Post by account_disabled on Jan 6, 2024 4:46:39 GMT
Scottish writer born in 1930, William Forrester lived in New York, in the Bronx, and published only one novel, Avalon Landing . If you don't know him, I'm not surprised, because William Forrester doesn't exist . He is one of the characters in the film Finding Forrester (2000) with Sean Connery and a cameo version of Matt Damon. A film that I liked, and also intrigued me, since it was about a writer. Could I watch that film without having a sheet of paper and a pen handy? No, of course, and so I was able to glean some writing advice generously offered by William Forrester , a non-existent writer. #1 – The best words are the ones we write for ourselves… …and not the ones we write for others. So Forrester said to his young friend Jamal. The boy complained about the poor quality of his writings when he was at school, while the stories he wrote in his notebooks at home were better. There are many who say that you shouldn't write for yourself, but for others. Then Forrester comes along and says otherwise.
In fact, he says that when we write for ourselves, our words are better. Why? And where is the truth? In my opinion those concepts must be interpreted. Writing for others actually means writing stories that our audience can understand, stories that others will enjoy, and therefore structurally valid. Let's leave dreamlike thoughts without rhyme or reason in private. Write Special Data for yourself instead? What we write must come from within us, we must feel the story we write, to infuse it with our passion. #2 – The first draft is written with the heart, the second with the head This phrase reminds us of “write drunk and revise sober”, attributed to Ernest Hemingway, but probably by Peter De Vries (“Sometimes I write drunk and revise sober, and sometimes I write sober and revise drunk”). When I wrote my book , I planned the various chapters, then I wrote down the ideas without making any corrections, except for various typos. When I revised it , the work was different, because the head took precedence over the heart.
In my novel – the one about the progress bar, which appears stationary, but is actually moving – I have so far written in one go starting from an outline. The revision, I already know, will be hard work, because there will be many things to fix, which must now be left as is. #3 – Never start a sentence with a conjunction What if it were necessary? Forrester read a passage written by Jamal and challenged him on a sentence that began with a conjunction. The boy replied that the writing rules require that a conjunction not be used at the beginning of the sentence, but that in some cases it is possible. Forrester agreed with him and who are we to blame him? That is a rule that I have also read, but which I have also broken when I deemed it appropriate. As they say: know the rules first and then break them, right? #4 – Read filth for dessert Jamal saw Forrester reading a cheap newspaper, like our tabloid magazines probably, and was amazed that a writer like him read such stuff. Forrester's response gave me pause.
In fact, he says that when we write for ourselves, our words are better. Why? And where is the truth? In my opinion those concepts must be interpreted. Writing for others actually means writing stories that our audience can understand, stories that others will enjoy, and therefore structurally valid. Let's leave dreamlike thoughts without rhyme or reason in private. Write Special Data for yourself instead? What we write must come from within us, we must feel the story we write, to infuse it with our passion. #2 – The first draft is written with the heart, the second with the head This phrase reminds us of “write drunk and revise sober”, attributed to Ernest Hemingway, but probably by Peter De Vries (“Sometimes I write drunk and revise sober, and sometimes I write sober and revise drunk”). When I wrote my book , I planned the various chapters, then I wrote down the ideas without making any corrections, except for various typos. When I revised it , the work was different, because the head took precedence over the heart.
In my novel – the one about the progress bar, which appears stationary, but is actually moving – I have so far written in one go starting from an outline. The revision, I already know, will be hard work, because there will be many things to fix, which must now be left as is. #3 – Never start a sentence with a conjunction What if it were necessary? Forrester read a passage written by Jamal and challenged him on a sentence that began with a conjunction. The boy replied that the writing rules require that a conjunction not be used at the beginning of the sentence, but that in some cases it is possible. Forrester agreed with him and who are we to blame him? That is a rule that I have also read, but which I have also broken when I deemed it appropriate. As they say: know the rules first and then break them, right? #4 – Read filth for dessert Jamal saw Forrester reading a cheap newspaper, like our tabloid magazines probably, and was amazed that a writer like him read such stuff. Forrester's response gave me pause.