I recently started a Writer’s Workshop with Richard Bausch. I–and ten other future-great-authors–get to spend about two hours a week with this master of short stories, pithy novels, and literary fiction. Over the fourteen weeks this will take, I intend to share his wisdom and my epiphanies with you. So far, I find him wise, entertaining, human, approachable, humorous, interested and interesting. He has an identical twin brother, so I must be careful not to confuse the two (though Richard provided a clue to differentiating). More on this later.
I’ll start with this I found on his website, what he considers the Ten Commandments for writers. I must admit–I haven’t read most of these anywhere else. And having read them, I wonder why:
- Read: “You must try to know everything that has ever been written that is worth remembering, and you must keep up with what your contemporaries are doing.”
- Imitate: “While you are doing this reading, you spend time trying to sound like the various authors — just as a painter, learning to paint, sets up his easel in the museum and copies the work of the masters.”
- “Be regular and ordinary in your habits, like a Petit Bourgeois, so you may be violent and original in your work.” — borrowed from Flaubert
- Train yourself to be able to work anywhere.
- Be Patient. “You will write many more failures than successes. Say to yourself, I accept failure as the condition of this life, this work. I freely accept it as my destiny. Then go on and do the work. You never ask yourself anything beyond Did I work today?”
- Be Willing. “Accepting failure as a part of your destiny, learn to be willing to fail, to take the chances that often lead to failure in the hope that one of them might lead to something good.”
- Eschew politics. “You are in the business of portraying the personal life, the personal cost of events, so even if history is part of your story, it should only serve as a backdrop.”
- Do not think, dream.
- Don’t compare yourself to anyone, and learn to keep from building expectations.
- Be wary of all general advice.
I love #1. I admire him for #7. Which do you like best?
More articles on writer tips:
Writers Tip #61: Advice From Elmore Leonard
Writer’s Tip #31: 10 Great Ones from Roddy Doyle
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
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Jacqui love it keeping it especially
Be wary of all general advice.
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True. What’s that saying–You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead. Love those aphorisms.
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Wait…#10 was the core point, because it relates back to all his general advice in #1-9… at least that’s the way I would interpret it. Am I the only one? To me, that expresses something more profound than all the ‘advice’ and shows his sense of humor and subtler lesson.
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Or a sense of humor! Love this guy.
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These are great, and 5 and 6 speak to me the most.
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He added another zinger Monday evening–don’t focus on where you’re writing. Learn to write wherever you are. Duh. That’s common sense, but contrary to what I read on lots of writer blogs.
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Number 3 speaks to me, especially since 3 is my lucky number – whatever that means – and I can’t sing. Be regular and ordinary in the everyday, violent and original in my work. Yes, that does speak to me.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. *: )
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I thought that one was interesting, too. It fits him, too. He has a friendly grandfather look about him–and then amazing words pour forth.
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I just love number 8, Jacqui – I’m a dreamer 😉
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That juxtaposition says it all. I am rarely a dreamer so I’m going to try harder.
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I’m not a thinking man; so I love the idea of dreaming. Oh yeah, if I didn’t dream I wouldn’t even have had any interest in your writing blog. Thank you Mr B I now know I will get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Thank you Jacqui for sharing this wisdom. Arun
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Where the heck is that rainbow, though. I swear it moves
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Great points, I will have to remember some of these!
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Which did you like best?
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‘Train yourself to work anywhere’, I really need to get better at this. I’m stuck in that I can only write in the quiet space I normally do, but want to learn how to do it where ever, so as I can get more done 🙂
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Agreed. Where you are can become an excuse for not writing.
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I like this because it makes no promises and yes, I l.i.k.e. number seven best. 😉
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Love that one. I hate when creative celebrities think we also want to know their politics. What was that quote–‘Shut up and sing’–oh yeah.
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Ha ha ha ha ha.
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Very useful collection. Down to earth. It does not even say it will make you a good writer. And actionable. Not like “To be a good writer, you should, um, write well”,
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I like that he includes read, but explains it a different way–to learn (everything–now that won’t happen).
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