Overwrite First

Beginning writers often ask: How much should I write? In other words, if you have a 1,000 word writing assignment, should you stop at 1,000 words and just work with editing that? The answer is no. You should write much more than 1,000 words. You should write everything you can write to fulfill the assignment, even if it takes you 3,000 words to say it. After you have exhausted all your thoughts on the subject, then your task is to cull from it the 1,000 words you need. It is better to overwrite than to underwrite. It is easier to reduce 3,000 words than it is to expand 500 words. Writing until your thoughts are exhausted means you have not overlooked any possibilities for inclusion in your final draft. Your overwritten first draft will have many duplications and tangential information that can be eliminated. When you have an overwritten draft, you can select the best of your writing and scratch the rest. That way, only the best of your thinking and writing makes it into the final draft. Overwriting also allows you to free-associate and follow all your thought impulses. This leads to richer detail and greater flow in your writing than if you arbitrarily cut it short because you reached your word limit. It is always best to keep your mind working on an idea until it has emptied itself. Then you can begin the editing process that results in your finest, most polished work.

Passionate Detachment

Not becoming attached to your writing may seem counterintuitive. But actually, it's exactly what you need to do in order to write effectively. Becoming attached means being overly fond of certain passages or turns of phrase to the point that you are unwilling to change them even in the face of feedback that they aren't working. Writers must always be willing to tear into their work if necessary to make it better. That often means throwing out some of your favorite parts. I counsel my writing students to not become so attached to their writing that they're unwilling to change it because they can't grow as writers if they're too attached. So a healthy detachment from your work that allows you to write with passion and commitment, but also be able to step back and take an objective look is what you should strive for. This means being willing to delete or change significant sections of your work if necessary. It means being willing to scrap everything and start all over from scratch if that's what it takes to get your message across more effectively. The more you are willing to change your writing, the better your writing will become. Pay attention to the feedback you get on your writing. Pay attention to your own instincts. Then approach it like a master craftsman, one detail at a time.

Editing Process

Writers are often advised that editing is everything. But how much editing is too much? First drafts are usually gangly, awkward things that hang together by a loose thread, but tend to move in too many directions. They usually lack focus and tautness. This is where the first layer of editing begins - tightening up story lines, refocusing themes, eliminating tangential information, etc. Once the piece is in good technical form, the second layer of editing begins. This layer involves tweaking language, getting just the right word, just the right sound, just the right string of words together to make the message clear. In this phase of editing, sentences are tightened so that every word is essential and meaningful to the story or theme. Every word has a purpose and special effect on the work as a whole. This phase produces a good piece of writing. The third layer of editing produces excellence. This is where the work is again viewed as a whole and reworked from beginning to end. Entire sections may be thrown out or reworded if they are good, but not excellent. In this phase, the writer is ruthless in pursuit of perfection. Nothing is sacred if it doesn't contribute to that goal. Thus, the editing process progresses from the general to the specific and back to the general. The work is literally turned inside out. At the end of this final phase, the writer has exhausted all feasible possibilities and the work stubbornly stands on its own, not willing to bend to the writer's will. This is the time to stop. If you go beyond that, you're over-editing. The work will tell you when it's done. It will resist you. Finding just the right amount of editing, like the sweet spot on a tennis ball, will send your writing soaring to greater heights of excellence.

Read Actively

Reading should not be a passive activity for writers. Reading extensively is the best way to learn how to write. But simply reading is not enough. You must pay attention while you read. There should be another level of consciousness going on as you enjoy and absorb a novel, essay or article. On this other level, you should be making note of what excites you about the particular piece you're reading, what works well, and how the writer creates an impact on you as a reader. Conversely, you should be making note of what doesn't excite you about a particular piece, what doesn't work well, and why the writer fails to create an impact on you as a reader. You can still enjoy leisurely reading while being aware of the technical aspects of the writing. This active style of reading gives you twice the benefit because you are being entertained while learning. Reading is the best apprenticeship you can serve for writing. Read widely, but focus most of your reading on the type of writing you want to do. Learn from those who have already mastered the style or genre you aspire to. Absorb all you can from them through active reading and then, at some point, put the reading aside and start writing. Don't worry that you'll be copying someone else's style. Your active reading practice has allowed you to assimilate, not duplicate what other writers have done. Your unique style will emerge with time and practice because you have taken the time to acquaint yourself with excellence.

Simple, Clear Writing

As I select essays for my students to read and critique, I am astonished at the number of professional writers who have not yet grasped the concept that clear, simple writing is best. Too many writers seem to forget that the main goal of writing is to reach readers. They seem to be writing to impress or confuse by expressing themselves in complicated sentences, using words the average person doesn't know. This style of writing only serves to distance readers, not reach out to them. The best messages are conveyed simply in clear, powerful words. Writers should always strive to communicate above all else. They should write in such a way that readers can grasp their message easily. It doesn't mean that readers need to be talked down to. It means that readers don't want to wade through a bunch of highbrow rhetoric to figure out what writers are saying. Readers don't want their reading to be work. They want it to be relaxing, inspirational, compelling, and entertaining. Writers can deliver this best by keeping language simple and to the point, by being precise, by caring about the message and always staying on target with it. Readers don't need to be impressed with a writer's intellect. They need to be inspired by a writer's heart. Learning this lesson is sometimes the hardest thing for writers of all ability levels to grasp.

Daily Gifts

Writers often struggle with what to write about. This problem afflicts beginning writers and advanced writers alike. The difficulty may lie in focusing too much on subjects and not enough on impressions. The world is full of gifts for writers, if only writers are astute enough to receive them. These gifts come in the form of ideas, but they require paying attention. Daily experiences and details are rife with ideas for writing. It is a writer's challenge to sort through the thousands of sights, sounds and impressions that bombard us every day and focus in on them in a way that gives clarity and meaning to the ordinary. As a writer, you have infinite possibilities to consider every day. Maybe it's the way the morning moon creeps up over the horizon, the way a stranger's face smiles at you, the way the sunlight plays on a shiny object, the way you feel when your feet touch the earth, the way your dog seems to laugh when he runs. There is meaning in all of it, even the most minute, most seemingly mundane details of daily life. If considered calmly with an open mind, there is a larger meaning in even the smallest things. As a writer, your challenge is to remain open to these gifts of daily life, learn from them, grow from them, and then share that knowledge with readers. Stay awake, stay open, and you will never be without ideas to write about.

Sensory Writing

Writing is most often viewed as a visual medium. It consists of printed words on a page or a screen and we experience it with our eyes, so we think of it as visual. But viewing writing in this way is one-dimensional and misses some of its most critical attributes. Writing is also aural. When we read something, we not only visualize the words we're reading, we also hear the sounds of the words in our minds. We hear the rhythms, nuances and cadences of written words. We hear the music of language. Writing is also tactile. Good descriptive detail allows us to vicariously experience touching, smelling and tasting. Our sensory neurons fire in response to good writing and we feel the experience being described as if we were actually there. We can actually hear the sounds, smell the odors, taste the flavors and touch the textures the writer is describing. We can feel the emotions, even to the point of having physical reactions such as sweating and tingling and startling. This vicarious experience is real. When a writer writes well, we are transported into a different realm, a different sensory experience, a different slice of reality. To really understand the power of language and be able to use it effectively, we must view it in all its dimensions and appreciate the multi-sensory impact it has on readers.

Staying Connected

There is a danger with writers becoming so immersed in observing the world that they forget to live in it. Writing teaches us many skills, the most useful of which is to be a careful observer of the natural world and human behavior within it. We are taught to listen, watch and learn, and then write about our discoveries in a way that helps people see life through a unique lens. But too much observing and not enough doing can leave us bereft of that vital connection with everyday experience that is so crucial to connective writing. Connective writing is the type of writing that connects everyday experiences with new truths through the vision of skillful language. It's writing that helps readers see themselves and understand their world in new ways by making the common uncommon, the ordinary special. This connectivity can only be tapped into by interacting daily with the world. Writers who isolate themselves from everyday problems eventually experience a disconnect with the very readers they wish to connect with. It's the lessons we learn from our ordinariness that hold special truth for readers. They can relate and respond to our writing because they've been there. We can help them understand their experiences in new and meaningful ways when we're engaged in their same struggles. The irony is that we must first immerse ourselves in our daily lives before we can transcend them, and that transcendence is the writer's special gift.

Hunger for Words

In the news recently a poor child from a third world country was given the gift of books. She lit up when interviewed and said, "I don't even feel hungry when I'm reading." We all should love language and reading as much as this little girl. As writers, the written word should sustain us through the ills and misfortunes of our lives. To write, to read and to explore should be all that we truly need to be fulfilled. This child does not take books and reading for granted and neither should we. To be this enthralled with writing is the greatest gift we could give ourselves. To love language to the extent that our greatest joy comes in expressing ourselves with it is what we should strive for. It's from this type of love that the most moving and honorable writing comes. This kind of writing has the purest of motives, that of creative expression, and it touches readers the most profoundly. If you can do nothing else in your apprenticeship as a writer, at least rediscover that first love for language that swept you off your feet as a child. Feel again the innocence of a story that transforms you, of a literary journey that leads you to yourself and your potential. Find that thrill again, hold onto it, let it guide you, and your writing will soar.

Step by Step

All writers, whether beginners or professionals, can get overwhelmed with the prospect of completing a writing project. Often it's because they try to focus on the finished product instead of parsing it down into achievable steps. If you find yourself in this situation, try mapping out your project into a process that involves numerous small steps. This can be achieved by writing an outline; or, if you're more visually oriented, drawing a storyboard. Whatever method you choose, the important thing is to break an overwhelming task into a series of mini-successes that will keep you motivated and productive. It's ok to envision the whole picture, the finish line, to have a sense of where you need to go. But don't dwell on that vision. Instead, focus on a first small step you can take to get there. That first step might be writing a sketch for one character. It might be working on a first paragraph or a first sentence or a title for a first chapter. Whatever it is, make it small, make it doable, and give yourself a deadline for getting it done. Then create a second small step, and when it's done, a third, and so on. Approaching your writing in this way will ensure many small goals are reached along the way and it will keep you focused on the process. A book or a story or an essay doesn't seem so daunting if you break it down to a sentence or a paragraph at a time. It seems impossible if you try to do too much all at once. Take your time, stay simple, stay focused, and your project will be done before you know it.

Working at Writing

There are no shortcuts in writing. As time-consuming and frustrating as writing can be, there is no easy way out. To make a piece of writing work, you simply must work at it, persistently and thoroughly. You have to take the time and make the effort if you want your writing to be effective. Beginning writers, especially, often look for a quick and easy fix to their writing problems. Instead of taking the time to start over from scratch, if that's what's needed, they attempt to apply bandaid fixes to the structural problems in their writing, and most of the time end up making their writing worse. Writing that has been "edited" in this shortcut style sticks out like a sore thumb to readers and turns them off. Writing that has been reworked carefully and thoroughly, on the other hand, will read seamlessly to readers, as if it had never been edited at all. The irony is that writing that reads effortlessly takes great effort to write. Accomplished writers know this. They know, when they take on a writing project, that they're in it for the long haul. And they embrace this process, welcoming the struggle and the process, not looking for ways around it. Know this about your writing: It will never be great unless you're willing to put in great effort. In writing, as with everything else, you can only reap what you sow.

Form First

One of the ironies of good writing is that you must first immerse yourself in form before you can free yourself of it. You must learn the basics first before you can develop creative style. You must learn the syntax of language and be able to write good, effective sentences and well developed paragraphs. You must be able to seamlessly string together words to present a coherent, meaningful message. To do this, you have to conform to structure and tradition until you have mastered it. Then, once this mastery has been achieved, you can work to free yourself from it. That means you can begin to develop your own style, take creative leaps, write in unusual and startling ways that stamp you as a unique writer. Once you can master a coherent message, you can work on creating a relevant message, one that resonates with readers and is unforgettable. But until you have mastered the form and function of language, your wings are clipped as a writer and you can't fly. Creativity is born of conformity. You can't free yourself from something you haven't yet achieved. So study the basics. Become a master of language before you launch into creative pursuits. Everything you have mastered in your writing apprenticeship will serve you well when you're taking that first solo flight with your new creative wings.

Writing Voice

Having a unique voice is something every writer craves. Experienced writers are in tune with their voice, but beginning writers often struggle with finding it. It seems counterintuitive that anyone should have to find his or her own voice. Isn't it something that should just be there naturally? Maybe. It depends on how closely a writer listens to inner dialogue - that particular way thoughts are put together when conversing with oneself. Is it an intellectual voice, a timid voice, a folksy voice? What kind of tone do you hear in your head when you're having an internal conversation? That's the voice that will tell you how to write. If you write like you think, you will have an authentic voice that reflects everything that is unique about you. It will carry the rhythms, cadences, and pecularities that make you who you are. Stay tuned to this voice and let it do your writing for you. It's easy to get distracted with other voices you may want to emulate or advice on how you should sound. Forget all of that and hone in on your own frequency. That's the frequency readers want you to share with them because that's what will produce honest writing that they can relate to. Stay true to your natural voice and your writing will soar.

Writing the Message

The message is the muscle in writing. While form and style are important logistically and even artistically, they only create the skeleton around which the muscle wraps itself. It's the message, executed perfectly with honesty and skill, that provides the power in a piece of writing. A writer is well-served to pay attention to structural issues because they're important. But they aren't everything. And a well delivered message that ignores traditions of form and style will still resonate with readers. Conversely, a structurally, technically perfect piece of writing can fall flat if the message isn't there. Message, in writing, is everything. Readers are faintly aware of form and style as they read an essay, novel, short story or poem. But that's not what carries them through the piece. That's not what engages them and makes them want to keep reading, makes them wish the piece would never end. It's the message that does all that. A message that gets to the heart of the issues gets to the heart of readers. It packs a powerful punch and it, above all else, determines whether a piece of writing is memorable or forgettable. So keep your message always at the forefront of your writing. Pay attention to form and style and tradition, but not so much that you forget your message. Say what you need to say. Say it as well as you can in the way that feels right to say it, and forget about all the rest. If you write from the heart, the structure will take care of itself.