Perfecting our Craft

Mused

January 2017                                                                   ~ Mela Saylor

January is always a good time to take stock of our situations and make a plan for improvement in all things – and of course I mean writing or any creative endeavor. Practice makes perfect, but if we’re practicing our craft wrong in the first place, continued practice is not going to help us at all.  In February it will be three years since I have picked up a crochet hook and a ball of yarn. I can look back and visibly see the improvement in my crocheting.  I found good teachers on the internet and watched them until I understood and saw exactly what they were doing.  There are many people on Youtube who have tutorials and some of them are not good.  They’re confusing and shouldn’t be there in the first place, but hey – it’s a free country.  It’s left up to the viewer to discern the difference between good teaching and bad.  And now after three years I understand a lot more than I did when I first started.

And so it should also be with our writing, for that also is a craft.  Some would argue that writing is a talent that many are born with.  I don’t disagree. Some people have a natural affinity toward writing, many of whom write “by ear” – not exactly knowing the rules of grammar and composition but knowing what good writing is by hearing it.  However, for the majority of people, writing is and can be learned.   To all who read this – please assume you are one of the majority until you are told by someone who actually knows something that you are not.  This is not said as a derogatory statement, but one from a teaching standpoint.  In order to learn, one must be teachable. To be teachable, one must never argue or make excuses when a correction is suggested. That is one standing rule of critique group – to listen and not argue your point.  Besides, your words must stand without any explanation.  If they can’t stand alone, you’ve some serious work to do.

I have spoken to a writing mentor of mine and asked what one thing should I be working on that will help improve my writing.  I plan on concentrating on that this year. No matter where we are as writers, we have room to improve.  The point is that we grow in our writing.  Don’t go to family members for feedback. Your family and friends aren’t going to be honest, really.  There is always room for correction and even if they knew anything about writing they wouldn’t hurt you for the world. Flattery isn’t going to improve anyone’s writing. Whose mother doesn’t think they’re a genius?

Find someone who is more experienced – and published in the area in which you are writing and ask them what you should be working on.  Don’t go to a novelist for advice if you’re writing poetry – and don’t go to a poet if you’re writing essays, articles or even short stories.  Even within the realm of poetry there is a wide array of opinion and disagreement on style and form.  Sometimes there are no rules to be found in poetry.  It may not be so, but many times it seems to me like there’s an “anything goes” attitude, much like a “personal truth” Find a person in your niche that you can trust for an honest educated opinion.