| General Fiction posted August 16, 2024 |
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3 tips on writing
Just a Few Conclusions
by Bryce 1
Writing Contest Winner
The first rule for any writer, is to write down one sentence of truth first. This is not my own advice but the advice from, I think it was, Ernest Hemingway. What a great name he had. That's a name people remember. Ernest, even his first name implies that he is telling the truth. And that last name, Hemingway, well the word itself seems to carry you towards some imaginary place. I like his stories but none of his have compared to my favorite story, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. In this story, John was able to dupe the reader and then reveal all of his tricks in the very end. Now, I'd like to think I'm an attentive and not easily fooled person, but when a writer is able to trick me into tears, alone in my room, I regard him as one of the finest writers to ever put pen to paper. Stories that truly capture my imagination and force it in directions I myself would have never dreamed of, are writers who I want to steal from.
Another great piece of writing advice was "Good writers copy, great writers steal". I don't know who said this one, actually I think it was artists instead of writers but you get the point. To steal, outright and without recognition, is just adding someone elses piece to the puzzle that you yourself are creating. You take a piece of history, give thanks for it, and then use it to further the progression of art. Every great artist has done so, name any you'd like and you'll find that he or she has stolen from one they admired enough to steal from. But, then again, don't plagarize an entire article and pass it off as your own, that's not art, it's just laziness and these days you could get in big trouble. My 9th grade honors english teacher can attest to that.
A last piece of advice I always go back to is the fact that sacrifice is an essential ingredient for any potential masterpiece. Bob Dylan has cut verses out of his songs that other musicians couldn't fathom to write, but he needed them gone for the good of the song. Picasso has trashed pieces that he was not satisfied with but would still be considered amazing works of art, he just had to rid himself of a piece he thought unsalvagable. Einsten had to throw away months worth of work because he finally admitted to himself that he was heading in the wrong direction. Sacrifice is a form of letting go and we need to do that sometimes, if not a lot of times, to just move on with our lives. Any good writer knows that the best words he has ever wirtten have come and gone in a flash, he was just there at the right time. The longer we hold on to anything, the quicker it will wilt away. That's why it is best to not spend too much time on any one line or phrase, if it's completion is meant to happen, it will, if not, move on to the next one. All answers come in time, they do not adhere to our busy schedule or our need to have it right now. That's what gives meaning to the words, they are not entirely dictated by our will.
I write this mainly to remind myself of this. I have been guilty of hiding from the truth, plagarizing others and holding on to one line for weeks, just trying to capture perfection. I have been lost in my own games many, oh so many times. If anyone else finds even a bit of help from this, I am honored and wholly surprised, for, I have no idea what i am doing, I am just going with what feels like the better way to go about my love of writing.
The first rule for any writer, is to write down one sentence of truth first. This is not my own advice but the advice from, I think it was, Ernest Hemingway. What a great name he had. That's a name people remember. Ernest, even his first name implies that he is telling the truth. And that last name, Hemingway, well the word itself seems to carry you towards some imaginary place. I like his stories but none of his have compared to my favorite story, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. In this story, John was able to dupe the reader and then reveal all of his tricks in the very end. Now, I'd like to think I'm an attentive and not easily fooled person, but when a writer is able to trick me into tears, alone in my room, I regard him as one of the finest writers to ever put pen to paper. Stories that truly capture my imagination and force it in directions I myself would have never dreamed of, are writers who I want to steal from.
Another great piece of writing advice was "Good writers copy, great writers steal". I don't know who said this one, actually I think it was artists instead of writers but you get the point. To steal, outright and without recognition, is just adding someone elses piece to the puzzle that you yourself are creating. You take a piece of history, give thanks for it, and then use it to further the progression of art. Every great artist has done so, name any you'd like and you'll find that he or she has stolen from one they admired enough to steal from. But, then again, don't plagarize an entire article and pass it off as your own, that's not art, it's just laziness and these days you could get in big trouble. My 9th grade honors english teacher can attest to that.
A last piece of advice I always go back to is the fact that sacrifice is an essential ingredient for any potential masterpiece. Bob Dylan has cut verses out of his songs that other musicians couldn't fathom to write, but he needed them gone for the good of the song. Picasso has trashed pieces that he was not satisfied with but would still be considered amazing works of art, he just had to rid himself of a piece he thought unsalvagable. Einsten had to throw away months worth of work because he finally admitted to himself that he was heading in the wrong direction. Sacrifice is a form of letting go and we need to do that sometimes, if not a lot of times, to just move on with our lives. Any good writer knows that the best words he has ever wirtten have come and gone in a flash, he was just there at the right time. The longer we hold on to anything, the quicker it will wilt away. That's why it is best to not spend too much time on any one line or phrase, if it's completion is meant to happen, it will, if not, move on to the next one. All answers come in time, they do not adhere to our busy schedule or our need to have it right now. That's what gives meaning to the words, they are not entirely dictated by our will.
I write this mainly to remind myself of this. I have been guilty of hiding from the truth, plagarizing others and holding on to one line for weeks, just trying to capture perfection. I have been lost in my own games many, oh so many times. If anyone else finds even a bit of help from this, I am honored and wholly surprised, for, I have no idea what i am doing, I am just going with what feels like the better way to go about my love of writing.
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Writing Prompt Write a story or essay with the topic of "writing". Can be instructional or a character in the story can be a writer. Creative approaches welcomed. |
Writing Contest Winner |
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