February 23, 2007
Writing Lab is Free of Rules
Let's face it. The publishing industry is rule-laden. "Do your homework," they always advise. Hone your pitch, perfect that query, research your market, and above all toss those adverbs. But before you can follow submission regulations, you must have a manuscript or a proposal worth submitting. This is where writing lab comes in.
I've been a successful writing coach for many years. (It's difficult to put a number on exactly how long I've coached, because, well before I collected income for advising writers, I edited and encouraged fee-free.) What I've found, in my experience, is that there are two kinds of writers: those who write and those who don't. Among those who write, there exists two kinds of people: those who write well and those who don't. And of those who write well, there are, you guessed it, two types of writers: those who know how to submit and those who don't.
In my writing/editing sessions, I have aided and supported writers in all of the above categories. And over the years, I've observed that the writers who reach their goals are those who listen, those who try, and those who apply. In other words, writers who observe, who practice, and who experiment accomplish.
The above techniques encompass much of what goes on in a scientist's lab. Marie Curie once said, "A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale." It is not a place where ideas are forced and outcomes are contrived. A lab is a testing ground where variables are introduced and the results are often surprising.
So should the techniques of writing be.
In this space, this blog, we'll stay focused and we'll explore. We'll stick to the rules and we'll tunnel through them. We'll make microscopic and macroscopic observations. We'll try, we'll fail, we'll grow, edit, change. It is in such a rule-free environment where truths will be uncovered, balances will be achieved, and momentum will be gained. For only through freedoms, can the rules be applied, while allowing creativity and productivity to flourish.
We're not here to object to the rules of the publishing industry. Rather, we'll work within and around them, all the while meshing thoughts and mixing ideas so that we can, in the words of Madame Curie, impress them "like a fairy tale."
Posted by Judy at 08:40 AM | Comments (11)