Take Note

When I was a band director, I used to carry around a little notebook (Actually it was one of those little fat notebooks that you can't find anymore.) and write down anything I learned or observed that I thought would make me a better teacher. I probably looked like a big geek, but I kept at it. In three years I filled up six notebooks and felt like I learned enough for two degrees.

Sometimes I heard another teacher say something that just clicked, something I could immediately use/borrow/steal. Other times I observed a technique, jotted it down and poured over it later, trying to figure out why it worked.

I've just started taking notes on the short stories I'm reading, writing down things I learn from other writers' work. It helps me to be able to point to something in a story and say, "Here's what this sentence is doing," or "This description of the story's setting is really telling me about the protagonist." Most of the time, though, I'm just asking questions. "Why is this sentence here? Why this word choice? Why this setting?" I'm finding all of it helps.

Since Clarion, I've read a few books on writing, but I honestly believe most of them are worthless. I think it's more important to read (in and out of your genre) like a demon. And write like one too. But it's also necessary to examine stories that work (and those that don't) and understand why they work (or don't). So far, it's paying off. Writer geeks with notebooks unite!

Now Playing = "My Favorite Things" – John Coltrane
Now Reading = About to read the first story in Use Once, Then Destroy – Conrad Williams