My first reaction to
this is piece is: what didn’t I learn/admire? I initially appreciate the intro
to the commandments, particularly “the last negative thing you head has sunk
deeper into you and has lasted a longer time than any other comment.” I
couldn’t find this to be any truer. One of the last workshops I did, I received
several negative comments about my portrayal of setting. In essence, the
majority said it just wasn’t there. This bugged me to the point of me
overcompensating on my next piece. I didn’t think it was normal to internalize
those criticisms, but if Bausch says it is, I can learn and move on.
The
first two points Bausch makes, which is to read and imitate are important to me
and go hand in hand. When I’m stuck, I like to look at other work for
inspiration, even if I’m writing a chapter for a novel and going to read a
poem. Often times I feel that my writing isn’t sophisticated enough or is
missing some cohesive element to bring it together. Reading other authors helps
me see the variety of styles there are when it comes to writing and allows me
to experiment. I don’t read as often as I’d like, but I think I’m going to
start following the six authors a year idea.
Commandment number three is of the utmost important
because of exactly what he says: “if you hope to produce something that will
stand up to the winds of criticism and scrutiny of strangers, you’re going to
have to work harder than you have ever worked on anything else in your life.”
This is something I’m working on because I find every excuse in the book to set
aside writing during the day to do other things that are clearly less
productive. Talking to the other Creative Writing majors, I learned that very
few of them do that much writing outside of what is required in classes and
workshops. The best advice I’ve ever gotten was to write something every day,
even if only for 5 or 10 minutes. I think the word that Bausch uses, which is
“habit” is completely appropriate a goal I have. I want to make my writing a
habit to the point where it equates to brushing my teeth in the morning.
The last few points that struck me were to “do not think.
Dream” and “don’t compare yourself to anyone.” I am the queen of overthinking.
I find free writes both terrifying and rewarding because some of my best
writing comes out that way. When I sit down at my laptop and try to plan a
story, I realize my mistake is planning in the first place. I agree that I need
to “just dream it up and let the thing play itself out as it seems to want to.”
I think it’s great to view your writing as a living, breathing entity. It has a
heartbeat and a mind that wanders just as much as you do, even if your thoughts
and your writing’s thoughts do not match up. The other commandment of not
comparing yourself to others is crucial because I think a lot of writers forget
there is no specific way you need to write so it’s pointless to feel bad
because someone else is praised for their work and you aren’t. There’s
competition in any field, especially ones where there are no real rules to
govern your writing.
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