My Approach to Teaching Writing

My Approach to Teaching Writing
Scott Wrobel

1. Communication trumps expression. Creating art is the expression part; communicating that art is the revision part. Creating art is much more enjoyable that revising it, but without revision, the creation part means nothing, because without revision, there can be no communication. Thus, writing, especially revision, is hard work. It demands discipline, order, attention to deadlines, devotion to understanding craft principles, and the willingness to repeatedly practice and learn new techniques. Writing well demands consistent reasoning, careful decision making, problem-solving, and highly conscious application of the principles of the craft. Creative writing is hard work as well as fun play. It's good work, but it's hard.

2. Avoid abstraction in favor of specific detail and concrete images. This another way of saying "show, don't tell," the most basic, repeated, and most important rule in creative writing. Simplicity, directness and careful word choice works better than inflated language and fanciness to communicate with audiences; it's a lot harder, though, so we'll practice concreteness a lot.

3. Don't try to be impressive. Trying to impress readers with elevated language or clever style effects only calls attention to itself and interferes with the communication process. It lifts them from the dream and calls attention to the writer rather than the work of art. The work itself should always be more important than the writer.

4. Avoid rhyming for no reason in poems, and always avoid style effects. The words should do the work. Style effects and rhyme, as in #3, call attention to the writer rather than the work of art.

5. Avoid sentimentality in favor of reality.

6. Characters should show emotion rather than the writer "expressing" the emotion for them. Instead of writing, "Mary felt sad about the dog's arthritis," show Mary crying or getting angry or something.

7. Writing can be vague, if for a good reason, but shouldn't be murky.

8. Avoid writing about big ideas; instead, write about things and let the ideas grow naturally around the things.

9. Inspiration is unreliable. Write instead. Don't get too fancy with trying to figure out a specific process, such as journaling, using tape recorders, carrying around notepads, etc. Just get some alone time and sit down and write stuff. Use exercises devotedly to generate material. Don't wait for the muse, because it's never been proven that one exists. And don't buy into the stuff about letting the "subconscious" or 'collective unconscious" do your work for you. The last thing you want to be is unconscious when you write. Writing is hard work that demands discipline and sweat. Sometimes, it's no fun at all.

10. It's not the reader's job to supply the meaning or interpretation to a story or a poem. As far as theme goes, not anything goes. It's the writer's job to control theme (through the revision process), not the reader's.