20160601 讓文字充滿力量：作家的10個超好用寫作技巧！ http://feed.wordcorp.net/blog/post/this-is-how-you-write
20160601 讓文字充滿力量：作家的10個超好用寫作技巧！
寫作這件事情，有什麼一般人不知道的訣竅嗎？其實有很多！
作家 Matthew Trinetti 在部落格上整理了他的10個獨門建議，分享他對於寫作的技巧與看法！
因為我跟大家一樣都只是個普通人，而且心裡面同樣存在著一些些混蛋的成份，所以我每次都會忘記下面這些道理。
想要開始寫作，就這麼做吧：
直接開始就對了。
要是你埋頭苦思太長時間，最後就還是不會動筆：
不要等到覺得一切都準備好，才開始動筆。
不要等到整個故事都構思好了，才開始動筆。
不要等到想清楚所有的細節了，才開始動筆。
就直接開始動筆吧。
但要是你想開始寫作，卻發現不知道要寫什麼，該怎麼辦？要是攪盡腦汁都想不出隻字片語，該怎麼辦？頁面會不會一直整片都是空白？會不會覺得自己文思枯竭了？是不是做不出任何動作？
請記得使用這些工具：
1. 回答一個問題。
你是否會對某個問題感到坐立難安？這個問題是不是同樣困擾著其他人？或許常常有人就某個議題向你請教意見。幫幫別人，也幫幫自己。是什麼樣的問題，其實並不重要，只要挑選一個問題來回答就好了。就算你不知道要怎麼回答這個問題，在嘗試回答的過程中，都會更加接近答案。就像 E.L. Doctorow 所說過的：「寫作是一場探索旅程。你會從一無所知開始，然後在過程中學到新事物。」
(譯註：E.L. Doctorow 為美國知名作家/編輯/教授，其著作《Billy Bathgate》曾榮獲美國福克納文學獎)
2. 寫給某個特定對象。
史蒂芬金曾說，要寫給你的「理想讀者」。若是把所有人都當成目標，最後就不會有任何人感動；若真的這麼做，你就會跟想一次追著很多顆球跑的狗狗一樣，漫無目標而最後一無所獲。歷史上最經典的一些著作當中，有沒有一些作品其實是寫給某個人的信？有。Rilke 的《Letters to a Young Poet》。Seneca 的《Letters to a Stoic》。《Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son》。Marcus Aurelius 的《Meditations to himself》。林覺民的《與妻訣別書》。《曾國藩家書》等等。(要是思考目標讀者是誰對你來說有些困難，就打開電子郵件寫封信吧。在「收件者」那邊找個人填進去，然後開始寫信。還是說你已經寫好信了，那就把它寄出去。)
3. 初稿先隨便亂寫！
特別感謝 Anne Lamot，妳的美妙心靈給了我們很棒的建議。當你真的開始寫作的時候，一開始寫出來的東西可能糟透了。但幸運的是，身為一位作家，修飾這些粗製濫造的東西其實也是你工作中的一部份。你會越來越懂得要怎麼樣修飾爛文章。這些爛文章甚至會慢慢地變得還不錯，但文章一寫出來，幾乎都是需要修飾的。你可以修飾任何從你筆下寫出來的東西，但首先，請先動筆。
(譯註：Anne Lamott 是美國知名作家，文筆中充滿自嘲與真誠親切，而且常常在 Facebook 等社群媒體跟讀者互動，因此獲得「大眾作家」(People’s Author) 的稱號。榮獲入選加州名人堂。)
4. 靈感跑出來時，抓住它。
要相信自己內心的聲音。有時候靈感會突然湧現，在這靈光乍現的一刻，要把它從意識中攔截下來，然後擺在某個地方，再看看你到底捕捉到了什麼。你曾享受過的每次「成功」，幾乎都是來自看似奇怪而稍縱即逝的心底呢喃。抓住它，聽聽它想說些什麼。
5. 但不要枯等靈感降臨。
苦等靈感是個陷阱！有人問過 William Faulkner ，他都是按照靈感寫作還是照時間表寫作。請記得他的回答：「嗯，我當然是按照靈感寫作的。不幸的是，它總是在每天早上九點十五分時出現。」Elizabeth Gilbert 說過非常類似的話。就算沒有獲得靈感，還是要盡可能擠出點東西來；就是沒有靈感時才更該擠點東西出來。奇怪的是，這麼做卻是獲得靈感最快的方法。
(譯註：Elizabeth Gilbert 是美國知名作家，最知名的著作為《享受吧！一個人的旅行》)
6. 展現你的內在。
你是個凡人。記得行事做風要跟平常人一樣。寫作要觸動你自己的心弦。你跟其他人會感到共鳴的點，都是類似的。這麼做就會讓讀者獲得非常大的共鳴，我保證。
7. 內容要言之有物、激勵人心、娛樂大眾。
有達成以上其中兩點就很棒了。要是你三點都能達到，大加分。來點愉悅感，舒緩傷痛吧。要照亮生命中的許多角落，然後給人們希望。
8. 帶我們踏上一段旅程。
我們都希望有人在旅程中順道載我們一程。我們都想要看到衝突，然後看到衝突獲得解決。我們都想知道事情是怎麼結束的。我們都想聽故事。把這些素材都串在一起，然後讓內容達成圓滿吧。
9. 要記得「夜裡車燈」這個比喻。
「寫作就像在晚上開車一樣。你的視野永遠不會超出車前燈的範圍之外，但就算摸黑前行，你還是可以完成整趟旅程。」(E.L. Doctorow 對寫作實在有許多精彩的觀點。) 這個觀點乍聽之下可能難以接受，就跟要提筆寫作是件困難的事一樣。
「好啦大作家。我為什麼要聽你的？」
這真是個好問題。畢竟我只是個來自俄亥俄州，拿了個工學院學位的職場逃兵，然後在寫作的路上又是個跌跌撞撞的無名小卒。除了少數幾篇點閱率超高的文章，還有少少幾位粉絲以外，我真的不算是個夠格的作家啦。我又沒有寫書。我是個騙子、假貨、仿冒品，然後就這麼剛好被你發現了。
現在時機正好，讓我們來稍微聊聊「中國好聲音」。
我忘了中國好聲音到底是在幹麻了。你們這些混蛋應該自己會想起一些好聲音吧。
搞什麼啊你們這些混蛋。根本沒有人在意啊。你們覺得自己是什麼東西？
(譯註：”The Voices” 在全球多國皆有授權，並且有各國自己的版本，華語世界的朋友最熟悉的應該是中國好聲音，因此譯者選擇將其代入)
我真正要說的是...
第 10 點，「注意聆聽內心深處的聲音」。
我可以叫你們忽略這些聲音，還是充耳不聞，或者叫它們閉嘴，但這些都是沒有幫助的建議，而且是根本做不到的事。所以要注意聆聽它們，它們的出現就如同暮鼓晨鐘。讓它們好好地待在你的懷中，不時發出些呼嚕聲。有時候可以用好笑的語氣模仿它們，或者感謝它們一直守護著你(所以這些聲音才這麼安靜細微)。或者假裝你跟這些聲音是站在同一個立足點。跟他們一起對著你自己指指點點，然後放肆嘲笑你自己吧。
然後在這些該死的句子不斷略過你的腦海時，把它們完整地寫出來吧。
你的人生是由你在聽到這些「心聲」時，所做出來 (或沒有做) 的事所定義的。
還有，我真的希望你能夠寫點東西。
這篇文章其實是我寫給自己的信。我希望你會覺得它對你也很有用。
(Photo via Fredrik Rubensson, CC licensed.)
本篇文章由一元翻譯的侯佳宏替您翻譯，希望您會喜歡！
「 一元翻譯」的翻譯師。同時是流浪歌手、地下街頭藝人，用吉他和音樂與世界交流著故事，並且經營個人粉絲頁「流浪歌手凱文」。
歡迎加入「一元快報」的FB社團，一起分享各種優質文章！
侯佳宏 | Kevin Hou
This is how you write. — Life Learning — Medium https://medium.com/life-learning/this-is-how-you-write-c7cb9610d97d#.vifow49fn
This is how you write. — Life Learning — Medium
This is how you write.
Because I’m a human and my mind is an asshole, I forget it every time.
This is how you write:
You just start.
While you marinate on that for a moment, here’s how you don’t write:
You don’t wait until you’re ready.
You don’t start only once the story is fully fledged.
You don’t begin after you’ve got it all figured out.
You just start writing.
But what if you start and have nothing to say? What if nothing comes out? The page stays blank? The well’s run dry? Nothin’ doin’?
Remember these tools:
Answer a question.
Are you sitting with a burning question? Is it a question other people are sitting with too? Maybe it’s something you’re frequently asked. Help someone out. Help yourself out. It doesn’t even matter which question. Just pick one. Even if you don’t know how to answer it, you’ll get closer in trying. It’s like what E.L. Doctorow said: “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”
Write to one person.
Stephen King says write to your Ideal Reader. Aim at everybody you’ll hit nobody. You’ll be less focused than a puppy in a flurry of tennis balls. Is it any coincidence that some of history’s longest enduring tomes are letters to a single person? Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. Seneca’s Letters to a Stoic. Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son. Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations to himself. (If you’re struggling with this one, crack open your email and compose a new message. Put one person in the To: box. Start writing. Or maybe you’ve already written it. Check your sent folder.)
Shitty first drafts!
Anne Lamott, thank you for this one you wonderful soul. When you do start to write, what you write might stink. Luckily, as a writer, you’re also in the business of polishing turds. You’ll get better at polishing turds as you go. The turds may even get less turd-like. But they’ll almost always need polishing. You can polish whatever comes out. First: get it out.
Grab hold of inspiration when it strikes.
Trust that trusty gut of yours. Sometimes inspiration will strike, and when it does, wrangle it down from the ether and plop it somewhere. Examine what you’ve caught. Almost every “success” you’ve enjoyed started with a curious fleeting whisper. Capture and listen to it.
But don’t wait for inspiration to strike.
It’s a trap! Remember how William Faulkner replied when asked whether he writes on inspiration or on a schedule: “Well, of course I write on inspiration. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at a quarter past nine.” Elizabeth Gilbert said something similar. Do your bit, even when you’re not inspired. Especially when you’re not inspired. Strangely it’s the quickest route to becoming inspired.
Show your insides.
You’re a human. Remember to act like one. Pluck your own heart strings. They sound a lot like everyone else’s. It’ll strike a sweet chord. Promise.
Educational. Inspirational. Entertaining.
Two out of three is good. Bonus points if you can hit all three. Create some joy. Relieve some pain. Shine some light. Give ’em hope.
Take us on a journey.
We want to be taken for a ride. We want conflict. We want conflict resolved. We want to know how it ends. We want a story. Thread it together. Complete the circle.
Remember the headlights at night analogy.
“It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” (Turns out E.L. Doctorow has some great quotes on writing.) This sounds eerily like just start writing.
Image by Boegh via Flickr.
“Okay mister writey pants. Why should I listen to you?”
Good question. After all, I am just an Ohio-born engineer-schooled corporate-escapee who stumbled his way into this writing thing. Aside from a few viral blog posts and a humble following, I’m not a real author. I don’t have any books. I’m a fraud. A phoney. A fake. You caught me.
Now would be a good time to mention The Voices. I forgot about The Voices. Your asshole mind is gonna fashion a whole lotta voices.
This sucks. You suck. Nobody cares. Who do you think you are?
So… 10. Mind The Voices.
I’d tell you to ignore them, or not to listen, or to knock ’em dead, but that’s unhelpful advice and an impossible task. So just be mindful of them. They’ll show up like clockwork to chime in. Keep them snug at your hip and keep chugging along. Maybe mock them back in a funny voice or thank them for trying to keep you safe (and consequently, quiet and small). Or pretend like you’re on their side. Point and laugh hysterically at yourself with them.
Then finish your goddamn sentence while they’re busy wiping their eyes.
Your life is defined by what you do (or don’t do) when you hear The Voices.
And I hope you’ll write.
This is a letter to myself. I hope you find it useful too.
Thank you for reading.
If you enjoyed this and think others will too, will you please press the green “Recommend” heart or share with a friend?
Stay in touch and join me:
On my home turf at GiveLiveExplore.
In London at Escape The City.
WritingBooksInspiration
Go to the profile of Matthew Trinetti
Matthew Trinetti
Former consultant turned deliberate journeyer @ GiveLiveExplore.com. Building a school for corp escapees @escthecity. Publishing @TalesofIceland. Speaking @TEDx
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