“You won’t know what’s in you until you test it.” - Ray Bradbury
On February 22, 2001, Ray Bradbury gave the keynote address for the Sixth Annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. The Writer’s Symposium by the Sea is an annual event where guests share life stories and talk about the creative process. I learned about the symposium after finding a video of Ray Bradbury’s keynote address on YouTube. In his address he gives writing advice which he calls the "hygiene" of writing. Here are ten things that I learned from his speech.
One: Write Short Stories
The first thing he mentions is to start with writing short stories. The danger with starting with a novel is that you can spend a year working on it but it may not turn out well because you haven’t learned to write yet. He does add that if your novel is going well for you then this advice doesn’t apply though.
He suggests “writing a hell of a lot of short stories.” Write one short story week. At the end of the year, you’ll have fifty-two short stories, and they can’t all be bad. He says, “I defy you to write fifty-two bad ones! It can’t be one!” He also mentions the psychological aspect of completing a story every week.
He points out that quality doesn’t matter at the start, at least you’re practicing. You’ll learn to look for ideas and you’ll learn to compact things. By writing short stories you’ll be in training and learning your craft.
Two: Read Short Stories
He suggests reading lots and lots of short stories and mentions a lot of authors. (See list below.) This has been easy for me to do as I love short stories. Based on his advice I read Fancies and Goodnights, by John Collier. It’s a collection of fantasy and suspense stories. I really enjoyed it. Several of his stories were adapted for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. I've also read some Roald Dahl short stories and a collection of G. K. Chesterton essays. All good stuff. He also suggests reading science fiction stories because they deal with metaphors.
Three: The Importance of Metaphor
Mr. Bradbury feels that metaphor is something that is missing from modern writing. The ability of seeing metaphors, knowing how to write metaphors, and making a collection of them, will make you a better writer and then you’ll be ready to write a novel. Something I’m more aware of recently as I read. I see them more but I also recognize how difficult it is to come up with them. He explains that he doesn’t know how to teach you how to recognize metaphors when you see them, but he does offer advice. Stuff your head from various fields by reading a lot.
Four: Read Before Bed
He suggests reading before bed every night. Read one short story, one essay, and one poem a night. Read from various fields, archeology, zoology, biology, politics, philosophy. This reminds me of all the reading Louis L'Amour did before he started writing. I wrote about that in a previous blog post:
Jim Reddy's We Learn By Writing: Education of a Wandering Man
Mr. Bradbury says to read before bed for 1000 nights. By doing this your head will be full of ideas plus your own personal experiences and perceptions of life. The more metaphors you can cram yourself with, the more they’ll bounce around inside your head and make new metaphors.
Five: Live in the Library
Since he couldn’t afford college he went to the library three to four days a week. After doing this for ten years he says he graduated from the library at the age of 28. He says to live in the library, “not on the internet or computers and that crap.” He talks about the joy of browsing and discovering new books by pulling books off the shelf. “To pull books off the shelf and not know what the hell they are.” Going to the library is a surprise. He adds, “You’re looking for something like you, aren’t you?” I agree with this so much. I do similar things online but it’s not the same. I miss going to the library.
Six: Watch Old Movies
He recommends old movies as the movies from his childhood had a strong impact on him. The first movie he ever saw was The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the age of three. He also mentions the Phantom of the Opera, The Lost World, and King Kong. These movies gave him inspiration. “I want your loves to be multiple.” He adds, “I don’t want you to be a snob about anything.” Basically, he says if you like it and it’s fun, watch it.
Seven: Make a Love/Hate List
Make a list of ten things that you love and ten things that you hate or fear. Your own personal fears. Then write about them and kill the things that you hate. His short story The Thing at the Top of the Stairs was based on a childhood fear of going up a dark stairway in the house he grew up in.
Eight: Have Fun
Writing should not be work. If it feels like work, stop and either write about something else or do something else. Don’t write to benefit the world. Set out to have fun.
Nine: Try Word Association
Sometimes sit down and just type what comes to mind. It’s one way to have fun. You may be able to discover more about yourself this way. By the time you get to the bottom of the first or second page some character may take over. This could be your true self.
Ten: Whatever Works
One time he got an idea while he was out in the desert. No computer, no typewriter. He used what he had, a pad and a pencil. He wrote something and finished it. His advice here is “Whatever works.”
In Conclusion
I realize that every writer is different and there isn’t a set formula. For example, some writers suggest coming up with an ending and working towards it. Ray Bradbury has an opposite take on the process. He says that all his books have been surprises. “I’ve never known where the hell I’m going. That’s the great fun.”
I found a lot of what he says to be intriguing and helpful. His message for writers seems to be to have fun and surprise yourself. You may not always know where you’re going at first, but you’ll be surprised by where you wind up.
These are the ideas that worked for him and maybe can work for others. In the end though, do whatever works for you. I think that's a good message. It's something I've been trying to do as I've been reading about writing and trying to put into practice what I think will work for me.
Even though he was eighty years old when he gave this speech, his passion for books, storytelling, and writing seemed just as intense as if he were his younger self. I hope that I have such passion at that age.
Author List
Here is a list of the authors he recommends during his speech:
Short Stories by:
John Collier
Roald Dahl
Guy De Maupassant
John Cheever
Richard Matheson
Nigel Kneale
Catherine Anne Porter
Edith Wharton
Eudora Welty
Washington Irving
Herman Melville
Edgar Allen Poe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Poems by:
Shakespeare
Alexander Pope
Robert Frost
Essays by:
Aldous Huxley
Loren Eiseley
G. K. Chesterton
George Bernard Shaw
A shorter version of this blog post first appeared in the Fantasy Amateur Press Association fanzine Fandomain F, Vol. 1 No. 7, August 2018.
