Sundog Rising!
Reflections on living the life literary by the Urban Sundog
Revisiting My Seven Rules of Writing …
Way back in what feels like another lifetime and was certainly a different century, I sat down one day and established what I immodestly announced to be “A Declaration of Principles”. Nothing to do with ethics, I wasn’t that full of myself. No, these were what I decided were going to be my Seven Primary Rules of Writing, from now on. Directions to inform and keep my creative mindset where I thought it needed to be to produce some really good work. In my own unique voice.
How unique were these principles? How often did I apply them? Did they work? Some twenty-five years later, after enough life crises to put the memory of ever having created such a declaration out of my mind, and writing more than ever, the fact that I had once made a list of such things did fleetingly flit through my memory. Cool, I thought. I wonder what I said?
I might not have remembered what was on the list, but at least I did recall enough to know where to find the list. To my pleasure, I was able to print out a copy within minutes of conceiving the idea of checking them out. Now here’s the chance to see how they’ve actually worked for me. And whether or not I still consider any such principles to continue to be worth basing my art upon.
In all its possibly misconceived glory — because anyone who’s really done it will tell you there are no rules to writing — here’s my earlier conception of what should work best in my own writing, compiled at a time when I felt I had learned my craft and was ready to start being truly serious about the whole thing …
A Declaration of Principles (circa 1988-1989)
1. Write with the certainty that you will be read.
2. Write with sufficient craft that what you write will always read well.
3. Within the contexts of points 1 and 2, always write to please yourself.
4. As much as possible, do not write from motivations of inadequacy and disillusionment.
5. Make certain point 4 is reflected in your characters.
6. Never take your writing or yourself too seriously.
7. Stylistically, aim for an infusion of conviction, shape and energy in every line you write.
Whoo …
Let’s take a look at these one by one to see where they came from and where they got me.
1. Write with the certainty that you will be read.
Totally agree with that one. While there is no better therapy than writing to work out what’s wrong with your life, a lot of that sort of thing really is just for yourself. If you decide to take on writing as an art, a discipline requiring craft as well as meaning, you have to start writing always with the thought that there is an audience larger than just you out there for whatever you put pen to paper for. That doesn’t mean you stop writing about yourself. You just start finding a vocabulary for your emotions, instead of using your emotions as your vocabulary. One that you can shape with other facets of the writer’s trade into work that will appeal to other sensibilities than your own. I’ve stuck with this one.
2. Write with sufficient craft that what you write will always read well.
I’m not sure that sentence actually reads well, but I get the gist. And I still agree. When you’re only writing for yourself, you’re only really enjoying the buzz, the thrill of the story pouring out of you. Contrary to what you like to think in that state, not every sentence spills out perfectly. Once you decide you want other people to read what you write, you have to start taking editing seriously. Other people need grammar and proper spelling at the very least for your message to get across. Not to mention every other aspect of the craft a good writer employs to make her or his work enjoyable.
3. Within the contexts of points 1 and 2, always write to please yourself.
Let’s interpret this. Write with an audience other than yourself in mind, write well so that audience will enjoy what you write for them, but please yourself first.
Yup. I definitely still agree with that.
I tried bending where people wanted me to go, writing what others were directing the flow of. It was always bad. So I realized at some point, that if I don’t like what I’m writing first myself, it’s not likely to appeal to anyone else either, is it? From that moment on I adjusted how I approached the material I had to write for directed assignments, and the results were always more enjoyable for all involved. If the job hasn’t been done right to satisfy me first, it’s not going out.
4. As much as possible, do not write from motivations of inadequacy and disillusionment.
I remember where this one came from. I spent a morning going through the fiction section of Burton Lysecki’s used book store, and it struck me that ninety-five percent of all novels were about totally miserable losers. Obviously not written by happy people. Not much of a leap from what I was trying to get away from in Point Number One, actually. People still writing primarily for themselves.
So I still think this is a good point to keep in mind, but I wouldn’t be so whole heartedly restrictive about it anymore. Miserable things do happen to people. If you don’t reflect that in your writing, you’re not being realistic about the world.
But I still think you’re making a big mistake if all you do is wallow in it. Sharing your pain isn’t always the same thing as sharing your art.
5. Make certain point 4 is reflected in your characters.
Again, I wouldn’t be so restrictive. I think people would prefer to read about characters who aren’t constantly plagued by feelings of inadequacy and disillusionment. But you’ve got to have a few of them in there, just to balance things out. Don’t let them dominate the book though. Even your positive central characters have to go through some misery and doubt for there to be much of a plot, but be careful how you choose to have everything play out. Again, the no wallowing rule still stands.
6. Never take your writing or yourself too seriously.
Says the guy writing “A Declaration of Principles”. There’s always room to make fun of yourself and what you’re doing. And I’ll like you and what you’re doing better for it.
7. Stylistically, aim for an infusion of conviction, shape and energy in every line you write.
Oh, I stand by this one. And it’s the most bloody difficult one to carry off too. I got it from something George Balanchine said, actually. He was talking about ballet choreography, but I think the three principles apply to any art form. If you can carry out those aims in what you’re crafting, you are accomplishing a lot.
So in quick review, I would have to say not only do I essentially stand by these principles as a whole, I think I’ve actually managed to apply their essence, even without the list in so many words hung on the wall staring me in the face the whole time. That’s good. These sort of things are most effective when internalized.
Would I add anything, twenty-five years later? Yup.
Don’t lose your sense of humour. Ever.
Never be discouraged if you don’t find your audience right away.
Never be afraid to say what you want to say. You might never have the chance again.
And most importantly of all, never hold back when it comes to creativity. Go wherever your imagination takes you. Keep your mind open to sheer invention and experimentation at all times. Because as I said at the beginning — There, are, no, rules.
Next Week: More Rules
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REALITY FICTION UPDATE!
And what is Reality Fiction, you may well ask?
Simple. The concept of the Reality Television Series translated to the printed page. 40 characters from my backlog of generally unpublished material are gathered together to compete in a different theme each Episode, with one or two characters being eliminated each sequence until there are only two left to fight it out in the final. The winner gets a short novel of their own as the grand prize.
But somehow, things always seem to go horribly wrong ...
What’s happening now?
THE END IS HERE!
The First Instalment of Reality Fiction Too! went up Friday, June 7th, 2013, and now, almost one year later, the Last Instalment will post on Tuesday, May 20th of 2014!
The final two Contestants have been named! Natalie Von Boehm, the shapeshifting Intruder has connived her way into the last Episode! And the three of them will battle it out to see who gets to be the star of the next feature posted on the Reality Fiction blog!
Live to tell your grandchildren you read it first! The preliminaries start on Friday, at:
http://realficone.blogspot.ca/
REALITY FICTION TOO! THE FULL EPISODES
EPISODE THIRTY: BAILLIE
“You Wear A Bowtie, So I’ll Know You”
EPISODE TWENTY-NINE: SWASHBUCKLER
“The Crimson Buckle”
EPISODE TWENTY-EIGHT: LOVECRAFT
“The Small Paned Window”
EPISODE TWENTY-SEVEN: GIANT INSECT
“That Was No Lady Bug! That Was My Wife!”
EPISODE TWENTY-SIX: SUPERHERO
“The Professor Evil Sessions”
EPISODE TWENTY-FIVE: JUNGLE ADVENTURE
“The Third Eye of the Many Legged Python”
EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR: PULP FICTION
“The Red Moon of Pango Pango”
EPISODE TWENTY-THREE: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
“The Imp of the Reverse”
EPISODE TWENTY-TWO: FAIRY TALE
“Princess NoName”
EPISODE TWENTY-ONE: THE WEDDING
“Dearly, Beloved”
EPISODE TWENTY: EXISTENTIALISM
“Face the Hangman”
EPISODE NINETEEN: ABDUCTION
“Abduction/Apperception”
EPISODE EIGHTEEN: MELODRAMA
“Terror in Tarnation! A Thrilling Narrative in Three Acts”
EPISODE SEVENTEEN: POETRY
“landescapes”
EPISODE SIXTEEN: SILLY EUROPEAN SPY SPOOF (DUBBED)
“Diet Ray of the Stars!”
EPISODE FIFTEEN: EROTIC SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE
“The Shadow of Her Passion”
EPISODE FOURTEEN: FLYING:
“Sky Calling”
EPISODE THIRTEEN: SLAPSTICK:
“The Phantom of the Werewolf”
EPISODE TWELVE: DAIRY FARMING:
“Early One Morning”
EPISODE ELEVEN: BURROUGHS:
“Chapter Nine”
EPISODE TEN: WEREWOLVES:
“The Silver Solution”
EPISODE NINE: WRESTLING:
“Suckerslam XIV”
EPISODE EIGHT: JANE AUSTEN ROMANCE:
“The Proud and the Senseless”
EPISODE SEVEN: THE JAZZ AGE:
“The Bucky-Dusky-Ruby Red Hop!”
EPISODE SIX: SUBMISSION:
“Re-Org”
EPISODE FIVE: MASQUERADE:
“The Eyes Behind the Mask”
EPISODE FOUR: SELF HELP:
“Sausage Stew for the Slightly Overweight Presents:
Some Several Suggestions Guaranteeing Success for the Mildly Neurotic”
EPISODE THREE: NUDIST:
“If You Have To Ask ...”
EPISODE TWO: FRENCH BEDROOM FARCE:
“Un Nuit a Fifi’s!”
EPISODE ONE: STEAMPUNK:
“The Chase of the Purple Squid!”
A J.H.B. Original!
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