In class, I came across this quote by Faulkner. I was surprised at this comment since this is a completely unorthodox method of learning, especially the "supreme vanity" part of it. Any thoughts or comments?
Not really. The only way to learn to write is to write, and write, and write some more. And, as Faulkner says, learn from your mistakes. There are no shortcuts, no formulae that will make your writing brilliant. Above all, you need to develop your own voice, your own style. The part he leaves out is how you recognize the mistakes. You have to look at the writing of others as well as your own, and to keep an open mind to critique.
Oh lord, he got me. I have found that theory works better on explaining what should not be done than what should and how. Supreme vanity, eh? Maybe that's a way to describe me...
I'm a little more partial to the Henry Fool* school of thought, who said "I don't discriminate against any mode of learning." Of course, he was referring to pornographic magazines at the time, but I think the sentiment holds up. XD Having faith in your craft in one thing, but to be dismissive of the opportunity to learn something, no matter what the source, seems a little silly to me. That being said, I'm inclined to agree with the first part, about technique and learning from error. *Henry Fool - film/character written and directed by Hal Hartley.
Yes, the first half of the quote makes sense. I was mostly referring to the 2nd half. That's the interesting part IMO.
i agree... there's nothing at all 'unorthodox' about wf's comments... they describe how just about all successful writers [if not every single one] have learned the art...
Man that's an awesome quote. He just gave me permission to acknowledge something I knew all along. I'm better than everyone else.
