The Write Stuff

by Ashley Lister

Practice Makes Prefect

It has been famously said, by the likes of Woolf and Molière, that writing and sex have a lot in common.  First you do it for love, then for a few close friends, and eventually you end up doing it for the money.

This is a matter of some debate because some of us can’t even give it away.  However, it’s certain that both sex and writing can be improved with the relevant application of practice.

The cerebral activity of creative writing (in any genre) is comparable to physical exercise.  Just like no one would try and run a marathon without limbering up first, it’s ridiculous to think of attempting to write without getting your mind into the right state or condition beforehand.  Runners do stretching exercises, gently coercing their bodies into readiness.  Writers should really do some practice exercises before committing those all important thoughts to the page. 

Not that I’m advocating any form of physical exercise.  God!  No!  My idea of physical exercise is rolling a cigarette and then sparking my Zippo.  I did some physical exercise last week – putting a pack of popcorn in the microwave – but I had to sit down in front of a two hour movie with a couple of beers afterward to try and recuperate. 

However, my lack of physical ability aside, the mental activity of limbering up one’s mind before beginning to write is vital for the healthy production of strong, quality writing.

One of my favourite exercises at the beginning of the writing day is to create a couple of haikus.  Seventeen syllables, over three lines, divided into a 5-7-5 pattern, the haiku is a succinct form of poetry that gets an author into the zone of thinking and writing creatively. 

(NB.  If there are any pedants reading this, who want to tell me that the haiku is not seventeen syllables, and this is a western misinterpretation of the original format where the scansion of the poems were originally counted by katakana, please don’t bother sending the email.  I’m using haikus here in the contemporary/western sense).

Haikus are curiously easy to write, yet they can also be maddeningly difficult to compile.  Seventeen syllables is not an insurmountable amount to write before anyone begins their writing day.  However, being aware of the number of syllables being used in a composition is an effective way of focusing the author’s thoughts on exactly what is being said and how it is being written.

An ultra short skirt
- she strides up the steps ahead -
And I see heaven

Traditionally haikus were written to a format that required an image to be associated with a season. 

Summer’s bright sunlight
Glistens wetly over your
Freshly oiled flesh

Winter’s icy chill
Invigorates the senses
Makes nipples erect

It’s not difficult and it’s not time consuming.  It’s a short exercise that gets a writer’s thoughts focussed into the attitude of creating an image with words.  As the majority of creative writing involves creating images with words, it’s a worthwhile investment of time at the beginning of the day.

Coleridge claimed that prose was words “in their best order.”  He pointed out that poetry is “the best words in the best order.”  As writers – whether we’re writing prose or poetry – it’s our intention to put our words in the best order.  It’s also desirable for us to use (whenever possible) the best words at our command.  Beginning each writing session with an exercise that puts the best words in the best order can only be of benefit.

Ashley Lister
February 2009

Find more of Ashley's Write Stuff in ERWA 2009 Archive.

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"The Write Stuff" © 2009 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author:  Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms. His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica.  Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto.  He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Email:  Ashley Lister
Website:  www.ashleylister.co.uk

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