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A
Writers' Dozen: The Twelve Lessons I've Learned So Far
By Talia Carner
I began my writing life eight years ago, when, previously unaware of such a
desire, I sat at my computer and poured out a 640-page novel. I knew I had found
a new calling-- the first task of which was to fix that maiden effort. Since
then, I've learned a lot, although I am just beyond the novice stage at this
craft. Here is my newly accumulated wisdom:
1. Stay away from BIG THEORIES and those who espouse them; they are
stifling, disheartening, self-indulgent-- and deadly. A BIG THEORY is one that
tells you that you shouldn't even attempt to write unless some very big-- and
usually impossible-- requirement is first met (for example get an MFA first; get
reborn, this time in an exotic land). These theories often come out of academic
circles, and if you listen to them, you'll never produce a single finished piece
of writing. Big "how-to write" books with writing tips are okay as
long as they are not BIG THEORY books.
2. When it comes to fiction, you may write about what you know, but don't
limit yourself to your own narrow, unworldly experiences. Write more about what
you DON'T know. Like an actor on stage, immerse yourself in the heads and hearts
of other characters. Give them jobs you need to research, or set them in places
you've only glimpsed. If you write only about what you know, you'll exhaust your
material before your first book is complete.
3. Study grammar. Keep a grammar book on your night table and read it when
you go to bed. (As a bonus, you'll get a good night's sleep.) Dog-ear the rules
you never knew existed or ones you have forgotten. In the long run, there is no
escape from it: you must know your grammar.
4. Collect interesting new words, exquisite phrases, strong adjectives,
and sentences you wish you had written. Dream up similes and images, note
impressions and germs of ideas, and store them away for future use. Develop a
computer database and categorize your collection for easy retrieval. While doing
so, get rid of your pieces of paper, envelope backs, restaurant napkins. Go 21st
century. No more notebooks. I know writers who have accumulated thousands of
pages they must scan to find a single thread of an idea. Grrrrrrrr. Think of it
as your own personal Thesaurus, Flip Dictionary, Book of Quotations, Word Power,
Fact Finder, and Encyclopedia of Proverbs rolled into one.
5. Ask for feedback-- and listen to it. You are in the business of
communication. If the ideas and emotions expressed in your writing meet a blank
wall, is it the fault of your readers who "simply don't get it"? Leave
your ego in the basement and don't explain to your reviewer orally what your
written words failed to communicate. I never think that my work is so perfect
that it is beyond improvement, especially when the feedback is seconded by other
readers. And by the way, if you stay up to write the story all night, it is not
ready in the morning. Not only you should wait (days, weeks, months) to reread
the story, but also it would be wise to first pass it by some fellow writers
whose constructive critiquing might save you a retraction or a rejection.
6. Read how-to books and articles: How to structure a story, how to write
a dialogue, how to develop a scene, how to sharpen your prose. Apply the newly
acquired lessons to your current writing, but also keep going back to older
pieces. If they weren't published but still possess something unique and fresh,
perhaps you can salvage them with new writing tricks.
7. Read Dear Abby and other advice columnists. Their readers' letters
reflect life's vicissitudes and tribulations. Choose a letter whose topic makes
you stop and think, then write a story from the point of view of one of the
characters. Emotions are everything. Reach deep into that well, and hook your
readers. Even if you're not a proficient typist, close your eyes, get into a
trance, and type away. Who are you? Where are you now? What are the details of
the moment, of your surroundings? What personal dynamics have led to this
particular predicament described in the newspaper column?
8. "Kill your babies" was the hardest rule to impose upon
myself. I found, though, that when I love a particular sentence or word so much
that it escapes every round of editing unscathed, chances are it no longer quite
fits in the story either in content or in spirit. Oh, I have so many babies
crying in the bowels of my computer. I compensate for my loss by entering them
into my database for future use.
9. Simultaneously submit. Forget editors requesting exclusivity. Your
beard will reach the ground as you wait for life to happen-- and for THEM to
respond. A full 1/3 of editors will never use your SASE. If you seriously want
your story to see the light of the day, send your story-- workshopped and
polished, of course-- to 20-40 suitable publications in each round. Ditto for
submitting a manuscript to agents. That would be the day when two agents offer
you representation. (They simultaneously submit to publishers!)
10. Listen. Really listen to life shaping around you. I must admit, I had no
idea that I wasn't taking enough notice until I began to write. Now I listen to
cadence, word choice, voice, non-verbal communication, the development of an
idea-- especially when that party guest or the girl in the bus or the man in the
restaurant has a problem expressing him or herself. How else can I write a
meaningful dialogue, get ideas for new stories, build characters?
11. Use all your senses. Check each piece of your writing for taste, smell,
sight, sound, touch. Start experiencing the world again by reviewing your own
impressions. The other night, during an ice storm, I went out to smell the air
(burning wood), hear the sound (tinkling bells, occasional snapping of a frozen
twig), see the sight (light flickering through crystal-covered tree branches),
taste (careful here, my tongue could stick to the lamppost), and touch
(luxuriantly smooth and almost stinging).
12. Experimental writing and breaking the rules work best after you've mastered
the craft. Picasso was an extraordinarily accomplished figurative painter before
he chopped up his subjects' faces and limbs. The lack of balanced composition
and sure-footed knowledge of what should be on the canvas (or paper) bleed
through in amateurish work.
13. Don't launch your adult life by devoting it to writing a novel. Unless you
are extraordinarily talented, get a life first. If writing is your calling, it
will come knocking; you won't escape the urge. But until such time, you must
develop life experience: suffer an obnoxious boss, forgive your parents, get
betrayed by your best friend, get to know closely people from all ages, races,
classes and parts of the world, from all religious and political affiliations.
Experience the range of emotions only life can bring-- success, betrayal,
obsession, loss, love.
Whoops. Here I go with a BIG THEORY. What did I tell you about BIG THEORIES?
Ignore them!
© 2002
Talia Carner, all rights reserved.
Talia is the author of
PUPPET CHILD, a family legal drama. www.TaliaCarner.com
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