Starve Better [Paperback]

Nick Mamatas' "Starve Better" is a collection of essays focused on the craft and practice of being a writer--with an emphasis on practical advice (as opposed to theory) and shorter pieces of work (as opposed to novels)--and I don't think there's anything quite like it on the market. In part, I think this is because I don't think anyone looks at the business and art of writing (or articulates those views) quite like Mamatas. The current editor of Haikasoru, Mamatas is a critically acclaimed writer and editor who combines a wealth of experience in freelance writing with the bedside manner of (to use a professional wrestling analogy that Mamatas might appreciate) of Bill DeMott (or, for those more familiar with non-wrestling TV dramas, Dr. Gregory House). Mamatas' irreverent tone and blunt opinions are part of what made the book so enjoyable (and useful) for me, but prospective readers unfamiliar with his style may want to read a few posts from his blog to see if they feel the same way. Make sure to find a post where Mamatas takes a stance that you don't agree with (that shouldn't be too hard) and see if you're entertained, or at least given pause.

Prospective readers (who, I assume, are also writers or writer-aspirants) will also get the most out of the book if "Starve Better" isn't the first text of writing they've read: a few of the best essays in the book ("All Pistons Firing"; "Don't Throw the Hook") involve a closer look at common writing tips that may do more harm than good. Actually, a solid foundation in the "basics" of fiction provides the best context with which to enjoy most of the first part of the book, "The Book of Lies". This part focuses on the craft of writing, particularly short fiction, and the essays provide a good counterweight to the sometimes homogenized writing advice you can find in the standard writing texts. Mamatas also excels at providing striking imagery that makes his uncommon take on issues all the more memorable: he illustrates his position that "There are no rules. Only results matter." by using the (remarkably apt) analogy of a professional wrestling match; he explains how some bad writing can still manage to be riveting because it takes the point of view, not of a character, but of a movie camera; he compares scene breaks to 800-pound gongs... Like I said, there's no one quite like Mamatas, and that means that even long-time students of the craft of writing will find something new to chew on--and, for a true student, that different and well-articulated perspective can be invaluable.

The second part of the book is "The Book of Life", and it's a from-the-trenches look at how you can make quick money from non-fiction writing. I'm not sure how applicable some of the specific advice is to people outside of the United States, but many of the more general principles, on topics such as how to write an interesting review or the need to "write your way up", are sound advice wherever you are. The tips Mamatas gives with regard to how to treat writing as a business are particularly useful for writers (or any artistic/creative type really), given that a lot of the writers I've met have no idea how to monetize their talents.

The third part of the book is an Appendix, which consists of articles which don't fall under either of the two main categories but are still well worth a read (although "The Term Paper Artist" could probably have been put in the "Book of Life", seeing as it discusses Mamatas' time writing student papers for hire). The articles on MFA programs will likely be of great use to those geographically situated to avail of them (and cause great envy in those like me who are not), and Mamatas' take on what makes a "great" writer puts that particular superlative in what I believe to be its proper context... but again, even if I didn't agree, I'd likely have enjoyed the essay anyway. If don't mind the feeling of having dearly cherished writer-ly beliefs body-slammed and, occasionally, pinned for a three-count, I highly recommend "Starve Better".

For almost a decade, I have been reading Nick Mamatas' blog on a regular basis and I learned enough about the writing market from his advice that I thanked him in the acknowledgments for Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre because his advice (and mockery of free markets) helped me change the focus from "hey, I will edit an anthology and put all my friends in it" to "even if this is a DIY rough anthology, I will be asking people to pay $13 for a collection of short stories by writers they don't know and I better make it the best possible anthology." Like My Year of Flops by Nathan Rabin, Starve Better is a book that has been written online over the course of several years and is still out there for all to read. In both cases, buying an actual book full of articles that you can read for free seems counter-intuitive but the internet really can't replace the codex as the preferred reading platform. Rather than keep me from buying the book, the online articles lead me to wanting the book in a form that I can actually read when I'm not at my computer procrastinating.

Starve Better is a guide for aspiring and professional writers and like most writing guides (On Writing by Stephen King being a popular one) it combines decent advice with encouragement, so you are more aware of some of the pitfalls of writing even as you are more eager to get to the actual writing than you were before you started reading the book. What distinguishes Mamatas from other writing coaches is his realistic view of the market. Many writing guides are from the perspective of bestselling authors who want to talk about the craft without too much attention given to the "how do I pay the rent?" question. It's assumed that 90% of all buyers for these writing guides are people with real jobs who have always wanted to write that novel and they just never knew how to go about it. Mick Foley cited On Writing as his major guide to writing his first fiction book. Nick, on the other hand, writes for those of us who do not really have a choice. Oh sure we have a choice, but honestly our skill set is such that anything besides writing for a living will prove an even bigger disaster. As much as writers want to talk about "the craft" or "the calling" or act like writing is a noble profession, there's an obsessive quality in becoming a writer. Like the theater cliche about if anything can keep you from becoming a professional actor, let it, the creative career choice is often a bad one - but it's also the only one.

The book is divided into fiction and non-fiction writing with appendices at the end including "The Term Paper Artist" and the blog article about what constitutes a "great writer" (it involves wood chippers). After a requisite "no, really, this advice might not pertain to you" opening (or "there are no rules"), Nick gets right into it by discussing the benefits of short story writing, the fact that short stories and novels are two completely different entities and then offers the benefits of his time as the most helpful slush reader in history (the Clarkesworld rejection letter still makes it known that they no longer offer critiques of rejected stories) with discussions of sentences, why the Da Vinci Code works for some even if it's awful, the importance of taking down dialogue that you hear, the overuse of scene breaks and the new annoyance among slush editors which is the beginning of the story where the main character wakes up (for some reason, I was inspired to write a short story entitled "And Then He Woke Up" - it's 1600 words and I just dashed it off after Shabbos - which is weird for me.) At times, it becomes obvious that these are collected essays. For example, the "say you are telling your friend that you saw a dragon" example appears twice within the space of 10 pages. However, this is all good solid advice for writers.

The non-fiction part is even more important since it demythifies (is that a word?) the process of selling non-fiction articles. There are several important tips about non-fiction writing including the fact that there are second and third tier markets always looking for writers. I forgot the anecdote of the travel writer in Orlando who made a living from writing articles solely about Disneyland. And Nick's advice to send your query to as many magazines as possible is actually eye opening in a "was I stupid enough to think otherwise" way because as a fiction writer, you don't go sending off your story to multiple markets. You send your story. YOu wait. Else you query and then wait a few weeks until it's obvious that the story is not even in the slush pile and/or there is no slush pile and the place closed down because the editors did not have the money after all.

This anthology has great advice, compelling articles on writing including "The Term Paper Artist" and a tone that can either inspire the reader to write more or give up and go to law school. Regardless, this is an important book for anyone who even thinks of becoming a professional writer.

I've always been really hesitant when it comes to books on writing. First, of course, the majority are the same, and hardly any of them are good for anything. In most cases, I walk away thinking it would be better just to stick to Strunk and White, and the usual personal reading and writing (actually engaging with texts), rather than looking to find some sort of "secret recipe" elsewhere.

In that sense, Starve Better is less a book about learning to write than unlearning the things writers are told everywhere else. In the first section, The Book of Lies, Mamatas does offer a solid foundation for approaching short fiction, but the parts I found most interesting were his attempts to dispell the myths that keep us from writing better. For me personally, a weird way I can tell a book on writing is good is that, while reading, it makes me wish it was something I'd found years ago. Even the best advice doesn't have to be completely new, but sort of clarifies ideas or problems you might have been aware of, only peripherally.

And, yes, the issue of "who" is giving advice is also a factor. The author of multiple novels and the editor Haikasoru, Mamatas offers a rare degree of personal and professional experience as one of the rarest things known to the industry--a "successful" noncommercial author (whatever that means). His take on the subject is refreshing and comes from a very unique persective, which I found especially interesting with Sensation (his most recent novel) still fresh in my mind.