By Dennis Mellersh
For the beginner writer interested in developing a book, there can be a temptation to search for sure-fire book-writing formulas, theories, or techniques that will lead to success. These might be called short-cuts.
It is only natural to assume that, with so much advice available on how to write a book, that there are tried and true methods that will help ensure success. And, in fact, there is a lot of good instructive material available on the basics of how to structure your approach to writing your book.
But when it comes to the actual writing, it is important to speak in your own voice and to guard against your writing becoming imitative of your favorite authors, for example.
Similarly, imitating the way a favorite author develops exposition or dialogue could result in your work appearing derivative and lacking in originality.
The novelist William Faulkner discussed over-dependence on technique and the need to develop your own voice in an interview reproduced in Writers at Work, published by the Paris Review:
“Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no short cut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer he wants to beat him.”
Showing posts with label Advice from book writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advice from book writers. Show all posts
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Don’t fall in love with your writing
By Dennis Mellersh
In writing a book, as with any form of writing, one of the dangers that many writers face is becoming enamored with their words and not providing themselves with the perspective to judge their writing objectively.
In the flush of finishing that first draft your book, for example, the creative juices are flowing fast, and the creative emotions are running high. At this point, as writers, everything we have put down seems to look and sound great.
And, it is important when writing creatively to go with the flow of our thoughts, not interrupting the writing to make continual adjustments. The downside, is that when we are “in the zone” with the first draft our book and writing furiously, we can: become repetitive, use too many unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, fall into the trap of telling and not showing through action, become redundant, have too much exposition, or become inconsistent.
At this point we need to back off from the work take a hard look at our writing, and see if we can determine ways to improve it.
At the first draft stage of a book, one of the techniques we can use to improve the manuscript is to see how we can make it more compelling by removing writing passages that add little, or even detract, from the central theme of the book.
In other words make the story more concise and compressed. The necessity for this exercise is not something that needs to be followed only by beginner writers; established, famous authors recognize the importance of keeping their writing focused on the core essentials needed to tell their story.
Stephen King, for example, offers this advice:
“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt …but it must be done.”
Doing this cutting of what may be some of our favourite parts of our manuscript is difficult, and requires creating perspective.
One way to achieve this perspective is to put the manuscript aside for some time, go on to another project and then revisit the manuscript with a fresh eye after a few days or more.
And when you go back to the manuscript you want to edit, make sure you keep a copy of your first and subsequent versions of the manuscript in case you get carried away and throw out some of the good stuff along with the non-essentials.
In writing a book, as with any form of writing, one of the dangers that many writers face is becoming enamored with their words and not providing themselves with the perspective to judge their writing objectively.
In the flush of finishing that first draft your book, for example, the creative juices are flowing fast, and the creative emotions are running high. At this point, as writers, everything we have put down seems to look and sound great.
And, it is important when writing creatively to go with the flow of our thoughts, not interrupting the writing to make continual adjustments. The downside, is that when we are “in the zone” with the first draft our book and writing furiously, we can: become repetitive, use too many unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, fall into the trap of telling and not showing through action, become redundant, have too much exposition, or become inconsistent.
At this point we need to back off from the work take a hard look at our writing, and see if we can determine ways to improve it.
At the first draft stage of a book, one of the techniques we can use to improve the manuscript is to see how we can make it more compelling by removing writing passages that add little, or even detract, from the central theme of the book.
In other words make the story more concise and compressed. The necessity for this exercise is not something that needs to be followed only by beginner writers; established, famous authors recognize the importance of keeping their writing focused on the core essentials needed to tell their story.
Stephen King, for example, offers this advice:
“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt …but it must be done.”
Doing this cutting of what may be some of our favourite parts of our manuscript is difficult, and requires creating perspective.
One way to achieve this perspective is to put the manuscript aside for some time, go on to another project and then revisit the manuscript with a fresh eye after a few days or more.
And when you go back to the manuscript you want to edit, make sure you keep a copy of your first and subsequent versions of the manuscript in case you get carried away and throw out some of the good stuff along with the non-essentials.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Writing a book about what you know = authenticity
By Dennis Mellersh
Finding ideas from the experiences of successful writers can be an effective means of finding out what’s involved in the process of learning how to write a book.
One Canadian writer who wrote a lot of great books and enjoyed significant sales is Pierre Berton. You could profit by reading his book, The Joy of Writing, published by Doubleday Canada.
One of the ways Berton explains what it is like to be a professional book writer is by showing the stages of how a manuscript is edited as well as showing some examples of the research he did for his books, which were primarily non-fiction.
One of the key chapters and one which should benefit the beginning book writer is titled, Writing What You Know. In keeping with the importance Berton attaches to this concept, this is a lengthy chapter.
One of the geographic areas that Berton was familiar with, because he lived there for some time, was the Klondike. This gave him an understanding of life in this section of Canada, and as a result, he was able to write Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1886-1889 with authenticity.
Pierre Berton comments in The Joy of Writing that he had a great interest in the subject of the Klondike; he was familiar with the area; and so he had a “feel” for the subject matter.
Finding ideas from the experiences of successful writers can be an effective means of finding out what’s involved in the process of learning how to write a book.
One Canadian writer who wrote a lot of great books and enjoyed significant sales is Pierre Berton. You could profit by reading his book, The Joy of Writing, published by Doubleday Canada.
One of the ways Berton explains what it is like to be a professional book writer is by showing the stages of how a manuscript is edited as well as showing some examples of the research he did for his books, which were primarily non-fiction.
One of the key chapters and one which should benefit the beginning book writer is titled, Writing What You Know. In keeping with the importance Berton attaches to this concept, this is a lengthy chapter.
One of the geographic areas that Berton was familiar with, because he lived there for some time, was the Klondike. This gave him an understanding of life in this section of Canada, and as a result, he was able to write Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1886-1889 with authenticity.
Pierre Berton comments in The Joy of Writing that he had a great interest in the subject of the Klondike; he was familiar with the area; and so he had a “feel” for the subject matter.
Advice from James A. Michener on How to Write a Book
By Dennis Mellersh
One of the best ways to learn about how to write a book is to investigate what successful authors have written about the craft and study the advice they might offer.
James Michener wrote a number of books about his experiences in the world of writing books as a profession. One of them, the James A. Michener Writer’s Handbook, published by Random House, New York, could be helpful to you in your book writing ambitions.
I got my copy at a used bookstore, and as Michener’s book was written some time ago, it may no longer be in print. Last time I checked it was available used on amazon.com. You could also check your local library and also your local used bookstore.
One of the interesting aspects of the book is that it takes the reader through the process of editing and revising the original manuscript from first draft to the final version, which helps give the reader a good insight into this part of the publishing process.
The various stages of the editing process are illustrated with actual edited manuscript pages of some of the sections of Michener’s novels.
Michener gives credit to the editing process at his publisher with helping to improve the original manuscripts of his novels.
One of the myths among aspiring writers, who are in the first stages of writing a book, is that well-known book authors do not have to have their manuscripts edited. As this book shows, however, even famous authors fall under the blue pencil of the editing staff at a publishing house.
One of the sections of the book that could be quite helpful to new book writers is the section in which Michener answers questions that are most often asked by beginner writers.
One of the best ways to learn about how to write a book is to investigate what successful authors have written about the craft and study the advice they might offer.
James Michener wrote a number of books about his experiences in the world of writing books as a profession. One of them, the James A. Michener Writer’s Handbook, published by Random House, New York, could be helpful to you in your book writing ambitions.
I got my copy at a used bookstore, and as Michener’s book was written some time ago, it may no longer be in print. Last time I checked it was available used on amazon.com. You could also check your local library and also your local used bookstore.
One of the interesting aspects of the book is that it takes the reader through the process of editing and revising the original manuscript from first draft to the final version, which helps give the reader a good insight into this part of the publishing process.
The various stages of the editing process are illustrated with actual edited manuscript pages of some of the sections of Michener’s novels.
Michener gives credit to the editing process at his publisher with helping to improve the original manuscripts of his novels.
One of the myths among aspiring writers, who are in the first stages of writing a book, is that well-known book authors do not have to have their manuscripts edited. As this book shows, however, even famous authors fall under the blue pencil of the editing staff at a publishing house.
One of the sections of the book that could be quite helpful to new book writers is the section in which Michener answers questions that are most often asked by beginner writers.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
If you don’t care about it, don’t write about it
By Dennis Mellersh
In your efforts to learn how to write a book, there is a lesson to be learned from the advice most experts today give about starting any creative project: if you aren’t passionate about the project; if you don’t care about what the project represents, then don’t spend effort on it. Because it will not likely succeed.
Expanding on that thought, there is a saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” From the standpoint of writing a book, we could modify this and say “Write about something you enjoy, something you care about, something you are passionate about, and the creativity will follow.”
Although the act of writing a book is creative and satisfying enough to perhaps be its own reward, most of us would like to know that there is a potential audience for our book’s contents, and that this audience would hopefully pay money to purchase our book, read it and be happy that they spent the money and effort on doing so.
In terms of the types of books in both content and genre that people can choose to read today, the choices are so vast that no-one in the book-reading public will be satisfied by a less than a passionate writing effort by the book’s author.
The Internet with its almost limitless information offerings in virtually every niche area of interest means that people can be choosy about the information they decide to spend time on.
The days of simply cranking out a book, having it published, and then publicized by a gate-keeper publishing company, and then reaping royalties are over. With all of the social media and inter-connectivity available today through the Internet, insincere or hack book-writing efforts are quickly perceived and accordingly dismissed.
The writer Anais Nin puts the subject of passion in writing this way: “If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.”
In your efforts to learn how to write a book, there is a lesson to be learned from the advice most experts today give about starting any creative project: if you aren’t passionate about the project; if you don’t care about what the project represents, then don’t spend effort on it. Because it will not likely succeed.
Expanding on that thought, there is a saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” From the standpoint of writing a book, we could modify this and say “Write about something you enjoy, something you care about, something you are passionate about, and the creativity will follow.”
Although the act of writing a book is creative and satisfying enough to perhaps be its own reward, most of us would like to know that there is a potential audience for our book’s contents, and that this audience would hopefully pay money to purchase our book, read it and be happy that they spent the money and effort on doing so.
In terms of the types of books in both content and genre that people can choose to read today, the choices are so vast that no-one in the book-reading public will be satisfied by a less than a passionate writing effort by the book’s author.
The Internet with its almost limitless information offerings in virtually every niche area of interest means that people can be choosy about the information they decide to spend time on.
The days of simply cranking out a book, having it published, and then publicized by a gate-keeper publishing company, and then reaping royalties are over. With all of the social media and inter-connectivity available today through the Internet, insincere or hack book-writing efforts are quickly perceived and accordingly dismissed.
The writer Anais Nin puts the subject of passion in writing this way: “If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.”
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The power of being concise and clear in our writing
By Dennis Mellersh
As we gather knowledge and insights about how to write a book, an important skill to develop is to learn to write with clarity and conciseness.
The writer E.B. White says, “The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he’s going to the trouble of reading what I’ve written – I’m a slow reader myself and I guess most people are – why the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I’m trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.”*
Being concise and keeping to the essentials can add power to the book you are writing. Books that are verbose are often examples of weak writing. One of the keys is to make sure you don’t fall in love with your words.
Georges Simenon, who wrote psychological novels and mysteries, commented about excess or unnecessary words in writing in one of The Paris Review Interviews. The Interviewer asked Simenon, “What do you cut out, certain kinds of words?”
Simenon replied, “Adjectives, adverbs, and every word which is there just to make an effect. Every sentence which is there just for the sentence. You know, you have a beautiful sentence – cut it. Every time I find such a thing in one of my novels, it is to be cut.”*
The Canadian painter David Milne, in discussing what makes a powerful painting made a comment that could equally be applied to the art of writing a good book, “The thing that ‘makes’ a picture is the same thing that makes dynamite – compression.”
In writing a fictional book, such as a novel, less can often be more. As noted by Ernest Hemingway, “If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.”
E.B White as quoted in For Writers Only by Sophy Burnham, Ballantine Books, New York, 1994
*Georges Simenon as quoted in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, The Viking Press, Viking Compass Edition, 1959, p. 146
As we gather knowledge and insights about how to write a book, an important skill to develop is to learn to write with clarity and conciseness.
The writer E.B. White says, “The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he’s going to the trouble of reading what I’ve written – I’m a slow reader myself and I guess most people are – why the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I’m trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.”*
Being concise and keeping to the essentials can add power to the book you are writing. Books that are verbose are often examples of weak writing. One of the keys is to make sure you don’t fall in love with your words.
Georges Simenon, who wrote psychological novels and mysteries, commented about excess or unnecessary words in writing in one of The Paris Review Interviews. The Interviewer asked Simenon, “What do you cut out, certain kinds of words?”
Simenon replied, “Adjectives, adverbs, and every word which is there just to make an effect. Every sentence which is there just for the sentence. You know, you have a beautiful sentence – cut it. Every time I find such a thing in one of my novels, it is to be cut.”*
The Canadian painter David Milne, in discussing what makes a powerful painting made a comment that could equally be applied to the art of writing a good book, “The thing that ‘makes’ a picture is the same thing that makes dynamite – compression.”
In writing a fictional book, such as a novel, less can often be more. As noted by Ernest Hemingway, “If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.”
E.B White as quoted in For Writers Only by Sophy Burnham, Ballantine Books, New York, 1994
*Georges Simenon as quoted in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, The Viking Press, Viking Compass Edition, 1959, p. 146
Saturday, October 20, 2012
What kind of book will you apply your talents to?
By Dennis Mellersh
One of the more important considerations in learning how to write a book is in deciding on the type of book you want to create.
Which of the two major categories are you interested in?
Fiction, such as a novel; or non-fiction, such as some aspect of business?
If your interest lies in creating a non-fiction book, then in addition to the topic you pick, there is another decision you need to make in terms of the way your book will be constructed.
In a recent interview with Jonathan Fields, book marketing sage Seth Godin made an important distinction in the types of books he created.
In some of his earlier books, which in his view were essentially a compilation approach, Godin said that for these types of books, he considered himself a “book packager.”
When he turned more to creating truly original material based on issues he had thought about a great deal, he started viewing himself as a “real author.”
Which path do you want to take?
One of the more important considerations in learning how to write a book is in deciding on the type of book you want to create.
Which of the two major categories are you interested in?
Fiction, such as a novel; or non-fiction, such as some aspect of business?
If your interest lies in creating a non-fiction book, then in addition to the topic you pick, there is another decision you need to make in terms of the way your book will be constructed.
In a recent interview with Jonathan Fields, book marketing sage Seth Godin made an important distinction in the types of books he created.
In some of his earlier books, which in his view were essentially a compilation approach, Godin said that for these types of books, he considered himself a “book packager.”
When he turned more to creating truly original material based on issues he had thought about a great deal, he started viewing himself as a “real author.”
Which path do you want to take?
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Learning from the great writers
By Dennis Mellersh
Aspiring authors looking for advice on how to write the book or books they may feel they have inside their them can gain valuable insights into the creative writing process by not only reading the works of great writers, but also by reading their comments on the art of writing, the purpose of writing, and life in general.
This can include biographies and autobiographies of major novelists, their letters, and articles written about them.
As an example, let’s look at Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), the major early 20th Century novelist, and some comments on writing and the writing life he wrote in one of his letters*. (Note: not to be confused with the contemporary writer Tom Wolfe).
In one of his letters, Thomas Wolfe noted, “I am working from six to ten hours a day…I sleep till noon, go for a walk, buy a book, read for an hour, then back to my room and work from four or five o’clock until ten at night. Then I go out to eat and walk, back at midnight or one o’clock, and then work till three or four.”
“…The best life I can now dream of for myself, the highest hope I have is this: that I believe in my work and know that it is good and that somehow, in my own way, secretly and obscurely, I have power in me to get the books inside me out of me. ..”
“You ask again if I look upon writing as an escape from reality: in no sense of the word does it seem to me to be an escape from reality; I should rather say that it is an attempt to approach and penetrate reality.”
These words about writing and the writing life from Thomas Wolfe are just a minuscule example of the encouragement, guidance, and inspiration that we can find in works by great writers and works written about these writers.
I would urge you however, not to depend only on the Internet for researching this type of material. Better to make the time to go to your local library and get involved with real books. As an aspiring book writer your research universe needs to be much wider than electronic materials.
*This letter by Thomas Wolfe was excerpted from The Letters of Thomas Wolfe, edited by Elizabeth Nowell, and was reproduced in The Creative Writer, published by Writer’s Digest, Copyright 1972.
Aspiring authors looking for advice on how to write the book or books they may feel they have inside their them can gain valuable insights into the creative writing process by not only reading the works of great writers, but also by reading their comments on the art of writing, the purpose of writing, and life in general.
This can include biographies and autobiographies of major novelists, their letters, and articles written about them.
As an example, let’s look at Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), the major early 20th Century novelist, and some comments on writing and the writing life he wrote in one of his letters*. (Note: not to be confused with the contemporary writer Tom Wolfe).
In one of his letters, Thomas Wolfe noted, “I am working from six to ten hours a day…I sleep till noon, go for a walk, buy a book, read for an hour, then back to my room and work from four or five o’clock until ten at night. Then I go out to eat and walk, back at midnight or one o’clock, and then work till three or four.”
“…The best life I can now dream of for myself, the highest hope I have is this: that I believe in my work and know that it is good and that somehow, in my own way, secretly and obscurely, I have power in me to get the books inside me out of me. ..”
“You ask again if I look upon writing as an escape from reality: in no sense of the word does it seem to me to be an escape from reality; I should rather say that it is an attempt to approach and penetrate reality.”
These words about writing and the writing life from Thomas Wolfe are just a minuscule example of the encouragement, guidance, and inspiration that we can find in works by great writers and works written about these writers.
I would urge you however, not to depend only on the Internet for researching this type of material. Better to make the time to go to your local library and get involved with real books. As an aspiring book writer your research universe needs to be much wider than electronic materials.
*This letter by Thomas Wolfe was excerpted from The Letters of Thomas Wolfe, edited by Elizabeth Nowell, and was reproduced in The Creative Writer, published by Writer’s Digest, Copyright 1972.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Stop telling, and start showing in your writing
By Dennis Mellersh
One of the key concepts of learning how to write a book is to practice showing readers situations rather than “telling” about them.
If you are writing about a character in your novel and you want to indicate that he is angry, you need to show or demonstrate that anger, rather than just using the word angry as an adjective.
You don’t even need to use the word anger to convey the emotion. In fact, you are better off not using the word.
Natalie Goldberg makes this point well in her book, Writing Down the Bones: “…don’t tell us about anger (or any of those big words like honesty, truth, hate, love, sorrow, life, justice etc.); show us what made [the character] angry…Don’t tell readers what to feel. Show them the situation and that feeling will awaken in them.”
Let’s see if we can write an example illustrating Goldberg’s point.
Of the following two sentences, which is more effective in showing anger?
“On hearing this deliberately cruel and sarcastic remark, Kyle cursed and threw his coffee cup smashing it against the wall.”
Or,
“When he heard this remark Kyle became visibly angry.”
In the first example, we are showing. In the second we are telling.
The reader of your novel will be able to construct much more vivid mental pictures of what you are trying to describe if you focus on showing instead of simply telling.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Writing a book often requires courage
By Dennis Mellersh
Throughout the journey of learning how to write a book, courage is often required in the creative writing process.
Fantasy writer Ray Bradbury, in speaking of the quality of courage, in both writing and life in general, is quoted as saying, “You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time, and build your wings on the way down.”
I see this as saying, make the creative leap in writing your book and in life, and manage the circumstances that might unfold after taking that big creative step.
Do that, instead of spending large amounts of time trying to anticipate all the possible fearful outcomes and developing mechanisms to deal with those possibilities.
You can see/hear Ray Bradbury discussing the writer’s life on various videos on You Tube.
Throughout the journey of learning how to write a book, courage is often required in the creative writing process.
Fantasy writer Ray Bradbury, in speaking of the quality of courage, in both writing and life in general, is quoted as saying, “You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time, and build your wings on the way down.”
I see this as saying, make the creative leap in writing your book and in life, and manage the circumstances that might unfold after taking that big creative step.
Do that, instead of spending large amounts of time trying to anticipate all the possible fearful outcomes and developing mechanisms to deal with those possibilities.
You can see/hear Ray Bradbury discussing the writer’s life on various videos on You Tube.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Henry Miller's thoughts on writing books
By Dennis Mellersh
The author Henry Miller wrote a lot about the creative process and writing in his various works. In the book, Henry Miller on Writing, there is an extensive compilation of Miller’s thinking on writing edited by Thomas H. Moore, using selections from the published and unpublished works of Henry Miller.
The book is divided into four sections with a number of sub-chapters in each section. The four main sections are:
The Literary Writer
Finding His Own Voice
The Author at Work, and;
Writing and Obscenity
Miller’s style in his novels is often described as autobiographical fiction, and it is not surprising therefor that his novels include observations on his overall creative process and the art of writing. The book features selections from some of Millers famous works such as Tropic of Capricorn, Sexus, Nexus, Plexus, and Tropic of Cancer as well as his non-fiction writing.
One of the sections, in the chapter The Author at Work, shows Miller’s work schedule for 1932-1933, which is comprised of numerous pages on what Miller is planning. It includes detailed notes on: Commandments (principles guiding his writing efforts), Daily Program, Major Program, Minor Program, Painting Program (Miller was also an artist), and Agenda.
This section on how he worked shows that Miller faced the same difficulties as most writers do – he had to put effort into disciplining himself to do the hard work of putting words on paper.
Here are a few of Miller’s guiding principles from his Commandments:
Work on one thing at a time until finished
Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is at hand
Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time
Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing
Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
In the Daily Program he describes his plans for afternoons: Work on section at hand, following plan of section scrupulously. No intrusions, no diversions. Write to finish one section at a time, for good and all.
Consisting of 216 pages, the paperback version of Henry Miller on Writing that I am quoting from was published by New Directions Publishing Corporation in 1964. Henry Miller on Writing is available at amazon.com, as is an book he wrote entitled, The Books in my Life.
The reviews of these books on amazon.com are generally highly favourable and provide good insights into the contents of these books and why the reviewers found reading them beneficial.
The author Henry Miller wrote a lot about the creative process and writing in his various works. In the book, Henry Miller on Writing, there is an extensive compilation of Miller’s thinking on writing edited by Thomas H. Moore, using selections from the published and unpublished works of Henry Miller.
The book is divided into four sections with a number of sub-chapters in each section. The four main sections are:
The Literary Writer
Finding His Own Voice
The Author at Work, and;
Writing and Obscenity
Miller’s style in his novels is often described as autobiographical fiction, and it is not surprising therefor that his novels include observations on his overall creative process and the art of writing. The book features selections from some of Millers famous works such as Tropic of Capricorn, Sexus, Nexus, Plexus, and Tropic of Cancer as well as his non-fiction writing.
One of the sections, in the chapter The Author at Work, shows Miller’s work schedule for 1932-1933, which is comprised of numerous pages on what Miller is planning. It includes detailed notes on: Commandments (principles guiding his writing efforts), Daily Program, Major Program, Minor Program, Painting Program (Miller was also an artist), and Agenda.
This section on how he worked shows that Miller faced the same difficulties as most writers do – he had to put effort into disciplining himself to do the hard work of putting words on paper.
Here are a few of Miller’s guiding principles from his Commandments:
Work on one thing at a time until finished
Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is at hand
Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time
Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing
Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
In the Daily Program he describes his plans for afternoons: Work on section at hand, following plan of section scrupulously. No intrusions, no diversions. Write to finish one section at a time, for good and all.
Consisting of 216 pages, the paperback version of Henry Miller on Writing that I am quoting from was published by New Directions Publishing Corporation in 1964. Henry Miller on Writing is available at amazon.com, as is an book he wrote entitled, The Books in my Life.
The reviews of these books on amazon.com are generally highly favourable and provide good insights into the contents of these books and why the reviewers found reading them beneficial.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Eric Hoffer discovers a different Way to Write a Book
By Dennis Mellersh
During 1958-1959, if you had asked the late author/philosopher, Eric Hoffer, how to write a book, he might have told you, “Read a lot of books that interest you and make notes. You might also want to read the essays of Montaigne – he is the writer who really piqued my interest in the possibilities of writing.”
Thanks for those ideas, but can you give me some insights as to how to actually write it?
Hoffer might then have said, “I wish I could offer you some helpful advice, but right now I’m struggling with a mental blockage with my writing, and the only things I’m putting down on paper are for the most part jottings in a diary about what I’m doing and what I’m thinking about each day, as well as my thoughts about books that I’m currently reading.”
Although the above “conversation” is fictional, the diary written by Hoffer is real.
The contents of the diary, written from June 1958 to May 1959, eventually became a book, Working and Thinking on the Waterfront, published by Harper & Row, copyright 1969, by Eric Hoffer. His method of writing was to write down his ideas and observations, as they developed, in notebooks, and then to cull the notebooks for editorial material for articles and in some cases, books. The diary was kept in the same type of notebooks, but was started for a particular reason.
In the preface to Working and Thinking on the Waterfront, Hoffer talks about why he started the diary: “While rummaging recently through a pile of old notebooks, I came upon a diary I had kept during 1958-1959. I had completely forgotten about it. Nineteen fifty-eight and 1959 were difficult years…I began to suspect that all my thinking life I probably had only one train of thought, that everything I had written stemmed from a central preoccupation, and that I was going to go through life and never discover what it was…I had to sort things out; talk to somebody, so on June 1, 1958, I began a diary. Toward the end of March, 1959, I realized that my central subject was change.”
The diary, which filled seven notebooks, had served its purpose, as Hoffer subsequently later wrote what he is said to have considered his finest work, The Ordeal of Change.
Although Eric Hoffer became famous as a philosophical writer, he spent his entire working life in manual labor jobs. He spent considerable time as a migratory field worker harvesting crops and then in 1943, he became a longshoreman in San Francisco. The cover of Working and Thinking on the Waterfront shows a photograph of Hoffer sitting on a loading/unloading wagon at a pier, reading a book.
The book, in addition to providing insight into his daily life and impressions of what it was like working as a longshoreman, also contains a lot of Hoffer’s philosophical thinking under the creative or development stage – thoughts that eventually emerged in a number of books and essays.
In the diary, Hoffer gives flashes of insight into his creative process. Discussing a book he is currently trying to write, he says, “I get discouraged when I think what’s ahead of me to finish the book. Yet in all my writing, I could never see farther than my nose – adding crumb by crumb.”
Eric Hoffer is reported to have been born in 1902, although some believe it was 1898, and died in 1983. Ten books of Hoffer’s books were published, and from the first, The True Believer, he generally struck a chord of acceptance with both academics and the reading public, although many of his ideas were controversial and were debated.
Hoffer led a simple daily life as far as the material world is concerned, and he usually lived in single rented rooms. In the diary he writes, “I derive a subtle pleasure from the conviction that the world does not owe me anything. I need little to be contented: two good meals a day, tobacco, books that hold my interest, and a little writing every day. This to me is a full life.”
For further insights you might want to check out the following:
There are some television interviews with Hoffer from the 1960’s conducted by Eric Sevareid on You Tube – just type in Eric Hoffer in the You Tube search box.
During 1958-1959, if you had asked the late author/philosopher, Eric Hoffer, how to write a book, he might have told you, “Read a lot of books that interest you and make notes. You might also want to read the essays of Montaigne – he is the writer who really piqued my interest in the possibilities of writing.”
Thanks for those ideas, but can you give me some insights as to how to actually write it?
Hoffer might then have said, “I wish I could offer you some helpful advice, but right now I’m struggling with a mental blockage with my writing, and the only things I’m putting down on paper are for the most part jottings in a diary about what I’m doing and what I’m thinking about each day, as well as my thoughts about books that I’m currently reading.”
Although the above “conversation” is fictional, the diary written by Hoffer is real.
The contents of the diary, written from June 1958 to May 1959, eventually became a book, Working and Thinking on the Waterfront, published by Harper & Row, copyright 1969, by Eric Hoffer. His method of writing was to write down his ideas and observations, as they developed, in notebooks, and then to cull the notebooks for editorial material for articles and in some cases, books. The diary was kept in the same type of notebooks, but was started for a particular reason.
In the preface to Working and Thinking on the Waterfront, Hoffer talks about why he started the diary: “While rummaging recently through a pile of old notebooks, I came upon a diary I had kept during 1958-1959. I had completely forgotten about it. Nineteen fifty-eight and 1959 were difficult years…I began to suspect that all my thinking life I probably had only one train of thought, that everything I had written stemmed from a central preoccupation, and that I was going to go through life and never discover what it was…I had to sort things out; talk to somebody, so on June 1, 1958, I began a diary. Toward the end of March, 1959, I realized that my central subject was change.”
The diary, which filled seven notebooks, had served its purpose, as Hoffer subsequently later wrote what he is said to have considered his finest work, The Ordeal of Change.
Although Eric Hoffer became famous as a philosophical writer, he spent his entire working life in manual labor jobs. He spent considerable time as a migratory field worker harvesting crops and then in 1943, he became a longshoreman in San Francisco. The cover of Working and Thinking on the Waterfront shows a photograph of Hoffer sitting on a loading/unloading wagon at a pier, reading a book.
The book, in addition to providing insight into his daily life and impressions of what it was like working as a longshoreman, also contains a lot of Hoffer’s philosophical thinking under the creative or development stage – thoughts that eventually emerged in a number of books and essays.
In the diary, Hoffer gives flashes of insight into his creative process. Discussing a book he is currently trying to write, he says, “I get discouraged when I think what’s ahead of me to finish the book. Yet in all my writing, I could never see farther than my nose – adding crumb by crumb.”
Eric Hoffer is reported to have been born in 1902, although some believe it was 1898, and died in 1983. Ten books of Hoffer’s books were published, and from the first, The True Believer, he generally struck a chord of acceptance with both academics and the reading public, although many of his ideas were controversial and were debated.
Hoffer led a simple daily life as far as the material world is concerned, and he usually lived in single rented rooms. In the diary he writes, “I derive a subtle pleasure from the conviction that the world does not owe me anything. I need little to be contented: two good meals a day, tobacco, books that hold my interest, and a little writing every day. This to me is a full life.”
For further insights you might want to check out the following:
There are some television interviews with Hoffer from the 1960’s conducted by Eric Sevareid on You Tube – just type in Eric Hoffer in the You Tube search box.
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