"Il y a plus affaire a interpreter les interpretations, qu'a interpreter les choses, et plus de livres sur les livres, que sur autre subject: nous ne faisons que nous entregloser. Tout fourmille de commentaires : d'autheurs, il en est grand cherte."
Michel de Montaigne, Essais III 13 (published in 1588)
Lesson 1: write what you know
- You must write!
- Use automatic writing to unblock or "create the kernel"
- Whilst writing what you know is a good thing, you cannot assume that just because it happened the reader will believe it happened. The writing needs authenticating detail - specificity
- Learn to observe - observe in words the way a photographer might observe visually
- Use things that stand out
- Use your imagination to augment authentic details
- Look beyond the obvious
- Use documents and diaries for authentic source material
- Look up words you don't know
- Use a notebook to record experiences or observations
Back to writing course
