Zen in the Art of Writing: Recent Episodes
Words to Write by Podcast
In this episode we bid a fond farewell to Bradbury with one last conversation about his book, Zen in the Art of Writing. We discuss what's in the book, what it meant for us personally, and how readers can get the most out of this writing craft book. We send off Bradbury with our favorite Zen quotes.And then it's on to Jack Bickham's Scene and Structure. Renee gives a bit of context about the book and Kim interview Kristen Tate, an editor who reviewed the book on her website, The Blue Garett.
Zen in the Art of Writing: Ch 11
In this episode we dive into the final chapter of Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing, titled: Zen in the Art of Writing. So what is Zen, anyway? With the help of the internet, we come up with some context. Then it's on to Bradbury's three critical words to writer success: WORKRELAXATIONDON'T THINK(okay, that's four words)We do our best to figure out what Bradbury meant and what those concepts could mean for our own writing. As a bonus, Renee reveals the not-so-secret way of getting an A in her creative writing classes.
Join us On Eventbrite! Register Here Zen in the Art of Writing So why Zen? Bradbury claims he chose the title for shock value, but later admits he was inspired by Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, in which "WORK, RELAXATION, and DON'T THINK appear in different aspects and different settings."
So, too, like archery, Bradbury declares the same three tenants to a successful career as a writer.
Work; or, Quantity = Quality
Bradbury is not so much interested in quality here, but quantity, which will beget quality along the way.
This advice, however, also comes with a stern warning. Although the amount of work matters, so does the goal the writing is working towards. He warns against writing with Fame or Artistic, self conscious Recognition, both of which Bradbury claims "are a form of lying."
It is a lie to write in such a way as to be rewarded by money in the commercial market.
It is a lie to write in such a way as to be rewarded by fame offered you by some snobbish quasi-literary group in the intellectual gazettes.
Instead, Bradbury suggest The Middle Way. The goal from all of those hours, all of those words should be: someone coming up to you saying: "I loved your story." That's it. Not money or glory or intellectual masturbation.
Relaxation; or, The Natural Rhythm Formula For relaxation, Bradbury says it's a natural result from all of the work you've put into your art. The stress of "not knowing" creates a "tenseness," which only work can alleviate. In other words, working through the not knowing eventually achieves the current entrepreneurial buzz phrase, Flow, but what Bradbury calls Natural Rhythm.
In other words: Your best work comes when you're relaxed. The more work you do, the more relaxed you become. Isn't that nice?
Don't Think; or,...Um... That's his advice. No, really. Don't Think. Stop it. No really, just stop. Don't think of the end result, targets, or goals. Show up, over and over, and the rest will take care of itself.
You're still thinking, aren't you?
Chime in: What do you think Zen in the Art of Writing Means?
Share your Thoughts with Us Continuing the Conversation: Outsider Art
Outsider Art is a term (and market category) used to describe 20th Century art made by artists without any artistic education, community or mainstream culture. French Artist Jean Dubeffet defined art brut, or "raw art" as:
"Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere – are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professionals.
Most often these artists are discovered posthumously, working alone from mental hospitals or at home in isolation. Famous examples include Henry Darger, who created a 15,145 page fantasy novel; Adolf Wolfili, a mental patient who wrote and illustrated his own imaginary life story totaling 25,000 pages and over 3,000 illustrations and collages. There is even an outsider music category.
Tribute: Henry Darger
An example of an artist whose goal was purely art for art's sake, Henry Darger is a portrait of the Outsider Artist. A custodian for the majority of his life, Darger created a trove of work, only discovered after his death by a neighbor. As such, he only earned recognition for his art after he died. Haunted by cruel experiences growing up in an orphanage, his work repeats themes of child injustice and protection. In his art, he became particularly obsessed with the murder of five year old Elsie Paroubeck. For forty years, Darger worked on his book, a 15,000 paged, illustrated fantasy novel, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion. Even though he did not receive any artistic training, Darger's work is now featured in galleries and museums all over the world.
Zen in the Art of Writing: Ch 9 & 10 In todays episode, Bradbury tells us how loathing Ireland pushed him to becoming a playwright/screenwriter, why these absurdest plays are no good, and the secret to successfully turning his short stories into film.
Full disclosure, Renee and Kim pretty much disagree with these two chapters in Zen in the Art of Writing, and they have no clue what "Shooting Haiku in a Barrel means. But disagreements make for good podcasts. And if you're into film analysis, this is the episode for you.
The Writing Activity How cinematic was Bradbury's prose? In this episode, Kim and Renee reverse engineer a scene from a film adaptation of Bradbury's Great Wide World Over There.Then compare it with the original: Cora and the Great Wide World.
Chapter 9: The Secret Mind
In this chapter, Bradbury sets out to teach us...well, we're not exactly sure. It's quite the oddity. He introduces the essay with a story of the time he was asked to write a screenplay of Moby Dick, which required he go to Ireland. By the end of this four month working trip, Ireland in all its impoverished peoples and dreary skies and damp landscape, left him dissallusioned. Once safely back in his Santa Monica bungalow, he vowed to never, ever return.
It's at this point, Dear Reader, Bradbury does not steer the essay towards any logical conclusion. The Point Train leaves the station but never arrives at its destination. Instead, it stops to wait for Gadot...
Where is Gadot, Anyway? What was this chapter about? So what happened? We have our theories. We suspect he saw an absurdist play (Waiting for Gadot? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead? Who's Afraid of Virgnia Wolff?). Angry he will forever be waiting for the infamous Gadot, Bradbury rushed home to give the typewriter a piece of his mind.
I have watched the Absurd and the More-Than-Absurd Theater. In the aggregate I could not help but judge the plays as frail exercises, more often than not half-witted, but above all lacking in the prime requisites of imagination and ability.
In other words: stupid Absurdist Theater is stupid. We suspect if this was 2022, Bradbury would have given the play a crappy rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But it was the 1950's so instead he ends his tantrum by imparting some sage wisdom for the young writer:
We build tensions toward laughter, then give permission, and laughter comes.
We build tensions toward sorrow, and at last say cry, and hope to see our audience in tears.
We build tensions toward violence, light the fuse, and run.
We build the strange tensions of love...
...yadda yadda yadda, in not so many words: don't be absurd! Stop experimenting already! I waited for Gadot for four hours and I'll never get those hours back!
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Bonus Episodes, Chapter Notes, and More! Chapter 10: Shooting Haiku in a Barrel The following chapter is actually a PR interview in anticipation of Disney's 1983 film adaptation of Something Wicked This Way Comes. Fun Fact: older editions of Zen in the Art of Writing don't even include this chapter.
Unfortunately, for lack of guidance or instruction, we were forced to come up with our own writing activity.
The Ray Bradbury Theater Bradbury may have dropped the ball in this chapter, but this experience did lead us to a wonderful discovery: 6 whole seasons of The Ray Bradbury Theater. In our episode and bonus episode, we reverse engineer scenes from Great Wide World Over There, expertly acted by Tyne Daly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AgAuqUGJGc Try it Yourself & Improve With Us
Practice Your Craft, Get Feedback, Join Our Community Continuing the Conversation: The Theatre of the Absurd
Absurdist Theatre (and Modernist Fiction) defines a experimental genre of plays during the late 1950's. The term was coined by Martin Esslin, in his essay, "The Theatre of the Absurd." The following is from Esslin's book, Absurd Drama:
The Theatre of the Absurd attacks the comfortable certainties of religious or political orthodoxy. It aims to shock its audience out of complacency, to bring it face to face with the harsh facts of the human situation as these writers see it. But the challenge behind this message is anything but one of despair. It is a challenge to accept the human condition as it is, in all its mystery and absurdity, and to bear it with dignity, nobly, responsibly; precisely because there are no easy solutions to the mysteries of existence, because ultimately man is alone in a meaningless world. The shedding of easy solutions, of comforting illusions, may be painful, but it leaves behind it a sense of freedom and relief. And that is why, in the last resort, the Theatre of the Absurd does not provoke tears of despair but the laughter of liberation.
Gearing more toward the intellectual and philosophical as opposed to those seeking entertainment, playwrights such as Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Gadot), Edward Albee (Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?) and Eugene Ionesco (The Bald Soprano) captured the lack of meaning in the human existence on the stage by turning their backs on established storytelling forms, rules, and expectations. Seemingly without plot, or ending, the plays would often leave an audience hanging for a punchline.
Tribute: Lillian Hellman
Googling absurdist plays will most certainly reveal the most famous, noteably Waiting for Gadot and Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?, but women also contributed to the genre. One such was Lillian Hellman, a Jewish American writer born (1905) in New Orleans, LA and died in Oak Bluffs, MA (1984). A jane of all writing trades, she wrote prose, plays, memoirs and films. Her work was successful on both Broadway and the screen and she was the first female screenwriter to win an Academy Award nomination. Her contribution to The Theatre of the Absurd was My Mother, My Father, and Me, which she adapted from Burt Blechman's novel, How Much?
Although none of them absurdist, Watch on the Rhine, Toys in the Attic, and The Children's Hour are just a few of her most famous works, all of which featured famous artists such as Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Anne Revere, Mady Christians, Shirley McClain, among others. The height of her career in the 50's coincided with the HUAC (House Committee on Un-American Activities). She was an ardent, unapologetic Communist supporter and refused to give the names of her of her fellow actors. She was given honorary degrees from Yale and Columbia, as well as four others from various other notable universities (6 total!).
Zen in the Art of Fiction: Ch 7 & 8
No one succeeds all by themselves, and that includes Ray Bradbury. In his book Zen in the Art of Writing, he credits several individual who were critical to his literary success. In this episode we examine the roles these people took on and speculate how they might fit into our modern social-media driven world.
Then we have some fun with the chapter where Bradbury marvels that science fiction is now being taught in the classroom - Would you have ever imagined?? As people who read Fahrenheit 451 in high school English, why yes, yes we can. We transition Bradbury's observations into the present with a discussion of the use of comic books and video games in modern education before speculating what next Entertainment will rise up to the status of an Artform..
Can't Get Enough Bradbury?
A Series of Fortunate Events (and People) on the Road to Mars
Bradbury tells the tale of his journey in 1949 from short story pulp writer to novelist of the famed Martian Chronicles Series. Bradbury's network resembled that of the archetypes in the Writer's Journey (or the Major Arcana in a Tarot Deck).
Bradbury's Major Arcana
The Mentor, Norman Corwin Bradbury grew up on Corwin's radio dramas from the 30's and 40's. After Bradbury sent Corwin a letter and some of his short stories, they became fast friends. Upon Corwin's suggestion, Bradbury went to New York to make his big break as a writer.
The Agent, or Don Congden Bradbury didn't find Don Congden; Don Cogden found Bradbury. Yep, you read that right. No agent queries and rejections for Bradbury.
After reading Bradbury's short stories, Congden contacted Bradbury and offered his services as his agent. Talk about being too good to be ignored!
The Lunch or The Editor or Walter I. Bradbury With $30 bucks in the bank and a week at the YMCA for $5, Bradbury met with a litany of publishers who all took him to lunch. This is the type of "lunch" Madmen so accurately portrayed in the show.
Think cocktails and cigarettes and burgundy leather seats. This was New York in the 50's, after all.
The Reviewer, or Christopher Isherwood At a book signing for the first book of the Martian Chronicles, Bradbury met Christopher Isherwood, an editor and writer for Tomorrow Magazine, who promptly told Bradbury he was going to write his first review for the book.
The Philosopher, or Gerald Heard From Mentor to Lunch then Agent then Editor, Publisher, and Reviewer, where else is there to go? The In-Crowd, where the heavyweights of philosophy sit around chatting the mysteries of the world in fancy clubs--or on floor of Bradbury's livingroom floor, devoid of furniture because he had just moved to a house purchased with Martian money. Soon after, Bradbury found himself drinking tea with both Geral Heard and none other than Alduous Huxley, author of Brave New World.
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Kim and Renee are building a community of writers who support each other on their journey to become better writers. Join the Words to Write by community. On the Shoulders of Giants
In this episode, Kim and Renee discuss Bradbury's chapter, "On the Shoulders of Giants," in which he focsuses on how and why Science Fiction and Fantasy became a legitimate literature deemed worthy by the powers that be (essentially, teachers and academia in general). The answer: the children. While learning was once a top down model (the teachers decide what the students read and learn from and the students learn), sometime in the sixties and seventies the poles of academia reversed and it was the students who pushed science fiction into the classrooms and libraries.
Comic Books & Video Games in the Classroom Which makes us wonder...what's the next thing to make its way into the classroom? For the last decade, comics and graphic novels--once considered too immature a medium--are now regularly listed on Freshman Composition syllibi. Persepolis, Watchmen, Maus and American Born Chinese, to name a few, are now studied, discussed, and written about at the college level. So what's next?
Video Games. That's right, video games aren't just for entertainment anymore. Elementary schools use Minecraft to gamify their lessons. Even Renee assigns video game as a text in her Mythology and Folklore course. These games tell stories in more dynamic ways, teaching and informing our understanding not just as a protagonist in a story, but for learning cultural myths and legends.
In Never Alone, gameplay is interspesed with interviews with the Alaskan Native Community about customs and myths.
In Year Walk, you solve puzzles and participate Scandanavian myths and folklore in a quest to discover the truth about the past and the present.
We also discuss another game with a very teachable, narrative element called Unpacking. In this game, you unbox your items and decorate your room. As time goes on, you move and unpack new items, which both reveal who you are as your life unfolds.
Chime In on our Public Forum!
What will the next 'new' thing kids-these-days will be learning in the classroom? Tribute: Alduous Huxley
A writer, editor, novelist, short story writer, poet and philosopher, Alduous Huxley wrote over fifty books. A pacifist with interests in both western and easter mysticism, he even chronicled his experience with mescalin in The Doors of Perception (link). Although he is mostly known for his dystopian novel, Brave New World, he was a prolific social satirist. As a screenwriter for Hollywood, he earned $3,000 a week ($50,000), the majority of which he spent helping Jewish and leftist artists and writers escape Nazi Germany. Huxley's social circle included, among others, Gerald Heard, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and George Orwell. An informative and fascinating interview of Huxley with Mike Wallace can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alasBxZsb40 . In 1963, Huxley died of laryngeal cancer. However, at Huxley's request, his wife administered LSD as he died "and he tripped his way out of this world" according to Christopher Bonanos' New York Magazine's article, "The Eclipsed Celebrity Death Club."
Zen in the Art of Writing: Ch 5 & 6
According to Bradbury’s retelling, it took him nine days, a library typewriter, and a pocketful of dimes to crank out his first version of Fahrenheit 451. Is such a feat possible in today’s distracting world? We decide to give it a try (or at least one day of a try) and report on the results it in this episode. If you want a play by play of the day, check out our bonus podcast on Patreon.
In another chapter of his writing craft book, Zen in the Art of Writing, Bradbury recounts how he mined his childhood memories to write his book Dandelion Wine. As a memoirist, Renee shares how she digs deep into her younger self’s recollections, which aren’t quite as idyllic.
The Writing Activity For one day, write for a whole 6 hour shift.
Chapter 5: Investing Dimes: Fahrenheit 451 Unlike other craft books which are dedicated to mastering the art of writing, "Investing Dimes" is an introduction to an already well known and often taught novel, Fahrenheit 451. As far as 'Craft' goes, Bradbury shares his process for writing Fahrenheit 451, which ultimately became his process for writing most of his other works as well.
$9.80 ($105.53 - adjusted for inflation)
Once upon a time, Bradbury needed a distraction free place to write. At home, he had his children and other pressing matters. But he couldn't afford his own office, so he went to the public library where "in neat rows, were a score or more of Remington or Underwood typewriters which rented out at a dime a half hour."
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Chapter 6: Just This Side of Byzantium: Dandelion Wine Like chapter 5 (and we're assuming the rest of the book), Bradbury steers away from outright writing advice and recycles previously published introductions to his novels. Even so, he still relays wisdom in the creative writing process while discussing his novel, Dandelion Wine.
All Play and No Work makes Ray a Good Writer Have you read Dandelion Wine? Neither have we (although Renee listened to (and fully recommends) the Radio Drama adaptation Bradbury mentions in this chapter). Dandelion Wine is an ode to Bradbury's childhood in Waukegan, Illinois (the novel takes place in Green Town, Illinois). Bradbury dips into the well of his memory: the people, the place, and the experiences of growing up in a small town in the 1920's and 30's.
And for this chapter, unlike Gardner, he encourages the writer to write what they know, dedicate characters to real people and insert them into real places. The trick, however, Dear Writer, is to play.
Once I learned to keep going back and back again to those times, I had plenty of memories and sense impressions to play with, not work with, no, play with. Dandelion Wine is nothing if it is not the boy hid-in-the-man playing in the fields of the Lord on the green grass of other Augusts in the midst of starting to grow up, grow old, and sense darkness waiting under the threes to seed the blood.
-Ray Bradbury
Playing with Memory
Have you ever written a story or a poem about real people and places? How do you access those memories and shape them in new, literary ways? Join our writing community on Patreon and share your story! Continuing the Conversation: Memoir Although Dandelion Wine (and the rest of the Green Town trilogy) is fictional, the setting and many of the characters come from Bradbury's childhood (the 12 year old protagonist is based on Bradbury himself). Given Bradbury's love of sci-fi and fantasy, we don't think he'd mind a little speculation...so, is his novel, in fact, a kind of memoir?
Memoir, unlike Autobiography, focuses on a specific time and place in a person's life. Believe it or not, memoir hadn't yet been established as the genre we know it today until the latter half of the 20th Century. Scholars argue the earliest autobiography was Tristia, by Ovid, a lament on his banishment from Rome. St. Augustine's Confessions, may be the earliest text which resembles the Western memoir. You can find memoir-like narratives written by Julius Ceasear to the Middle Ages (Margaret of Valois), the Age of Enlightenment (Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon), the 18th C. (Henry David Thoreau) (we discuss slave narratives in a previous Continuing the Conversation), and Holocaust narratives (Elie Wiesel).
Unless, however, you were already famous and noteworthy, regular people didn't just go around writing their life's story. So what was a writer to do in the early to mid 20th Century? They publish their accounts as fiction. Stop Time by Frank Conroy is a famous example. Also, one could also consider the Will Eisner's graphic novel, A Contract with God, and Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior which mixes autobiography with folktales, another.
Then the 90's happened (you know, like 10 years ago) and the memoir as we know it exploded: Angela's Ashes, Maus, The Liar's Club, etc. Today, everyone is writing a memoir (even a co-host on this podcast!). There's graphic memoir, flash memoir, essays, hybrid forms...and is currently the most popular non-fiction genre in the U.S.
Tribute: William Maxwell
William Maxwell, a fiction editor for The New Yorker for thirty years (1936 - 1975), was a and ecclectic writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, and children's books. He graduated from Harvard with an M.A. and taught at the University of Illinois. An influential mentor to a slew of famous writers, such as Eudora Wheatly, J.D. Salinger, Shirley Hazzard, John Updike, Vladimir Nabokov, etc, he was a cherished gem of the mid-century American writing community. His novel, So Long, See You Tomorrow, won the National Book Award.
Zen in the Art of Writing: Ch 3 & 4
Oh Muse, well-spring of creativity, why are you so unreliable? How can we entice you? In this episode, we discuss what the muse is and get some advice on nurturing and strengthening our own from Ray Bradbury's book Zen in the Art of Writing. We also discuss Bradbury's journey to becoming a writer and how it compares to our own. Finally, we put all that muse-wisdom into practice as we develop a daily "Reading Menu."
The Writing Activity Feed your Muse. Read a poem, short story, and essay everyday for a week and report the results.
Chapter 3: How to Keep & Feed the Muse
Love will fly if held too lightly,' Love will die if held too tightly Lightly, tightly, how do I know Whether I'm holding or letting Love go?
Oscar Wilde Playwright, Novelist, Poet To illustrate the fickle nature of the Muse, Bradbury invokes Oscar Wilde. (psst: he substitutes "Love" for "Art").
The Muse (aka The Subconcious)
Although our dominant depiction of the Muse are the goddesses from Greek Mythology, Bradbury equates the Muse with the subconscious. What we "feed" our Muse or subconscious may take a while to come back. It's a slow, invisible process, but one we must have faith in.
What's Your Muse?
Join our Community on Patreon How to Feed the Muse It is my contention that in order to Keep and Muse, you must first offer food.Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of WritingBradbury tells us how to interact with our subconscious for maximum creative output. Namely, the writer can't tie the subconscious to a chair and torture it in a attic and expect it to talk. We have to coax our Muse/Subconcious and entice it to stick around.
The Muse's Menu
Each dish fills the subconscious' storehouse for ideas. Poetry inspires the writer and helps them develop metaphors and practice sensory details. For short stories, Bradbury suggests writers read not just their primary genre or style. Essays, from different eras and topics, help the writer mine for ideas.
Our Menu from the Episode * Ilya Kaminsky's Deaf Republic * Atlantic Monthly's essay "Absolute Power" * Zachary Schomburg's Fjords Vol. 1 * Joshua Beckman's Take It * Alex Green's Emergency Anthems * Alberto Alvaro Rios' "The Secret Lion" * Jo Ann Beard's "The Fourth State of Matter" from The Boys of My Youth * Ralph Keyes' The Courage to Write * Story Behind the Story * Edward P. Jones' Lost in the City * Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" from The Illustrated Man * C.S. Lewis' One Stories * Tom Wolff * Anthony Burgess
Chapter 4: Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle From these primitive bricks, I have built a life and a career. By my staying in love with all of these amazing things, all of the good things in my existence have come about.Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of WritingGuided by his love for speculative literature and experiences with colorful mentors, young Ray embarked on a path starting in a small town in Illinois and ended with him becoming THE Ray Bradbury, author of the famed Fahrenheit 451, one of the most famous science fiction and fantasy authors of all time.
Mr. Electrico, a Love Story by Ray Bradbury Bradbury says as a child he followed his passions (ie: horror and science fiction from comics, novels, short stories and radio plays). In other words, he raised his Muse on Buck Rogers, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and "Chandu the Magician."
As a young boy, Bradbury met a man named Mr. Electrico, who worked a booth at a carnival and gave him a personal tour of the grounds, during which Bradbury was introduced to illustrated men and bearded women. Mr. Electrico claimed he once met Bradbury in a past life and that no one ever dies.
When was the Moment You Realized you were a Writer?
Share Your Story with Us Continuing the Conversation: Depictions of the Muse
The prevailing idea of The Muse invokes images of a fairy or goddess who comes to use to aid in our creativity. We all know it when we feel her near, but what is she, exactly? Whether a writer or artist, The Muse is inspiration. She's present when we experience flow. She/He/They are there when the words just flow from our brain to the page. We think we all know the one and only Muse, but who is she exactly?
In Greek mythology, she's 9 Goddesses, actually (in other Greek provinces there were only 3) dedicated to inspiring poets, singers, playwrights, dancers, astronomers, and, well, that's it, really. Don't feel left out, Dear Novelists and Short Story Writers. The novel wasn't invented until the 18th Century and the Short Story (invented by Edgar Allen Poe) wasn't really a thing until the 19th Century.
But a Muse need not be a goddess. Many famous artists attribute their inspiration to real people. Kiki de Montparnasse, Man Ray's partner and model, inspired the Perisian art scene in the 1930's. Victorine-Louise Meurent appears in two of Manet's famous paintings, Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia.
For more information about real people who inspired great artists, check out Muses: Women Who Inspire.
A Tribute to Philip Francis Nowlan
Philip Francis Nowlan, an American author, was the creator of Buck Rogers. Born in 1888, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. Between 1929 and 1939, he wrote the Buck Rogers comic strip with illustrator Dick Calkins. Although Nowlan died in 1940, Buck Rogers continued to live on in comics until 1967, appeared in radio dramas, movies and television into the 1980's. Bradbury credits Buck Rogers as a direct influence in his journey as a writer.
Writing with Gusto (Zen in the Art of Writing Ch 1 & 2)
Ray Bradbury shares his secrets for how he wrote so many unforgettable short stories in the first two chapters of his craft book, Zen in the Art of Writing. In today’s episode we discuss his strategy to be engaged in both the ideas and the process of writing. We also unpack his technique to mine his subconscious for story ideas (and explain why so many of Bradbury’s titles were simple nouns.) We invite you to join us as we dive into this phenomenal craft book.
The Writing Activity We’re using Bradbury’s method to tap into our subconscious to generate stories. Start with a blank page and fill it with nouns. Now take one of these nouns and write a prose-poetry-essay (basically a focused free write) on it to try to figure out what the word means to you and what it might mean in a story. Confused? Don’t worry, we discuss the technique and results in depth in the episode.
Bradbury's Reasons for Writing First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has been awarded us...So while art cannot...save us...it can revitalize us...Second, writing is survival...Not to write, for many of us, is to die."
- Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing
Drink - er- Write Everyday Bradbury advises to write everyday to "stay drunk on writing," because writing shows us the truth of life and reality. He also says to write like a lizard, because they are fast. (Renee checked 23&Me and can confirm she is 0.01% part lizard).
Chapter 1: The Joy of Writing Zest & Gusto Zest and Gusto, two ingredients for a successful writing career. Although the words is out on the current supply chain of Zest and Gusto to make a proper successful writing career (11 novels and almost 600 short stories!), Bradbury says excitement and passion are the most important ingredients for a writer to spark joy and activate an emotional connection in their writing.
"The things you love and the things you hate make up who you are, your point of view, and essentially makes you care."
-Ray Bradbury
He believed that what we care about makes us emotionally react through our art (which fuels your zest and gusto). He advises the writer to 1) be passionate about something and 2) know what it is you are passionate about. To do that, he says to write a list of your loves and hates to identify what, exactly, fuels your passion for life and by proxy your writing.
He insists the process of writing should be fun. Writers of the past, "children of the gods," he claims, "knew fun in their work."
Chime In!
Try your Hand at the Activities from Our Episodes (and get feedback!) Bradbury's Formula for Successful and Engaging Writing 1. Write a list of what you love and hate 2. by creating a Character with those loves and hates 3. you will make the Character as Passionate as you are
Chapter 2: Run Fast, Stand Still Write Fast and Break Things Bradbuy says he wrote fast and revised slowly. So why write fast? To mine the subconscious. Bradbury firmly believed the subconscious was the source of his story ideas. The faster you write, the more honest and truthful you are.
Imitation vs Inspiration (aka How to Write a Great Story) Like all writers before him, Bradbury came to writing out of love of reading (for him, Buck Rogers). But at some point he had to distinguish himself from them, to find his own voice in the world.
"I loved them, and they smothered me. I hadn't learned how to look away and in the process look not at myself but at what went on behind my face."
-Ray Bradbury
Continuing the Conversation: The Origins of Science Fiction
We think it's important to note, Dear Reader, the title for the 'inventor of science fiction' is sometimes falsely attributed to Jules Verne or HG Wells. In prevailing literary and historical circles, Mary Shelley earns the title: the mother of science fiction. Indeed, her novel Frankenstein (1818) was the first of its kind (in novel form).
But did she really invent science fiction? Well, that depends on how one defines science fiction. Earlier writings suggest themes we commonly associate with science fiction, such as immortal life (Gilgamesh), post apocalyptic (Noah and the Flood), advanced technological weapons (Ramayana, 4th and 5th C. BCE), time travel (Mahabharata 8th and 9th C. BCE) traveling to outer space, alien contact, and even giant space spiders (Lucian of Samosata's True History, 2nd C. BCE), and ancient technologies and robots (Arabian Nights 8th and 10th C. CE).
Behind my face, wha??? Although a story about a personal experience may make a good story, a great story is one that takes a personal experience and raises it to the level of the universal (aka, a story with a universal theme).
Still Drunk? Read on, Dear Reader
"Conjure the Nouns" and "Alert your Secret Self" with Us on Patreon A Tribute to Stanislaw Lem
Stainslaw Lem, a polish science fiction author, was born in 1921 and died in 2006. He, according to Theodore Sturgeon--another sci-fi author--is considered the most read science fiction author in the world. Lem's most famous novel, Solaris (1961), includes many of the themes, such as failed communication between alien species, he investigated in his essays, short stories, and novels. Writing in Stalinist Poland, the government had to approve all of his work before publication. Even under that restriction, he was quite prolific and wrote about various topics: futurism, philosophy, robotic intelligence, mad scientists etc. Although he was awarded an honorary Science Fiction Writers of America award in 1973, it came with some controversy. He claimed American science fiction lacked literary merit, which caused quite a stir in the SFWA community. The Polish Parliament even dedicated 2021 as Stanislaw Lem Year.
The Final Take: The Art of Fiction Thinking of reading The Art of Fiction, "Young Writer?" Listen to this podcast first.
Despite dying in a motorcycle crash in 1982, John Gardner achieved immortality (at least in the writing community) with the posthumous publication of The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. We've been studying and discussing this much recommended book over the past nine months (not full time, we aren't crazy) and we have ... opinions.
Thinking of reading this book, Young Writer? Listen to this podcast first.
And stay for the preview for the next book on our shelf, Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. Both books have "art" in the title, but they couldn't be further apart on the writing advice spectrum. Don't take our word for it, we have an interview with Ray Bradbury scholar, Phil Nichols who hosts the Bradbury 100 Podcast.
Phil Nichols with Ray Bradbury, 2008. (Photography courtesy of Phil Nichols).
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What we Really think about Gardner In The Art of Fiction: Notes on the Craft for Young Writers, John Gardner describes, philosophizes, and argues what storytelling elements, from specific detail and scene to genre and theme, achieve the "reader's dream," aka: the suspension of disbelief. Although he is most famous for the idea that a successful story never pauses the movie in the reader's mind while they read, he does not spend much time showing the "young reader" how to do it.
The book is less about how to write a novel and more on what Gardner thinks makes for worthwhile literature. If you've never taking a creative writing course, then the book's ideas on plot, character, and theme, as well as the theories on how stories are put together might be useful. However, the information comes with a big helping of sexism, gate-keeping, and literary snobbishness (circa 1982). The book has aged a bit like milk (and not the plant -based kind).
We will give Gardner props for one thing: his writing exercises are surprisingly good. How good? Check out our favorites with our contemporary interpretations on our Patreon page.
And Now for Something Completely Different Starting next episode, we'll be getting advice from famed science fiction and horror writer, Ray Bradbury. His book, Zen in the Art of Writing, is a collection of essays revealing the process he used to craft some of the most lyrical and influential science fiction / dark fantasy stories, like Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. As a preview, Kim interviews Phil Nichols about Zen.
Phil Nichols did his PhD on Ray Bradbury's screenwriting, edits the journal The New Ray Bradbury Review, and presents the Bradbury 100 podcast. He also teaches film production and screenwriting.
*Awesome Bradbury collage courtesy of Piet Nel.
Come for the Activity, Stay for the SnarkNotes TLDR: Renee's notes on The Art of Fiction Gardner's Key Terms and Vocabulary
Verisimilitude: Specific detail, which achieves and maintains the reader's dream (suspension of disbelief), the simulation of reality in the reader's mind. It’s detail and specificity in writing: describing, illustrating, creating the “dream.” It’s how one triggers suspended disbelief. Gardner says this creates a kind of “simulation of the real world” (22).
Profluence (monocle required for proper pronunciation): A coherent timeline of events in a story, which requires the balance of all elements of fiction working together to form a cause and effect relationship: character, theme, scene, style, etc.
Jazzing Around: Like jazz, it breaks the rules. The best jazz performers are virtuosos are on a completely different level to break the rules and not have it fall apart. They have to be master musicians, the technical quality to produce the music, and the brains that can think of how to change the music to do these various permutations to create something that is considered jazz.
Helen of Troy Moment: When a Craft Book Writer picks an analogy or example and they draw it out way past the point that it actually works and they'd be better off dropping it and go with another method of covering what they're talking about. (see our Helen of Troy rant in Episode 4).
Parts We Recommend from Episode 9 In this episode, Kim thinks the following chapters are worth the read:
- Chapter 1 "Aesthetic Law & Artistic Mastery"
- Chapter 2 "Basic Skills, Genre, and Fiction as Dream"
- Chapter 5 "Common Errors"
- Chapter 7 "Plotting."
Kim was a big fan of the discussion about (and the term of) "Jazzing Around," which Gardner includes in Chapter 4, but it probably isn't worth reading a whole chapter on it.
Not as generous or kind, Renee only recommends reading Chapter 5 "Common Errors," which you don't have to read because she broke down each error on Patreon. Then again, she teaches Freshman Comp, so she is probably not to be trusted.
Can't Get Enough?
Get the COMPLETE SnarkNotes edition of The Art of Fiction on Patreon Gardner's Writing Exercises (aka, The Most Valuable Part of the Book) Although we wouldn't recommend the majority of this book to a young writer learning the craft, we have to give credit where credit is due: Gardner's Exercises. Even with the examples and scenarios he provides (traditional gender roles, anyone?), they really do work out those writing technique muscles. (Seriously, some were quite a workout--listen in at the end of each episode and the bonus episodes to hear us lift these crafty barbells. Trust us, the gains are real).
To get a list of the greatest hits exercises or level up your mad description, plotting, or scene writing skills, join our writing community on Patreon.
Become a Patron! Gardner's Best Advice Renee gave Gardner some props on the following bit: As you write your novel, work unit by unit. Focus on the description without worrying about the scene coming up, or dialogue, or backstory, or whatever. Just take it one description, scene, string of dialogue at a time.
Renee is a bit of an over-thinker, a worrier, a red wine drinker...
Kim appreciated Gardner's distinction between literary rules vs principles in Chapter 1 "Aesthetic Law and Artistic Mastery."
Every true work of art--and thus every attempt at art--must be judged primarily, though not exclusively, by its own laws.
-John Gardner
In other words, there are no rigid rules or strict formulas that will produce good art. In that sense, we must critique a piece of writing on its own terms instead of a prescribed set of rules.
A Tribute to Ray Bradbury In our next episode, we read Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.
Ray Bradbury, born in 1920 and died in 2012, was a literary powerhouse of pulp magazines, novels, screenplays, and essays. He is known mostly for his science fiction, notably Farenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles series. He published more than 500 works over his lifetime and continues to influence our culture today.