"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
— Aristotle
Craft is about continuously polishing the technical skills involved in writing - prose, literary devices, conflict, story structure, and so on.
Activities
- Employ deliberate practice
Deliberate practice is a method of focused, structured practice aimed at improving specific skills. Identify writers I admire and study their work using deliberate practice techniques. Analyze how they use language, structure their stories, and create compelling characters.
- Write every day
Commit to a daily writing practice to build consistency and improve skills over time.
- Research deeply
Conduct thorough research to inform and enrich my writing, ensuring accuracy and depth.
- Practice literary techniques
Deliberate practice of literary techniques expands my writing toolkit and enhances the quality of my work. These techniques include, but are not limited to:
Narrative Structure: In medias res, foreshadowing, Chekhov's Gun, flashback / flash-forward, frame story, unreliable narrator, non-linear / fragmented structure, circular narrative, parallel timelines.
Character: Character arc (positive / negative / flat), foil, direct vs. indirect characterization (show don't tell), free indirect discourse, stream of consciousness, interior monologue.
Figurative Language: Metaphor, simile, extended metaphor (conceit), personification, imagery (sensory — visual / auditory / olfactory / tactile / gustatory), symbolism, motif / leitmotif, allusion (literary / mythological / historical), irony (verbal / situational / dramatic), hyperbole, understatement, oxymoron, paradox, juxtaposition.
Sound & Rhythm: Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia; sentence cadence via polysyndeton, asyndeton, and deliberate fragments.
Tension & Pacing: Micro-tension, cliffhanger, delayed revelation, ticking clock, red herring, MacGuffin, scene-sequel structure.
Theme & Meaning: Subtext, allegory, archetype, pathetic fallacy (environment mirroring emotion), duality / binary opposition.
- Finish writing before revising
Editing and writing are different processes that engage separate parts of the brain. Combining them has the unfortunate effect of inhibiting creativity. To avoid this, I will focus on writing first and revising later. This allows me to get my creative ideas out without filtering them through an inner editor.
- Write and revise using different modalities
To support the separation of writing and revision, I will do these two processes using different editors/methods to provide a visual cue for which process I am engaging with. Writing is done in a distraction-free, Write-box writing environment. Editing is done using a different tool altogether.
- Revise in deliberate passes
First revise for structure, then for prose, then for line editing. This allows me to focus on one aspect of the work at a time and make more effective revisions.
- Teach what you learn
Teaching is the best way to learn. It forces you to organize your understanding and push on areas where you do not have clear understanding. It also provides an opportunity to connect with other passionate writers.