I read a post on Twitter the other day asking the #WritingCommunity what their feelings were in regards to using adverbs and adjectives in their work. There’s a lot of debate on this – should a writer purge all the adverbs and adjectives from their text? Can we use a few now and then? The responses to the tweet weren’t unexpected. Some people were purists (don’t use them at all) while others said occasional use was okay. I agree with the latter opinion.

A few years ago (okay, more than a few, but since I’m writing this I’ll adjust the time) when I was in the Creative Writing program at Florida State, I had a fantastic professor who opened my mind as a writer. One of the many things she taught me was this – learn all the rules so you know how to break them. That resonated with me because, up until that time, I felt that I had to write a certain way and my prose suffered.

Before meeting Elizabeth Stuckey-French in that workshop, I had been taught all the rules for proper writing. It was very stiff, very confining, very boring, and it frustrated me. I wanted to be a good writer, and everything I was taught stated that good writers follow certain rules. No deviation. It sounds cliche’, but it was a different time in public schools and I doubt any of my earlier teachers were writers or gave much thought to the actual process of writing. I’m not faulting them…hell, I think I was the only kid in any of my schools that wrote fiction and poetry. At least, I’m the only one I knew of.

But discovering that I could disregard the rules was mind-blowing. I mean, I could have learned that on my own at some point, but having someone state it directly was a revelation and allowed me to reassess my writing, the way I approached it, the things I could do with it.

The way I see it now, telling a story is like painting on a canvas. I can mix and match different styles, use different perspectives, tell stories in all sorts of interesting ways. I felt as if I was let off a chain that had kept me restrained to the backyard and now I could roam the neighborhood and explore.

So whenever someone asks a question about rules or what writers should and shouldn’t do, I respond with the advice I learned back in school. Writers should never limit themselves. Our medium is words and words are like little brush strokes on a page. We mix them up, rearrange them, experiment with style and form, swirl things around into new and interesting formats. We are artists and artists should never be afraid to experiment.

And before I close this out, I highly recommend the writings of Elizabeth Stuckey-French. She’s a wonderful writer and an inspiring teacher.

RB

I’ve finished the first draft of my first real novel (I’ve made a few failed, half-hearted attempts in the past) and found the process exciting and exhausting. As I noted to the writing community on Twitter earlier this week, I felt like I had run a marathon. Because of that, I’m setting the draft aside for a bit so I can come back at it later after I’ve let my brain recuperate and so I can have fresh perspective when I look at it again.

Never having written a long piece like this, I approached it similar to how I write a short story – I had the idea, a few characters, and a basic plot, then I just dove in and started writing. After a few pages I realized I needed more guidance than that. With a short story, it only takes a few pages before I know where I’m going with the story and have an ending in site. With a novel…well, I felt like I was looking for the finish line but it was hidden on the other side of a mountain range. In other words, it was overwhelming.

So I regrouped and created a basic outline – just a skeleton, really – and sketched out some short character bios for my cast. That helped. I dove back in and typed away, day after day, pushing through my doubts and apprehension, until I finally saw the finish line. In fact, I did still use my short story background in the process by looking at each chapter as sort of an unfinished shorter piece. That way, I was looking at it as a series of short runs rather than a long haul. It helped.

Over the years I’ve read many books on writing and found it interesting to see how the process is different for every author. Some take the route I followed, just having an idea, a handful of characters, and just diving in. I like this because the story isn’t over-planned. I like spontaneity in my creative process, not knowing exactly what might happen next. Will my protagonist make a stupid decision? Get laid? Kill someone? Maybe all three? Sure, I had a vague idea of what was going to happen, but without having a strict outline to follow it made the entire process more interesting to me.

And yeah, it probably made it more difficult, as well. Not having a concrete idea of where I was going slowed me down. There were a few wrong turns that ended up in deleted pages as I backed up and looked for another path. There was also some frustration when I wasn’t sure where to go. Like driving at night on unfamiliar roads with my lights off. I may have hit a few trees along the way. I still arrived safely at my destination, but some repairs are needed.

But there are authors who swear that the way to go is to create a detailed outline, with every plot twist and scene sketched out in detail and full biographies written for even the minor characters. I see where they’re coming from, but to me that feels like over planning. I understand their point – with a map to follow the process should be easier, faster, and less painful and frustrating. But in my mind I wonder where the fun is in that. Where’s the improvisation? Where’s the creativity?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing shade on anyone. It’s just that I feel – for me – writing needs to be spontaneous, a little dangerous, and fun. I liken it to sex. You don’t want to explain to your partner exactly what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, and how long it will last. Kinda takes the fun out of the event.

I’m proud of myself for finishing the first draft and I’m excited by the story. Based on feedback from my cohorts in the Twitter-verse, I’m going to try to wait thirty days before I take a second pass on the draft. In the meantime, I’m going to work on a couple of new short stories get a few completed ones submitted.

RB