Disclaimer: I can't seem to produce good writing, so for lack of an actual sense of authority on the subject, I might end up departing into platitudes without saying anything of substance. How is a shitty writer like myself supposed to give advice on writing well? ...You have been warned.
After reading Trimble (and getting my ass resoundingly kicked in Ed's notes for my essays) I feel I have a vague idea of what I can do to make my writing "good": find good ideas, organize them well, find the right words, follow grammatical and syntactical conventions--all expressed with voice.
All that aside, though, I have to think about good writing as a goal... and if I am to be crowned a Good Writer, I have to think about process. My process, until this semester, consisted of the following: (barely) read what you're supposed to, think deep thoughts, stare at a blank document, think some more deep thoughts, and then ohmygodit's10pmherewegowordvomituntilyou'redone! If I was feeling particularly fancy, maybe I'd outline it. Now, I am discovering these things you guys call "drafts," and this awesome thing you do call "editing," as well as this wonderful substance called "caffeine," and it's all quite new and interesting.
In all seriousness, though, the best things I've done for my writing were to outline, to draft, to edit, and to sleep. In trying to understand "good writing," I have to think in terms with which I'm more familiar: those of film and animation. This applies to my filmmaking endeavors as well... if I spend too much time in production (read: shooting) and not enough in pre-production (script, storyboard, shot list, shooting schedule) or in post-production (editing), I end up with a pile of caca instead of a fleshed-out film. Same goes for writing; as soon as I turn my focus to the ideas, the outline, and the editing, the end result communicates everything so much more effectively. If I don't have my intent clear through the entire process, I lose track of my ideas and derail.
Just to expand on the idea of intent, I'm going to go back to analogies of film. I started making films with the intent of manipulating the audience's emotional state through narrative. I knew what I wanted to say already. They weren't good films, because they didn't read well--the connections between events and ideas weren't clear enough, so the audience didn't "get" what I was trying to convey. Plus, when I made films for an audience, I made what I thought they wanted to see, which was pretty much dishonest. It wasn't me. But when I started making films for me, I somehow got a better response from the audience. With writing, I'm still at the first stage. I'm still learning the rules, operating within the system, doing what I need to do to get my ideas onto the page. Processing ideas, outlining, and editing are vital to me getting beyond this stage; I'm not even at the point of thinking about an audience.
As with film, and any art, I don't think we can (or should) reduce "good writing" to a set of rules. Of course, we have to learn the system and operate within it for a while in order to challenge and change it; as Carl Sagan would say, if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. But if we approach it with only externally-imposed rules, without considering substance, and our own ideas, we get the written equivalent of my first few films: all technique and no soul.
Good writing is about balance: of form and content, of technique and voice, of ideation and edition. But to me, it's still just a goal. I just have to aspire a little harder.
And just to be super cliché, I'll end with this fantastic quote from Ira Glass:
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it's normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you finish one project. It's only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take a while. It's normal to take a while. You've just gotta fight your way through."
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it's normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you finish one project. It's only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take a while. It's normal to take a while. You've just gotta fight your way through."
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