Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Building a foundation
I recently ran across this quote from guitarist Robert Fripp:
How do you learn to write? Taking classes and attending conferences or workshops is one way. Reading books about writing is another. But the best way to do it is to get your hands dirty and write. Put words on a page or on a screen. Practice the principles that you learned from those classes, workshops and books.
Don't just write, though. Read what you've written with a critical eye. Look for the good, but also search out the flaws. If a particular sentence or passage falls flat, think about why it doesn't work. Then, fix it.
I know that this sounds boring, and it can be. And it's a lot of work. Guess what: writing is hard work. Just about anyone can write. Few can do it well. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can be one of those few.
The foundation is learning to play.It struck me that by changing the word "play" to "write", this bit of advice is crucial for the writer. Since I started writing professionally about 13 years ago, I've seen far too many people begin writing without a good grounding in the basics. They were extremely impatient, going from A-B-C to T-U-V when they didn't know or understand what lay in between. And many of them have paid for it. Their work was often lacking in both style, coherence, and substance. When they submitted it for publication, in most cases the work was soundly rejected.
How do you learn to write? Taking classes and attending conferences or workshops is one way. Reading books about writing is another. But the best way to do it is to get your hands dirty and write. Put words on a page or on a screen. Practice the principles that you learned from those classes, workshops and books.
Don't just write, though. Read what you've written with a critical eye. Look for the good, but also search out the flaws. If a particular sentence or passage falls flat, think about why it doesn't work. Then, fix it.
I know that this sounds boring, and it can be. And it's a lot of work. Guess what: writing is hard work. Just about anyone can write. Few can do it well. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can be one of those few.
