Confession #1 – Words Saved Me

Writers have ever sought to teach us their many fabulous ways of the pen, through yes, you’ve guessed it: quotes. I hope to take a look at what some of the most inspirational figures of writing have told us, and how we can relate with them. Never have our stories only needed one, two or even a thousand things. A story is like homework, it never ends.

*

Determination:

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ~Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath offers us something very clear: determination. If you have no self-confidence, I am sorry, but you may as well not bother. Think of it like a plant:

Flower = Writing Style, they can be wonderful and provide interest, making something boring, beautiful.

Stem = Plot, it holds the structure together, without it there would be no plant, no story.

Leaves = Characters, they feed the story, but too many can ruin and overcrowd it.

Roots = Determination, it is all very well having hundreds of wonderful plants, colourful and majestic, but if the roots are dead, it will never flourish. The water flows through it, the flower thriving because of it, namely determination.

*

Don’t think, just write:

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”  ~James Michener

It may be the case, that some people can write symphonies without thinking, but more so the fact that we can beat them by using a brain. There is no point worrying about how bad you’re writing is, first time you stick it down on paper. I mean, think about it. Your first draft is always appalling, or rather, never as good as the second draft. It takes far more focus and determination to finish the first draft, than to rewrite it. It is like a house; get the bricks into place before you paint it.

*

Show, don’t tell:

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”  ~Anton Chekhov

How many times have you been told to show us what is going on? This is where it gets controversial. Think of two writers; let’s say William Wordsworth and J.R.R Tolkien. Wordsworth’s main character will roar with cries in his poems, struggling with the grief-storms of modern day horrors, whereas Frodo, weeps. Yet they are both fantastic, because they get across their meaning so fantastically with pen and paper. What works for you? I wish I could help you more than that, but from there, it is up to you.

*

Imagine:

“Write down the thoughts of the moment.  Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.”  ~Francis Bacon

Just think about that. Your duty is to tell your heart, not your brain. If you want to have a go at that, try speedwriting, or just mumbling to yourself at the window. Sit on your bed, and recite the entire lot of your story to yourself. What sounds stupid, what’s irrelevant, and most importantly, what is missing? Through your reclusive ramblings you will find that you will be writing some things that actual surprise you. This twines in nicely with the Don’t think, just write quote. Some of the best stories written come from NaNoWriMo, where if you think, you lose!

*

Ignore:

“Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.”
~William Safire, “Great Rules of Writing”

Don’t you just love this one? The irony is so powerful here, and yet you read it, yes? I am a strong believer in this, and the fact that if you listen to all the people who have a go at you, saying Don’t do this it never works. Why? Because this is your story, and your flowers are individual to you. Otherwise, we might as well be numbers.

*

To conclude:

There are so many people who seek to change what, when and how you write, but there is only one thing to it – only one thing to mix all those ingredients: you.