Be a Problem Solver

Problem solving is what I do. It’s what my activity is, all day, sometimes a sentence, sometimes a whole book. My satisfactions come from solving those problems. It’s work, just endless work. – Philip Roth

One night, about ten years ago, I wrote a short novel. Yes, I wrote it in one night. I began at about four o’clock in the afternoon and I finished up at about ten o’clock the next morning. It was almost 40,000 words. The words just flowed like water.

About once a year I read through that novel and try to think of a way to make it work. It has action and romance and what I consider to be a very interesting lead character, but it just doesn’t feel right by the time I get to the end. I still haven’t found a way to turn that novel into something I want to publish, but I will keep trying.

My point is that there are moments of brilliance when you write, but for the most part it is a lot of hard work. Some poems come perfectly written the first time. Others take a lot of work to shape up. There are some that just never feel right. Articles can be easier because your goals seem more modest, but there is still a big leap between good writing and great writing. That leap, for the most part, is hard work and the ability to solve problems.

I still don’t think I am a good enough editor to be a truly great writer, but I am working on it.

John Hewitt’s Writing Tips: Earn Your Ending

I am not opposed to happy endings. When you spend the length of a movie or a book rooting for one or more characters, you want things to work out well for them. That is human nature. You are invested in the characters. An unhappy ending, however, is preferable to an unearned ending. Nothing spoils a story for me more than seeing things work out (or not work out) for a character because of random events or manipulative reasons. Even if I’m rooting for the character, I don’t want them to succeed because of some lucky stroke of fate at the end.

When looking at your ending ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the ending the result of the actions taken by my central characters?
• Were the actions they took logical for the characters?
• Does the ending in some way resolve the central conflict of the story?
• Is the ending earned for all of the characters?
• Does the ending feel real?

If you can answer yes to all five of those questions then you should feel good about the ending, whether it is happy, sad or indifferent.

John Hewitt’s Writing Tips: Join a Writer’s Group

Joining a writer’s group (or poet’s group) can be a frustrating experience. You have to show up every session with something new for your peers to look at. Chances are, the people in the group will pick your work apart. They’ll reveal flaws you never thought were flaws. They’ll make you defensive and at times discouraged. Sometimes their criticism will make you wonder if you are surrounded by geniuses or idiots.

So, why do it? Because it will make you a better writer. It will teach you to examine your work from a reader’s point-of-view. It will teach you when to defend and when to listen. It will give you a chance to look at other people’s work and measure your progress. It will give you a chance to think constructively about both your work and the work of others. It will help you make contacts within your field. Most importantly, it will keep you writing, if only because you don’t want to show up with nothing to read and nothing to say. Writing groups are frustrating but it is a good frustration.

Not every writing group is perfect for every person. If, after taking the time to really try, you find that you don’t trust and don’t like the people in your group, start looking for a writing group that is more compatible with your needs. If you are having trouble finding groups, check your local arts/alternative publications, bookstores and colleges. If that doesn’t work, start your own group.

John Hewitt’s Writing Tips: Save What You Write

You never know when the words you write today, even the ones you don’t like, will come in handy later. The paper you wrote for a class in 1998 might suddenly be of use to you in 2009. The chapter you decided didn’t work in your novel might be just the thing you need three drafts later. The poem you hate might have one line that you’ll want to use in another poem. The journal you wrote about your trip to Mexico could give you background material for a travel article five years from now. Whatever the case, your old writing can suddenly lead to new writing under the right circumstances.

Keeping old copies of your writing isn’t always easy. I spent the late eighties and early nineties writing on Macintosh computers, only to switch to a Windows system in the mid-nineties. I made backup disks of all the Mac materials, but lost most of them as I moved from place to place over the years. I rarely need the old stuff, but every once in a while I really wish I had a particular piece.

Your writing is a history of yourself. Some parts may not be as interesting as others, but it isn’t always easy to tell which parts will matter later. Keeping print copies is great, but if you are even moderately prolific, the filing cabinets start to add up. I keep very little on paper anymore. I wish I could, but I simply don’t have the space. I do keep a set of CD-ROMs with my old work. I haven’t managed to save it all, and I’ve frequently gone looking for something I didn’t think to keep, but having those files has helped me on more than one project. Sometimes I look through my old material just to see how I’m progressing and to remember what I used to write about. Frequently, I don’t remember a piece at all and reading it is like looking at a person I forgot exists.

John Hewitt’s Writing Tips: Explaining the Unreliable Narrator

An unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator that for some reason has a compromised point-of-view. In all stories with a first-person narrator, the narrator serves as a filter for the events. What the narrator does not know or observe cannot be explained to the reader. Usually, however, the reader trusts that the narrator is knowledgeable and truthful enough to give them an accurate representation of the story. In the case of an unreliable narrator (sometimes called a fallible narrator), the reader has reason not to trust what the narrator is saying.

The narrator may be unreliable for many reasons. Some of the typical scenarios are:

• The narrator may be of a dramatically different age than the people in the story, such as a child attempting to explain adult actions
• The narrator may have prejudices about race, class or gender
• The narrator may have low intelligence
• The narrator may suffer from hallucinations or dementia
• The narrator may have a personality flaw such as pathological lying or narcissism
• The narrator may be trying to make a point that is contrary to the actions of the story or be attempting to libel one of the characters due to a grudge

Whatever flaw the narrator has, at some point the reader will realize that the narrator’s interpretation of the events cannot be fully trusted and will begin to form their own opinions about the events and motivations within the story. Some readers will be put off by this approach. Stories depend on the willing suspension of disbelief, and readers can be pulled out of the story when they realize the narrator cannot be trusted. This is why telling a tale from this viewpoint can be problematic. There is a fine line between distrusting the narrator and distrusting the writer.

When done badly, a story written from this point-of-view can be viewed as manipulative, misleading, confusing and pretentious. When successful, however, the results can be powerful and fascinating. Some of the greatest works of the twentieth century used unreliable narrators. Some examples of books with unreliable narrators include:

• To Kill a Mockingbird (child narrator)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (dementia)
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (drug-fueled hallucinations)
• A Clockwork Orange (skewed societal views)
• The Catcher in the Rye (narrator personality flaws)
• Fight Club (multiple personality disorder)
• Portnoy’s Complaint (personality disorder)
• Lolita (narrator attempting to manipulate interpretation)
• Pale Fire (narrator grudge, dementia, literary prejudice)

John Hewitt’s Writing Tips: Write Every Day

If you want to grow as a writer you need to start writing. You need to get involved in the process. Every day you should spend some time putting words together and thinking about your craft. Some people have the time and inclination to write for hours every day while others have jobs, hobbies and obligations that occupy much of their time. You don’t have to be the person who spends all day every day in front of a computer, typewriter or notebook, but you need to spend some time. If you aren’t willing to do this then you need to start thinking about whether writing is something that you are willing to make a priority. Don’t feel bad if it isn’t — simply accept that at this point in your life you aren’t ready to become a writer. Once you are willing to commit the time, you will find that daily writing and editing sessions will lead to tremendous growth as a writer.