Translating Workshop Skills To Practical Writing

My son is currently taking a creative writing class at his college. He called yesterday with another interesting assignment from the teacher. I don't want to spend the time talking about the assignment, but after discussing it with him, I really questioned A) why the instructor was having the class do the assignment; and B) how that work would play out in practical, everyday writing.

As I look at many submissions from authors,  can clearly see that other writers are probably struggling with this same concept.

So, here is how this plays out...

You take this great workshop, read a blog or hear another author talk about this great technique or approach to their novel. They go on and on about how this technique "always works" or "was the key to getting that first contract." Of course, who in their right mind would want to skip out on this technique. This is going to make your career.

So you use the technique in your story!

And it fails! So what happened?

There are two things we need to remember with these techniques and why the approaches work for some and not for others.

The first is that writers have to understand HOW the technique works and WHEN the technique is going to be used. Think of a tool box. You can have a 20 different screwdrivers. All work great! But the reality is that for the project in your kitchen, only 1 of those screwdrivers is going to work. The same thing goes for these techniques. When you hear an author talk of these techniques, they often leave out the specific use of the technique. They aren't doing this to be mean. They are assuming you will know that there are different times to use the technique.

The second issue is that it takes time to become proficient with the skill or technique. This is a brand new skill for you and until you become used to it, the writing will come across as being awkward, and, what I often talk about here on the blog, elementary writing. It is like riding a bike. You might figure it out the first time, but for those first few rides, you look REALLY awkward and it is not natural.

The key is, if you learn a new technique, play with it some. Take the time to study it and practice it. Take the time to understand how and when it is used. The important thing to remember is that we are talking about time.