I have a tendency to overdecorate my sentences. I’m recovering from this addiction and must constantly remind myself that too much of a good thing can make for tedious reading.
Don’t try too hard with your prose. We don’t have to find a use for every word in the thesaurus. Resist the urge to squeeze in every adjective and adverb into your sentences. Just write exactly what is.
Use powerful imagery and descriptions strategically. Give your reader a break with some lighter reading. Then thrill them with the occasional zinger.
Continuing our elaboration of Jack Kerouac’s Belief and Technique for Modern Prose.
Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind
How low can you go?
Often we don’t know what kind of cerebral garbage has piled up until we start writing. Once we get into the flow state, all kinds of bizarre neurosis surface from the rubble.
You’ll discover fears that never had a name and desires you never knew you had. Sometimes the fears are of these desires.
It might be scary, smelly, and dark, but don’t turn back. This is when the writing gets really good. Keep going till you dig to the bottom … if there is one.
Continuing our elaboration of Jack Kerouac’s Belief and Technique for Modern Prose.
Blow as deep as you want to blow
Yes, writing is sometimes like standing naked in front of strangers who are poring over you with HD cameras. You sweat as they scrutinize every blemish, scar, and crevice.
But resist the urge to hold back.
Nothing is too wild, too ridiculous, too dark, too lewd, too silly if it tells a truth. Readers don’t want a half-assed, cowardly attempt. That’s a waste of time. They want whole-ass stories.
Writers are exhibitionists. Don’t pretend you didn’t want to expose yourself.
Be bold. Say what you really want to say. Blow as deep as you want to blow.
Continuing our elaboration of Jack Kerouac’s Belief and Technique for Modern Prose.
Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind
Your mind is amazing. Yes, it might be obsessive, fearful, and unruly. But learn to have fun with it. Take it out for walks. Let it off the leash. Feed it a variety of information—music, art, poetry, adventure, nature. Stay away from junk TV and internet garbage.
Rejoice in your mind! It’s limitless. Let it go crazy on the page and see what happens. Write like a zealot. Make us believers.
Continuing our elaboration of Jack Kerouac’s Belief and Technique for Modern Prose.
Be in love with yr life
Dear Writer,
I think all writers are in love with life. Why else would we spend countless hours dealing with the tedious business of inventing characters and stories?
Life might leave us confused, bewildered, awestruck, angry, sad, or outraged, but we still love it. Even if our experiences have mistreated us and left us bitter, we pay homage to existence by creating stories that illustrate its mystery, its complexity.
So how do you connect with that love for your life, even when it’s shitty?
Think about what makes it unique. Think about the littlest things that make it good. Think of all you learned and how strong it has made you. Take your pain and your happiness and turn it into beauty. That is the magic of art.
