Kauai Writers Conference - "Mastering the Art of Nonfiction" workshop

I have been attending the Kauai Writers Workshop here in Lihue, Hawaii. This has been an AMAZING experience, and I am so grateful for the great support that Franklin University provides in professional development.

I started out attending a four-day workshop by Mark Kurlansky on “The Art of Nonfiction.” It’s amazing to chat with and learn from such a well-known, successful author. He is a very interesting and impressive. 

Mark Kurlansky Workshop Quotes

Here are some quotes on Writing from Mark Kurlansky from the workshop:

• “You don’t have to follow any rules. What you have to do is make it work.”
• “I’m still wondering what writer’s block is supposed to be.”
• On fiction and nonfiction: “Either way it has to ring true.”
• “Writing doesn’t just come to you. You have to work at it every day.”
• “Get all the crap down… To me, fixing it is what’s fun.”
• “You write the way you do because of your background.”
• “The question is, when someone picks up a book and starts to read, do they want to continue reading?”
• “When you are writing a book, never worry about the length. Go on and on and you can cut it later.”
• “There’s got to be more there than the facts.”
• “You’re always better off showing something than explaining it.”
• “Storytelling is the most fun in writing.”
• “If you read a book and you stop reading, ask yourself why.”
• “You can always go off wherever you are, as long as you can find your way back.”
• “Stories should be as long as they need to be good stories.”
• “In any art, you rise and fall on the choices that you make.”
• “Do I want to spend three years talking to Neo-Nazis?”
• “Agents are about selling a book, but don’t let them write the book.”
• “I’m just trying to do what I believe in, and it’s really great if people get into it.”
• “As a 70 year old writer, you ask yourself ‘have I done the things I want to do?' And you don’t want the answer to be no.”

On Writing Process

Here is how Mark describes his writing process. 

• Research - Mark does all of his research before he writes anything. This includes books, articles, videos, interviews, etc. He uses plastic arrow tabs to note key parts of a book or article so he knows where to come back to it. He figures he uses around 60% of the things that he reads in the final book.
• Outline - Mark writes an outline of around 60 pages. This outline captures everything he wants to include in the book. 
• Write - He writes the book. This includes: Writing out the content in the outline.Add in the “anecdotes” and stories to add life to the content. 
• Edit - Mark edits, revises, and improves the writing. This includes cutting, trimming, and tightening everything. Mark has used the same editor for 17 of his 34 books. You have to have a good relationship with the editor, and you don’t have to do everything the editor suggests.

Nuggets of Knowledge from Mark

• Assessing criticism is a critical skill. You don’t have to agree with everything you receive criticism on.
• When considering your book, ask yourself: what is the story I am telling with this book?
• How can you help the reader feel? What do you want the reader to feel? To know? To do?
• Write a lead (the opening to the book) that compels the reader. The first few paragraphs need to GRAB the reader’s interest and make people feel and wonder what you are going to do.
• Your opening must be a real attention-getter. This should introduce the topic, convey the compelling nature of the book, and cause the reader to ask questions or to want to know what happens next. 
• After the opening, you can go ahead and start to teach the content of the book - get into the meat of the book! Set the stage so the reader knows what is coming (or at least knows that the answer to their question is coming). 
• Small moments are illuminating. Details are gold, but they must be telling details - they must help tell the overall story. You don’t want people to die in a graveyard of facts. Bring the story to life.
• Mark says you must have an agent. It needs to be the person who has already published about the topic you are writing about. Though, an energetic younger agent might be great, too. It is a good idea to select an agent who has published successful books in the area or topic that you want to go for.
• When you are considering what book to write next, ask yourself: Do I want to spend 3 years thinking about this topic?
• The size of a financial advance shows the level of commitment of the publisher. You have to decide if the advance they are offering is worthwhile. It is a calculation of what you are going to earn in royalties, basically.
• On going international with your book: your agent negotiates lots of things, including foreign rights. If you give the publisher foreign rights, you get a bigger advance.

What I Want to Do In My Writing

• Grab and maintain interest and attention of the reader at the beginning of the book and each section.
• Teach and impart knowledge that is meaningful. Potentially use repetition of key principles and phrases that teach the main principles.
• Tell stories that teach the key principles.
• Have a cliff-hanger at the end of each section or at least each chapter to keep people interested and excited about.
• Use my academic skills at structure and organizing to create a smooth, meaningful flow of content and knowledge.

Reflections

Casual versus Formal Self - At one point, we talked about the difference between the casual self and the formal self in writing. I have been immersed in “academic” or “work” writing for so long (over 10 years) that I have a very hard time breaking free from it. This sense of restriction is not only mental but I actually feel it. I can easily hammer out an academic article, but when I try to write something that is actually interesting, I freeze up and revert to the formal. 

Is writing an art? - The name of the workshop is “The Art of Nonfiction.” But, is writing actually an art? Art can be defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.” Is nonfiction an art? Or just fiction?  

On Stories - When I speak, teach, or give a workshop, I often tell three brief stories that illustrate the principle I am going to teach. I don’t necessarily tell everything, but I use it as a way to capture attention. When I do my writing, I think I am going to try a similar approach. Though, I think I will need to do it somewhat differently. However, the stories must have depth to them so that they are compelling, interesting, and convey the overarching story.

Channeling Douglas Adams - I’ve found that I tend to want to write like Douglas Adams. I honestly feel like I am connecting to a different me - a me that is around 17 or 18 years old. I love Adams’ really surprising, humorous, light-hearted approach to his stories.

Believing in What is Possible - I appreciate being here among other writers, and especially with Mark. He is expanding my mind and beliefs about what is possible, and I really appreciate the vision of what is possible. I love being with someone who has done many of the things that I want to do.

Writing at the Library

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently taking a sabbatical from my work at Franklin University for the summer trimester. For the first month (May), I have been focusing my efforts on writing a coupe of journal articles. I thought I would share a little about what that has been like.

I have been spending my time at the Grove City Library in downtown Grove City. It's a relatively quiet place, and I can usually get a lot of work done. This is pretty exciting work, my friends - writing scholarly articles! To give you an idea of the excitement, here is what it looks like when I am writing:

What it looks like when I am writing scholarly articles. Usually there are two hands, but one of them is taking the picture.

Sometimes I feel like I need to take a break and look up. When I do, this is what it looks like:

What it looks like when I look up from writing scholarly articles.

Every once in a while, I get a little crazy and I look the other direction. This is what that looks like:

So, I guess you could say that things are really pretty exciting right now. Ill be sure to report on my progress in my writing in the next week or two. For now, back to writing...

Related Post: Confessions of a Boring Academic Writer

Confessions of a Boring Academic Writer

The other day I was looking back at some of the academic articles I have written and I had a somewhat disturbing realization:  I have become a boring academic writer. I recently looked back at some of my writing on this blog, and although there have been flashes of interestingness, I largely use the dry, third-person, detached approach.

I'm not as worried about myself in other areas of life- I really like people, I think I am reasonably humorous, and I think (hope) that the classes I teach are pretty engaging and perhaps even fun for my students. But somehow my writing has become abysmally dry.


I Blame My Academic Training
Why has my writing become so dry? I blame my academic training. As scholars we are taught to be "objective" in our research and therefore we are often taught to write in a formal, objective tone. We are taught to detach ourselves from what we are observing, to be systematic, to be methodical. If you want an example of detached, third-person sort of writing, read my dissertation. Better yet, don't. Unless you are really excited about instructional design or research methods, you will find it really boring.

Now, I am not attacking academic research and writing. In fact, I believe it is extremely important because it provides knowledge that can be used to improve the human condition. I believe that my experience in graduate school was absolutely transformational, and would never trade that experience away. But one unfortunate byproduct is mind-numbingly boring writing, something I would like to change in my own writing.

Sometimes Interesting
I feel like every once in a while I put out something interesting and engaging - I enjoyed writing this post on My Irritations When Flying, for example - but most of the time I worry that I am altogether to detached and scholarly-sounding.

How to Write Less Boring?
So, how can I break free of this serious, academic, dry approach to my writing? (Feel free to view this as a cry for help. Not that I am going to go crazy or gain 50 depression-induced pounds or anything weird like that - just that I am open to suggestions on how to improve my writing). I feel like I need to break free of the boring academic structure that my mind finds itself trapped in.

Any advice from interesting writers?