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Learning to Write from the Masters

May 21, 2012 //  by Janet Grant//  72 Comments

Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant

The other day I read one of my client’s manuscripts and came to the  conclusion that the opening paragraphs were convoluted, forced, and confusing. I wrote to him to suggest  he delete those first paragraphs; the manuscript, I assured him, unfolded beautifully thereafter.

My client responded to my suggestion with this: “I already had felt a pang of conviction [about those paragraphs] after rereading a portion of A Moveable Feast when Hemingway says, ‘If I started to write elaborately, or like someone introducing or presenting something, I found that I could cut that scrollwork or ornament out and throw it away and start with the first true simple declarative sentence I had written.'”

The conviction my client felt when he read the Hemingway passage, added with my perspective, convinced him to start his novel several paragraphs later.

As I thought about how a few sentences from A Moveable Feast had pointed my client to the error of his writing, I realized that the masters generously offer us their writing insights, often through books devoted to instructing us. They seem eager to tell us what they’ve learned as they’ve sweated over their masterpieces.

That realization caused me to list a few helpful instructions I’ve gathered from the masters about writing principles. Here are three of them:

“Thunder and lightning too often, and they stop getting under the bed.” –Mark Twain

“Murder your darlings.” –Critic and writing instructor, Arthur Quillin-Couch

“Writers must be fair and remember even bad guys (most of them, anyway) see themselves as good—they are the heroes of their own lives. Giving them a fair chance as characters can create some interesting shades of gray—and shades of gray are also a part of life.” –Stephen King

Other authors who were eager to share their wealth of knowledge are C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, E.B. White. The list goes on.

What writing advice have you gleaned from the master writers?

 

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Category: Authors, Authors, Blog, Writing CraftTag: C.S. Lewis, E.B. White, Ernest Hemingway, Madeleine L'Engle, Mark Twain, Stephen King, writing advice

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  1. Kristen Carmitchel

    May 21, 2012 at 3:25 am

    I just finished Stephen King’s book on writing. I’m going to need to read back over it a few times, I think. He had so much good advice, and managed to be entertaining while he gave it — definitely a keeper.

    Reply
    • Jennifer Major

      May 21, 2012 at 8:34 am

      I’m halfway through it and have all kinds of pen marks in it already. Excellent stuff.

      Reply
      • Kristen Carmitchel

        May 21, 2012 at 10:47 am

        Now I just have to buy my own copy so I can bookmark it up! The library probably wouldn’t appreciate it…

    • Robin Patchen

      May 21, 2012 at 11:38 am

      An excellent book with some hilarious moments. I loved it. This makes me want to reread it.

      Reply
  2. Michelle Lim

    May 21, 2012 at 6:10 am

    Here are a few quotes that are great advice:

    If you start with a bang, you won’t end with a whimper. – T.S. Eliot

    Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    This one I find funny, although it doesn’t reflect my views of editors:

    The road to ignorance is paved with good editors. – George Bernard Shaw

    As for the adjective, when in doubt leave it out. – Mark Twain

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:25 pm

      I hadn’t heard the T. S. Eliot quote. Pretty funny! Thanks for sharing these.

      Reply
    • sally apokedak

      May 21, 2012 at 1:40 pm

      The George Bernard Shaw quote kind of reminds me of:

      “Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.”
      ― Flannery O’Connor

      Yes, we’re an arrogant lot.

      Reply
  3. Jeanne

    May 21, 2012 at 6:23 am

    What a great post today. I can hardly wait to learn from others. Though this quote doesn’t come from a classical master, this has been a good truth for me from Rachel Hauck: “Tell the story between the quotes.” Does that count? 🙂

    Reply
    • Christina Berry

      May 21, 2012 at 11:53 am

      I just saw this in my notes from years ago the other day. It’s such powerful advice in so few words!

      Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:26 pm

      Definitely a winner, Jeanne.

      Reply
  4. David Todd

    May 21, 2012 at 6:31 am

    “…if poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all.”

    John Keats

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:26 pm

      That one zings home, doesn’t it?

      Reply
  5. Lindsay Harrel

    May 21, 2012 at 7:40 am

    Wow, so much helpful truth here today! I love reading quotes about writing. Why not learn from those who have gone before?

    Reply
  6. Lori

    May 21, 2012 at 8:07 am

    I keep a copy of a page from http://www.cjdarlington.com under my favorites where the author “Janet Kobobel Grant” says “Begin at the beginnig”. That entire post has been very helpful to me.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:27 pm

      Thanks, Lori. I’m glad that post was/is helpful to you.

      Reply
  7. Tiana Smith

    May 21, 2012 at 8:12 am

    I love that quote from Twain. Right now I’m struggling with balancing my external and internal conflict, and I think I’ve been focusing too much on the external action (or the lightnings and thunderings). I need to find a better balance.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:28 pm

      Sounds as though you’ve figured out the problem. In many ways that’s a major part of the battle won.

      Reply
  8. Jennifer Major

    May 21, 2012 at 8:40 am

    I liked what Stephen King said about giving bad guys a fair chance as characters and their shades of gray. My bad guy in my WIP is AWFUL, but he was fun to write…and kill off.
    Two of the most important things I learned from reading the greats, is to layer the characters as much as possible. And to put in wisps of mannerisms to make each character a ‘character’, not a one dimensional means of moving the story along.

    Reply
    • Amanda Dykes

      May 21, 2012 at 8:51 am

      Jennifer, I found it tricky (but a good challenge) to weave in some redeeming characteristics/facets to my villain in my last MS, too. One tip James Scott Bell gives in “Revision and Self Editing” is to force yourself to write a paragraph– not necessarily to put in the MS, more for brainstorming– from the villain’s mother’s point of view. Remembering that they’re someone’s child, and trying to view them through their adoring mom’s eyes (or someone else who actually likes the villain), helps. 🙂

      Reply
      • Jeanne

        May 21, 2012 at 11:46 am

        Oooh, like this idea, Amanda. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂

      • Leah Good

        May 21, 2012 at 12:07 pm

        Oh, yes, I read something similar in Orson Scott Card’s “Character and Viewpoint”. The concept is very thought provoking.

  9. Wendy Lawton

    May 21, 2012 at 9:10 am

    Style, like the human body, is specially beautiful when the veins are not prominent and the bones cannot be counted.
    —Tacitus

    Reply
    • Christina Berry

      May 21, 2012 at 11:54 am

      Oooo, good one!

      Reply
    • sally apokedak

      May 21, 2012 at 1:32 pm

      I’d never heard this one. I like this one.

      Reply
  10. Kate

    May 21, 2012 at 11:26 am

    Janet,

    Great reminder that those who have “plowed the ground” before us unearthed treasures we can use in our journey.

    I love collecting writing quotes and “pinning” them… easy to review over a cuppa and become inspired once more!

    A couple of favorites:

    Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it. ~Hannah Arendt

    And the “legend” of Hemingway’s famous story in 6 words: For Sale: Baby Shoes, never worn.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm

      Kate, that Hemingway, he’s amazing. Just think how good he would be a Twitter…or would it be unmanly to him to tweet?

      Reply
      • Sue Harrison

        May 21, 2012 at 3:58 pm

        I don’t think he could resist Tweeting, Janet, but I don’t think he wouldn’t call it that.

  11. Meadow Rue Merrill

    May 21, 2012 at 11:29 am

    “If it’s too complicated for adults, write it for children,” Madeleine L’Engle.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:31 pm

      That’s great advice! And packs a lot in a few words.

      Reply
  12. Emily

    May 21, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Love those quotes, Janet! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  13. PJ

    May 21, 2012 at 11:37 am

    “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” ~James Michener


    Though I’m not really a Michener fan, I love this quote. Reminds us to just plant the seed of a story down on paper and worry about making it blossom later.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:32 pm

      What’s great about Michener’s quote is that it shows he knew what worked for him. Some of us never figure that out.

      Reply
  14. Connie Almony

    May 21, 2012 at 11:37 am

    I finally got the courage to write after having read biographies about both Jane Austin and Georgette Heyer. The thing that was most enlightening was to read Georgette Heyer’s descriptions of her stories before they became books. She’d say, and the character will to such-and-such, but I don’t know why yet. I finally realized, I didn’t need to know everything before I started, and I could fix some things later. So I finally put pencil to page (or finger to keys).

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:33 pm

      It’s the not knowing why a character did something that leads to investigating who that character is. It could make a great launching pad for a story, couldn’t it?

      Reply
  15. Robin Patchen

    May 21, 2012 at 11:42 am

    “Never use a five dollar word when a fifty cent word will do.” Mark Twain. An old, often-quoted bit of wisdom.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:34 pm

      As one who loves my $5 words, I don’t like this quote. :0

      Reply
  16. Wendy Lawton

    May 21, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    Experience and describe— don’t explain.
    —Albert Camus

    Reply
    • Meadow Rue Merrill

      May 21, 2012 at 12:34 pm

      Oh, that’s genius!

      Reply
    • Jeanne

      May 21, 2012 at 6:05 pm

      Like this one. 🙂

      Reply
  17. Ann Bracken

    May 21, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    Love these! One of my favorites:

    The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense – Tom Clancy

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 12:35 pm

      That’s so true, Ann. We accept all kinds of oddities in life and find them fascinating, but try putting those in your story. We won’t believe them!

      Reply
  18. Megan DiMaria

    May 21, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    These three pieces of advice speak to me:

    “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”
    ~E.L. Doctorow

    Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.
    ~ Dr. Seuss (This motivates me!)

    Either marry your work – take it seriously and do it every day – or date it – write only when you feel like it – but know which you are doing and the repercussions of both. 
~Anonymous

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      Mountain-climbing is fun when you enjoy the journey.

      Reply
  19. sally apokedak

    May 21, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
    ~Anton Chekhov

    The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon
    ~Robert Cormier

    Every story teaches me how to write it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t teach me how to write the next one.
    ~Eudora Welty

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 2:18 pm

      Chekhov’s quote made me “ooh”; Cormier’s made me smile; and Welty’s made me say “amen.”

      Reply
  20. Stephanie Grace Whitson

    May 21, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    I just put this one up in my office: “Planning to write is not writing. Outlining a book is not writing. Researching is not writing. Talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.” E.L. Doctorow. I imagine this serves as a true confession as to what I struggle with when it comes to writing. It’s just … the writing.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 2:19 pm

      It always comes down to sitting down and getting on with it, doesn’t it? We do manage to procrastinate something fierce though.

      Reply
  21. Janet Ann Collins

    May 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    There has been so much helpful advice on the blog perhaps you should compile it into a book. Maybe it would become a best seller, at least to other writers.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      Thanks for that suggestion, Janet. Certainly today we’re giving each other much to contemplate and inspire us.

      Reply
  22. Bill Giovannetti

    May 21, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    Omit needless words.

    –The Art of Readable Writing

    Reply
    • Jeanne

      May 21, 2012 at 3:39 pm

      Yes.

      Reply
      • Janet Grant

        May 21, 2012 at 4:27 pm

        Agreed.

  23. Cheryl Malandrinos

    May 21, 2012 at 4:41 pm

    Love all these quotes. Some I had heard before, but many were new to me.

    This is one I’ve always loved:

    “Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.”
    –Thomas Berger

    Here’s another great one:

    “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
    –W. Somerset Maugham

    Thanks for this wonderful post to start out the week.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 5:33 pm

      These are great to add to our arsenal.

      Reply
    • Jeanne

      May 21, 2012 at 6:06 pm

      I was chuckling out loud when I read these. 🙂 They’re true. 🙂

      Reply
  24. Lisa

    May 21, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Thank you for sharing this inspiring post and I loved reading through the comments too.

    I love Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird

    “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and the first draft.”

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 5:34 pm

      Oh, yeah, we needed to hear from Anne Lamott in this conversation. That’s a great quote, Lisa.

      Reply
  25. Jennifer Major

    May 21, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    These are great!! Time to copy and paste and tape to the wall!

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 21, 2012 at 5:34 pm

      Yup, copying, pasting and taping as well.

      Reply
      • Jennifer Major

        May 21, 2012 at 7:54 pm

        Is it just me, or did anyone else *hear* “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” whilst reading that comment?
        Yes, yes it is almost midnight here, why do you ask?

  26. Aimlesswriter

    May 21, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    Not specific to writing but this keeps me motivated (especially when the rejections roll in)
    “A man is not a success because he has never failed, but because failure has never stopped him.”

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 22, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      An adage appropriate for every involved in publishing!

      Reply
  27. Yvette Carol

    May 21, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    ‘Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.’ E.B.White

    ‘It is important to please the ear as well as the eye.’ C.S.Lewis

    And I always remember the saying, ‘Never get wedded to a line’ although I’m not sure who said it. Was it Dr. Seuss?

    I personally can never get enough of good quotes. I truly enjoyed this post. Thank you!
    Yvette Carol

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 22, 2012 at 8:38 pm

      Thanks for adding these to our arsenal, Yvette.

      Reply
  28. Richard Barnett

    May 21, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    That’s Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch.

    Otherwise, a constructive and helpful blog that could be expanded.

    Compliments,

    RSB

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 22, 2012 at 8:42 pm

      I stand corrected. Thank you.

      Reply
  29. Darby Kern

    May 22, 2012 at 6:31 am

    From Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules of writing- this is the one that sums up the ten:

    If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

    Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative. It’s my attempt to remain invisible, not distract the reader from the story with obvious writing. (Joseph Conrad said something about words getting in the way of what you want to say.)

    I’m not sure I would call Elmore a master, but he quotes a lot of Steinbeck and Hemingway in the article and considers them his literary parents. I’ve bben rereading some Steinbeck lately and find his shorter books (Of Mice and Men) stronger than the longer ones (Grapes of Wrath). I think Elmore’s advice is valid.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 22, 2012 at 8:46 pm

      Darby, those are good concepts to keep in mind. The part about not letting composition get in the way of your narrative. You can delude yourself and explain away a lot of bad English using that idea. I agree with it, but one would have to be careful not to over-apply.

      Reply
  30. Patricia Zick

    May 22, 2012 at 6:34 am

    I reread The Great Gatsby anytime I want to see how a master weaves subplot into main plot so seamlessly that I’m always left with gaping mouth to realize how they all came together in the climax. And he did it a book that could almost be called a novella. Inspires me every time.

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 22, 2012 at 8:47 pm

      Rereading books whose qualities leave us agape is a great concept, Patricia. I seldom make it back to the books I love, I’m sad to say.

      Reply
  31. Brad Huebert

    May 22, 2012 at 9:30 pm

    Dorothy Sayers, Mind of the Maker. A classic that also illuminates sound theology. Brilliant!

    Reply
    • Janet Grant

      May 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm

      Thanks for that suggestion, Brad. I haven’t read that book. Anyone else read it and love it…or not?

      Reply

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