|
Words to the Wise
Ross Laird on
Creativity—A Website to Inspire You
Every once in a while in your virtual
travels, you come across a website that stops you cold—and then
enthralls you with its clarity, originality, intelligence. This
was my experience with Ross Laird's website, two sites actually.
Laird is a Vancouver writer, scholar and teacher who specializes
in "the creative
process as it infuses writing, craft, art, and personal
development."
I heard him speak at this year's
symposium for writers presented by The Writers' Union of Canada,
and was so taken by his energy and insight that I immediately
searched out his sites and, two months later, am roaming them
still.
For Beacon readers, two of
Laird's articles are especially refreshing.
Starting to Write begins, "Stop
whatever else you are doing. Close your email application and
Facebook, turn off the background music, silence your cell
phone. Put it all away. Do it now. I’ll wait." How could you not
read on! Laird urges writers to enfold the process of finding
and following their creative voice in silence. Then listen: "The
creative animal [the path of creative energy within each of us]
is primordial, eternal, wise beyond our knowing. It has been
waiting for us, all this time. Listen to what it has to say."
And finally, write: "Allow the creative animal to write for you
one good word, or sentence, or paragraph. Don't mess up the
writing."
Laird's article
"Tips on Tightening" (recently reposted as
Steps to Better Writing) brought me up short. Nearly everyone who
has attended a critique group has heard that the best approach
to writing, in the initial stages, is to get it all down, put
your thoughts on the page, worry about the editing later. Even I
have said this to others; but never—not once in my writing
life—have I done it myself. For me writing is a painstaking
process: I cannot move on until what I have done is solid if not
good. Now I discover that a renowned teacher of writing and
author of books, one shortlisted for the Governor General's
Award, is "not a fan" of the
spontaneous approach. "Good
writing, in my view," says Laird, "builds sentence upon
sentence. Each new contribution adds to the structure and the
framework of clarity.... Why go farther down your creative track
when the foundation is not yet established?" Am I vindicated? I
feel so.
Laird's example of
self-editing in this article, a sentence of twenty-five words,
is the best lesson you will find anywhere. Phrase by phrase, he
shows you how to achieve clarity and strength, image and
resonance, how to embody emotion, and most importantly how to
move yourself, the writer, along. "The sentence itself leads me
on, as its writer, to the next stage.... I cannot write the next
sentence without first the polished catalyst of the first."
Take a look at Laird's
websites, and his books. They are worth your time.
Ross A. Laird:
http://www.rosslaird.com/
"Starting to Write":
http://www.rosslaird.com/articles/2010/12/03/starting-to-write/ and scroll down.
"Steps to Better Writing":
http://rosslaird.com/articles/2011/10/12/steps-to-better-writing/
Ross Laird is a keynote speaker for
The Writers' Union of Canada. His slideshow for "Writers in
a New Landscape" can be found here:
http://slides.rosslaird.com/writers.pdf.html
Back to Words
to the Wise index |
|
