In preparation for a few workshops at a local high school, I borrowed Gail Carson Levine’s Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly from the library. This how-to book by the author of Ella Enchanted is shelved in the children’s section, and I figured I’d skim the book for a few pointers. Instead I savored every page.
Here are a few of my favorite bits of advice:
- I write fiction for lots of reasons. One is power. I’m in charge when I write. So are you. You create the world of the story. You make the rules.
- When you start writing a story, all the beginning needs to do is to get you into the story…. When you finish the story and go back to revise it, your beginning is likely to change.
- A story’s plot is mostly determined by character.
- So what makes the difference between caring and not caring? The author’s cruelty. And the reader’s sympathy. We keep turning the pages because we are worried…. Well, it takes a mean author to write a good story.
- Don’t worry about making your main character change. Just be aware that she should, and the awareness will seep into your writing.
- I tell myself I’m going to write down stupid options as well as excellent ones. I write down the stupid ones because they are brave. This sounds crazy, but it’s true. Whenever I start a list, my stupid ideas surge forward, but the usable ones hang back. They’re shy, and they want to see how the stupid guys are treated. When they see me behave respectfully to the dopes, they tiptoe out into the open. I snag them and write them down, too.
- [I] phrase what I’m stuck on as a question…on a Post-It and slap it up on my office door. Then I do my best to forget about it. Meanwhile, the back of my mind goes to work. Three hours or three days later the answer arrives.
- Do not bend your story to accommodate your brilliant words. Revising and cutting take courage and self-confidence. You have to believe that you will write equally brilliant prose again.
- Let writing be your solace, your companion, your secret joy.
- Write to nurture yourself.
- Write to tell us about being you.
- Write to tell us about being human.
- There can never be too many stories. Add to the reservoir.
And, yes, here’s a bit of Levine’s advice on the critiquing process:
- Just as you’ll become a better writer with practice, so you’ll become a better critic.
Amen to that. Every time I go to a Scrivas meeting, I remind myself that giving an excellent and thoughtful critique is a learned skill, and I’m still learning.
This is how I often envision my newly published book. What a sweetie! Family and friends, as well as assorted strangers, want to take a peek. They ooh and aah, and sometimes handle my creation less gently than I’d wish. They compare the wee babe to others they have seen. They ask me how I am doing. They have all sorts of suggestions about child rearing. They wonder if I plan to have another.
