advice. That's basically just the same thing as, you know, being brave when you write. Just write the story you want to write. Don't hurt anyone. I am really not a fan of like the whole attitude. Like, yeah, I'm an asshole because I tell it like it is. Or yeah, I'm a bitch. That's just how I am. Like, I don't like that. If you don't be an asshole, don't be a bitch. You don't have to be. Being a bitch or an asshole is not synonymous with being self-confident or empowered. You're just a bitch. You're just an asshole. You are selfishly making other people miserable because you don't care. That's all there is to it. Sorry to go on a mini rant there. That's just all I hear when people refer to themselves braggingly about being like a bitch or an asshole. I just, I don't like it. I think that's a super boring and lame thing to take pride in. It doesn't make you interesting. It makes you obnoxious. Be opinionated. Be a lot cooler if you didn't. I mean, if there's a point you're trying to make with your writing, go ahead. But don't beat people over the head with it. There are a few things more frustrating or like just kind of gross than reading a story where the author very obviously has like some kind of agenda or message that they're trying to send. No matter how good the message it might be, it might be a very good social commentary that they're trying to make. But if they're kind of just like dumping it on you and pretending that they're not pretending that they're being very subtle and using a lot of symbolism. Nah, that's just, it's a little bit, you know, steal, write every day. That's unusual. Haven't heard that one before. Have lots of ideas. I've been writing for years and all I needed to do was have lots of ideas. That's all I needed to do. Have lots of ideas. Why didn't I think of that before? It's so simple. Oh, my name's Cameron. I'm not going to have any idea. Use said instead of any other word. This is a hot topic that I have debated time and time again on this channel. I don't believe in that advice. I mean, there are a lot of people, readers and writers who are dead set against any dialogue tag other than said. I don't agree. I've seen people complain about using the word growled, for example. Get out of my house. Growled Liam Neeson. And they'll say something like a humans don't growl. It's figurative speech. Obviously, I feel like an idiot having to point that out. When I see the line get out of my house growled, I'm imagining someone literally like seething with anger, telling someone to get out of their house through clenched teeth like they're growling. But on the flip side, yeah, I can see how doing that too much would be super distracting. So yeah, in a lot of cases referring to said is the best. That should be the dialogue tag that is most evident in your story because it's the dialogue tag that readers can skimp past without thinking anything on it. But I just don't think it's that deep. Anyway, I think that'll do it for today. There are a lot more if you want to check out the link for yourself. But most of them aren't really that unusual. Most of them are just the same writing tip put into different words to try and make it sound bizarre. But let me know what you think about any of the tips that we've talked about today or let me know if there's any other weird or unusual writing tips that you're aware of. Weirder the better. I would love to hear an actual really bizarre piece of writing advice. Thanks so much for watching especially for watching through the whole video. I do appreciate you. If you'd like to join me for some writing in real time live, you can come over to Twitch. I stream there like three times a week. It's basically a big social club for writers. It's a lot of fun. There's a whole bunch of us that'll get in there and chat chat and write and just have a good time. It's great. You'll find a link in the description below. Otherwise, that'll do it for today. I think it's time that you get back to writing. But before you do, remember to go take a dump. See you in the next one. Catch ya.