Part 3.3 Learn through writing
1 hr 30 mins
- Start writing another story
Writing is your training
You can’t be a writer without writing. This doesn’t just mean, you can’t be a writer without having content to show for it. It also means that you can’t become a writer without practice. I think this is often forgotten (I certainly forget it) because we are taught to write things from a young age. Most of us write everyday, in some form. It is easy to feel like once a story forms, we should be able to sit down and realise it.
But it’s a different discipline, which requires a range of skills which don’t come automatically. We must train ourselves.
As the course says, “a writer’s training is the writing itself”. The good part of this is the efficiency; by doing the thing you want, you are improving it. The hard part is the distinction; when is writing just practice, and when is it “good enough”?
Unfortunately, there is never a clear answer to this. In a professional field, you will be “good enough” when you pass exams and appraisals. In a sporting context, you will be “good enough” when you win matches. In the arts, what is “good enough”? It is highly subjective. Some modern best-sellers have been, in many people’s view, badly written. Were they “good enough”?
Exercise
Generate something new, different from the character sketch and “radio story”.
Start with something between 200-350 words.
There is a form on the next page, for us to submit our story, and make it available for others to comment on. We are asked to do the same for others.
I can’t remember the first time I saw Lucy. Looking back, it feels like she was always a part of my life. But I remember the day we first talked.
Jake was trying to get me to commit to painting the scenery for the school play.
Before Lucy, I didn’t know the meaning of commitment. Now I know too well.
She came up to ask us for directions. I remember her hesitation at interrupting us; she seemed very polite, quite shy.
I caught her eye and smiled; pushed Jake gently to get his attention. Once he saw her, his whole posture changed.
She was a beauty; black curly hair, pale clear skin, electric blue eyes. The mottled scar that engulfed her neck and made its way up one side of her face to the eyebrow didn’t detract from that. More added that final touch.
‘Hi, um,’ she said, falling away after each word like she didn’t really want them to escape. ‘How do I get to Science?’
She had a timetable held in front of her, like a shield.
Jake said something and leaned into her space and gave her a questioning look. She nodded and passed him what she was holding.
He bent the corner towards him, so he could read the lesson and room. ‘Ah, right. It’s actually not that easy to find. Shall we take you?’
For some reason, she looked to me. Perhaps I had been looking as if I wanted to be elsewhere. I gave a reassuring smile. It’s amusing to think about how relaxed I was then. ‘Yes. Sure. We can show you.’
The old wooden stairs up to the Science wing weren’t wide enough for three people, so I let Jake and Lucy go ahead, while I chimed in with various observations from behind. I count that as my last happy day.
Commenting on work
I like that the course takes time to guide the critiquing, helping us to give and receive constructive reviews. There is a PDF which contains full guidance, a selection of which is:
- Ensure that you make at least one positive comment and at least one critical comment about each piece.
- Give reasons for your comments, don’t just say ‘I liked this’ or ‘I didn’t like that’.
- How was the central character portrayed and was this portrayal clear and interesting?
- What made you think this piece was a story and did you want to read on?
- What were the most, and least, successful aspects of the writing?
Responding to critique
This is also a skill. I would say that it has two stages. Firstly, hearing / reading the feedback. If you are in the same room as someone, then this is especially relevant. Secondly, deciding what you want to take from the feedback.
I am in a scriptwriting group, and while mostly people are practiced at receiving feedback, the occasional problem arises when someone starts trying to work out how much weight they are going to give to feedback at the same time as getting it.
The first stage is a time to listen, whether or not it makes you feel good. In fact, if it makes you feel bad — or strongly — then this usually an indication to listen deeper to the point being made. Appreciate that it is all subjective opinion; people will respond to the same thing differently, bringing their own divergent preferences and expectations, and although everyone’s opinion is valid, it may only be the “type” of reader you want whose opinions will mean the most to you. Just thank people for giving you their time, and only ask them to explain things in more detail if you are ready to have your work dissected.
The second stage is to decide what to do with that mass of information. What is most relevant to you at that point? You may be looking for a response to a certain character, rather than someone to correct your spelling. You might be worried about whether the pacing is correct, and not have done much work on the language yet. So just because someone notices things which they think could be improved, doesn’t mean that it does need to change at this stage.
Then, there is the question of whether you agree. Perhaps the effect that you have produced is the one you wanted, even if someone else doesn’t like it. Perhaps they raise something that you grudgingly agree with but feel defensive about. Or perhaps you agree but don’t care. There are many reasons why you might not want to take feedback on board; it goes back to the aim of the editing section, being “scrupulously honest”.
I found the feedback I got from this exercise very fair. Two people left some; one was more detailed and engaged than the other.
It was pleasant to review other people’s stories. I was honest about what worked for me or not, but I also felt proud of the other contributors that they had taken the steps to share. By extension, I feel proud of myself too!
Reflection
The third week goes up a gear, getting us to share our work and give critique back. This is a big psychological step and I like that we took it early. The subject of editing was introduced, with the perspective that this is the major part of writing. The course philosophy is “start writing, improve it later” which I think is healthy.
Give the course a spin yourself!
www.futurelearn.com/courses/start-writing-fiction