A 12-point manifesto for the writing life.
1. A writer writes. Period.
2. A writer reads. Capaciously.
3. A writer distills experience, sense, image, sensation, life into words.
4. A writer rejoices in a well-turned phrase, an apt metaphor, an evocative image—even if she didn’t write it.
5. A writer delights in words for their own sake.
6. A writer collects words, for they are the tools of his trade, and he can never have too many.
7. A writer is both a master of words and mastered by them. She strives to maintain the delicate balance between mastery and humility, service and skill.
8. A writer studies masters of the written word—both old masters and new ones.
9. A writer recognizes literary excellence and is therefore capable of judging his own work.
10. A writer focuses on the work itself—not on its reception. She writes not for accolades or approval or acceptance, but simply because she must.
11. A writer refuses to use words for his own ends. Instead, he submits himself to the work of words and serves that work to the best of his ability, which is always increasing because…
12. A writer practices her craft. In other words…
1. A writer writes.
Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts, 1925.
kimberlee, this is powerful, humbling, thrilling, and i feel challenged by your words. thank you. thank you !
Thank you, Layla! I’m so glad you find it challenging in a good way. I do, too. It’s a reminder to me of why I write–and what that requires of me. I confess I don’t live up to my manifesto here; it’s a goal that I’m aiming for 🙂
9. I doubt my own ability sometimes. At both.
10. I regularly need that reminder. Thank you.
Laura, it’s hard to judge our own work accurately, especially when we’re in the middle of it. A bit of time/distance usually helps me to see where it’s lacking, but I’m very much a beginner at this. I tend to either exalt my work all out of proportion or else vilify it as the worst writing ever, neither of which is ever true or helpful.
Reading great writing has helped tremendously–after these past three years of reading well, I feel much more confident when I say x-and-so is a good book. I can even say it’s a good book and I didn’t like it. Or, it’s not very well-written, but I liked it anyway. All that has come about in the last six months or so.
I think my months away from the blogosphere, where many (most?) of us write very similarly, were incredibly helpful. Reading a slew of old (and some new) books that are universally hailed as excellent has also helped me begin to see what makes a book literarily excellent. And it’s helped me be willing to let go of being relevant and to ditch much contemporary advice (most of which is about marketing rather than writing anyway) in order to practice my craft and write, if not excellently, then at least better than I did last year!
What a list. Thank you.
It’s a list I’m working into, Diana. A proleptic manifesto, if you will.