Forum / NaNo: By a guy what knows --

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  Ramon Collins

  Mar 07, 08:14pm

  NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH -- Tom Robbins’ Pep Talk

  Dear NaNoWriMo participant:

  When you sit down to begin that novel of yours, the first thing you might want to do is toss a handful of powdered napalm over both shoulders—so as to dispense with any and all of your old writing teachers, the ones whose ghosts surely will be hovering there, saying such things as, “Adverbs should never be…”, or “A novel is supposed to convey…”, et cetera. Enough! Ye literary bureaucrats, vamoose!

  Rules such as “Write what you know,” and “Show, don’t tell,” while doubtlessly grounded in good sense, can be ignored with impunity by any novelist nimble enough to get away with it. There is, in fact, only one rule in writing fiction: Whatever works, works.

  Ah, but how can you know if it’s working? The truth is, you can’t always know (I nearly burned my first novel a dozen times, and it’s still in print after 35 years), you just have to sense it, feel it, trust it. It’s intuitive, and that peculiar brand of intuition is a gift from the gods. Obviously, most people have received a different package altogether, but until you undo the ribbons you can never be sure.

  As the great Nelson Algren once said, “Any writer who knows what he’s doing isn’t doing very much.” Most really good fiction is compelled into being. It comes from a kind of uncalculated innocence. You need not have your ending in mind before you commence. Indeed, you need not be certain of exactly what’s going to transpire on page 2. If you know the whole story in advance, your novel is probably dead before you begin it. Give it some room to breathe, to change direction, to surprise you. Writing a novel is not so much a project as a journey, a voyage, an adventure.

  A topic is necessary, of course; a theme, a general sense of the nexus of effects you’d like your narrative to ultimately produce. Beyond that, you simply pack your imagination, your sense of humor, a character or two, and your personal world view into a little canoe, push it out onto the vast dark river, and see where the currents take you. And should you ever think you hear the sound of dangerous rapids around the next bend, hey, hang on, tighten your focus, and keep paddling—because now you’re really writing, baby! This is the best part.

  It’s a bit like being out of control and totally in charge, simultaneously. If that seems tricky, well, it’s a tricky business. Try it. It’ll drive you crazy. And you’ll love it.

  Tom Robbins

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  Darryl Price

  Mar 07, 09:32pm

  I've always loved Tom Robbins. He's a true original--fearless,experimental,brave,romantic,outrageous,and fun. He knows how to have it and to give it. He can take something as simple and overdone as a sunset and make it brand new(check out Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)to the reader. That's real power, and if you ask me, real art.Of course he gets attacked over and over again for being too this or too that or not taking his work too seriously or taking himself too seriously--choose your weapon, they've all been used against him, but he continues to mystify and inspire and entertain and cause a great commotion in the literary world--pretty good for a writer of any kind nowadays.And then there's the above sound advice,very cool.

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  Ramon Collins

  Mar 09, 12:19am

  Darryl: Tom is an incredibly sharp, original thinker. You're right -- he doesn't take himself too seriously but does take the writing craft very seriously. This drives some writers up the wall. And across the ceiling.

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  Susan Tepper

  Mar 09, 01:49am

  I think he's amazing too. I also like DP and Ray Collins (the Nevada kid) when it comes to fine writing.

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  Ramon Collins

  Mar 12, 07:55pm

  Susan: You MUST marry Darryl and me -- immediately!

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