Hey friends!
If you didn’t know, I like writing creatively as a hobby. I’m considering posting short stories and excerpts of my writing on this blog– let me know if that is something you’d be interested in seeing in the future! For now, here’s a list of rules for writing that I put together for a class.
Do it as a joke. If this is all it takes to get the writer to write, this is the most important rule. When we free ourselves of judgment, we are free to write what we want.
You must be bad at it. A writer must accept the flaws of their work and accept they are indeed “bad” at writing. Once they accept that their writing has and will continue to have irreparable flaws, they must still love their writing, love the act of writing, and (if they so choose) love sharing their writing. Once this is achieved, improvement is unavoidable.
Refuse ambition. A writer must make their goals embarrassingly tiny. These are the kinds of goals that motivate. These are the goals that when left unfulfilled are impossible to live down. Example: everyone dreams of writing a book, yet few people actually do; no one dreams of writing a sentence, yet everyone does. These unambitious actions, when undergone with intention, are what mount into masterpieces. It is the same mechanism by which ants eat elephants.
Never underestimate your (potential) reader. It is likely that no matter how hard the writer tries to imbue their writing with deeper meaning, the reader will invent a better meaning (completely different and viscerally personal) that the writer will never know about and would never be able to put into their writing themself. Do not deny them the right to participate. Overzealous attempts to show the reader an exact message will be boring at best and condescending at worst. Even if the writer is their only reader, the writing will feel more dead that way. If the writer wants to control the reader’s interpretation, they should try writing non-fiction instead.
Limitations are your friend. Creativity thrives when it has reigns to pull and a bit to chomp at. In the same way that the law of gravity creates the necessary conditions for architecture as we know it, the writer must create the conditions for their writing to exist; whether this is subject matter, a time of day dedicated to writing, a genre, or a fictional universe, creativity does not thrive until it is made captive. This is where “revolutionary,” “genre-bending,” and “refreshing” books are born.
Tell the stories only you can tell. A good test of the ethics of an action is asking this question: “If everyone did [insert thing], what would the world be like?” If everyone only wrote stories that anyone in the world could tell, the world would be a place full of generic, uninspired writing devoid of real human experience. The people who read these stories connect with everyone all at once, and no one in particular. While there is a time and place for purely universal writing, it would be unethical to allow the world to miss out on the vast variety of humanity. On the other hand if everyone wrote stories that no one else but them is capable of telling, the world would be a place full of interesting, compelling stories that broaden the minds of anyone who reads them. Each reader is connected intimately in understanding to the specific writer, and both parties will be better off. In my opinion, this is a better world than the former.
Write as defecation. The human body is a predictable machine: the things one eats are processed, used to fuel the body, and excreted as waste. This waste is a universally compelling substance– something that humans are hardwired to react emotionally to. Our minds operate in precisely the same way. The media and various stimuli we consume are processed, used to fuel our creativity and problem-solving, and art is excreted. When taken as a natural process, motivation becomes a non-issue, and the mind can become clear through the creation of universally compelling substances.
Unmake the sausage. The difference between a student of media and an enjoyer of media is the re-consumption rate. One who only reads books that are new to them misses out on the lessons their favorite books can teach– answers to the questions of “why did I like that so much?” and “how did the author make me cry right there?” are more often found on re-read. There are times that doing this will ruin the effect, so writers should choose carefully which sausages they unmake.
Be a Monkey. It is said that a monkey hitting the keys of a typewriter at random will eventually write the entire works of Shakespeare. Writers happen to be the primates with the largest surplus of typewriters. Our greatest hindrance to writing something great is the restraints we place on our writing– when writing with intention, random chance is not really possible. However, the closer to random chance we can get while maintaining intention, the greater the variety (and likelihood of creating something truly compelling) becomes. Chance only works in the writer’s favor if it is provided many attempts.
Carry A Notebook. By jotting down ideas during their everyday life, the writer is able to demystify their craft. Inspiration is a process, not an event– it doesn’t wait until the writer is at their desk to happen. When all the fragments of ideas are already on paper when it comes time to write, the hairy, scary “writer’s block” becomes a mere scheduling issue.
samdcote.com 