(no subject)
"The thing you guys have got to remember," Scott says, leaning forward on his stool and looking back at his students, "is that the first draft is just the spit it out draft. You've just got to spit it out, junior, if you know what I'm saying. Don't think too hard. It's gonna take awhile for your hand to lead your brain instead of the other way around. You know how it is when you get nervous when you're talking to someone, and your mouth just starts running, pulling stuff up that doesn't check in with customs? That's kinda what you want your hand to be doing.
Since it seems like a creativity-quasher for me to give you a list of dos, let me instead give you guys a list of don'ts. Don't worry, it's a short list, but trust me when I say you've got to take it to heart.
Don't listen to your inner critics while you write." Scott hops off the stool and starts pacing in front of the classroom.
"It's hard, because everyone's got an inner critic, usually a whole set. Most of the time, they're pretty fun to have around- for those of you who've been to the movies, there's nothing better than letting one of those critics take over for the length of the previews. That inner critic keeps you safe from wasting eight bucks on a flick that you know is gonna be a stink-bomb, and it gives you the impetus to put down the New York Times Bestseller, for God's sake, if you know in your heart of hearts that it's a dud. But when it comes to writing, you have got to get that critic offa your proverbial couch and kick him out of your basement. Let him go get a job doing something useful. He's not to be in your writing-room.
I've got a whole host of them. One of them sounds just like me at eighteen, before I got published. That's the one that likes to tell me not to quit my day job. He doesn't give up no matter how much success I've had. He doesn't think a lifetime of royalties or a couple of fancy statues mean a smucking thing. The other one sounds like a fella named Elliot Branch, who wrote the first- but far from the last- scathing review about Empty Devils. It's been over twenty years and I can stand here and tell you right now what he said about me:
'Landon's third-rate prose style is further sabotaged by the his relentless penchant for shopworn cliches and similes and metaphors so egregious that even the likes of Mickey Spillane wouldn’t think twice about blue-penciling them.'"
Scott finishes, tipping his head a little and grinning at the memory. "I like to think of that as Branch's way of returning the scare he got from reading my book; god knows after I read that I was haunted for the rest of my life. But not to much to stop writing, see.
Part of being a writer is being torn between the urge- which I believe is a natural, inherent urge in every person, stronger in some than others, maybe- to tell stories and to use those voices that we've all got in our heads, and to censor those voices with the more 'rational' ones of our everyday lives. Don't listen to 'em. If you must, let them out on a leash for your second draft.
Why don't we do a little writing here, in class? If nothing else, think of this as a test run. When you get started, if you hit a roadblock or you find that critic looming over your shoulder, wave me over and we'll talk about how to keep you moving or exorcise the voice. Or if you want, just turn and talk to your neighbor. Either way, I'll be here."
Scott gets back on on the stool and takes the paperback book that's propped face-down on the desk (The Fourth Hand by John Irving) and starts in, letting the students pick up their pens and pencils and start writing.
[Gathering post class EP for Intro to Creative Writing. Scott will probably tag on everyone who tags in. Feel free to have your pup asking for help mid-writing, or talking in a group discussion after the practice time is up. He's a lax teacher so if you want your pup (who's a friend or S/O of a student or just curious) to walk in and have a seat or stand in the back, that's okay. It's not in any way necessary but feel free to include an excerpt of your pup's freeform writing, long tags a-ok! If you have any questions about the class, feel free to ping me! <3]
Since it seems like a creativity-quasher for me to give you a list of dos, let me instead give you guys a list of don'ts. Don't worry, it's a short list, but trust me when I say you've got to take it to heart.
Don't listen to your inner critics while you write." Scott hops off the stool and starts pacing in front of the classroom.
"It's hard, because everyone's got an inner critic, usually a whole set. Most of the time, they're pretty fun to have around- for those of you who've been to the movies, there's nothing better than letting one of those critics take over for the length of the previews. That inner critic keeps you safe from wasting eight bucks on a flick that you know is gonna be a stink-bomb, and it gives you the impetus to put down the New York Times Bestseller, for God's sake, if you know in your heart of hearts that it's a dud. But when it comes to writing, you have got to get that critic offa your proverbial couch and kick him out of your basement. Let him go get a job doing something useful. He's not to be in your writing-room.
I've got a whole host of them. One of them sounds just like me at eighteen, before I got published. That's the one that likes to tell me not to quit my day job. He doesn't give up no matter how much success I've had. He doesn't think a lifetime of royalties or a couple of fancy statues mean a smucking thing. The other one sounds like a fella named Elliot Branch, who wrote the first- but far from the last- scathing review about Empty Devils. It's been over twenty years and I can stand here and tell you right now what he said about me:
'Landon's third-rate prose style is further sabotaged by the his relentless penchant for shopworn cliches and similes and metaphors so egregious that even the likes of Mickey Spillane wouldn’t think twice about blue-penciling them.'"
Scott finishes, tipping his head a little and grinning at the memory. "I like to think of that as Branch's way of returning the scare he got from reading my book; god knows after I read that I was haunted for the rest of my life. But not to much to stop writing, see.
Part of being a writer is being torn between the urge- which I believe is a natural, inherent urge in every person, stronger in some than others, maybe- to tell stories and to use those voices that we've all got in our heads, and to censor those voices with the more 'rational' ones of our everyday lives. Don't listen to 'em. If you must, let them out on a leash for your second draft.
Why don't we do a little writing here, in class? If nothing else, think of this as a test run. When you get started, if you hit a roadblock or you find that critic looming over your shoulder, wave me over and we'll talk about how to keep you moving or exorcise the voice. Or if you want, just turn and talk to your neighbor. Either way, I'll be here."
Scott gets back on on the stool and takes the paperback book that's propped face-down on the desk (The Fourth Hand by John Irving) and starts in, letting the students pick up their pens and pencils and start writing.
[Gathering post class EP for Intro to Creative Writing. Scott will probably tag on everyone who tags in. Feel free to have your pup asking for help mid-writing, or talking in a group discussion after the practice time is up. He's a lax teacher so if you want your pup (who's a friend or S/O of a student or just curious) to walk in and have a seat or stand in the back, that's okay. It's not in any way necessary but feel free to include an excerpt of your pup's freeform writing, long tags a-ok! If you have any questions about the class, feel free to ping me! <3]