Neil Gaiman:
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
writing tips
Writing Revelation
Joyce Carol Oates:
“Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless.”
Put Your Hand To It
With technology constantly advancing, authors and writers have taken to saving their work on the hard drive of their personal computers. If they’re risk-takers, the manuscript will only be saved on their Google Drive. But, what happens if the internet breaks because of a technological apocalypse? Does a writer wave farewell to the 300-page world they had created and give up on the art of creative writing?
It might come as a surprise, but longhand isn’t a lost art, although it is growing more and more extinct as time moves forward. Authors like Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Wolfe, Joe Haldeman, Andre Dubus III, and Joshua Ferris are only a few examples of authors who still take a pen and notebook to their home desk to write for several hours at a time. From a scientific standpoint, outside of creative writing, the reasons to use this style vary: individuals learn faster, recall more, are more creative, are less distracted, and it keeps the brain sharp.
Need more of an author’s point of view to consider writing longhand? Patrick McLean posted a blog discussing his relationship with writing manuscripts by hand. He’s been reminded time and time again that every first draft won’t be perfect, so writing should be done effortlessly. In his experience, he sees that he writes better without a computer. Without the sounds of chat notifications, incoming emails, or the world wide web, McLean claims he has less distraction when writing. He sees paper as perishable but he sees technology as perishable as well; when the computer crashes, everything will be destroyed if there isn’t a backup on a hard drive. He firmly believes that just because technology evolves, the amount of content might grow, but that doesn’t mean the quality will get better.
Especially if you are in a slump or just looking for a way to revive your writing process, consider leaving technology on the side for a few hours. Give the old-fashioned longhand writing a try, instead of tapping away at a keyboard. It could potentially be lifechanging!
Writing Revelation
Sarah Waters:
“Don’t panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends’ embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce…Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there’s prayer. St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too.”
Writing Revelation
Anton Chekhov:
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Creative Writing In School
A few articles have surfaced recently discussing the assessment process of creative writing and how to properly do that without having an opinion. My brain started to question, why in the world would you want to be opinion-less with something that NEEDS opinion?
In a school setting, creative writing projects ultimately need to be written for its intended audience (a.k.a your professor or English teacher). Sure, people recommend grading these assignments with the intention to purely assess for structural flaws or grammatical errors but we all know that often times the graders own personal preferences could also influence their grading process. With assignments which have deadlines, writing capabilities are challenged. It’s hard to adopt your own creative process when you have another person’s personal preferences and deadlines looming out in front of you.
Instead of making every short story project (or whatever story form you are practicing at the time) mandatory in a writing class or course, what if creative writing is used as a source of extra credit? Students are always looking for options for extra credit and teachers are always looking for ways to get their students more involved with their work- seems like a win-win for everyone. It would encourage writers to come forth and own their passion for putting their fingers to a keyboard. It also encourages writers to participate and challenge themselves if they choose to; there is no pressure of a week-long deadline or need to write a particular type of story. The best part is that grading isn’t an opinion here. If a student does the extra credit assignment, then BAM…check mark next to their name – that’s it. Of course, if the grader chooses to give detailed feedback on how to improve sentence structure, character development, setting description, etc. they can.
A class also doesn’t have to have a creative writing focus to have this extra credit option. A teacher can still grant their students this freedom to challenge their writing skills when they please and not feel pressured on the grading system. It also puts more of a focus on themes within creative writing and/or creative writing altogether, which we all know we can use a little more of in our lives.
So, maybe we should see a transition of creative writing courses into groups, sessions, and after-school activities. It also doesn’t hurt to have a concentration in creative writing with that English degree though…
Fighting With Your Writing
Getting into an argument with your SO is definitely not ideal. Which is why I’m here to tell you: it is OKAY to fight with your writing. Many famous published authors admit to fighting with their keyboard regularly. So, if you are sitting behind your computer staring at a blank Word document fear not… your writer’s block will pass.
John McPhee recently published a book titled, Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process, and spoke in an interview about his personal relationship with his own creative writing. If you think that just a few hours after from your writing will inspire the next “Great American Novel”, think again. McPhee commits to a “five-day walk.” He takes a step away from his writing and will leave it for days on end. Take the time to rethink your argument, plot line, character development- whatever it may be and take your five-day walk. You may think you don’t have that time to waste, but the refreshed outlook and new ideas will more than make up for lost time.
I discovered a blogger who wanted to remind her readers about accepting the unknown and the uninhibited. It’s one of the many duties of being a writer and trying to get published. She also said, “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was rejected 10 times before it was published, and Rowling suffered depression and anxiety. Stephen King was broke without a phone line when he wrote Carrie, thought the draft was terrible and only sent it in for publishing after his wife fished it out of the bin. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the writers of a warm little page turner called Chicken Soup for the Soul, received 33 rejection letters before their manuscript was accepted.” This just serves as a little reminder that your relationship with your writing should still hold strong long after the manuscript is done. Without a little confidence and persistence, the manuscript may never see the light of day in the publishing industry.
And most importantly, don’t forget to learn from your mistakes. Rather than be angry at the wrong turns you have made, embrace them. YA author Alice Oseman serves as an example of learning from her writing. One of the biggest things she’s learned is diversity. Oseman said it best herself, “It’s important that all people are able to see themselves in literature.”
Bottom line is, don’t be afraid to scream and shout at your computer. When nothing else seems to be working- walk away, learn from the mistakes you made, and go forth with a stronger relationship with both your writing and yourself. These are the simple ground rules to a wonderful and successful union.
And of course, don’t forget to apologize to your computer.
Writing Revelation
Rose Tremain:
“In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.”
Writing Revelation
Zadie Smith: “Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.”
#MondayMotivation
