{"id":4709,"date":"2009-10-16T00:22:36","date_gmt":"2009-10-15T15:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=4709"},"modified":"2009-10-16T10:04:39","modified_gmt":"2009-10-16T01:04:39","slug":"speaking-at-japan-writers-conference-sat-oct-17-doshisha-womens-univ-on-how-to-write-quickly-concisely-with-panache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=4709","title":{"rendered":"Speaking at Japan Writer’s Conference Sat Oct 17, Doshisha Women’s Univ. On how to write quickly, concisely, & with panache"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Handbook<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"Foreign<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\"<\/a>\"JAPANESE<\/a>\"sourstrawberriesavatar\"<\/a>
\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<\/p>\n

Hi Blog. \u00a0This weekend I will be speaking in Kyoto at Doshisha Women’s University at the Japan Writer’s Conference. \u00a0Saturday afternoon, October 17, to be exact.<\/p>\n

All the details you need for who’s speaking and how to get there here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.japanwritersconference.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

My schedule and agenda:<\/p>\n

16:00 ARUDOU Debito “Essaywriting: How I get something out quickly, concisely, and with panache” (short lecture with Q&A)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>: Want to write essays but suffer from “Writer’s Block”? No joy in writing exposition? Come listen to Arudou Debito, an essayist who writes a couple hundred per year, give some tips on how to become prolific. <\/em><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong>: I’ve heard people say writing expository essays is a drag. Like the childhood injections that put us off needles for a lifetime, the first book reports for English class were likewise off-putting for many people. I will describe how I overcome that, to the point of becoming prolific. It’s not rocket science, but getting over a few bad habits will make your writing fun, not drudgery — because if you’re having fun writing, your reader will more likely have fun reading. This talk is geared towards more elementary-level nonfiction writers who experience “Writers’ Block” (I never do), but the seasoned writer is welcome to attend and share strategies as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Bio<\/strong>: ARUDOU Debito, 44, is a Japan Times columnist and an author of several books. He maintains a daily blog on life in Japan and human rights issues at www.debito.org. He cannot imagine a day without writing something.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, for those who cannot make it, here is my handout. \u00a0And for those who can, I will provide step-by-step writing procedures I used for three essays I wrote (outline, first draft, final draft), so you can see how the sausages are made.<\/p>\n

If you prefer, download the following presentation handout as a 2-page formatted Word file here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/debitoessaywritingtips.doc<\/a><\/p>\n

This is how writing works for me, FYI. \u00a0Hope it helps other people too. \u00a0Arudou Debito in Sapporo<\/p>\n

=========================================<\/p>\n

TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE ESSAYS QUICKLY, CONCISELY, AND WITH PANACHE<\/strong><\/p>\n

By ARUDOU Debito, Columnist, Japan Times and Sapporo Source<\/em><\/p>\n

Japan Writers Conference Oct 17, 2009, Doshisha Women’s College Kyoto<\/em><\/p>\n

I write a lot.\u00a0 Five books, umpteen academic essays and chapters, a daily diary for more than a decade, and a blog entry basically every day for more than three years.\u00a0 In addition to thousands of essays (all archived online at Debito.org<\/a>), I write two columns a month for newspapers plus exposition for other venues upon request.\u00a0 I pound out a good 1500 words every day, never suffering from “Writer’s Block”.<\/p>\n

Howcum?\u00a0 Here are my tricks for writing QUICKLY<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

1) Allow yourself to sketch<\/span>.\u00a0 When I have an essay rolling around in my head (sometimes for years), I just jot down ideas in no particular order on a piece of paper (or a bound notebook).\u00a0 You’ll find time for it:\u00a0 stoplights, mass transit, boring meetings, standing in line, waking up first thing in the morning.\u00a0 But before you start typing, always outline (I prefer longhand), because it will free up your mind (you won’t have to hold the points in your head).\u00a0 Once down you can order your bullets in importance; you can also add additional thoughts to the list that occur to you when typing.<\/p>\n

2) Cut yourself some slack<\/span>.\u00a0 Don’t expect perfection the first time:\u00a0 All artists sketch before they paint.\u00a0 Nobody has to see your essay until you’re good and ready to show it, so don’t worry about mistakes, grammar, structure, flow, or anything that would make you want to go back and reread what you’ve just written.\u00a0 Revisions will come later.\u00a0 Just get the skeleton of your essay down from beginning to end.\u00a0 It’s a lot easier to snip out words than it is to create them anew when editing.<\/p>\n

3) Have confidence in yourself that it’ll all work out in the edit<\/span>.\u00a0 Just pound it down.\u00a0 Generally speaking, it takes me about an hour to type down a typical 800- to 1000-word column.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because I’m all “damn the torpedoes full speed ahead” until I have converted my entire outline to a rough essay.\u00a0 Don’t expect the flow or even the conclusion to click yet.\u00a0 But have faith that it will click later.<\/p>\n

Now for writing CONCISELY<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

4) Print the first draft up and leave it alone for a little while<\/span>.\u00a0 You’ve earned a break, so take it and come back afresh (I recommend at least an hour off, and suggest you allow a total of three days from start to submission; plan ahead so you’ll have that much time).\u00a0\u00a0 Be your own third-person editor.\u00a0 With new eyes, you’ll be surprised how sapient you were at the start, and what you forgot to add back then.\u00a0 Moreover, you can relax:\u00a0 with a hard copy fresh out of the printer, you have no matter what something concrete in case of a computer crash.<\/p>\n

5) After your break, begin the revisions<\/span>.\u00a0 If everything you want to say is already down at least skeletally, you can add a bit here, subtract a bit there, and move things around as your essay’s tack becomes clearer.\u00a0 (It’s not usually clear from the start, mind; very often I have no idea how the essay will come out until I finish it.)\u00a0 In fact, the essaywriting process is an excellent way to firm up your future opinions.\u00a0 Feel free to scribble all over the hard copy — mine usually gets covered with red ink as time goes by in boring meetings or breadlines.<\/p>\n

6) Be prepared to go through several drafts over a few days<\/span>.\u00a0 A typical 1500-word Japan Times article for me goes through at least 17 drafts before I submit.\u00a0 Save each one if you want (I don’t; I might print them, however).\u00a0 If you’re in a bind about whether or not to drop a paragraph or go down a certain rhetorical avenue, save both alternative paths as separate files and come back to them later.\u00a0 Know your word limit and find ways to shorten sentences (tricks:\u00a0 active voice takes fewer words than passive; use a big one-word instead of five colloquials — your audience has access to a dictionary; use online thesauruses and dictionaries to save time (Google “define: (word)”).<\/p>\n

As for PANACHE<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Panache is the spice that makes that article mine.\u00a0 As frequent readers of my essays know, I have a rather “know-it-all”, slightly hectoring and scolding, tone (sorry:\u00a0 I blame my US East-Coast college training and too much studying under Chalmers Johnson).\u00a0 When I’m not pontificating on the state of the world, however, I take an avuncular, advisory tone.\u00a0 Either way, panache comes through; people have picked my essays out as mine even when I write under a pseudonym.<\/p>\n

But panache is the last thing I garnish the essay with, when I’m a good 95% done and I’m really “getting into” the points I’ve made.\u00a0 I put a jibe here, bury a needle there, spray a whiff of sarcasm everywhere.\u00a0 But matters of style (as opposed to structure or flow) come last for me, and I say don’t sweat them.\u00a0 By Day Three or Draft Seventeen or so (especially after lots of breaks, meals, and online chat forums collecting potential counterarguments on the subject you’re writing), you’ll have the moxie to say, “Hey, this is what I think.\u00a0 Dammit.\u00a0 And it ain’t half-baked, neither!”<\/p>\n

Finally, I suggest that writers maintain a number of good personal habits:\u00a0 1) Avoid writing under the influence of anything<\/span> (except maybe caffeine), or else you’ll feel dependent on it to write if, say, you were drunk and came out with a humdinger of an essay.\u00a0 2) Allow enough time to write without undue stress<\/span> (deadlines should help you organize, but work backwards schedulewise to allow for sufficient “cud-chewing” essaywriting over a few days).\u00a0 And if possible, 3) try to write about something you’re interested in<\/span>.\u00a0 Tough, but steer yourself towards those subjects you enjoy.<\/p>\n

And — I can’t stress this enough except through bigger fonts — ENJOY the act and the process of writing<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 While typing and editing, don’t assume the character of your shredding sarky faculty advisor in high school or college (they’re very often stuck in their own cobwebby intellectual ruts and know-it-all Ivory Towerdom, defensively bashing you for not knowing as much, by definition, as they do):\u00a0 Be the guy who likes reading what you wrote, amazed with how much you know and how clearly you said it (I very often go back and read what I wrote years ago — and, yes, enjoy it!)\u00a0 In other words, during the editing process, try to make the conversation within yourself a partnership, not an adversarial relationship.\u00a0 Because if you’re not enjoying your own writing, I bet that will also come across to the reader and reduce their enjoyment of reading. If writing is drudgery, it’s not sustainable.\u00a0 And then Writer’s Block will set in and render your typing fingers immobile.<\/p>\n

There you go.\u00a0 Now go write something.\u00a0 And have fun doing it, dammit.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED READ<\/span>:\u00a0 Stephen King, On Writing<\/span>, Pocket Books, 2002.\u00a0 Now there’s a man who never has Writer’s Block!<\/em> ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Handout for my upcoming talk in Kyoto at the Japan Writer’s Conference. Introduction:<\/p>\n

I write a lot. Five books, umpteen academic essays and chapters, a daily diary for more than a decade, and a blog entry basically every day for more than three years. In addition to thousands of essays (all archived online at Debito.org), I write two columns a month for newspapers plus exposition for other venues upon request. I pound out a good 1500 words every day, never suffering from “Writer’s Block”.<\/p>\n

Howcum? Here are my tricks…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,46,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academia","category-education","category-practical-advice","category-speech-materials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}