John Steinbeck is one of my favourite authors. (“East of Eden”, “Grapes of Wrath”, and “Of Mice and Men” are some of my most-loved books.) Here’s a quote from his 1962 letter to Edith Mirrielees, his creative writing professor at Stanford:
“It is not so very hard to judge a story after it is written, but after many years, to start a story still scares me to death. I will go so far as to say that the writer who is not scared is happily unaware of the remote and tantalizing majesty of the medium. “
I’m always heartened when I learn that even my heroes got scared, even late in their career.
Here are some interesting tidbits I pulled from Ernest Hemingway’s 1958 interview in The Paris Review, on the Art of Fiction.
Among other things, Hemingway discusses his process, when he likes to write, and the value of editing. It’s highly readable and informative, despite his apparent boredom for most of the questions: “I see I am getting away from the question, but the question was not very interesting.” And, “when you ask someone old, tired questions you are apt to receive old, tired answers.”
Two highlights from the interview:
One, his confirmation of a writer needing space to create: “You can write any time people will leave you alone and not interrupt you.”
Two, his answer to a question regarding an author’s training:
INTERVIEWER: What would you consider the best intellectual training for the would-be writer?
HEMINGWAY: Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.
Anyway, it’s a great interview. I urge anyone interested in a writer’s process or cantankerous literary icons to read the full interview.
“My birthday! Eighteen, and still no future! I’d be more contended in prison, for there at least I would know precisely what I had to look forward to.” – EB White, from his diary, July 11, 1917.
Spoken like a true youth who has never been to prison, or known real despair. Nonetheless, if only we all had such high expectations of our selves, our futures, and the patience/drive to improve both. Then maybe there would be less adults feeling like E.B. White at eighteen.
I’ve been doing a challenge for the month of May, called ‘A poem a day in May’. Each day I read one poem, for the whole month. It’s just a way to vary my reading content and keep things interesting. So far I’ve read Dickinson, Poe, Whitman, and some lesser known poets.
I haven’t been blogging about this challenge only because I’ve been doing it for pleasure, not as a motivator to write. That said, I wanted to write about these poems because one of the talented writers from The Writers Studio at SFU, Carol Tulpar, gave me a copy of her new chapbook called ‘The Earth Abides’, a collection of her poems that spans twenty years of writing.
I must say I’m very impressed with the selections of poetry. Her writing is both delicate and penetrating, and I found myself captivated by her use of images and self reflection. I reccomend everyone check it out. A link to her blog is below. The title poem is the next post. Have a read.
I follow David Kubicek’s blog on reading, writing, and publishing, called The Write Place. His latest post on “editorial comments” is quite interesting.
Any writers out there should read it. The comments you receive from an editor can be quite rewarding and give you insight in to “the value” of your work. But, as Kubicek states, you have to keep the comments in perspective.
The editor, after all, is a reader first. How they react to your work is subjective, and not the “final word” on your piece. You should definitely consider their feedback. Then, with those comments in mind, re-read your work from the editor’s point of view; then get a reader you trust (Kubicek calls his a “beta reader”) to read the piece with the editor’s comments in mind. The two of you can discuss the comments and decide how, and if, you want to in corporate the comments in to a new version of the piece.
The important thing to remember is: you don’t have to accept the editor’s comments. The comments are merely a perspective, if you don’t think they are right for your work, then don’t accept them – leave your work as it is. Writing is art after all; not everyone will get it.
Anyway, thought you would find this interesting. Keep writing, keep submitting, and most of all keep all comments in perspective.
Well, I’ll tell you. There are two answers, and they’re both simple.
The short answer: it takes practice. The long answer: it takes practice and time.
It’s as simple as that.
Of course it is a good idea to take writing classes, if you haven’t already. (If you can’t afford to take a class, don’t worry. There are many books at the library and free resources online that can show you the basics.) Learning the basics of grammar and how to structure an essay or short story will greatly improve your writing. But this isn’t my point.
Now, even more important than knowing the skills is using them. You have to practice if you want to get better, and this means actually writing, lots and often.
Initially what you create won’t be to your desired standard. Simply, it won’t be very good. It takes practice and you will get better with each piece you write. The thing to remember is improvement happens over time, a long period of time. Try not to get frustrated. Think of yourself as the body builder of writing.
Body builders don’t start off big. They gain their muscles by doing the the same exercise over and over again, for months and years. It’s hard work. Champion Body Builder Ronnie Coleman said it perfectly, “everybody wants to be a body builder, but nobody wants to lift the weight.” It takes time, effort, and hard work to improve your body. Writing is no different.
In order to increase your muscle mass as a writer you have to constantly produce material. Writing a couple short stories, poems, or essays, a year is about as effective as going for a jog at Christmas then expecting to be able to run the Boston Marathon in April.
Put yourself on a schedule. Write everyday. Start with setting aside just fifteen minutes a day. A journal is good for this. And you can write a lot in fifteen minutes, especially when you’re not worried about your audience – think of it as a letter to yourself.
That said, produce something for others to read every one or two weeks. You can join a writer’s group, post something on your blog (if you’re reading this you probably already have one), or even print something out and distribute it to your friends.
The key is to continually and consistently produce material. Growth comes from time and effort.
Below I have posted a video featuring Ira Glass, the host of the popular radio show This American Life. (Each week 1.8 million listeners and podcasters tune in to his program.) This video is ‘part three’ in a series discussing storytelling. Here he discusses his own learning process, and how long it took him to hone his skills.
The part I liked about the piece is when he talks about how people often get discouraged by the fact that what they are producing isn’t as good as the stuff they like. There is a gap between the quality of their work and the work of their heroes. Using examples from his own career, he shows that the only way to narrow this gap is to keep writing, keep producing. In order to get good you have to put out a lot of crap.
And it’s true. Trust me. I’ve been writing for years, and I’m still no where close to producing material in the calibre of Hunter S. Thompson, George Orwell, or Charles Bukowski. What keeps me going is knowing that they had to put in their time and produce a lot of crap in order to become literary giants.
Anyway, I hope you find the video helpful. Keep writing, and enjoy.
John Steinbeck is one of my favourite authors. (“East of Eden”, “Grapes of Wrath”, and “Of Mice and Men” are some of my most-loved books.) Here’s a quote from his 1962 letter to Edith Mirrielees, his creative writing professor at Stanford:
Editorial Comments
1 11 2010I follow David Kubicek’s blog on reading, writing, and publishing, called The Write Place. His latest post on “editorial comments” is quite interesting.
Any writers out there should read it. The comments you receive from an editor can be quite rewarding and give you insight in to “the value” of your work. But, as Kubicek states, you have to keep the comments in perspective.
The editor, after all, is a reader first. How they react to your work is subjective, and not the “final word” on your piece. You should definitely consider their feedback. Then, with those comments in mind, re-read your work from the editor’s point of view; then get a reader you trust (Kubicek calls his a “beta reader”) to read the piece with the editor’s comments in mind. The two of you can discuss the comments and decide how, and if, you want to in corporate the comments in to a new version of the piece.
The important thing to remember is: you don’t have to accept the editor’s comments. The comments are merely a perspective, if you don’t think they are right for your work, then don’t accept them – leave your work as it is. Writing is art after all; not everyone will get it.
Anyway, thought you would find this interesting. Keep writing, keep submitting, and most of all keep all comments in perspective.
Here’s the full link to David Kubicek’s post: http://davidkubicek.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/editorial-comments-keep-them-in-perspective/
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