For this Friday Fun-Day writing prompt, you’ll be writing a bad poem.
For my American readers, today through Tuesday will probably be spent on barbecues, trips to the lake, drinking, movies, a night spent watching the fireworks, anything we can claim is to celebrate our independence but, deep down, we know is mostly just an excuse to goof off. I’m not saying that everything everyone does around Fourth of July has nothing to do with our independence; some of what we do truly is to honor our country, but I’ve always found barbecues and drinking odd ways to show patriotism. Anyway, odds are we’ll be nowhere near a keyboard or a pad of paper, and our writing might gather a little dust over the next few days.
This writing prompt is all about shaking off that dust and getting ourselves loose enough for “real” writing. Whether we take some time off for celebrations, have personal emergencies, or just don’t get around to writing for a while, we all hesitate to return to the drawing board once we get the time. We’re excited at first but as soon as we sit down, we freeze.
Why? We’re afraid that the first thing we write is going to be horrific. And you know what? We’re probably right.
That’s exactly why we have to dive in and start writing immediately. The more we write, the more cobwebs we knock out of our minds, and the better we write. And what better way than to go at it knowing you’re writing something bad, rather than trying to write something good?
I want you to write the worst poem you possibly can. Make it silly, make it cheesy, make it cliché, make it a parody, whatever you need in order to lose your inhibitions and just write.
Here’s an example of silly bad poem my mother and I put together for our dog, Lexi, that we recite after she gets groomed:
Ode to Squishy
Fuzzy Wuzzy is our Lex
Fuzzy Wuzzy is perplexed
Fuzzy Wuzzy has to pee
Fuzzy Wuzzy’s bugging me
Fuzzy Wuzzy is so needy
Fuzzy Wuzzy is so greedy
Fuzzy Wuzzy won’t do a trick
Fuzzy Wuzzy, thick as a brick
Fuzzy Wuzzy is so sweet
Fuzzy Wuzzy sure looks beat
Fuzzy Wuzzy loves to howl
Fuzzy Wuzzy, hear her growl!
See what I mean? Bad but hilarious, especially since we weren’t trying to write something good.
So go, write a bad poem. Keeps those writing gears greased. And post your bad poem in the comments. I would love to see what everyone comes up with!
Any suggestions for future writing prompts? Leave them in the comments or e-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com.
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s almost the weekend and almost July. Where did the time go? (To the boiling summer heat, I suppose.) To celebrate another month arriving, I’m going to tell you about July’s newsletter giveaway.
As I said earlier this week, I have started a newsletter for The Writer’s Scrap Bin called The Scrapbook. In it you will find early access to announcements and posts, exclusive content that isn’t on the blog, and more. Today I want to focus on a particular feature of the newsletter, the free monthly giveaways.
These giveaways will be anything from free copies of my work to free critiques of your works-in-progress. Only readers who sign up for the newsletter will know how to gain access to these freebies, so be sure to register using this link.
July’s giveaway is a PDF copy of my essay, “Get Off of My Cloud: Imagery, Hatred of Nature, and Ahab’s God Complex in Chapter 108 of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick“. This short essay focuses on the chapter of Moby-Dick titled “Ahab and the Carpenter” and offers an extension of Stephen C. Ausband’s paper on Ahab’s hatred of nature by arguing that this “misophusism” is a result of Ahab’s god complex.
The essay was first printed in the UC Davis Prized Writing Anthology,2012-2013. While this collection was supposed to be uploaded onto the Prized Writing website after about a year or so of the paper publication, no digital copy seems to have been made available since the 2010-2011 edition. This fact plus the lack of availability of this book outside of the physical UC Davis Bookstore have influenced me to provide free copies to readers who subscribe to the newsletter.
If you wish to partake in this month’s giveaway, please sign up for The Scrapbook before August 1st. You will get your first newsletter e-mail within a week from signing up, which will give you instruction on how to obtain the July giveaway. Even if you do not get to the additional instructions until after August 1st, I will still honor the free giveaway for the month in which you signed up.
On the last day of each month I will announce the new giveaway for the next month in a post on The Writer’s Scrap Bin. Each giveaway will feature a different product, service, or bonus. The more the blog and newsletter grow, the better the giveaways will become, so please encourage your writing friends to read this blog, register for e-mail notifications regarding blog posts, and sign up for The Scrapbook.
Questions? Suggestions for future giveaways? Contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and I will return your e-mail as soon as possible.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I finish all my posts with the same logo, a wolf encircled by my name and the words “moonlit imagination.” I’m also guessing that you might have wondered why I do that and where it came from.
The history behind it isn’t really complicated or extraordinary. My high school offered Yearbook as an elective and I took it my junior and senior years. This elective, along with compiling and selling the school’s yearbook, taught us about graphic design and layout. One of the assignments we got was to design business cards for ourselves. I came up with a handful of designs and this logo was my favorite.
My logo, slightly enlarged
The howling wolf represents my dual nature as a lone wolf but also a pack animal. Wolves are also strong, majestic, and misunderstood, much like writers often are. The words encircle the wolf in order to follow the same visual path created by the full moon at which the wolf howls. “Moonlit Imagination” is a slogan I gave a potential freelancing business long ago because I am a nocturnal being and my best work is done at night. The “S” and “H” are just my initials. You can probably figure out why my name is there.
After all these years I still have a file of each of the business cards and logos, and after all these years this logo is still my favorite.
When I first started writing posts for this blog, I felt like they were incomplete even with images and a sort of “conclusion” at the end. I didn’t like the white space underneath the last of the text. I had been looking for a way to use this logo for a while and I figured that, in addition to making business cards, I could use it as my signature at the bottom of my posts. So far it seems to be working fairly well.
As I’ve been looking into using VistaPrint to make some business cards, I realized that this logo would look good on other products as well: shirts, tote bags, hats, etc. This realization gave me an idea but I want to run it by my readers before I make a decision.
You probably know that running a quality blog isn’t always free. Between the money for the domain and the time spent writing, it does burn a small hole in your pocket before it truly lifts off. My most prominent sources of income are Swagbucks and my book reviews from Fiverr, but I’m still looking for more ways to raise money. I’ve placed a couple ads on this blog but I don’t want to overwhelm my readers and I’m still working to build up my writing, editing, and book review freelance jobs. I have also entered some writing contests and plan to focus more on getting published but we all know that will take some time and a lot of submissions.
My idea is to offer you, my readers, the chance to buy some merchandise with my logo on it. This will be accomplished either through an online store or, preferably, with pledges through an account on Patreon. I will also be offering these products from time to time as free monthly giveaways for my newsletter subscribers.
First, however, I would like you to answer this poll.
Mind you, this idea may or may not come to fruition. I want to see how well my readers receive it before giving it a try. Thank you for providing your opinion on this matter.
If you have any comments or suggestions about this idea, please leave them in the comments section below.
If you haven’t figured out that I’m a fan of J.K. Rowling, you either haven’t been paying attention or you’ve missed a lot of posts. Don’t worry; I’ll catch you up. I’ve looked up to Rowling for as long as I can remember. It goes without saying that I love Harry Potter. That series is one of the rocks of my life that will never go away, along with Disney, my parents, my pets (past, present, and future), reading, and writing. More importantly, I have drawn a lot of strength from Rowling’s life story. It keeps me going in the hopes that I will be able to write my own life story as well as she has written hers. That’s why I was absolutely ecstatic when Very Good Lives was published.
Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination is the official publication of Rowling’s 2008 commencement speech at Harvard University. I would describe this very short tome as an inspirational narrative which draws on aspects of memoirs and self-help books.
With Rowling’s signature humor and captivating accounts from her life after graduation, Very Good Lives is the perfect book to keep on your nightstand. A quick read, witty, I read all 80 pages one morning before getting out of bed.
The main lesson from this speech is to use your failures to build yourself up. We all know that Rowling had hit rock bottom before finishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. She explains that whether we’ve hit rock bottom as she did or just had a string of minor failures, we can use these failures to learn what not to do, point ourselves in the right direction, and learn what we really want out of life.
The secondary lesson, as the title implies, is the importance of imagination in our lives and the world. Most notably, Rowling discusses how we can use imagination to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. No better person to get such advice from than a woman who once worked with immigrants then went on to write books that positively impact people’s views of ostracized groups.
I’m not afraid to say that I have dealt with a lot of depression and anxiety since I graduated from university. I’m a struggling–and otherwise only employed through freelance work–writer living with her parents to save money. (No one should be ashamed if they live with their parents. Humans are social animals by nature and it’s a great way to save while paying back student loans so long as your parents are OK with it.) I don’t always feel good about myself, especially when I can’t find a job.
Rowling’s Very Good Lives has helped me to pull myself back from the abyss of self-loathing. Perhaps I’ve failed by my own standards but I have also succeeded. I can learn from my failures and use them as the foundation on which I continue to build my successes. Rowling’s book/speech helped me to realize this and is one of the reasons I was able to convince myself to apply for my Master’s program, launch this blog, join Fiverr, and, most importantly, keep writing even when nothing I write seems publishable.
The illustrations are beautifully simplistic. Like the letters on the cover, they are solid red images dancing across and at the edges of the white pages. Each illustration matches the text occupying the same page and distracts from the white space without detracting from the message.
Some Amazon reviews have complained about the fact that they could just look the speech up online and not pay for the physical copy. I don’t know about now but when I bought the book two years ago, the proceeds went to charity. Again, I can’t say if that’s the situation now.
So why bother to buy this book if you can look up the speech online and the proceeds may or may not still go to charity? Well, that’s a matter of personal preference. I prefer paper copies over anything electronic, whether it be an e-book, a Word doc, a PDF file, or a web page. A paper copy also allows you to read without the distractions of social media and the Internet.
I only know where you can buy a paper copy or the e-book. If you know where people can find the speech online without violating copyright, please post a link in the comments for other readers.
Overall, Very Good Lives is uplifting and inspiring. I would recommend it for everyone, even if you’re not currently going through hard times or you don’t like Rowling’s work. In each life some rain falls and this book is like a towel; it won’t prevent you from getting wet during the storm but it’ll help you wipe off the drops left behind.
To buy a copy of Very Good Lives, follow the link below:
For more information on J.K. Rowling, be sure to visit her official website.
Leave your thoughts on Rowling’s work in the comments, and sign up for email notifications so you never miss a single post. Also remember to sign up for my newsletter The Scrapbook for exclusive content and monthly giveaways.
Do you know of any books I should read and discuss? Would you like me to review your published book on this blog? Contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com with your recommendations or hire me on Fiverr. I accept book review requests through my “review your book on my blog” gig and as custom orders.
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The Scrapbook will provide you with updates, announcements, and writing tips before they’re available to the general public. Some editions will even include articles and interviews not published on The Writer’s Scrap Bin. In addition, newsletter subscribers will be eligible for monthly giveaways, ranging from PDF copies of my work to complementary critiquing sessions for works-in-progress.
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June 26, 2017, was the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the original UK release. Potterheads from all corners of social media came together to celebrate this magical date. From sharing memories of midnight book releases to discussing favorite characters, Twitter and Facebook was filled with Potter nostalgia. My favorite hashtag to arise from this trip down memory lane is #PotterTaughtUs.
Happy 20th anniversary to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!
Back in April I told you about Rowling’s influences on me as a writer and a person. I could fill an entire book with how Rowling and her work have molded me. The most important lessons that the books have taught me, though, are to have compassion for everyone and that you are never truly alone.
“Though we may come from different countries and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one.“ –Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
All the most-loved characters in this series are outcasts. Luna Lovegood is pleasantly bizarre; Hermione is a bookworm and a Muggle-born; Ron is the youngest of six boys and comes from a poor “blood traitor” family; Ginny is the only girl out of seven children and is a tough, smart, pretty girl at that; Hagrid is half-giant; Remus is a werewolf; Sirius holds very different views from his family and is an escaped, falsely-accused prisoner; Tonks and her mother were disowned; Neville is shy and nervous and lives with his grandmother; even Draco, the rich pureblood, is an outcast because he does not belong with the Death Eaters or outside of them. And, yes, Harry Potter is different from everyone because he is marked for greatness.
With all of these beloved characters treated as outcasts, it is only natural that avid readers of Harry Potter feel a special connection with so-called “misfits.”
Connecting ostracized characters with the “good” side and prejudice with the “bad” side helps readers to subconsciously form the opinion that prejudice is not acceptable. In showing the struggles of people going through such prejudice–Hermione’s struggles with being called a “mudblood,” for example–Harry Potter readers grow the ability to see things from another person’s perspective and develop compassion for ostracized groups, people whom they may not feel a connection to otherwise.
I probably had a predisposition for compassion for ostracized groups given my upbringing. My mother always taught me that a human is a human, no matter their religion, race, sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, nationality, etc., and Disney has helped to reinforce her lessons. Still, the influence of Harry Potter is undeniable.
“I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends.”–Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
Out of everything #PotterTaughtUs, my favorite has to be that no one is ever truly alone.
Harry, who felt alone among the Dursleys and the Muggle world, finds true friends in Hermione and Ron and learns that his dead loved ones are still with him. Luna is one-of-a-kind and an outsider but finds her place among Harry and his friends. Remus, although timid and a werewolf, finds love both in friends and in Tonks. Even Draco has his parents, and at least his mother loves him no matter what. In the end, the only ones who are alone are those who deny love and its power.
If you lose loved ones to death or distance, their love is still with you and will always stay with you. You just need to remember that they’re there and you will feel them. If you ever feel isolated and like you can’t connect with anyone, you only need to prevail. The friends and family you deserve are out there. So long as you don’t give up, you will find them and then, like Harry and his friends and family (and his friends who are emotionally his family), you will get your “all was well.”
I’m still looking for mine but, thanks to many people who have entered my life in the past few years, I think I’m getting closer each day.
Happy anniversary to this beloved series. It has so much more to teach us. Please, go read or re-read these books and discuss in the comments what you think #PotterTaughtUs.
Happy Friday, readers and writers! Today we have a two-for-one: a writing prompt which doubles as a publishing opportunity. In particular, I’m going to prompt your to write “postcard fiction” and then provide you with a website where you may be able to publish it.
For my portfolio I experimented with a couple flash fiction stories. (The success of those experiments is questionable and the feedback on the portfolio seemed rather mixed.) To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around “successful” flash fiction and learning what actually makes such fiction good or bad.
Nevertheless, trying to write complete, successful fiction in such a short format is a good way to understand how to utilize all the elements of a good story without wasting a single word. That’s why I continue to grapple with flash fiction and modifying the flash I wrote for my portfolio.
In my attempt to understand this genre, I came across a website called Postcard Shorts. This website, as the name suggests, publishes flash fiction which can fit on a postcard, thus “postcard fiction.” These pieces are complete stories written in 1500 characters (not words but characters) or less.
As always, today’s writing prompt is deceptively simple:
Write a full story with a plot, narrative arc, character development, etc. which could be published on Postcard Shorts. In other words, try and write an entire story using no more than 1500 characters.
Remember, shorter does not mean easier. In fact, I’ve learned that it is much, much harder to write complete and effective stories in shorter formats. It’s probably why my flash fiction has turned out to be no good so far, but you know what they say: practice makes perfect.
Your postcard fiction can be about anything that you feel you can successfully write in under 1500 characters. Once you’re done and feel confident that you have written a good story, I suggest submitting it to Postcard Shorts. The site doesn’t pay but it’s a great way to get your fiction out there if you’re accepted and good practice at receiving rejection if you aren’t.
Well, have fun writing, my friends, and have a great weekend.
June 21st: the first day of summer, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, my birthday. While the first three are debatable (follow this link to see why), the last certainly isn’t. I can also testify that it’s hot enough to be the first day of summer. Of course, I only know what’s it like in Northern California. I’ve been stewing in 107 degrees with only a “portable” AC unit a living room with an open-floor plan (our central AC unit broke and it’s going to take a lot of money to replace it). Other than that, it’s been a pretty good birthday. In honor of my birthday, the solstice, and the heat, I’ve decided to post another of my old poems, “Just to Set the Record Straight”.
Sunset on the summer solstice at Stonehenge
Image retrieved from ExpressThis poem is a little different from the others. First of all, it’s longer. Second, it’s arguably funnier. Most importantly, it’s technically been published before. Over five years ago it, along with several other of my poems, were published on a blog for Northern Californian poets called Medusa’s Kitchen, which is run by Rattlesnake Press. Here’s the link to the original post if you want to read it. I recommend doing so since I can’t get the formatting right in this post.
Despite its publication, I’m not particularly proud of this poem. Why? I worry that it comes off as whiny in regards to the heat and people not understanding how hot it can get in NorCal. It’s also rather…I don’t want to say “crude” or “poorly-written” but, in hindsight, I feel as though I could’ve done better. Then again, I always feel that way so you should judge it for yourself:
Just to Set the Record Straight
Just to set the record straight,
“North” doesn’t always mean “cold,”
and “near mountains” doesn’t always mean “snowy,”
especially when you live in the Valley.
SoCal-ers seem to think NorCal is cold
and that we NorCal-ers have not clue about heat.
They’re the only experts.
Think again.
Summer in the Valley?
IT’S HELL.
No less than 90 degrees,
Often over 100
We NorCal-ers go to SoCal
just to escape our heat;
at least there
there’s something to do.
Even when it’s hot
the lake gets boring.
Trust me.
Still don’t believe me?
Still fooled by the mountains and the word “north?”
Then spend a week in NorCal
in the middle of July with no air conditioning
and watch it get to over 100
just inside the house
and eat cold tomato soup for dinner
and take icy showers every night
and take a drive every day
just to keep cool.
And sleep on the living room floor,
the fan set on high,
’cause your bed’s too hot to sleep in
(You won’t sleep anyway).
Do that and then answer me these:
Still think NorCal is cold?
Still think NorCal-ers don’t know heat?
Didn’t think so.
I just wanted to set the record straight.
Maybe you like it, maybe you don’t. My main point in posting this (aside from highlighting the heat I’m boiling in) is to show you that even after something is published you may not feel too good about it.
Another more famous example is Edgar Allen Poe. I’m not talking about “The Raven”, which he wrote to demonstrate what a “perfect poem” was to him. I’m talking about his ever-popular Gothic horror stories. He thought that they were low-brow and trash. However, he knew that they sold well and he had to pay the bills, so he wrote them and sold them. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
And sometimes, as in my case, you think your work is great at the time. Then, as you grow as a writer and expand your reading horizons, you look back and are somewhat embarrassed by your old work. You may think that its publication should vindicate the work but, in your eyes, you’re just never sure if it’s actually any good or if someone had a lapse in judgment or took pity on you.
Rather than hiding from your old work, as I once did, you should embrace it. We are the product of everything we’ve ever done and encountered. To hide that would be to hide a part of ourselves, and we shouldn’t ever do that. We don’t have to go back to who we once were, as a person or as a writer, but we should still accept it and be as truthful about it as we are with any other part of our lives.
Any old work you’d like to share? Any stories about publications you wish had never happened? Share your experiences in the comments below.
Also, a moment of shameless plugging:
I’ve started a GoFundMe page to help raise the $9000 we need to replace our central AC unit plus the duct system. If you’d like to chip in–even just $5 would help–or would be kind enough to spread the word, here’s a link to the campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/air-conditioner-for-110degree-heat.
If you’d like to send some work my way instead of/in addition to, please look me up on Fiverr.
My program has tentatively received the grades for our portfolios (nothing is official until the board confirms it at the end of July). I got a good grade but not as good as I would’ve liked. That’s life, right? Even when we’re doing well we always wish we had done a bit better. Things could be worse, though, and just because things aren’t exactly how you want them to be now doesn’t mean you won’t succeed–or have more success–later. That’s why I’ve decided to talk about famous literary fails that flopped when they were first released but are now considered classics.
I knew of one without any research–Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick–but I had to perform a quick search to learn any others. What I found was a list on Crackedwhich discussed the following:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
I can only remark on a few of these famous literary fails, so I strongly recommend following the link I’ve provided to learn more about them and how poorly they were originally received. The ones I can discuss from personal experience are Lord of the Flies, The Catcher in the Rye, Moby-Dick, and some of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Lord of the Flies
Good book but disturbing as all get out. I read it in high school (freshman year, I think, but maybe sophomore year, I don’t know) but have not dared pick it up since. It was engaging, fascinating, and an exciting read. The problem? It messed me up pretty badly, more than 1984 but not as badly as The Giver (I’m not kidding, The Giver gave me weird dreams). I don’t know about outside the United States, but I’m sure that all of my U.S. born-and-raised readers can remember being made to read Lord of the Flies.
But how well was the Nobel Prize Laureate’s novel received in its first running? Less than 3,000 copies were sold.
I suppose I can see why. I don’t imagine that there was that big of an audience for dystopian, faithless novels centered on children back in the day. Frankly, if this book hadn’t been inside in school, I don’t know how many people would have a taste for such books today. Still, there’s definitely a readership for dystopian novels today (and it’s no mystery why).
The Catcher in the Rye
I read this book for a young adult literature class as an undergrad and, to be honest, I don’t remember much of it. It isn’t a bad book; I just wasn’t into it enough to remember anything without re-reading it. It amused me, that much I remember, and Holden annoyed the crud out of me. Maybe it’s because I never felt the need to drink, maybe it’s because I thought Holden was an idiot who didn’t think things through, but no matter the reason I just did not like him. I felt sorry for him in many ways and I didn’t really want anything bad to happen to him but that certainly does not mean I have to like Holden as a person.
This book was not knocked down by the numbers as Lord of the Flies was. However, critics had a field day with it. Among other things, they took offense to how vulgar it was. Funny thing is that the language was what felt most real about this book, at least to me. I guess The Catcher in the Rye shows us that when we question society there will be push back; in the long run, though, you will be seen as one of the greats.
Moby-Dick
I’ve been waiting a while to talk about this one. My essay that was accepted into the UC Davis Prized Writing Anthology was written on a chapter of Moby-Dick. That doesn’t mean I’m a fan of the book. In fact, I don’t see myself revisiting in anytime soon. Melville mostly lost me in all the in-depth explanations of the technical sides of whaling. I understand the necessity of the reader knowing about whaling in relation to the story but I had to try really hard not to fall asleep reading those passages. I will give Melville this, Queequeg and Captain Ahab were fascinating. I also loved the end to Ahab’s story, which I won’t discuss here due to spoilers. Still, much of the narrative is too slow and dry for me to return to it before I complete my long, long “to read” list.
How was it received? Very, very, very harshly. It went over people’s heads, many critics flat out didn’t like it and thought it was a “catastrophe,” and some even lobbed personal attacks at Melville. I have yet to come across a classic that was received worse by contemporary critics than Moby-Dick and if you know of any, please let me know in the comments. It seems like a miracle that this book went from zero to hero so drastically. Still, all writers can take heart in that such miracles can and do happen.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
I saved this one for last because it doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve only read The Hobbit all the way through–and that was when I was a child–but I loved the movies and plan to return to the books as soon as I can. Still, it’s hard to imagine that a series with such a cult following, one which may consist of every fantasy geek in the first world, could have flopped as badly as Lord of the Rings first did.
Mainstream critics panned it and many of Tolkien’s friends grew tired of it when he would read samples to them. One atrocious objection to it was the fact that he was a “career linguist,” not a professional writer. Such elitism is ridiculous and, unfortunately, can happen today, too. However, the vast majority of writers I’ve encountered have been very warm and welcoming no matter what your “other careers” might be, so here’s hoping this divisive trait dies out soon. Another objection was the theme of “industry versus the environment.” I can’t say that similar books won’t receive the same sort of welcome today, at least in the current United States.
Lord of the Rings movie poster. Thank you, hippies, although I could do without Gollum.
Still, the hippie movement demanded the return of Lord of the Rings and, thanks to these “tree-huggers,” we can enjoy this franchise today.
Maybe your book won’t sell many copies in its first run. Maybe critics will crush your ego beneath their shoes like a cockroach. Maybe you’ll feel like your work isn’t good enough to see the light of day and want to quit. Before you give up, please remember these books, now considered classics, and how poorly they were received during the authors’ times. These famous literary fails became successful, why not your work?
In the spirit of the “All Summer in a Day” writing prompt, today’s “Writers on Writing” will focus on prolific science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. An American author and screenwriter known best for Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury worked in science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery fiction, dystopian fiction, and many other genres. He received the Prometheus Award for Fahrenheit 451 in 1984, was given the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush in 2004, and the Ray Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization was named in his honor. Needless to say, he’s a fantasy/science fiction icon.
I’ve honestly only read two short stories by Bradbury (at least which I know were written by him), “All Summer in a Day” and “Mars is Heaven!” I’m also fascinated and amused beyond all belief by the fact that Fahrenheit 451 is among the most challenged books of recent decades. He also gave writers–and human beings overall–many gems of wisdom, including the one I am discussing today:
Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.
–Ray Bradbury
The last two lines of that advice immediately put Yoda in my head. “Do or do not, there is not try.”
You could argue that Bradbury’s remarks expand on Yoda’s advice. Bradbury explicitly explains that which Yoda alludes to: overthinking something like a creative act disrupts the flow, which brings the entire act to a screeching halt. You cannot think too much on what you’re doing because you’ll start to imagine all that could go wrong and doubt yourself; when you doubt yourself, you almost certainly fail.
While I am horrible at following this advice, I know from personal experience that Bradbury and Yoda are right.
Most of my writer’s blocks come from thinking too much. I’ll start wondering, “Does this dialogue mesh with the character? If I do [blank] to [blank] character, will the readers hate me? Will anyone even read this? Why should I bother?”
You can see how that sort of train of thought can kill the creativity. If we think too much, we become too self-conscious. When we grow too self-conscious, we doubt everything we do and then nothing gets done.
In addition to the self-conscious inhibitions discussed by Bradbury, thinking can get us side-tracked. If you’ve ever watched The Big Bang Theory, you’ll remember this scenario from the episode “The Focus Attenuation”. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj take a weekend away from the girls–and, theoretically, all other distractions–to try and focus on their work to make a breakthrough. They get to work but, unfortunately, thinking as they worked led to many tangents, including watching pigeons play ping-pong and determining if Bill Murray misuses “negative reinforcement” in Ghostbusters. Needless to say, the characters didn’t get any work done.
Thought seems important for creative acts. After all, where do these ideas come from but our thoughts? Still, we have to be careful to not think too much. Figuring out the logistics of a fight scene or deciding if dialogue is working or not is best left for the editing/rewriting stages. Before all else you need to just get the ideas out and then you can make sense of the babble later.
Writing doesn’t work this way for all writers. Anne Rice is pretty open about how, in her process, she won’t move on to the next page in a book until she’s perfected the one she’s on. Perhaps you, as a writer, need to think enough to work out how exactly your character gets from scene A to scene B before you can continue to write.
For many writers, like me, Bradbury’s words ring true; once pen touches paper or fingers touch keyboard (after the initial outline/notes stage), the conscious mind needs to shut off and let the words flow. Otherwise we become self-conscious, doubt ourselves, and/or go entirely off-track. There’s a time and place for everything, and often the time for thinking is not when you’re writing.
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