Michael Potts's Blog: Bits and Pieces: Book Reviews and Articles on Writing, Horror Fiction, and Some Philosophy - Posts Tagged "creative-writing"

There is a cliche that academic writing has to be boring. While literary essays may be beautifully written, an article in a peer-reviewed academic journal or an academic monograph has to read like wood. This is not the case, although some academics write in a way that makes the cliche seem accurate.

I have always tried to write clearly in my academic articles--I am not a fan of the school of thought that says, "The more obscure, the better." While academic writing involves a different skill set than creative writing, I have found that having skills in both forms of writing helps me in whatever genre I write.

Academic writing involves precision, especially in my field, philosophy, which demands careful reasoning and attention to evidence. Good philosophy involves good facts, and a failure of accuracy can be fatal to a philosophical work. Creative writing skills help me to communicate difficult philosophical issues in a concrete, rather than an abstract, way. Attention to detail that focuses on the concrete items in the world, and that focuses on the everyday experience and struggles of students can help communicate difficult concepts. I could not have written my latest book, *Aerobics for the Mind: Practical Exercises in Philosophy that Anybody Can Do*, without creative writing skills to bring philosophy down to earth. I wanted to make philosophy come alive to the reader, as Shelby Foote made the War between the States come alive in his narrative history of the war.

My advice to academics who also engage in creative writing is to think of the relationship between the two forms of writing as symbiotic. Hopefully, academics who write novels, poetry, and literary essays can improve their skills in all areas of writing by recognizing and using that fact to their advantage.

Although I do not recommend this for everyone, it is possible to write a first draft of a novel in a week, provided the novel is short enough. The bulk of my first drafts of my two novels were done in ten days and a week respectively. These novels were around 70,000 words each. I would never claim that the steps below will work for everyone--I can only tell of my own experience.

1. Before you begin writing your novel, have a list of your main characters and their character traits as well as a short summary of each chapter. In my case the summary was three or four lines consisting of the main events in the chapter.

2. Find a place without distractions, preferably in a beautiful setting. I wrote at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, NC, which sponsors free residencies for North Carolina writers. If something like that is not an option for you, rent a cabin in a state park or a hotel room with a great view. It is best if you have a place outside where you can relax or walk.

3. Get up with the intention of writing--and after breakfast, start right away.

4. Do not censor yourself. Travel into the world of the novel and live there as you write. There will be plenty of time for revision after you finish.

5. Write for a full hour, then take a walk outside. If there is something else you find relaxing, do that. My walks took about 20 minutes. After you finish your break, write for another hour. Only break the cycle for meals.

6. Write down any ideas for additional chapters or for deleting chapters in your original outline--this process continues the entire time you write.

7. Internet access is okay, especially for information you may need for your book, and checking e-mail is fine. Do not fall into the trap of continually surfing the web--tempus fugit!

8. My goal was 30-40 pages a day, and most of the time I succeeded. Your goal will depend on your speed of writing--it may take you longer than a week to write an entire first draft, and that is okay.

9. When you leave, set aside the finished draft for at least a week. Get some rest. Then you can worry about the many revisions that are essential to create a quality work of fiction--and that will take many, many weeks!

"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher." --Edgar Allen Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher"

While there are rules in writing, each rule has exceptions. I agree with the dictum that in general it is best in writing to avoid adjectives and adverbs unless they are absolutely necessary. However, as the above quotation shows, a skilled writer such as Poe can use adjectives and adverbs to set a mood. Part of his skill is in his use of alliteration: "During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day..." The repetition of "d" sounds helps focus one's mind on the adjectives. The reader has a tendency to read the words, "dull, dark, and soundless" slowly and (to use an adverb) pondorously, so as to create a an atmosphere of decay and ruin. The words give me a feeling of suffocation. Lovecraft, like Poe, could use adjectives and adverbs effectively.

Yet such skill is rare. In ordinary writers, overuse of adjectives and adverbs can bore the reader. Unless they contribute to creating an image in the reader's mind, they are usually unhelpful in keeping a reader's interest. Most writers should focus on creating concrete imagery instead of using multiple adjectives and adverbs. A good image will stick with the reader far more than an ineffective use of modifiers.

What is especially grating is the use of adverbs in dialogue tags. In the phrase, "he said angrily," the adverb is unnecessary; instead the writer should make clear from the context that the speaker is angry: "He shook his fist and said,..." The reader then will pass over the word "said" as if it were not present and focus on the actual dialogue.

I have read good works with too many adverbial dialogue tags. Stephen King's Salem's Lot has quite a few, and I did not find them effective, though I like the book overall. Stephen Follett's great work, , uses too many adverbial dialogue tags. I do not know if writing in the UK has been as influenced by Hemingway as American writing, but Hemingway's advice on using few adjectives and adverbs remains sound.

This is not to say that one can avoid adjectives and adverbs altogether--that would make an awkward work. In horror fiction, which I write, they can be useful in establishing atmosphere in the tradition of Poe and Lovecraft. Adjectives and adverbs are neither evil or good per se As you write, read aloud a sentence and/or longer passages and determine whether the adjective or adverb works in that setting. If not, focus on creating concrete imagery.

Beginning writers sometimes wonder about the best route to take in their prose fiction. Should they write short stories? Flash fiction? Novellas? Novels? All of these?

It is probably useful to start with the short story since that is a quicker way to learn plotting, characterization, theme, style, and other aspects of the craft of writing. Short stories also offer self-contained packets for critique groups--each member can evaluate a whole work by you rather than one chapter at a time of a novel.

My advice for writers who are beyond the beginner stage is to write novels. One ironic fact of writing is that novels, while much longer than short stories, are easier to write. You cannot afford errors in a short story--the plot and characterization must be near-perfect to have any chance at publication. In a novel, you can afford a few errors, but your goal should always be to have none. That is not possible for a lenghty work, but make the novel as good as possible before sending it out. Have someone who is a skilled writer critique your novel; then make final revisions. Then you have options: you can try to find an agent, search for a small press to publish the novel, or self-publish. Novels will net you a profit with each sale, and you will have a book of which you can be proud.

This does not mean you should abandon the short story. I do not, however, recommend your writing a novella. Markets are there, but they are few and far-between. Stephen King has several novellas published, but he is Stephen King, and you are not. I usually like to write short stories for anthologies since they have themes, and if a theme fits the kind of story I enjoy writing, I'll take the time to write a short story. If it is accepted and you are in a quality anthology, your name could be listed in the Table of Contents with well-known writers in your genre. That can do nothing but help you.

I mainly focus on novels now, but every few months I submit a short story to an anthology. You do not have to follow my advice--perhaps you only enjoy writing short stories. If you are happy with that, work on your craft, on your storytelling skills, and send out short stories. If you discover how tight the market for short stories is, then you might reconsider and write a novel.

How can someone who travels often due to a job or some other good reason find time to write? There are times in which I do a great deal of travel, and in months with two conferences, that can take eight days out of the month. Some people travel more often than that. How can a frequent traveler find more writing time?

If you fly, the situation is easier than when you are driving a vehicle. On long flights, if you own a laptop, you can work on it during the time (most of the flight) when laptop use is permitted. If you are not in first class or business class, this may be uncomfortable, and if you are not good at tuning out distractions, it may be difficult. If you do not own or do not like to use a laptop on a plane, write on a legal pad. Poems, story sketches, the beginnings of stories, an initial outline for a book or a screenplay--these can all be written down on a legal pad. You can return to your work later if you have a break in your hotel room. I am most effective at writing poetry on the run, and unless I am writing a long poem, I can usually have first drafts of several poems completed by the end of the trip.

If you are a passenger in a vehicle, the medium you use to write depends on the available vehicle space. In some vehicles you may be able to work on a laptop; in others, a legal pad is best. If you are in a cab for a long ride and can stand the multiple fast turns, you can write there. If you get car sick and you have a tolerant driver, you can bring a digital voice recorder or tape recorder and record your ideas in a voice medium. If you are the driver and can safely pull over when that idea that seems brilliant pops into your mind, do it. I have a DVR in my car, and have spoken poems or story ideas--or even academic paper ideas--into the DVR during traffic jams in which the traffic is at a complete stop (especially when the police have blocked traffic due to an accident). Pay sufficient attention to the road, though, to know when traffic starts again. Someone behind you will be sure to let you know if you failt to move, but a careless driver could run into the rear of your vehicle. I find that glancing at scenery, especially in rural areas, stimulates ideas. If you are working on a longer work, follow the habit of stopping a sentence in the middle so you can re-read and begin again where you left off. There used to be scenic train rides for writers who wanted to allow the view outside to inspire their writing. Breaks on a cruise ship can also be used for writing--plus the sights you see can inspire ideas for stories and poems.

Any writer can adjust to the circumstances of travel--it takes discipline, but so does writing in a quiet room on a retreat. Good writing can be accomplished despite a busy schedule of travel.

Although many people associate "world-making" in fiction with fantasy writing--J.R.R. Tolkien is the supreme example--it is essential to any work of fiction. This is especially true in the novel. The trend in much of fiction is to write sequels, and in fantasy and young adult fiction they are de facto required by some publishers. Horror fiction has not gone that far, but there are more series in horror fiction than in the past--Jonathan Mayberry comes to mind. Suppose you do not want to write a sequel and are starved of ideas for your next project.

One source of ideas is the world you created in one of your earlier works--at least a novella length piece is necessary for the requisite amount of world-making. Pick a setting from your fictional world, pick a different time in the same setting , or pick a different character and come up with an idea from the world you have already developed. This will save you time on understanding the setting of your novel or short story and allows you to derive new stories with different charcters in that same world. A good example is Ken Follett, who followed PILLARS OF THE EARTH with WORLD WITHOUT END. Both novels are based in his fictional town of Kingsbridge, England, along with its monastery (and later in the first novel) and cathedral. The second novel is set over 150 years later with different characters--and both are masterful novels. He did not have to develop his setting further--in the first novel the Kingsbridge Cathedral was built, so it was present in the second novel at the beginning. I am currently working on a third novel which is not a sequel to my first two--but like them, is set in middle Tennessee near the fictional city of Randallsville and the town of Morhollow. I know that setting well, since Randallsville is based on Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Morhollow is based on Smyrna, Tennessee where I grew up. I know the rural areas and the kind of people who lived there. Why should I change settings when there are rich sources of stories already present in the same world? If I am stuck coming up with an idea for a novel, I ask, "What would this (person I knew in the past) be like if he were, for example, a serial killer?" or "What if two local boys murdered a woman because she hurt the grandfather of one of the boys?" There are many sources of stories in a well-developed world, so a good job at world-making should provide a potentially endless source of story ideas.

Have you been busy at your job or driving and had what you thought was a great idea for a story? Suppose you get lucky and stop what you're doing (and stop your car at a safe place if you're driving), and you're able to write down your idea. Or perhaps you are at a writing conference that inspires you, and you leave, excited about developing the writing ideas you gleaned. You get home, put the ideas aside, and life intrudes. You forget about the ideas, misplace your notepad, or worse, lose what you've written down. All those great ideas--wasted.

I have had that experience many times. It is rare that I have totally lost ideas--usually I find a notepad months later. Resentment at having to be so busy at other things and anger at myself for not following up on an idea soon after developing it invade my thoughts--but such negativity does no good. Further reflection reveals that some of the ideas were not as brilliant as I thought at the time I wrote them down. Sometimes a few lines of poetry are good, and I am able to take off from what I'd written and write a complete first draft of a poem. Story ideas are more difficult--I find if I don't write the story immediately when I have the idea, it is difficult to return to it, at least with a short story. Ideas for novels are easier for me to follow up. Could I, or other writers, deal with busy lives in a way that allows them to develop their ideas into literature.

I first suggest that if you have an idea for a poem, make sure you complete a first draft of a poem that same day. You should at least add a plot outline and notes to your story ideas so that when you return to them, you will be able to continue where you left off. Have a file or some other place you can easily find where you place your writing ideas. Look through them from time to time, eliminating those that are duds and working on an idea you find promising. If I followed my own advice, I would complete many more writing projects. From now on I will try to follow my advice. This advice may help you, but all writers are different. Adjust any advice to your personality, work habits, and style. As long as you are producing quality work, you are doing something right. May all your good writing ideas come to fruition.

You have spent a great deal of time writing and revising a book. You do all the right things--set up an attractive website, get into social media, publicize online, etc. You have participated in at least one giveaway. Perhaps you have some paid adds at various online publicity sites.

You check Amazon regularly--and your author rank is down. Days go by without a sale. You ask people to review your book. Some promise to do so, but never keep the promise. You get a good review from one person, but then receive a review from a prick who is sarcastic condemnation of your book.

Hundreds of people add your book in "Wants to Read," however, none of them orders it. You re-read your book--it seems like a good story, tight plot, good characterization, better than your first novel--yet it sells fewer copies. You read samples of books online that have sold thousands of copies, and some are barely coherent. Are you cynical by this stage? I must admit I am.

This is not a good thing. Luckily it has not stopped me from writing. If you get to the stage that cynicism stops you from writing, I suggest that is not the way to handle the situation. You write for a reason, and that is not necessarily to make money--you write out of love of writing. Perhaps writing is a psychological necessity. Keep doing it--write what you enjoy writing, and if it is good writing then you can take pride in it. No work of literature is perfect, and you can learn from your mistakes. As far as American readers being poor judges of quality writing, note that first, there are exceptions, and second, you cannot do anything about other people's literary tastes (or lack thereof) and their reading skills. You can constantly strive to hone your craft. That may not get rid of cynicism, but it may help you bear it. Who knows? Perhaps you will have such success with one book that your cynicism will melt away. If not, do what you love, no matter what exterior success you have. Remember that few visual artists are commercially successful, either. They make works of art out of a deep need. Fulfill that need in yourself. If you must be cynicial, fine--I am still cynical--but I assure you that you will most likely be happier writing than not.