The Art of Writing


                                                      

Writing is rewriting. As Ernest Hemingway said, ‘The first draft of anything is shit.’  The second draft is no better. One has to keep polishing, keep editing. Writing is a thankless job. It requires a lot of time and effort. And after that also, when you read, you feel that you have written mediocre stuff.

The idea is not to give up. Take that rewritten text and rewrite it again. The writer has to justify the presence of each and every word. Advices are given to budding writers to make minimal use of adverbs. I personally think that such instructions can discourage the novice writer. In fact, he should be told to write without any restriction, without limiting himself. But writers who are a notch higher should refrain from using adverbs excessively.

Adverbs weaken the writing that’s why they shouldn’t be used extravagantly because then the writer tends to depend on various adverbs to convey what he wishes to. So, if he has to describe something that conveys sarcasm, he will simply say ‘he said sarcastically’ or ‘she said mockingly.’ The trick is to give the reader the impression of sarcasm without the aid of an adverb. That’s how a writer masters writing.   

Adverbs, if judiciously used, add another dimension to writing. D.H. Lawrence was an expert proponent of adverbs. In all his novels, on every page, there are as many as ten to twelve adverbs. But then he is DHL and so he could get away with it. To those who are just starting on the journey of writing, they shouldn’t worry about the rules. Let the thoughts flow into words. Just write and write and write and then rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. They should spend at least a year in doing this. Once they are able to free their thoughts in this way then they should set themselves targets. Like  writing a paragraph without adverbs, without adjectives and so on and so forth.

Writing is an art and thus the more it is practiced, the better one gets at it. Flair and passion are two boosters that can give a head start. Without them, the struggle will be even more intense, more challenging. To get better at writing, one should read extensively. And reading should be not only  about subjects that one likes but about topics one is not interested in. Bad writing should be read as much as good writing. So, for every two classics that one reads, one ordinary book should be read. Then the difference between good and bad writing will emerge.

If after a year of writing, the novice writer sees no improvement, then it’s time to give up. Maybe he is made for other things. But those who have written regularly for a year and find that they are improving then they should move on to the next level, about which I will write in my next blog.        

-          NZ

18.8.2019




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