36 Rules for Writing (or How to DIY an MFA)
Anne Lamott and her hubby Neal Allen's latest book is a godsend for self-taught writers
Every few weeks, I look my husband dead in the eyes and issue one sober command: “DO NOT LET ME GET AN MFA.”
A perpetual student (hello, other lifelong learners!), I have no trouble romanticizing the acquisition of a real writing degree. Years spent in classrooms discussing craft? The chance to learn from skilled wordsmiths? Externally imposed deadlines?? Sign me up!
But not so fast. I already have two graduate degrees, a full-time job, and two kiddos at home, so, at this point, it’s hard to pinpoint the value of an MFA beyond the literary street cred it provides.
Mostly, I just dream of being in rooms where the only conversation is about writing. Lucky for me, there are lots of ways to accomplish this without signing on for another degree, which is how I found myself among a gaggle of local writers, eyes and ears glued to two literary icons: Anne Lamott and her husband, Neal Allen.
Their latest book, Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences, is a staple for any DIY MFA candidate like myself. While I love a craft book that functions like creative ketamine, infusing the reader with motivation to chase their artistic aspirations, I’ve always hungry for a book that addresses writing on a line level. Moreover, one that will make me a savvier editor.
Get to know your bad habits, so you can break them.
Becoming a strong writer is the same as any skill: you can’t improve until you crack the code on your own bad habits. And, boy, do I have many (including starting every third sentence with the word “and”).
I loved that Anne and Neal spoke about their envy for other writers - Barbara Kingsolver (Anne), Cormac McCarthy (Neal) - and their ability to craft a sentence so uniqely captured that it serves as a reminder that each word on the page must live up to the heavy-lifting required of it.
A few big/humorous takeaways from the conversation:
Don’t show off (or we’ll feel contempt for you). These are Anne’s words directly, and she’s talking about our instinct to peacock our literary feathers in an attempt to impress the reader. Fancy vocabulary and extended clauses may seem impressive, but often irk the reader and distract from the story.
Be a writing dominatrix. Here, Anne looked directly at a member of the audience (someone I assume she is mentoring). Writers need community to grow and stay accountable to themselves. You may be someone else’s dominatrix and they may be yours, but great writing is rarely conceived in a vacuum. For me, this was a good reminder to put out feelers for a steady writing group (someone please adopt me!).
Go into the shed with your self-critic. Beyond writing, Neal is also a writing coach. The author of Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic, he spoke about helping clients identify and converse with the voice of their inner critic (he does this work, literally, in a shed in his backyard). “It’s you!” Anne has learned to say to that sneaky, self-defacing critic. Isn’t it interesting that the voice meant to keep us safe, protect us from danger, and mask our vulnerabilities is actually our greatest creative foe? Understanding the purpose of our inner critic is how we learn to co-exist with it.
I’m not going back to “school” anytime soon…
But every room I’m in is a classroom that shapes my identity and skill as a human writer. I’m loving the experience of cobbling together my DIY MFA, and I’d love your suggestions for podcasts, craft books, social media accounts to build up my “required content” list. Please share them below!
Congrats on the requests! And DM me if you want to form a group. Or a duo.
thanks for the book advice and congratulations on your manuscript requests! Good luck!