Learn to Write from John Steinbeck Himself
By: Katie Grant
Tags: Inspiration, Creativity, Writing, Motivation, Writing Tips

Be humble

“We will have to see whether the practicing through the years has prepared me for the writing of a book. For this is the book I have always wanted and have worked and prayed to be able to write. We shall see whether I am capable. Surely I feel humble in the face of this work.”

Goodness knows in this online, warp speed writing world we are in now, it helps to have confidence. The confidence to write, let alone submit, your stories to the publications that be. It’s daunting.

And, even if you need to put your superhero pants on to get through the day in a pandemic, it’s still important to maintain a sense of humility as well. Don’t assume you’ve got it all together. Question your readiness, check in with yourself and be grateful you get to write and share your thoughts.

Be stubborn

“And you know of course that many times before I finish this book I shall hate it with a deadly hatred. I shall detest the day when I started it. It will seem the poorest piece of crap that was ever set down. This feeling will reach a fine peak on about the 500th page. Once I pass that I will continue to work in a state of shock.”

As a writer, know yourself. Your moods, your blocks, your eccentricities. But keep going despite them. Artists are a tricky bunch. We can talk ourselves out of anything, especially creating. If you know your own tricks, you can still manage to write while you feel your feelings. That stubbornness is a gift.

Be honest

“This morning I am amazed at the utterly despicable quality of my thinking. And these are just as definitely a part of me as the thoughts of which I can approve. It doesn’t do any good to deny such thoughts. I think they turn to poison and sink in if we do. Better to think them through and so lose them.”

Being honest with yourself, especially if you don’t feel at the top of your game, is essential to good writing. In fact, some might say, it IS writing. Be honest and write with honesty. If you pretend you’re fine, that lack of authenticity will surely come through your writing. So face whatever is going on, however you are feeling and use it in your writing. Don’t deny it.

Be uncomfortable

“I can complain like mad but I never have done good work when there was perfect and uncomplicated ease.”

Many writers make the mistake of thinking if they have the perfect desk in the perfect place with the perfect pen or background music and their favorite cup of tea only then can they write well. Perhaps but that can also be a trap.

Write even if the circumstances don’t feel supreme. Even if you just had the worst morning and your shower water was cold or you can’t find your favorite notebook. Write through the discomfort. Because that’s where the good stuff is. The conflict that keeps us all interested and wanting to read more.

Be willing

“…this book is going to take its own pace. I am going to direct it but not push it about. This is my big novel. I’m going to use every bit of technique I have learned consciously and I am also going to let it go unconsciously…”

and

“It is strange and good that I never come to this book with reluctance — often with terror, but I have never since I started writing it wished I were not writing it — not even for a second.”

Writing takes a light touch to let your thoughts out without forcing them out. When you get in a state of flow your best writing comes out, I would bet. And to get in that state, you need to be willing to let it happen. Write, yes, but step out of your own way. Then the words will flow and the headlines will happen.

Be open

“I am ready and the words are beginning to well up and come crawling down my pencil and drop on the paper.”

There is a famous quote from Martha Graham, the modern dancer, about keeping the channel open. That channel inside you that turns your thoughts into ideas and ideas into paragraphs and paragraphs into fully formed stories.

If you can keep that creative channel open, whether that means doing yoga, meditating, writing warm up pages, like Steinbeck did, or turning the volume down on your inner critic, you will have greater access to your talent. And your talent will flow through your head into your hands as you write.

Be yourself

“I split myself into three people. I know what they look like. One speculates and one criticises and the third tries to correlate. It usually turns out to be a fight but out of it comes the whole week’s work. And it is carried on in my mind in dialogue. It’s an odd experience. Under certain circumstances it might be one of those schizophrenic symptoms but as a working technique, I do not think it is bad at all.”

Steinbeck really knows himself. His internal workings, his habits, his patterns and his foibles. And he uses that knowledge to his advantage.

Do you see your own inner voices so clearly? Or at all? If not, get to know them. Start to identify if those not so helpful thoughts are you or your inner critic or the inner thinker that needs some time to mull over things. Be gentle with yourself but be yourself nonetheless.

Be patient

“If I could not relax today I would not write. I would sit over this book for the usual number of hours but I would not write down any of the story for fear it might carry my own tension.”

and

“My mind is like a god dammed animal. If it gets out it is very hard to catch. I’ve had it in chains for quite a long time and now I’ll have to get a net over it. It’s flying away.”

and

“You fight a story week after week and day by day and then it arranges itself in your hands.”

Writing is a process and it takes a lot of patience. To get in the right headspace, to wrangle your thoughts and to let it flow. Pushing yourself may result in sloppy work or no work at all. Being patient is key to letting cohesion happen in your head. Go ahead, write your 500 or 1000 words a day but trust the process and be patient with yourself.

Be afraid

“I suffer as always from the fear of putting down the first line. It is amazing the terrors, the magics, the prayers, the straightening shyness that assails one.”

Putting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, is a scary process. Don’t deny it. You need to face your fears to be able to share your best work. Feel your fears and write anyway. Getting started, it might help to do what Anne Lamott does and let yourself write a “shitty first draft.” Your draft will get edited and polished, so let it come out as it may. Push through fear and write with it.

Be excited

“Last night I could not sleep out of excitement about my story… I have a good golden light in my stomach which is a mesh of happiness.”

and

“This book is doing remarkable things to and for me. My memory is sharpened and tightened and sometimes the feel of words is like a round and warm emotion.”

As they say, if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Clearly, Steinbeck loved to write. He loved the process. He loved thinking about his novel. His story. He sat down to work every day. Although he might not have written the novel text every day, he did write to his publisher. And he let himself get excited about his work. He knew where he stood in his career and felt the pressure of writing what he considered to be “the book” of his life. And he was still excited to do it.