Seven Virtues for Writers.

Note on picture: the blueprints of what you see below.

Seven writing virtues.

It is important to understand that writing is as much about being human as it is about technical skill. There is an abundance of manuals that suggest writing rules and are devoted to technical skill. However, these manuals do not a writer make, hence, I am suggesting seven virtues. I have a reasonable amount of scepticism when it comes to these claims, but I believe them, at this moment, to be right.

Introspection

An understanding of your own mind and ability are essential to all good writing. Even if ‘I don’t know’ is the answer, you have explored yourself and that is one of the main goals.

Perhaps more importantly, the ability to reflect on yourself as a writer and what you’re aiming to do with writing are two key skills to understanding part of yourself and that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it?

Empathy

Good writing contains an almost unhealthy amount of emphatic inquiry. All good writing comes from a deep love/interest of the people and the world around you. A writer should be detail oriented, not so much in the recording/understanding of detail, but in the investigation of seemingly ordinary details to find the extraordinary. Nothing should escape the inquiry of an artist.

Technically this virtue is more important than introspection. Writing well is the ability to leap over the wall of self and become someone else for a while. It is about caring for others and their problems and this task should not be taken lightly.

More personally, writing is a way of expressing how I feel, as I have been blessed with an inability to do this out loud – it is a way for me to say how much I really like being alive.

Integrity

This can be summed up as: Have Fun. No one is going to stop enjoying yourself, but will definitely question writing that is ‘for show’. Realise, early on, that you are your best critic, if you are proud of what you’ve done – then it’s good (note: It can always be better). If this opinion changes, it means you have advanced.

Cumulate the ability to be true to yourself and your audience. Try not to be unnecessarily long-winded, verbose or inaccurate[1] – don’t cheat the reader into thinking you are smart. If you’re smart, it will come through. If you are stupid, it will come through, no matter how much you try to disguise it.

That said:

Humility

Realise that you are not perfect and are therefore liable to make mistakes. This is fine. Allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes and, if no one was seriously injured, laugh when you do.

Scepticism

Be aware of the rules of grammar/fiction/quality writing/audience expectation/convention. Understand that following these rules does not guarantee good writing, nor does breaking them. However, a thorough understanding of the rules is necessary for good writing – i.e. the knowledge of how and how not to break the above rules.

Creativity, not imagination.

The ability and want to take the old and make it new is fundamental to any creative process. Some ‘artists’ will claim that ‘imagination cannot be taught’. However, this pretence is often rolled out by authors whose talent is diminutive to their ego. The basic idea that imaginative skill varies from person to person is ridiculous. Time spent imagining and the want to imagine do.

However, what does alter is experience. Creativity is the process of recombining old elements to form new combinations. Usually, the distinguishing factor between something creative and something dull is that the creative ‘thing’ will have drawn upon a larger number of old elements than the dull ‘thing’. Hence, all that is required to make something creative is that you do your homework!

Hard work

Finally, none of this is easy and cannot be achieved without a degree of hard work. A writer should have an above average need to understand every shade of the people around her. The art of good writing comes down to the ability to revisit one thing several times, whether this be a draft, a character, or even a sentence. A writer investigates when there is no problem to be solved or goal to be achieved. Last and not least, they never ever complain. The hard work should come from love and therefore come easy.

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[1] However, do not misinterpret this to mean that in some way long, complex words are banned. They are not. We have a lexicon of over 16,000 words. Use it by picking the most accurate word – striding and marching do not mean the same thing, although they are relatively close in meaning, they represent two shades of a similar action. Acquire precision with language.