Columns: Tag – Rules
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Writing Quips and Tips
If it sounds like writing, drop the grand theme
“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it,” says Elmore Leonard in his 10 Rules of Writing.
This is the rule he says defines all the others. His book is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. I love that one. It cuts through all writing pretension.If I had to think up my favourite rule, it would probably be: Don’t start with a message. Any number of writing students come to Richard and me with a story idea – or they think it’s a story idea. It’s really a theme or a message.
You know the kind of thing: “I want to write a story about the inhumanity of men”, or “I want to expose the way women are treated in …”
And we say: “Okay … but what’s your story?”
“That’s our story,” they say.
Writing Quips and Tips
Rules of Engagement
It’s something to do with the nature of creativity, I suppose. But people in writing groups share intimacies.
They may not intend to write about themselves, but somehow the creative process forces them to introspect. It makes sense. How can you begin to understand the motivations of others, if you haven’t looked starkly at yourself?
Writing itself is an extremely personal process. Bringing it into the open can make the most confident person feel exposed. It know it has to happen eventually and you understand that you shouldn’t take criticism personally (Yeah right!).
Okay, let’s say no more about that. We all pretend to be mature (some more successfully than others), but deep down we all want to kill anyone who suggests we murder any of our babies.
We recently ran a creative writing weekend during which participants expressed fears about having exposed themselves. They felt incredibly vulnerable. We’ve always talked about the way to behave in writing groups. But this group made us realise that perhaps we should formalise it.
Writing Quips and Tips
Too many rules
We may be a lawless society, but we can be very rule-bound – particularly with regard to writing.
People often engage with both fiction and non-fiction on the basis of what “ought to” have been written, and in what way. You may have come across this attitude in reviews, sometimes even with a sense of outrage that, say, a certain class or race of character was portrayed in a certain way.
There is also sometimes a tendency in writing groups for members to criticise a central premise or theme. They believe a piece of writing to be too right wing / too left wing / too white / too black / too feminist / or simply to give “the wrong message”...
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