Letter 29: July 21, 2008
A lot of the books you could buy on "writer's block," if you wanted to do that for some reason, are by teachers and are about student writing. The theme running through them is that young people have been taught how to write right. Brought up to write according to all sorts of rules.
For instance: Americans are taught to write essays according to a "five paragraph" template. Now, I can imagine (without even knowing exactly what it is!) how such a structure would help a person to get started, to keep going and to finish. But I can also imagine how it could be paralyzing if, let's say, you weren't sure exactly what you wanted to express.
So, we're trained to write according to rules. But we're not brought up to express ourselves on paper. Your composition teacher may order you to write something expressive, but you just know it's going to be graded on the four S's: spelling, syntax, structure and so forth. In that environment how can you focus on expression?
By the time you meet a composition teacher who cares more about expression than about the rules, you have all those years of training inside you. Sitting down to a blank sheet of paper or to a blank screen is like walking into the principal's office. No fun at all. Imagine if every time you went to sit on the beach you were graded on style and accuracy!
And now imagine if writing were always like sitting on your favorite beach.
All through life we carry the same expectation. "The moment I commit one sentence to paper I am exposing myself to the merciless scrutiny of people whose only job is to blue-pencil (or red-pen) everything I do." This false belief isn't helpful.
Now, one thing you can do is always to write with the mental attitude that you're writing for yourself. That may not be enough, but it helps. And to save your word processor files with password protection. That may not be enough, but it helps. What else is there that I haven't said?
Well, there are two secrets. One has been / will be revealed to you by almost any writing teacher you ever meet: the first draft is always crap, you have to slog through it, everyone does, fellow professionals will not look down on you for it.
The second secret is subtler. You probably will not die and leave the first draft to be laughed at by generations yet unborn. You probably will get around to shredding it after it has served its one and only purpose. Generations yet unborn don't even care. Your friends and family will lose the thing. How many great authors' juvenilia have survived? almost none. How many authors' first drafts of anything have survived? almost none. And yours will go the same way.
Something you can try today: nobody cares how bad your writing is. Write it anyway. Otherwise you don't get to edit it. Editing is one of the most essential activities that identify you as a real writer. Boy, you shoulda seen the first version of this.
David
David Jung McGarva
+1 (818) 707 1871
Write me: david at todayiwrite dot com
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