A rare flower’s smile
Drinks to celebrate nothing
No time to write
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Goodbye Mr. Vonnegut
18
Apr
Kurt Vonnegut passed away recently at the venerable age of 84 leaving behind a legacy of damn fine literature and a fan base that has been moved to send out good thoughts about him across the internet. I have only recently read any of his work. A few months back one of the gals at the Starbucks I go to on my work-lunch break loaned me a copy of Slaughter House Five. Really, really good stuff and will definitely lead me to reading more.
The smattering of send-offs I have come across for Mr. Vonnegut form a tangible reminder for me of one thing, waiting to say that you enjoy someone’s work kind of sucks. For me one of the bits of sorrow about someone passing whose work I enjoyed is that I have lost the opportunity to tell them that directly. I do not often take the time to write fan letters, but since Web 2.0 makes it so damn easy I have been doing that a bit of late. It feels simply great to actually tell someone that you have enjoyed their work and appreciate their effort. And, even better, in this Information Age of easy communication you can often get a near immediate response. The record to date for quickest response to a fan email from me goes to William Irwin, the original editor of the Popular Culture and Philosophy series (and here) at 12 minutes. Guess he was at his desk.
I encourage everyone to take 10 minutes today to track down the contact info for someone whose work you have been moved by and pop off a little note to tell them how swell they are.
Oh, and for us writers, here are Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 rules of writing a short story -
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things – reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possible.
- Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them – in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
- Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
The concept of ‘Sabi’ in writing
10
Apr
I have just begun reading Wabi Sabi for Writers
Wanting to get a grip on the central concept I checked with wikipedia just now. The entry for wabi sabi includes this snippet-
Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.
I was stopped in my mental tracks. If that is not a strong basis for losing fear of the editing/rewriting process then I do not know what is!
Rules of engagement
23
Mar
I love writing. Fiction writing in particular, but all forms in general. I love reading. I love reading about writing. My shelf at home is FULL of books about writing. Thus, and entry on my Google homepage LifeHack.org add in brought a smile to my face this morning when I read the title – 5 Rules of Effective Writing, by George Orwell. This article was based on a post over at PickTheBrain.com, a webiste of which I am also a fan. I keep a copy of Orwell’s rules, along with Heinlein’s on a little sheet of paper pasted to my cubicle wall and another in the back of my writing Moleskine. The note also includes Edward Tufte’s Presentation Rules, Orwell’s Questions, Strunk and White’s: Principles of Composition and a list of Evil Passive Verbs. Whenever I get stuck on a sentence or paragraph this tips sheet helps me immensely.
George Orwell‘s rules are -
- Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
I find that if I can obey these rules in my fiction writing I at least do well, of not down right good.
Equally useful are the rules of Robert Heinlein -
- You Must Write
- Finish What Your Start
- You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order
- You Must Put Your Story on the Market
- You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold
You can find an excellent expansion on Heinlein’s rules over at Robert J. Sawyer’s site SFwriter.com entitled – On Writing. Robert concludes by adding a sixth rule, “Start Working on Something Else”, which is excellent advice that I also got from Stephen King.
The only rule I would add is -
Travis’ rule of writer’s attitude – Any rule isn’t.
‘Rules’ like the ones listed above are guidelines. Damn good ones discovered by masters of literary skills over long years of sweat and passion, but simply guidelines and nothing more. Good advice. The beauty of fiction writing, like any kind of creative endeavor, is that in truth there are no rules. You can get away with whatever you want to. The only question is – will it be of sufficient entertainment quality that someone else will be able to enjoy it? The above ‘Rules’ are indispensable guidelines and landmarks for finding ones way to that goal.
