Although your deepest well is your imagination, there is still a lot to know about the craft itself, and believe me, I’ve studied, and studied, and studied it.
In the end—and I think it would be fair to say that I was challenged to do so by John Gardner when he claimed that the elements of fiction are in fact finite—I compiled a 400 page collection of quotes by writers on the craft which I named Elements of Fiction, and which I am in the process of sharing as posts on this site.
Some years and a few novels later I distilled those 400 pages to something I could frame and put on the wall as a constant reminder, and so came about The Storyteller’s Creed, 16 points to keep in mind to stay true to the story.
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The Storyteller’s Creed
- Imagination is the light by which you see.
- Be someone on whom nothing is lost.
- Never write anything that is not of vital interest to you.
- Write for the love of it and love each separate word.
- Write about what you know and write truly.
- Say it as clearly as you can—the fewer words the better.
- Describe nothing you can’t honestly imagine.
- Your character should breathe, stand up and cast a shadow.
- Let the character talk—listen, and write.
- Use no story gear that doesn’t turn something.
- Your story must be a life that lives all of itself.
- A note out of tune does not belong.
- Writing ought to be like running through a field.
- Let the rhythm choose the word.
- Be the midwife of understanding.
- Your true palette is the reader’s imagination