Writing To The Heart Of The Matter

If I have not written in this forum of late, it is because I've been channeling my writing into an Introduction to Creative Writing class through SF State's Continuing Education Program. In other words, I'm trying to learn to write a short story.

I know the general idea, of course, but I never seem to do so. I always get stuck. The neat thing about this class is the focus on the basics, starting small and building from there, and I think that's what I need. It's been enjoyable, and one of the first exercises was to write a writer's manifesto. I found that to be a fascinating experience, so I thought I would re-post it here. There's no real form to the manifesto, just a general statement of my thoughts and hopes for the class, bad grammar and all:

1) I am a writer. I want to say that without qualification, without feeling silly in doing so, without feeling pretentious. I am a writer because I write, and I want to embrace that.

2) My strengths lie in attention to detail, a love of language, an ability to evoke moods and places. I have read a lot in my life, and I write a lot.

3) My weaknesses are perfectionism, a challenge to develop a plot on which to base a story that I don’t feel is silly or contrived, to create a realistic character, flaws and all, and to write good dialogue that sounds realistic.

Goals: I want to become proficient in rewriting drafts to find threads that I feel good about. I want to find ways to put words down on paper when I don’t feel hopeful and be able to push through writer’s block. I want to find a seed of a plot in what my generative voice creates, and use my editorial voice to sharpen the plot to sustain the organic writing around it.

How do I get there? Work within the structure of a class setting to bring discipline to my writing. Learn different exercises, develop good writing habits of writing every day and not ignoring my writer’s voice, turn off the TV. Try new places to write, try re-reading drafts and re-typing, find a trusted reader. Listen to people on the bus and in the street. When I feel uncomfortable writing something, write more about that in greater detail. If I think to myself, “Should I really write that? Would that offend someone?”, I want to write it without hesitation. My writing is for me and no one else.

Focus on the basics of writing, developing characters and plots that make sense. Start small and let it grow from there.

I'm looking forward to see what I can produce through this class. The structure of a weekly class has been encouraging and inspirational, so that's a good sign.