Writing TIPS ....... Stealing like an Artist- ART IS 99% ROBBERY

If you have a long writing project to undertake, give this a read beforehand. I really really really wish I’d read chapter 3 (“A Mountain With Stairs”) before starting work on my most recent book. So many of the structural problems I ran into this time around would’ve been prevented.

The big idea of The Clockwork Muse is not much different than the “Be Boring” chapter ofSteal Like An Artist: a routine, methodical approach to writing will produce more work in the long term, and taking things slow yet steady over time will get you through big projects better than short bursts of inspired, frenzied work.

Some favorite ideas, below.

Pick a good time of day.

Henry Miller wrote in the morning, Anthony Burgess wrote in the afternoon, James Baldwin wrote at night. Doesn’t matter when you work, you just have to identify what times you’re more likely to cook.

Stick to an outline until you’re between drafts.

This, this, THIS:

You should make…major structural changes in your manuscript only between drafts, when you are not actually writing. Within each draft it is better to stick to the same outline even when you realize that it is just a provisional blueprint that may still change many times later on…if you constantly keep “reshuffling” your ideas, you will never get to complete writing anything!

“First drafts are for learning what your [book] is about.” —Bernard Malamud

Shitty. First. Drafts. The shitty first draft is crucial, because “much of our thinking actually takes place while we are writing!” First drafts aren’t worth showing to anybody. Write the first draft, then write a new one.

Re-type each draft.

Re-typing each draft means you go over every single sentence, and each sentence gets improved.

Save the introduction for last.

As the book changes, I’m always tempted to rewrite the introduction. Bad, bad idea. Backtracking always means you end up spinning your wheels.

Underpromise and overdeliver.

Build “shock absorbers” into your writing process—overestimate the amount of work you have to do and underestimate your ability to do it. Ambition often leads to disappointment. “Our sense of accomplishment is a function of not only how well we actually do but also what our initial expectations were.”

Working slow doesn’t mean you can’t be prolific.

“Writing is cumulative.” It adds up. A page a day = 365 pages a year. E.L. Doctorow said one page a day made him happy, two pages were extraordinary. Philip Roth said, “I work…just about every day. If I sit there like that for two or three years, at the end I have a book.”

Filed under: writing, my reading year 2013