Advice on writing

For most of my life, writing has been my way of making sense of the world. Stringing words together gracefully, thoughtfully and purposefully has helped me in ways not many other forms of expression can. Words have helped me give meaning to raw emotions, gain new understandings of the world around me and connect with people in powerful ways.

In thought and speech, I have always been pretty scattered I think, especially speech. If you know me, you know I'm the one who tells the long-winded stories, pausing here and there to double back and give some back story or add further context, chasing rabbits that I think are interesting or funny and not letting you off the hook until I've come to the conclusion. At worst, I may forget entirely where I was going in the first place; at best I get you to the final destination I promised but you're still unsure why so many detours were required.

Writing, though, is a medium that helps me hone thoughts and stories and insights down, distil them into their essential parts and express them in ways that are more precise, understandable and, hopefully, resonant.

I was struck last week by some thoughts shared by my friend, Jane Hu, who is a science journalist in the Pacific Northwest. She was discussing the constant and, perhaps, futile pursuit of "genius" when she offered this gem: "I value resonance so much more than originality. I read to feel seen, to know I am not alone, so it follows that I must also write in hopes others feel seen by my words. It is a great mystery why men are so obsessed with the idea of a singular genius when the real magic lies in the joy of iteration, collaboration. But what do I know?"

Perhaps I could just end the essay there. If writing is nothing else, it's a means to feel seen and to not feel so alone in this great mystery of existence; that at some point someone else thought the same thing you thought, felt the way you felt, hoped in the same ways that you hope and decided to share it with the world.

Her words found me at a time when I was already considering culling together some of the best advice I've received on writing over the years. Write about what you know, they say, and so I've been thinking a lot about how I can pass on something to others who may try their hand at this painstaking and liberating and beautiful craft. These are some of the little nuggets that keep coming back to me when I find myself stuck, unsure of what to write or otherwise second-guessing what I'm doing entirely. These are some of the words that keep me going and call back to me every time I sit and try to make sense of the world.

1. Perhaps the best place to start is Lawrence Kasdan's description: "Being a writer is like having homework every day for the rest of your life." If writing helps one make sense of the world, then the work never stops, of course. Your mind will nearly always be spinning with new ideas of what to write and how. Inspiration can and will strike often (though there will be dry spells, too). The key will be sifting through all of that inspiration to figure out what you can and can't put down to the page.

2. Then, there is this advice from Anne Lamott that has gotten me through many episodes of writer's block as well as those times when I felt I just didn't have anything profound to say: "Writing: shitty first drafts. Butt in chair. Just do it. You own everything that happened to you. You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves in your heart–your stories, visions, memories, songs: your truth, your version of things, in your voice. That is really all you have to offer us, and it’s why you were born."

   

   Austin Kleon, a writer and artist, shared what he calls his "pep talks to myself."

Lamott's advice is also a good reminder that if you wait for inspiration to strike, you'll never get much down on the page. Writing is an art, but also a practice. So, it takes practice and a commitment to trying, trying, trying even though sometimes — many times — you will fail.

Speaking of Lamott calls to mind another brilliant bit of writing advice she often uses from E.L. Doctorow: "Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." I think that applies here, too.

3. I wish I could just copy and paste the entire manuscript of "Several Short Sentences About Writing" by Verlyn Klinkenborg. There's probably not a book that has impacted my writing more in a practical way than this one, though I admit I haven't read that many books on writing. In my opinion, this should be the first book on writing that anyone reads. Here are some of my favorite pearls of wisdom from Klinkenborg:

"The only thing to do with a cliche is send it to the sports page

Or the speechwriters, where it will live forever."

"Your job as a writer is making sentences.

Your other jobs include fixing sentences, killing sentences and arranging sentences"

"If a sentence offers an ambiguous path — two ways of being read — this reader will always take the wrong one."

"Years later, looking back over your collected works,

You can contemplate your style at leisure.

But for now you have more important things to think about.

Like revision.

All writing is revision."

"Writing doesn't prove anything,

And it only rarely persuades.

It does something much better.

It attests.

It witnesses.

It shares your interest in what you've noticed.

It reports on the nature of your attention.

It suggests the possibilities of the world around you.

The evidence of the world as it presents itself to you."

4. "I strongly believe that writing is an act of courage; it's almost an act of physical courage." - Ta Nehisi Coates

   
   

   I think Coates is one of the best writers of our generation. I heard him speak several years ago at Davidson College in North Carolina. I had just finished his memoir, "Between the World and Me," which should be required reading for everyone, book bans be damned.

   
   

   Admittedly, I was caught off guard when he shared his reason for writing the book: "I wrote this book for myself."

   
   

   It seemed almost selfish to me at the time. But with age comes understanding. While I know I will not ever fully understand what he said and why he said it as a Black man living in America, I do understand in my own way that writing is salvific. When I write, it's my way of saving myself.

   
   

5. C.S. Lewis' advice to a schoolgirl in America

If you're a writer of any kind, you've probably heard these bits of wisdom in some form. Write what you know, say what you mean, revise your work. I stumbled upon C.S. Lewis' little summation and just found it delightful. I particularly love his suggestion to "Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye."

His list is a product of his time, but it could easily be updated and be just as applicable, ex. substitute television and smart phones for radio. No. 7 is also delightful in this regard. It reminds me of Ray Bradbury explaining how he wrote his masterpiece, "Fahrenheit 451" by renting a typewriter for 10 cents an hour at the UCLA library. Apparently, it took him 49 hours over nine days to finish the manuscript. Just imagine all that furious clicking!

Above all, the biggest lesson I've learned is that writing is inertia. The more you write, the more you find yourself wanting to write, needing to write; and the more writing becomes a balm, a way of finding your way out of whatever knotted mess you find yourself in. And, most importantly, the more you will find pleasure in it.

Besides Klinkenborg's, I've generally avoiding books on writing because I'm worried they'll get in my head and overwhelm me in my process. But I think I'm going to give them a try. Here are some I've had on my list:

• "On Writing" by Stephen King

• "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott

• "The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard

• "Zen in the Art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury