A Newbie’s Advice
Posted by John Hewitt on 6/20/2008 under Creativity, Featured, Writing | 
Article by Sebastian Keller
Walk some meters in his shoes
What’s the best that could happen to a writer? Probably that someone is going on vacation to write a whole lot of poems and asks you to walk some meters in his shoes. Meters? Well yes, sorry, I’m from Germany. It’s still meters here and I’ll get to the point why that is of some importance later. (And just for reasons of “delectare et prodesse”: No, we don’t have that book-burning dictator here any longer and yes, there’s electricity countrywide even outside the Oktoberfest…)
So, I’m from Germany and a newbie in writing. What could I probably have to tell you seasoned veterans? Come, walk with me just a few meters and find out. Because there is always something to learn, something to gain even from the most improbable sources. That’s not only the difference between good art and bad art, but also between a good artist and a bad one.
Good art inspires
Good art inspires. If you see, hear, smell, taste and feel it, you want to start creating and in your brain all those little lights you never noticed before, are starting to blink.
And a good artist is inspired. Not only by art, but by virtually everything. That’s because her or his perception evolved to a point where inspiration is omnipresent. It’s a small step to complete madness from there, but it’s a long way to that kind of evolved perception. Peter S. Beagle (yes, he’s still alive and writing!) worked with the painter and sculptor Lisa Snellings-Clark, or to be precise, with her artworks. He was forced to sit in front of some pieces of art for hours staring at it, until a story emerged. Thus he created “Strange Roads”. Out of the blue, so to say.
Start with a blank screen
If you want to try a method more pure, start with a blank screen or paper and your own thoughts. You did that already, you say? No, you didn’t. You tried to fill that blank space, smash it with words and cover up the abyss that lies beyond as quickly as possible. “He who stares into the abyss for too long…” Nietzsche said and he was right. But he didn’t tell you that one can choose the abyss to stare into.
Read a good book about magic or ask a practitioner of the occult and he will tell you, that the first step in the journey is to develop that magical perception. Everything is meaningful, everything is inspiring. I’m not talking about black candles or voodoo here, but if you trick your brain into seeing inspiration everywhere, it will be inspired.
Writer’s block begone? Hopefully so, but don’t count on it. There are always pitfalls.
The more uncommon, the better
And at this point art comes to the rescue. The more uncommon, the better. William S. Burroughs once said that the state of writing is at least 40 years behind painting. I don’t know if he was right, but I admire that he dared to compare writing and painting. It’s like comparing architecture and medicine. If you dare to compare such things you also dare to question the so called rules of your craft. It’s easier when you are still a newbie without experience. Experience is like a bunch of bodyguards, who keep many troubles in a save distance, but they tend to go easy on the friend-or-foe-thing after a while and try to keep you on the beaten path. Which isn’t the worst of things to happen, but only if you’re the guy with the map who knows, what’s the best path.
Recently Michel Thaler wrote a 233-page novel called “Le train de nulle part” - without using verbs. And there is Ernest Vincent Wright who gave us “Gadsby” a novel of 50100 words and not a single letter “e”.
Try to omit a vowel or a group of words in your writing, too, and you will know that one has to be truly inspired to make it through such pains. But it can be done.
Open Your Eyes
Even if you don’t write for artistic reasons you can open your eyes to see walls, seemingly empty but engraved with “Mene mene tekel u-pharsin - the days of your kingdom are counted and ended by God.” A bad thing to happen for bullheaded Nebuchadnezzar, but a free source of inspiration for you. Rules are a good thing, but only as a tool like all the other tools.
So, the best thing is you continue to be a newbie and walk a few meters in the shoes of others from time to time. Just for fun. Just for the inspiration.
Oh! There’s one thing that’s even better: Go on a vacation and write a lot of poems…
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Sebastian Keller
www.schriftstellerwerden.blogspot.com
Lillie Ammann (86 comments) said,
Sebastian,
As a newbie, you give us a fresh perspective. It’s easy to lose some of the magic after you’ve been doing something creative for a long time. Thanks for reminding us that thinking like a newbie can make us more creative.
Marie Ann Bailey (52 comments) said,
Sebastian,
Lillian is right–newbies provide a fresh perspective that’s necessary for continued creativity. Old-timers can become entrenched, set in their ways, maybe even a little afraid to try something new because their “formula” has been working so well so far. But a fresh approach can stimulate new ways of seeing and hearing and writing. Thank you for a delightful and inspiring read.
Marie Ann Baileys last blog post..Writing With Statistics and Numbers
Let a Newbie Stimulate Your Creativity « 1WriteWay said,
[...] vessels for inspiration. So go and get inspired: Read Sebastian’s full post by clicking here. [...]
Morgan (54 comments) said,
Sebastion, I wholeheartedly agree with Lillian and Mary Ann. Thank you for letting us see the world through your eyes. I especially liked your comment about developing a magical perception. It is easy to forget that inspiration is everywhere and anywhere.
Morgans last blog post..Nature, Interconnectivity, and Community
Leigh (31 comments) said,
Sebastian, first a hearty “Vielen Dank” for sharing your thoughts with us, newbie or otherwise. Your tongue-in-cheek asides definitely had me smirking.
I do have a question for you, though. I’m intrigued by the two novels you mentioned by Thaler and Wright. I can see how writing these two books would’ve been exciting (as a sort of testing oneself, really), but I wonder whether they are as enjoyable for readers. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder… At any rate, I’ll have to check these books out when I’ve got the time.
I’m not familiar with the particular Nietzsche aphorism you use, but I’m very fond of another that goes something like: “Be careful when chasing monsters for, when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you” (translated from the German, of course).
I really admire that, despite being what you call a “newbie,” you took the risk of writing your article and–damn the torpedoes!–submitted it. John the site administrator has written about how many people had written to him expressing fear of writing for PoeWar. As a newbie in some ways myself, I would definitely urge writers to take more risks. The very worst an editor can say is no or, these days, nothing at all once you submit your work. And by that time, maybe you’ve already revised (another important point: revise, revise, revise!) the work, submitted it elsewhere, and been accepted (assuming the publications accept so-called simsubs). And if not, you still hitch your wagon to a star and move on!
Again, many thanks for taking the risk and sharing your contagious enthusiasm with us. I’m inspired! : )
Leighs last blog post..The Music of Words and Other Matters
Freelance Writing Jobs » Blog Archive » A Little Weekend Link Love June 21, 2008 said,
[...] A Newbie’s Advice at Poe War [...]
Sebastian (1 comments) said,
Hi Leigh!
I could have added “Only Revolutions” by Danielewski to Thaler and Wright, or the works of Milorad Pavic or many many other experiments, that are inspiring and hard to read. Enjoyable? Well… I don’t think so. Not in the common sense. A good story is allways more enjoyable than a book without the letter ‘e’
But I think both readers and writers can enjoy the ‘newness’ or ‘otherness’ of such strange texts. And learn from it.
I like the idea of ‘ergodic’ literature, literature that isn’t complete without (a little) extra work by the reader. Pavic wrote the “Dictionary of the Khazars”, which is, like it says, a dictionary. I don’t think that’s the best way to tell a story, but it is definitely the best way to show that there are stories everywhere, even in a simple dictionary. Or is there any other place, where Passover is followed by the past and Tory and torture are neighbours?
Those experiments are like spices. To be used carerully, but definitely to be used.
Leigh (31 comments) said,
I understand what you’re saying, and I’m with you as far as so-called ergodic literature. I don’t like dumbed-down writing. I’m not a genius, but I can try to figure out difficult texts and, I like to think, part of the lesson is in the journey (sorry that sounds so hokey).
I will definitely have to take a look at the works you mention. As for myself, I like notoriously difficult (or at least they used to be considered difficult!) “oldies” like Faulkner, T.S. Eliot, Nabokov, and Joyce, but I’m, unfortunately, not as well read in world literature as you! Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary can be a fun read, as far as dictionaries go (though it’s not a true dictionary), and it’s accessible here http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/972.
Leighs last blog post..The Music of Words and Other Matters
Jeanne Dininni (98 comments) said,
Well-said, Sebastian!
I certainly agree that one of the writer’s main jobs is to question–not just the rules of the craft but everything! The ability to delve deep beneath the surface and mine the essence of a thought, an idea, or a topic is the heart of meaningful writing. And the ability to express that thought, idea, or topic in one’s own uniquely eloquent way and still relate it to each individual reader’s personal experience is the magical skill more commonly referred to as “writing talent.”
Thanks for an excellent piece!
Jeanne
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