{"id":50350,"date":"2021-01-05T00:41:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writers-at-large.com\/riff\/?p=50350"},"modified":"2021-01-07T16:42:28","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T01:42:28","slug":"type-so-hard-you-bruise-the-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/type-so-hard-you-bruise-the-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"Type So Hard You Bruise the Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/pexels-nick-wehrli-4054069.jpg” alt=”Enjoy life” title_text=”pexels-nick-wehrli-4054069″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”original” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(122,58,18,0.58)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-10%|||-70%|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0%|||0%|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|true|true” box_shadow_style=”preset2″]<\/p>\n

In<\/span> the late 1950s, <\/span>Jack Kerouac typed out a lis<\/span>t of thirty points<\/span> describing his writing practice <\/span>in a piece titled \u201cBelief and Technique for Modern Prose<\/span>: List of Essentials<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 Some of it makes solid sense\u00a0 — \u201c4. Be in love with <\/span>yr<\/span> life\u201d —<\/span> others are a kind of enjoyable <\/span>nonsense \u2013 \u201c<\/span>11. Visionar<\/span>y tics shivering in the chest.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this tradition, <\/span>I humbly offer my own<\/span> thirty<\/span> points for prose<\/span>. I have gathered these thoughts from mentors, fellow writers and m<\/span>y own disjointed thinking<\/span>.<\/span> Many of these ideas <\/span>have been be<\/span>tter worded by wiser writers tha<\/span>n me, but I\u2019ve avoided quoting. <\/span>If you<\/span>\u2019re<\/span> interested, look to the words of Rilke, Lew<\/span> Welch, Thomas M<\/span>erton, Kerouac, <\/span>Dagoberto<\/span> Gilb<\/span> and Tim O\u2019Brien, to name a few.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”15%|||5%|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”3%||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone”]1. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Write. Now. Go.<\/p>\n

2. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Don\u2019t think. Scribble. Scribble. Scribble. Type so hard you bruise the screen.<\/p>\n

3. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Now think.<\/p>\n

4. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Revise. Revise. Revise. Cut. Cut. Cut. Rewrite. It is the sweat of craft.<\/p>\n

5. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Don\u2019t always know what your images mean.<\/p>\n

6. <\/span><\/strong><\/span> Do always know what your sentences mean.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”original” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]7.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Do not wait for inspiration. Go out and hunt it. Seduce it. Pin it down and dribble spit on its forehead until it cracks your leg bone and renames you.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Writing takes time. Don\u2019t find the time to write. Make the time. If necessary, abandon sleep, people, television and drink.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Treat writing like a hobby and you will receive nothing but the fruits of a hobby. It\u2019s a vocation. Honor it as such.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Don\u2019t say you\u2019re trying to be a writer. If you\u2019re writing then you are a writer. Publication is nice, but has nothing to do with the definition.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Love rejection. In letters, in criticism, in sales. Rejection is evidence you are in the game. If you\u2019re striking out, it means you got up to bat.<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Drink and talk with those that write and create, but never mistake talking about writing for actual writing.<\/p>\n

13.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Love solitude.<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Celebrate arrogance. You\u2019re calling yourself a writer, for godsake. Embrace it.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-tom-leishman-5258257-Astrowriter-Owen.jpg” title_text=”pexels-tom-leishman-5258257-Astrowriter-Owen” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||5%|false|false”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/person-holding-light-bulb-with-string-lights-inside-1830252_900.jpg” title_text=”person-holding-light-bulb-with-string-lights-inside-1830252_900″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|5%|||false|false”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n

15.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>A person can only read so many words in a lifetime. Your reader is choosing to read you instead of Shakespeare, Hemingway, Whitman. Humbly honor that and give them the best of your soul.<\/p>\n

16.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Do not write from answers. Write from questions. Discover more questions. Our work is not to explain the mystery, but to expand it.<\/p>\n

17.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>The craft of the sentence is important. But a perfectly crafted sentence with no passion is a well-dressed corpse.<\/p>\n

18.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>For a writer, the Internet is more dangerous than whisky.<\/p>\n

19.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Whisky is pretty dangerous, too.<\/p>\n

20.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Write what you know is bullshit. Reach beyond what you know, grasp for what is beyond your reach.<\/p>\n

21.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>The best fiction is magnificent failures. So fail magnificently.<\/p>\n

22.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>If your story isn\u2019t worth telling a stranger in a bar, it\u2019s not worth writing.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]23.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>In life many of us aim to avoid conflict. In fiction, we force enemies into a room with no doors.<\/p>\n

24.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Laugh out loud at your own written words. Even in public\u2026 Especially in public.<\/p>\n

25.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>If you discover nothing while writing, don\u2019t expect your reader to.<\/p>\n

26.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Dream onto the page. I mean dream in every sense of the word. Wishing. Fantasizing. And the unconscious game of your unthought thoughts bubbling into fragmented memories and shaping a narrative with elements of your life, but in a completely unexpected order and relationship.<\/p>\n

27.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Live well. If your life is dull, it will seep into your pages like a stench. Take long walks. Get lost. Read. Read. Look foolish. Kiss people on the mouth.<\/p>\n

28.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>If you write because you believe the world needs you, you\u2019ll soon discover we don\u2019t. If you write because you are so naturally talented you must, you\u2019ll soon discover you are not. If you write for money\u2026 I\u2019m chuckling at you. None of these reasons will sustain you. Listen. Are you called to write? Then write.<\/p>\n

29.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>You are going to die. So are all your readers. Let this inform every story you write.<\/p>\n

30.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Writing is both holy and meaningless. That\u2019s all the pressure and freedom you need.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the late 1950s, Jack Kerouac typed out a list of thirty points describing his writing practice in a piece titled \u201cBelief and Technique for Modern Prose: List of Essentials.\u201d\u00a0 Some of it makes solid sense\u00a0 — \u201c4. Be in love with yr life\u201d — others are a kind of enjoyable nonsense \u2013 \u201c11. Visionary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":52274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\"\"<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\nIn<\/span> the late 1950s, <\/span>Jack Kerouac typed out a lis<\/span>t of thirty points<\/span> describing his writing practice <\/span>in a piece titled \u201cBelief and Technique for Modern Prose<\/span>: List of Essentials<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 Some of it makes solid sense\u00a0 -- \u201c4. Be in love with <\/span>yr<\/span> life\u201d --<\/span> others are a kind of enjoyable <\/span>nonsense \u2013 \u201c<\/span>11. Visionar<\/span>y tics shivering in the chest.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nFollowing this tradition, <\/span>I humbly offer my own<\/span> thirty<\/span> points for prose<\/span>. I have gathered these thoughts from mentors, fellow writers and m<\/span>y own disjointed thinking<\/span>.<\/span> Many of these ideas <\/span>have been be<\/span>tter worded by wiser writers tha<\/span>n me, but I\u2019ve avoided quoting. <\/span>If you<\/span>\u2019re<\/span> interested, look to the words of Rilke, Lew<\/span> Welch, Thomas M<\/span>erton, Kerouac, <\/span>Dagoberto<\/span> Gilb<\/span> and Tim O\u2019Brien, to name a few.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. Write. Now. <\/span>Go.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Don\u2019t think. Scribble. Scribble. Scribble. Type so hard you bruise the screen.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Now think.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Revise. Revise. Revise. Cut. Cut. Cut. Rewrite. It is the sweat of craft.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Don\u2019t always know what your images mean.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  6. Do always know what your sentences mean.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  7. Do not wait for inspiration. Go out and hunt it. Seduce it. Pin it down and dribble spit on its forehead until it cracks your leg bone and renames you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  8. Writing takes time. Don\u2019t find the time to write. Make the time.<\/span> If necessary, <\/span>abandon<\/span> sleep, people<\/span>, television<\/span> and drink<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  9. Treat writing <\/span>like a hobby and <\/span>you will <\/span>receive <\/span>nothing but <\/span>the <\/span>fruits of a hobby. I<\/span>t\u2019s a vocation. Honor<\/span> it as such.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  10. Don\u2019t say you\u2019re <\/span>trying<\/span><\/i> to be<\/span> a writer. If you\u2019re writing the<\/span>n you are a writer. Publication is nice, but has nothing to do with the definition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  11. Love rejection.<\/span> In letters, in criticism, in sales. Rejection is evidence you are in the game. If you\u2019re striking out, it means you got up to bat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  12. Drink and talk with those that write and create, but never mistake talking about writing for actual writing.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  13. Love solitude.\u00a0<\/span> \"\"<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  14. Celebrate arrogance. You\u2019re calling yourself a writer, for <\/span>godsake<\/span>. Embrace it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  15. A person can only read so many words in a lifetime. Your reader is choosing to read<\/span> you instead of Shakespeare, He<\/span>mingway, Whitman. Humbly honor that and give them the best of your soul.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  16. Do not write from answers. Write from questions. Discover more questions. Our work is not to explain the mystery, but to expand it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  17. The craft of the sentence is important. But a perfectly crafted sentence with no passion is a well-dres<\/span>sed corpse.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  18. For a writer, t<\/span>he I<\/span>nternet is mo<\/span>re dangerous than whisky.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  19. Whisky is pretty dangerous, too.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  20. Write what you know<\/span><\/i> is bullshit. Reach beyond what you<\/span> know, grasp for what is beyond <\/span>your reach.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  21. The best fiction is magnificent failures. <\/span>So f<\/span>ail magnificently.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  22. If your story isn\u2019t<\/span> worth telling a stranger in a bar, it\u2019s not worth writing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  23. In life many of us aim to avoid conflict. In fiction, we force enemies into a room with no doors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  24. Laugh out loud at your own written words. Even <\/span>in public\u2026 Especially in public.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  25. If you discover nothing while writing, <\/span>don\u2019t expect your reader to.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  26. Dream <\/span>onto the page<\/span>. I mean dream in every sen<\/span>se of the word. Wishing. Fantasizing. A<\/span>nd<\/span> the unconscious game of <\/span>y<\/span>our<\/span> unthought thoughts<\/span> bubbling into fragmented memories <\/span>and <\/span>shaping a narrative <\/span>with elements of your life, but in a completely unexpected order<\/span> and relationship<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  27. Live well. If your life is dull, it will seep into your pages like a stench. <\/span>Take long walks. Get lost. <\/span>Read. Read. Look foolish. Kiss people on the mouth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  28. If you write because you believe the world needs you, you\u2019ll soon discover we don\u2019t. If you write because you are so naturally talented you must, you\u2019ll soon discover you are not. If you write for money\u2026 I\u2019m chuckling<\/span> at you<\/span>. None of these reasons will sustain you. Listen. Are you called to write? Then write.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  29. You are going to die<\/span>. So are all your readers. Let this inform every<\/span> story you write.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  30. Writing is both holy and meaningless. That\u2019s all the pressure and freedom you need.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\"\"<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[39,38,37,83],"class_list":["post-50350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walk-the-talk","tag-craft","tag-creative-writing","tag-discipline","tag-kerouac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}