Kurt Vonnegut, who is my literary hero, called himself a “swooper.”
A swooper is someone who lets the story appear, higgley-piggley, in the first draft. I’ve likened it to throwing spaghetti against the wall. You cook up a batch, start flinging those carbs, and the stuff that sticks, well that’s the basis of your story. On a good day, a lot of it sticks, and you have to spend less time on the second draft. This is also called being a “pantser” as in: “Writing by the seat of your pants.”
I like swooper better. It seems less chaotic, more acrobatic and free.
On the other end of the spectrum, many writers might consider themselves “plotters.” That means the writer spends a great deal of effort working out the plot of the story, the arc of the characters, and so on, before they even begin. I’ve tried to write that way, but I much prefer swooping. Vonnegut calls the planning folks “bashers,” though I find that a little pejorative.
There’s no right or wrong way to create art.
But Vonnegut didn’t mean it as a put-down, I don’t think. A basher fixes one word at a time, one sentence at a time, until the thing is perfect. I think Hemingway might be described as a basher. There’s some romance to that approach too. Just think about Hemingway living in Paris, bleeding on the page, as he told himself: “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
Bashing has never really been my approach, at least, not until I get into later drafts. Especially with short stories. Under five thousand words, I’ve always been a swooper. Though when you’re flinging enough pasta around, sometimes you get a “true sentence” just by luck. But usually, they come later.
My favorite in the upcoming collection is:
The worst form of nostalgia is unrequited love.
That’s from a story in my collection, The Gates of Polished Horn, available now in presale!
“Mark A. Rayner’s formidable storytelling is on full display in this thoughtful and diverse collection. He’s a fine and creative writer whose characters and storylines are quirky, inventive, and often very funny. Bravo!” ~Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans & two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
Enter for the chance to win a t-shirt, a copy of the book, and a cameo role in my next Tundra novel!
Kurt Vonnegut on Swooping Versus Bashing
Kurt Vonnegut, who is my literary hero, called himself a “swooper.”
A swooper is someone who lets the story appear, higgley-piggley, in the first draft. I’ve likened it to throwing spaghetti against the wall. You cook up a batch, start flinging those carbs, and the stuff that sticks, well that’s the basis of your story. On a good day, a lot of it sticks, and you have to spend less time on the second draft. This is also called being a “pantser” as in: “Writing by the seat of your pants.”
I like swooper better. It seems less chaotic, more acrobatic and free.
On the other end of the spectrum, many writers might consider themselves “plotters.” That means the writer spends a great deal of effort working out the plot of the story, the arc of the characters, and so on, before they even begin. I’ve tried to write that way, but I much prefer swooping. Vonnegut calls the planning folks “bashers,” though I find that a little pejorative.
There’s no right or wrong way to create art.
But Vonnegut didn’t mean it as a put-down, I don’t think. A basher fixes one word at a time, one sentence at a time, until the thing is perfect. I think Hemingway might be described as a basher. There’s some romance to that approach too. Just think about Hemingway living in Paris, bleeding on the page, as he told himself: “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
Bashing has never really been my approach, at least, not until I get into later drafts. Especially with short stories. Under five thousand words, I’ve always been a swooper. Though when you’re flinging enough pasta around, sometimes you get a “true sentence” just by luck. But usually, they come later.
My favorite in the upcoming collection is:
That’s from a story in my collection, The Gates of Polished Horn, available now in presale!
Join my giveaway!
The Gates of Polished Horn
“Mark A. Rayner’s formidable storytelling is on full display in this thoughtful and diverse collection. He’s a fine and creative writer whose characters and storylines are quirky, inventive, and often very funny. Bravo!” ~Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans & two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
Enter for the chance to win a t-shirt, a copy of the book, and a cameo role in my next Tundra novel!
Contest details here.
Categories:Commentary Writing