Tool # 48: limit self-criticism in early drafts.

. . . Turn it loose during revision.

This is certainly what holds me back as a writer: self-criticism.  Since many writing-related challenges are in full swing, I think this is a perfect topic for today's post!

Roy shares from two books on writing, both published in the 1930's: "Becoming a Writer" (1934), by Dorothea Brande, and Brenda Ueland's,  "If You Want to Write" (1938).

"Brande. . .is most powerful on the topic of self-criticism. To become a fluent writer, she argues, one must silence the internal critic early in the process.  The critic becomes useful only when enough work has been done to warrant evaluation and revision.

Four decades later, (Roy goes on to say), another writer, Gail Godwin, would cover the same territory in an essay titled "The Watcher at the Gate." For Godwin, the Watcher is the "restraining critic who lived inside me," and who appeared in many forms to kick the doors of her creativity:

'It is amazing the lengths a Watcher will go to keep you from pursuing the flow of your imagination. Watchers are notorious pencil sharpeners, ribbon changers, plant waterers, home repairers and abhorrers of messy rooms or messy pages. They are compulsive looker-uppers.mthey cultivate self-important eccentricities they think are suitable for "writers" and they'd rather die (and kill your inspiration with them) than risk making a fool of themselves.'

Brenda Ueland, writing on the same topic of self-criticism notes that "all people who try to write. . .become anxious, timid, contracted, become perfectionists, so terribly afraid that they may put something down that is not as good as Shakespeare."  

"That is one loud critical voice, one bug-eyed watcher", Roy observes.

For Godwin (Mr. Clark continues), weapons against the watcher include such things as deadlines, writing fast, writing at odd times, writing when you are tired, writing on cheap paper, writing in surprising forms from which no one expects excellence.

So, how can we put this all to use in the WORKSHOP?

Try this:

Godwin writes that she fools the Watcher by disguising the form of writing. So if she is working on a draft of a short story, she may disguise it in the form of a letter. The next time you struggle with a story, put a salutation at the top ("Dear friend") and write a message to your friend about the story. See what happens.

I hope you found useful this chapter tidbit from Roy Peter Clark's book, "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies For Every Writer," published by Little, Brown and Company. You can find a copy here.

NEXT WEEK: Tool #49 Learn from your critics

Tool #41: Turn procrastination into rehearsal.

. . .Plan and write it first in your head.

Today I am featuring another chapter tidbit from Roy Peter Clark's book, "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies For Every Writer," published by Little, Brown and Company. You can find a copy here.

Almost all writers procrastinate, so there's a good chance that you do too.  Even among professionals, delay takes many forms.  The film reviewer checks yet another trip to Starbucks, his fourth tall vanilla latte of the day.  The famous scholar stares into space. . . 

The word procrastinate derives from the Latin word cras, meaning "tomorrow." Never write today what you can put off until tomorrow.  With that sentiment, writers experience procrastination as a vice, not a virtue.  During the process of not writing, we doubt ourselves and sacrifice the creative time we could use to build a draft.

     What would happen if we viewed this period of delay not as something constructive, even necessary?  What if we found a new name for procrastination?  What if we called it rehearsal?

    A wonderful teacher of writing named Donald Graves began to notice that even little children engage in this process of mental preparation.  He discovered that the best young writers rehearsed what they wanted to say. . .Put simply, productive authors write stories in their heads. . . Each act of procrastination can become a time of planning and preparation.

And now, Roy gives you a tool to use in his WORKSHOP:

-Have a conversation with a writer who seems to be procrastinating.  In a diplomatic and supportive way, ask open-ended questions about the writing: What are you working on?  How's it going.  It turns out that talking about the writing can transform procrastination into rehearsal, maybe even into action.

Next week, another tool from the "Useful Habits" section: "Do your homework well in advance."  Stay tuned!

Is Your Writer's Tool Belt Equipped?

It's Fall, and with it comes Labor Day...time to get 'back to the basics' in writing!

As promised, I will be posting my "Mulling Over the Mechanics of Writing" article, featuring the book "Writing Tools" by Roy Peter Clark. Each Monday, we will explore a chapter, summarizing one Writer's tool that will help us hone our craft.  For a free condensed podcast version of the book, click here.

First, a few paragraphs from the book to set the scene:

"...this book invites you to imagine the act of writing less as a special talent, and more as a purposeful craft.  Think of writing as carpentry, ans consider this book your toolbox...as you add tools to your workbench, you'll begin to see the world as a storehouse of writing ideas.  As you gain proficiency with each took, and then fluency, the act of writing will make you a better student, a better worker, a better friend, a better citizen, a better parent, a better teacher, a better person."

So, this is not just for writers!  It's for anyone who wants to communicate in a meaningful way...

Where did Roy find these tools?

From:

-Great works on writing, such as The Elements of Style and On Writing Well
-The authors whose works, more than 200 of them, are sampled here
-Productive conversations with professional writers and editors
-America's great writing teachers

He suggests a few tips:

-Remember, these are tools, not rules
-Don't try to apply these tools all at once
-You will become handy with these tools over time
-You already use many of these tools without knowing it

Mr. Clark has divided the tools into four boxes:

1. Nuts and Bolts: strategies for making meaning at the word, sentence and paragraph levels (1-10)
2. Special effects: tools of economy, clarity, originality, and persuasion (11-23)
3. Blueprints: ways of organizing and building stories and reports (24-39)
4. Useful habits: routines for living a life of productive writing (40-50)

Now, let's get down to work!

TOOL #1: Begin Sentences with Subjects and Verbs

He uses an example from John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, describing the routine of a marine scientist named Doc (the emphasis is Roy's):

     He didn't need a clock.  He had been working in a tidal pattern so long that he could feel a tide change in his sleep.....
     The tide goes out imperceptibly.  The boulders show and seem to rise up and the ocean recedes leaving little pools...

Steinbeck places subject and verb at or near the beginning of each sentence. 'Subject and verb are often separated in prose, usually because we want to tell the reader something about the subject before we get to the verb.  This delay,' Clark points out, 'even for good reasons, risks confusing the reader.'

His BAD example:

A bill that would exclude tax income from the assessed value of new homes from the state education funding formula could mean a loss of revenue for Chesapeake County schools.

Eighteen words separate the subject, "bill," from its weak verb, "could be," a fatal flaw that turns what could be an important civic story into gibberish.

I KNOW I've been guilty of this mistake many times in my writing!  So, what do we do?

Here is a suggestion Roy makes in his "WORKSHOP" section at the end of each chapter.  I will summarize it:

1. Read through a newspaper with a pencil in hand.  Mark the locations of subjects and verbs.  

2. Do the same with a draft you are working on now.  

3. Each time you struggle with a sentence, rewrite it by placing the subject and verb at the beginning.

Are you guilty of this habit? Then try the exercises above...did you notice anything new about your writing?

Stay tuned next Monday for Tool #2: Order Words for Emphasis