Paying it Forward to Share What We've Learned

 

There’s so much to know about becoming a writer. And there’s equally as much to know about being a writer. Although those two statements sound one and the same, they are not.

Becoming a writer means sitting down in a chair and pounding out your thoughts into coherent sentences and paragraphs and pages. Being a writer means continuing to write. Not giving up. It means practicing your art, learning the ropes, always trying to learn more. It means dismantling the brick walls that you find—one brick at a time.

What does it mean to pay it forward to other writers?

An example is the blog you are currently reading, Jennifer Brown Banks’s Pen & Prosper. For you, it may mean answering an occasional question that comes over the transom of your local writers group, such as the Chicago Writers Association, which hosts a listserv that includes many writers who are just starting out, who need the knowledge you’ve already amassed. It takes a few minutes of our time, but then many others have helped and continue to help us along the way.

If I were to make a list, it would include the developmental editor who saw the promise in my first fumbling manuscript. It would also include the accomplished writer who kindly answered my email with words of support—she gave a nudge when I needed it most and it buoyed my hopes.

As I looked around for classes that discussed the nuts and bolts of becoming a writer, I found many classes that offered nuggets of knowledge. I also found venues only too happy to take a neophyte’s cash.

Every job requires work, and writing is no exception. Besides the obvious writing and editing, there will be hours of internet research, and many more hours of reading—books in one’s genre and the how-to books. What I saw in the marketplace gave me pause. I worried about unsuspecting would-be writers who would be sucked into the hype. Storytellers want to share their passion—we know it’s not about the money (the recent Author’s Guild study about the lack of monetary incentive is confirmation). And so, I created a class, which I taught at a small local arts center. I discussed the basics, and where to find those basics.

For example, here are a few of my favorite how-to books:

- Stephen King’s On Writing, with some autobiographical information that may encourage you; yes, even King received tons of rejections.

- Ursula Le Guin’s Steering the Craft: A Twenty-first Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story (Le　Guin was one of the greats, she died in 2018 at age 88, a mere month after her last book came out, No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters).

- Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. I dare you to read this book and not be inspired to stop reading mid-sentence and writing something!

Other important basics that I discussed during the class—things a writer ignores at their peril—are in Strunk’s Elements of Style (first pubbed in 1918, it’s been revised and updated for 21st century writers). Following are a few of Strunk’s rules that you may want to review:

- Use concrete language (“He showed satisfaction,” or, “He grinned.” Which conveys an image?)

- Use active voice (“The homework was eaten by my dog,” or, “The dog ate my homework!” Do you feel the difference?)

- Use parallelism when expressing ideas. (In winter, spring, or in summer, or, In winter, in spring, in summer. Just remember James Taylor crooning: “Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call.” What if he’d sang, “Winter, spring, summer, or in fall”?)

- And my favorite: Omit needless words (a.k.a. word clutter). We often catch the clutter during editing; don’t worry, we all do it, but we must be aware and fix it.

    Other basics include tips from the greats; again, you will find these when you read how-to books. Here are two great nuggets:

- From Stephen King: That boxy thing in your den that squawks news and reruns of Big Bang Theory is your enemy—it keeps you from reading. You must read, read, read in order to be a good writer. Listen to books in your car; carry one to the doctor’s office waiting room; find the time!

- From James Patterson: “Be there!” Put yourself into the scene. Feel it. If someone is drowning and you’re sitting on a beach blanket, would you really dive in? Maybe, maybe not. If you’ve been trained or it’s your sister, then perhaps the answer is absolutely yes. But what goes through your mind? Do you grab a floatation device? Again; be there. Make the scene believable. If it doesn’t ring true with the reader, it may mean they stop flipping pages of your book.

As for getting published, read The Writer’s Market. It contains lists of agents, publishers, and venues that might publish your work. There are also some great how-to’s included (e.g., how to prepare a book proposal). Note that The Writer’s Market is updated every year; go to the library if you can’t afford to buy a new one each year.

I’ve taught the writing class only twice, and it’s unclear if or when I’ll have time to do so again. But what came out of my endeavor to pay it forward was a feeling of fulfillment. The students (can I say, “my students”?) came away with a lot of information and they agreed to form a writers group to keep the hope going. You too can pay it forward. It’s a good feeling.

　

Bio

 Melanie Holmes is the author of a book coming out in May 2019 from the University of Illinois Press—A Hero on Mount St. Helens: The Life and Legacy of David A. Johnston, about a man from Oak Lawn, Illinois, who made a career of studying volcanoes, then died when St. Helens erupted before the science existed to save those who died, including Johnston. You can find Melanie on Facebook or via her website, www.MelanieHolmesAuthor.com


Thoughts? How do you pay it forward?
Image credits:Pixabay.com