Don't Bother me with the Weather

“To those who refuse to see: Please get well soon.”

        If there were ever a train wreck, it happened upon her head. No one was quite sure what it was or why it happened. Purple and green and yellow and orange were splattered and spotted across a fusion of puffy and bristled hair. But perhaps the only reasonable excuse could be mustered in defense against her ruddy face, which was truly an accident. As she paced back and forth across the room, her students head's bobbed like buoys lost at sea.

“Good morning,” said Professor Corrah, finally resting at her lectern.

      What's wrong with the above? A few would say nothing, but there is a large following that would cry foul from the rooftops. They would claim the writer is cheating the reader. Instead of experiencing a great story, the author commits to the easy road and simply narrates. Let's call the predicament, “Showing versus Telling.” When writing a story we find it very tempting to narrate everything. A woman's dress was elegant, swiftly gliding across the dance floor. A man, with a pointy noise and bloodshot eyes, kept glancing at the clock, watching as his essay deadline approached. Maybe something a bit more exotic took place, and we found a student with a bright, smiling face, hand-in his essay on time. In every instance we start walking down a knife point. Do we choose to narrate or do we choose to show? I believe I have an answer: Both.

        It's a cheater's way to begin, but it's true – and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Monopolizing the way an individual writes is perhaps the greatest crime against humanity. No one prefers a statutory book, and no one wants a pamphlet full of fast pace events which end at the last period. Each method tries to tear an amateur writer to their side of the world. But as readers, we all know what we enjoy. What we enjoy is something in-between, a fusion of narrative and experience, a combination of showing and telling. But that's precisely what we need to understand: how can we blend showing and telling?

        There are only a handful of tools every writer must posses. A writer can narrate a scene or be equally creative and use dialogue to probe his surroundings. He may decide to speed up his events or slow them down, holding onto every second of every moment. It's a simple square that writers all over the world pass off for “greater” and “better” things. But lets take a moment and stay principled.
 
        We rain fire on narrations and dialogues alike because we forget what they are for. If we called the narrator the champion of us all then the world would be as lifeless as the whispers of abstract winds as they rustle through trees. If we hailed dialogue as our king, then why do we write books? Stop reading and watch a movie, or, better yet, go see a play. There must be a balance and it is found in our purpose. And that is it. What is the purpose of narration or the purpose of dialogue? It's to convey meaning. We prefer narration when the object of our gaze is our concern. A labyrinthine temple is much more ominous than a character's whimsical thoughts about the arches – unless the purpose is to demonstrate how short-witted your characters are, which proves my second point. Dialogue is always preferable to narration when your characters have a color to splash with. A series of Uh-um's and that's-interesting's may save you from a decent conversation but that won't cut it when you're wasting words on nothing. Yes, that's right. Uh-um's and that's-interesting's even in conversation express only one thing: I've got nothing on that.
       
        But narration and dialogue each posses a special trait that we tend to forget. We narrate because we want to “get on with it,” and nothing more. In a high speed car chase, who cares about the grass? It's about life and death, it's about who has the larger gun or more bullets, it's about me or him. Narration is about mastering the uncanny ability to cut out all excess information, forcing the reader to see the world as one painful point. On the other hand, we can use dialogue to express an intimate moment or to hold an answer in mid-flight. Imagine a mother rushing home because a hooded man tried to grab her in the parking lot. She arrives home to her husband who's waiting at the kitchen table. He looks at her then the door, and asks, “Where's my boy?”

        Timing is another consideration. Stories may be slowed or quickened to heighten effect. But what must be considered is the moment being expressed. A lovely scene becomes more tender the longer it lasts or becomes more bitter, sad, and desperate when it's shortened. Two youngesters holding hands as they take a midnight stroll through the park is a tender moment. The next morning when their town is destroyed by aliens, allowing you to describe their last moment as a battle to stay together as they are separated by storming mobs of people is bitter, sad, and, definitely, desperate. The juxtaposition of both of those scenes flips and magnifies the overall perspective into a tide of criminal allegations from your readers that you're a heartless wretch – they'll thank you later when you reunite them... in heaven. (That's brutal.) What I'll encourage you to do is play with your timing. Stretch it out and see what happens, shorten it and wonder if the effect captures the moment.

        The differences between showing and telling is only paralleled by the predicament of dialogue and narration. Some writers will choke you if you prefer narration and others will burn you at the stake and charge you with treason for favoring the tools of a playwright. The choice is up to you, every tool is free for the taking. Experiment with it, see what happens, and, if fire falls from the heavens, remember what Ray Bradbury said, “If you don't like my books, go write you own.”

Not All Cigars Are Cuban

I suppose the less I write the better my point will be. Imagine a glass cage. It has four equal sides, a mesh wire top, and sand on the bottom. Inside there is a mouse wheel with a rat running along the tracks. It is running quite fast for a rat, but there is something particular: it has a red “X” burned into its back. I have just created a scene in four sentences.

The magic in writing isn't all about what you say, but also what you don't say. I never said what color the rat's hair is, the color of the sand, if the room the rat was in is dark or bright, or if a room even existed. However, I bet you instantly created all of those images. For me the room was dark (probably because I am writing in a dark room), the rat had gray fur, and there was an annoying sound of spinning metal – or maybe that's my computer fan. Whatever it is, I didn't write it, I left those images for your mind to create, and it happened.

So often we think what we want to write and then feebly attempt to transpose the exact image into our reader's mind. That's no fun. Stories are best written in open spaces so the mind may wander. If you spend all your time describing only minute details you are defeating yourself and, much more importantly, you are strangling the reader's magic. The ashen colour of the rat's fur, the unnerving darkness of the cellar's laboratory, or how thick, shinny, or sharp the cage's glass is irrelevant to point being made: there is a rat and it has a red x on it's back. Over describing only strangles the mind, and when you strangle the mind the reader falls asleep.

At about this time you are probably wondering about the title. I suppose an explanation is appropriate. “Sit down.” a man said tapping on the desk. A Carnegie Steel foreman was just closing the door, “I heard there was a break in at the shipyard?” “They knew the shipment came.” he turned to grab a cigar out of a wooden box on his desk, “would you like one?”... Remember every cigar is NOT a Cuban cigar, the point isn't the quality of what they are smoking, the point is that something important was stolen by a competitor from Carnegie's shipyard.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

     The greatest writing book of all time, hands-down, is the Elements of Style by Professor Strunk and E.B. White. The simple articulation, the quaint but powerful phrases, and the rules that seem too short to be correct, has given writers of every generation the simple paths to greatness. But the long standing complaint against the school of brevity is briefness. Their questions and dilemmas bounce short of answers as the reader is left with text that abruptly turns to white space. So where do the readers go? They don't go anywhere. With rule after rule stacking on one another, readers stop looking and the book becomes frustrating. This idea is what inspired the book On Writing Well by Willaim Zinsser. This book expands specifically on the issues, questions, and rules of the brief legend; splicing and cutting more text across that terrifying white space we call doom. If you have the Elements of Style, this book would be an addition worthy of its binding, but if are looking for a book to dive right into with full explanations of simple rules look no further.

A. Delete Clutter

The new age of information is all about adding clutter. You never hear about a missile crashing but prematurely hitting the ground, you never hear about a business losing money but that a business is running at a negative cash-flow position, and further, you never hear about a country declaring war but offering all possible routes of diplomatic negotiations that unfortunately lead to a undesired conflict of opposing interests. You hate it, I hate it, and so does everyone else. The single most despised thing in the world is clutter. You start with a good plan, something perfect. The plan goes through a process of explanations and feather puffing, and before you know it, your plan is wearing several tons more information and piles of goodness that shrouds your perfect idea. Clutter, Clutter, Clutter, in the eyes of a writer is like saying More, More, More, and more is always bad. Don't bet that someone will understand you, hopefully. Hopefully you will spend that time and just state your perfect plan. Don't be a politician, cut out ALL clutter.

B. Be Simplified

Be simplified, don't be simple. There is a difference. Being simplified is about knowing that maple syrup and pinto beans are a bad idea, or that people who sell cow brain tacos to the masses should be arrested and forgotten among the conversations of great dietary achievements. Writing is about knowing what to write and when to stop. No one cares if a man walked to a store because it's bland, says nothing, and, above all, is simple. But someone may be interested if Mother Geronimo had tea with Peter Gilmore in a Hindu Temple. The idea is to be direct in what you are saying and where you are going. Be simplified, NOT simple.

C. An audience of One

Imagine the front cover of a New York Times Best Seller. Imagine the numbers of sold copies printed across the top with golden font and silver trim. Imagine the the literary praise and seeing your book placed along side the shrines of your childhood dream-authors. Now take that idea firmly by the horns and go throw it in the trash – that is not writing. Writers always write for themselves without thinking what the audience wants to hear. Writers are famous not by writing what audiences want to hear, but being able to explain their own ideas so that readers can understand.

D. Cadence

Most people don't believe me when I say there is rhythm in writing. Yes, I am speaking about writing, not poetry. But good poetry is worth reading if you want good cadence. Read poetry, watch for cadence, and your writing will start flowing.

E. Use direct/proper/useful words

“Lord, please help me with the hard things in my life and guide me to make the right choices from day to day,” as you continue in piety, “And please help my friends get their things done and help them over come their problems... and.... and.” Lord have mercy on your soul if you pray like that. There are no grades for a well spoken prayer, but you may succeed at saying nothing. Writing, like speaking, is about nouns and verbs. If you have poor nouns you have poor subjects. If you have poor verbs you have poor actions. And if you attempt to dribble by with auxiliaries alone may God miracle your way to heaven because, He knows, the road to hell is paved with adverbs and adjectives. Don't expect the reader to understand you, use word that mean what you mean, remember to be direct.

F. Unity, Place, Person, Nouns, Verbs, Moods, Tenses, reduces subjects to single sentences

Everyone hates planning, doesn't matter who you are. If you enjoy the face-splitting drudgery it is because you enjoy the end result, and that is why you must remember this rule. When you are writing keep everything matching. Plural nouns stay plural, people and person stay in different sentences, scenes don't jumble out of order and run together, people who are doing something are doing it now, and sad characters don't walk through doors and become happy – unless this is a Norseman bursting through the gates of Valhalla. Plan ahead and keep unity.

G. Introductions and Conclusions

Intro's should be entertaining, closers should be surprising. There is nothing worse for a writer to experience than labouring hours in detailing a thousand facts that would twirl the reader's mind into a high-sky adventure but never see the sun light because a reader isn't willing to endure the first paragraph - or first several pages. Introductions must capture the reader. Use an interesting fact, an odd observation, or perhaps a series of unanswerable incidents, anything that makes the reader say, “Wow, I didn't know that,” or, “What is happening or what will happen next?” the longer you can hold the reader the more willing he will be in enduring your thousand facts – even if they are boring. But there is one last tie: the conclusion. If you force a reader to endure an entire essay, then you better be thinking how you can sweep the reader off of his feet. If not, he will be sweeping your essay to the trash. Hook readers with a shocking fact or good story and end with a surprise that no one saw coming.

H. Practice detailing landscape...

I was once told that the only people who enjoy every moment of a traveler's tale are the travelers. They are the only ones who find wonder in ever step and a piece of God's goodness behind every rock, but people like you and me, when we ask, “Tell me everything about your experience,” only want to know everything that would interest us – be honest. When writing we have to keep this in mind and not bore our readers out of their wits. There is only one way to become better at detailing landscapes; Practice. But there's advice that may help you in the right direction: write the first three things that come to mind. If the mountain range is accented with black ice, a frozen lake, and a misplaced lightening rod, then speak about those things; as I have also been told, a picture is worth a thousand words, but people care less. So don't rabbit trail and attempt to speak about the wonder of every step or God's goodness behind every rock, just speak about the wonderful three steps or the greatest trio of God's beauties.

I. Humour is Serious Business

Humour is about practical truth. The best moments in life are often found around a thanksgiving turkey or a cold night out in the Christmas snow with friends and family reminiscing about times scarcely remembered. You cry together, laugh at each other, fight for trifling matters, but they are always good memories. They are memories of perfect origin, and nothing in life would be enough to barter for something else. Some people call it the simple things in life, and that is what I believe they are. Simple, and almost forgotten... almost. And that is what humour is, simple things almost forgotten, so next time you want to exaggerate a truth to make it “sound funny” remember that life is funny as it is and there is no need to dress it up in some clown outfit – that's just downright wrong and scary.

J. Intention and Quest....

Stories and legends are magical things: Enrapturing readers with failing plots and paper-thin characters, dazzling readers with hackneyed remarks as old as time, and villains that love being …. yes, we haven't got that far. Articulating intentions and quests are as difficult as articulating people – because that is what you are doing. A villain never loves villainy as much as he loves to conquer and pillage and burn in the name of a lost love, no hero has ever brought a tear to the reader who didn't face his deepest tremblings, and nothing was so magical as the hug of a child or nothing so propelling as the death of a friend. The thing to remember is, “The difference between a person and a hero is one more second of hope.” That's all, that's the magic: the undying, the unquestioning, the unrelenting fight that lasted one more second beyond all hope and the one second just before all despair. This is the moonlit realm that quest and intention run rampant, and your job is to find their flag and conquer it.

Zen in the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury's Rules to Writing

"Always Know Your Writing Mechanics.... Always.... No excuses.... No reasons.... Always, Always, Always, Know Your Writing Mechanics" - Ray Bradbury

Most authors know how to tell a soon-to-be-writer what he wants: smooth mechanics, solid vocabulary, clutter control, and clear thoughts. There are many books out there that describe, in simplicity, the stratagems of good writing and the wisdom discovered in error. But there is a scarcity of authors who explain the playground problems that every soon-to-be-writer needs constant reminders of – encouragement.

Though Ray Bradbury takes a small step to explain the foundations of writing, in his book Zen in the Art of Writing, he dedicates the rest in speaking to the reader on what writers need to over come; why criticism should be sought and not avoided, why dreams are always controversial, and, in his offensive rhetoric, why to keep on pushing. Time and again Bradbury determinedly goes out of his way to offend the largest groups of people only to demonstrate that writing is not about everyone else, but continuing to write despite everyone else. This is a book to help a soon-to-be-writer learn that good writers express what they believe.

For those who haven't had a chance to read his book, go and read Zen in the Art of Writing. For the less fortunate, below is a compilation of my study notes:

A. Write with Gusto and Zest

People often lack Gusto and Zest when they write. They write more automatically than a machine, and people realize it. Write words that describe what you are saying and don't be afraid to put zest and gusto into your word choice.

B. Write a lot, a lot, and a lot

You only get better by writing more often. Sit down and get comfy, because you need to write a lot, not only to gain confidence, but understand why writing is hard. Try writing a story per week at least 1000 words. From M-F write Rough Drafts 1-5. Then, on Saturday, hurl you r mess into a final copy for a friend to read.

C. Inspiration, The Muse, Poetry, Novels, Wants, Dislikes, Learn

Learn to gain inspiration from all sorts of literature and life experiences. Constantly read Novels for story and writing styles, poetry for cadences, similes and beauteous expressions. Read what you enjoy, so that you can improve, and read what you do not enjoy, so that you can expand your tastes and knowledge.

D. Write without Embarrassment

Don't write with embarrassment because then you admit to writing what others enjoy. It isn't their story, it isn't their life. If you want to write about pink elephants jumping over pancakes then do it. If you want to write about unicorns killing dandelions or birds killing people then do it. But whatever you do, don't write about what other people want to hear. Remember, if they want to hear themselves, they can write their own books.

E. Passion

Any story without passion is devoid of a honest reader. You may write a sci-fi book, but if you do not have passion about sci-fi, then don't write about it. If a story isn't inspired by a writer, by a person, then why would a person want to read it?

F. Not True does not mean Not Real

As Ray Bradbury stated, “The difference between science fiction and science fact is that one is a problem and the other a solution.” Writing about a problem doesn't mean it isn't true. Writing about a problem provides a way for a solution.

G. Search the Past for Today and write completely for tomorrow.

Inspiration is as plentiful as our past. Search your past and you will find the scarce moments you didn't believe existed. Memories that kept you walking at night and kept you sleeping during the day. Also, write completely. If you want to write about love, then give the audience something to love. If you write something sorrowful, then give the audience a reason to cry. If you write a mystery, then give the audience something to wonder for. If you write a book give someone a reason to read it. If you can't give a reason, then you don't have a reason to write it. Books are your dreams written down, and dreams have something to say.

H. Be a good Self-Editor, but don't drain your Character

Friends may give good ideas, but they aren't good editors - They don't know what you are trying to say. Read over your paper and edit it four or five times through by condensing your thoughts. Remove all unnecessary words, keep one or two thoughts per sentence, and one subject per paragraph. The process will help pull all the annoying cotton balls out of your paper and will straighten your tangled mess. Keep condensing until you have done the impossible, then have your friends give their good ideas on how to improve and expand your work. Start by making your point clear, start by editing well.