The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes - Jack M. Bickham [48]
By this time, not so incidentally, I imagine you must be wondering why I've gone to such lengths talking about writers and teachers who can't do it, when in fact the subject of this chapter is advice that you should find a pro and listen to her. It's precisely because of the existence out there of so many teachers who can't teach, for whatever reason. I've talked about the bad ones to emphasize to you that I'm saying you should get help from a pro, and do what's advised, only when you locate a good teacher-professional.
How can you tell if the local guru is for real? You launch a polite investigation.
Ask people about her. Get some idea of her reputation generally. Then write or telephone the teacher-pro and try to set up an appointment to discuss possible coaching. If the pro is agreeable, and preliminary talk about times and costs are acceptable, then you see the teacher in person, ask a few questions, and size her up one-to-one.
Watch out for statements like the following:
"Well, it's all very mysterious, actually...."
"I believe in giving my student total freedom...."
"Sometimes I feel I learn more from my students than they can possibly learn from me....
"I will never tell you to do or try anything....
"As William Faulkner once said...."
"As Henry James once wrote...."
"In the words of the immortal Ezra Pound...."
And all such stuff that says (1)The teacher isn't going to teach, and (2)What we're really going to be into here is a disguised literature appreciation course.
If the teacher seems to pass the preliminary test, your second step should be to ask her for a list of successful students. She should be able to provide the names of some former students who are now selling copy. You should also get the names of a few present or very recent students. You should call up some of these people and discuss the teacher with them, finding out what their opinion is, what they feel they are accomplishing.
Finally, if all is well so far, you should submit a piece of copy to the teacher and see what kind of a critique and advice you get. If it seems airy and highfalutin, I think you should run. If it seems basic, pragmatic and practical—even if you don't agree with all of it—then maybe you have found your pro.
But let's assume now that you've gotten lucky, and you are working with someone who produces professional copy herself, and seems to be giving you hard-nosed, practical advice. Now you must do what you're told.
This is harder than it sounds for at least three reasons:
First, as we said before in this book, writing is tied painfully close to your ego; suggestions for basic changes in your approach to writing may be psychologically so uncomfortable that you make up all kinds of excuses not to listen.
Second, most new things are a little painful. Your most basic impulse, when told to try something new, will be not to like it—resist trying it.
Third, you may be so in love with your present way of writing—even though you aren't selling with it—that you just get angry and dig your heels in when told to do it some other way.
And most insidious of all—you actually may not be able to hear what the teacher is really saying. This is a tough one, and I don't know what you can do about it beyond remembering that it's a pretty common phenomenon. Even in a nutshell the problem is complex, but here it is, as simply as I can state it:
If you don't know what you don't know, then there's no way for you to hear advice designed to remedy the problem.
When I was first starting out with a professional teacher—after more than seven years of trying to make it on my own—he promptly began telling me to do a certain thing in setting up the major scenes in my novels. Week after week, month after month, year after year, he told me exactly the same thing. I kept imagining I understood what he was saying. My copy remained directionless—flabby.
Finally, after a woefully long time, I realized on my own something like, "Hey, I need better scene-endings that will further trap the hero. "
Only