In my younger days, I never truly appreciated the strength of words. Like everyone, I took the ability to write (whether I did it well or not) for granted. I took a lot of things for granted that I now understand I shouldn't have, but that's another story. I could write well enough, but I failed to appreciate writing, and really didn't give it much thought.
If several of my English high school teachers knew I've been making a living as a writer over the past couple of decades they'd no doubt be waiting for Ashton Kutcher to emerge from the shadows letting them know they'd been Punk'd. Of course that would lead to the question as to why Ashton was punking me, as he only Punk'd famous people and I definitely don't qualify (as you can see the questions would keep piling up, so let's move on).
As a journalist I was taught a specific way to write, whether I was approaching a news story or a feature story. Most of us who studied journalism thought it was a great idea; we could make a living writing as we pursued our dreams of becoming novelists. Unfortunately, journalism training doesn't lend itself to writing creative fiction.
Along the way, while having tried to write several novels (like many, I left a trail of four, five, or six chapter uncompleted manuscripts in my wake), I fell into screenwriting, working for indie producers - actually my first, a Bollywood producer.
My first attempts on my own seemed to resemble films I'd seen. I can recall a Terminator-like character in one poorly written effort. I mean, c'mon, who was going to notice my lack of originality, right? It wasn't until Floating Stones, an interracial love story that I was truly challenged. It wasn't my idea, but the producers, and I wrote it after discussing the details with him. All in all, Floating Stones went through 17 drafts, with many of the late drafts a matter of simply changing a few words. At the time it was a painful process. Each time I heard from the producer and he wanted some changes, I wanted to scream, but I didn't. I actually listened, considered and then took action. I discovered his constant analysis improved the script - polished it as they would say.
It was in working with indie producers that I discovered the value of constructive criticism. Rather than blindly believing my first draft was perfect (because my Mom said I was special and could do anything I set my mind to and my Mom never lied!), I learned over the years to analyze a piece of writing, and make changes when changes were needed. I also learned how to defend the writing, when terrible changes were recommended that would ruin the piece.
Over the years, I've written well over 30 screenplays. Some of them were my own ideas, many of them - the majority - were others. Some even got made into really small indie films (don't bother looking, when I say small, I mean small). I've gotten really good at writing screenplays and tried to help others. What I found was a reluctance to re-write - a reluctance to take criticism. Everyone who asked if I could read their stuff only wanted me to read it and then tell them that they were brilliant and nothing needed changing. It's very rare that even the most talented writer gets it in the first draft.
I bring this up, as I had participated briefly in a long running thread in which writers were debating "Is everyone a writer?" A few in the thread have attacked the quickly posted manuscript; the manuscript that the writer created an eBook out of, without any rewrites or true editing to polish it. Anyone who states that these books are sloppy are discounted as elitist, but they're not.
What I've found over the years is you have to work at writing and that's not just spelling and grammar, but also story structure and flow. Writing is serious business and it takes effort. I believe that writing is in the re-writing. While its always nice to slap the words "The End" on a manuscript and move on to the next exciting idea, force yourself to re-write and re-analyze and you'll see your work is the better for it.
In my youth, I was arrogant enough to believe what I was writing was perfect and didn't need changing. I was lucky in that I didn't resist the criticism of others, but went with the flow. I've seen how my work and my abilities have improved over the years. In my twenties I could not have written a proper book, nor in my thirties - I wasn't that good. It's taken a lot of effort, and a non existent ego, to help me improve and get to the point where I can now hold my head high and throw my hat into the ring with some confidence.
Writing is a wonderful gift, but as you know, some gifts come with assembly and not all instructions are easy to comprehend or follow. If I can offer any advice about writing - and, really, there's no reason why anyone should take any advice from me - it's take the time to understand that gift and the assembly required; don't believe you know it all. Always challenge yourself, and most importantly, learn to recognize constructive criticism when it's offered. You'll soon discover that you're challenging yourself and writing on a whole new level.
And as for those high school English teachers? Sorry guys, pack a parka, because it seems like Hell has frozen over.
No comments:
Post a Comment