THE CRAFT OF WRITING
My Experience on the Potter’s Wheel Has Proven Very Handy
Why writing is just another form of clay
Who knew that what I learned as a mediocre potter in high school would serve me well as a writer?
When you start throwing pots, you realize that very little of what you throw do you keep. You are working to improve your technique — whether it is trimming the foot, shaping the lip, or seeing how thin you can make the walls. With each pot, you are improving your hands.
Then, on one fine day, you throw a pot that you keep. Even better, you appreciate that pot because you know of all the moments that went into crafting a pot that is finally worth keeping.
So it is with writing. The vast majority of us aren’t born writers. We develop as writers through persistence and passion. We might feel Dorothy Parker’s words that we like “having written.” In other words, the process can be hard. A lot of pots end up being tossed.
Some pots might never even earn a good look. There are so many ways to fall below expectations, but when we accept the process, we help ourselves immeasurably.
A few months ago, in an effort to add both lightness and skill to my writing, I created what I call a “10–word snippet,” where…
