All I Know About Writing

by Claire Skahan

Write because you want to.

There’s no shame in not wanting to write.
Don’t write about something you don’t understand.

Don’t write with a hate for the person your hero or heroine hates;

Write with a compassion for the hated, it is at this point that you will become believable.

Don’t think of the child as immature when you write his or her thoughts. The child is not immature,

The child understands more than the average adult. The child has an open heart. Never forget that.

Don’t write about the mother of six children as jaded and boring. She is not jaded and she is not boring, she can be full of love and creativity if you let her.

Do not compare your lover to a summer’s day until you have thought of the beauty of a summer’s day at great length. You are not Shakespeare.

You can be as good as Shakespeare but do not assume it is poetic to compare your lover to the beautiful weather. Say what you love about your lover. Is it his amber eyes that fall like autumn leaves from the trees when he cries?

Is it her thighs as white as snowfield that you could stare at forever?

Metaphors and similes can be wonderful, but it is not always necessary to use them.

It is much more meaningful to write what you mean that to try and force a metaphor to say what you mean.

Use a metaphor when the simple words aren’t enough,

When you feel strongly enough about the whistling kettle or the sagging blue armchair, then you may use it as a metaphor. Do not use it as a metaphor until you fully understand those words, until you fully appreciate why the armchair sags and how the kettle whistles.

Understand

the

words.

Think about the words.

Think about all the different meanings the word “for” has. 

The Merriam Webster dictionary lists ten different definitions for the word “for.”

Words are pliable. Words are clay, ready to be sculpted into something meaningful if you are patient enough to stick with them.

Have sympathy for your readers, have understanding for them, have respect and generosity you are prepared to give them. Your readers will recognize and appreciate this.

Leave holes in your story. Let the readers fill in these holes without realizing they are being forced to fill in these holes; this will give the reader a feeling of satisfaction and connectedness with the characters.

It is not necessary to tell the readers the nationality of your main character, nor is it always necessary to give your main character a gender.

Tell us about his or her eyebrows and the way he or she raises the left one during moments of skepticism.

Tell us about your main character’s bathroom: does he wash it every week? Is there long black hair clogging up the shower’s drain?

How does this character say hello?

When does she laugh?

Is it a great big bellowing laugh or delicate giggle?

Do not overload your story with adjectives. They can lead you down the road of imprecision.

Do not tell your readers that the small child padded lightly down the dark hallway taking care to be as quiet as he could. Instead, tell us that the seven-year old boy tiptoed past his parents’ room taking care not to tread on the loose floorboard that creaked.

Let the readers guess the details you aren’t sure of,

Leave no room for guessing in the details that you are sure of.

And finally, never forget to

Write in                                               whatever the fuck                                                 way

makes                                   you                                          feel                                   good.

You             deserve             that.