Do You Write Vertically?

The ‘Net has a gazillion “tips” on writing—do this, don’t do that—unanchored bits of advice that can lead one straight into the pointless forest…

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I found an article on The Millions that could give you a powerful way to find your own writing “rules”—Gestation of Ideas: On Vertical Writing and Living.

I’ll share a few quotes, along with my thoughts (reference is made to Andre Dubus):

“’I gestate: for months, often for years’, he begins…  Dubus likens ideas to a form of pregnancy, a self within the self. Stories ‘grow’ inside him.”

I’ve found this to be true in my own writing—including a number of stillbirths…

“Dubus writes an idea in a notebook, and then leaves it alone: ‘I try never to think about where a story will go.’ Planning is an act of control, and ‘I will kill the story…