Fearing the Craft: A Criticism of Steering the Craft and similar rule books

Works Mentioned:

Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin

Orwell's six rules for writing

1984 by George Orwell

The way that the greatest authors of all time write is not dissimilar to the way in which the most incompetent authors write. The difference is in the quality of the text. Perhaps not everyone has the ability to write a classic work of literature or a powerful essay for the ages. Although I believe that every person is capable of conceiving an idea that would inspire a work of high merit. From reading a book like ‘steering the craft’, a writer writing about writing, it is clear to me that the inspiration for many books is present in many minds. The problem is that not many minds can express those ideas in as expert a way as Ursula Le Guin or George Orwell.

For example, the inspiration for Orwell’s ‘1984’, dictatorship in the soviet union was on everyone’s mind when he was writing it in 1948. However the way in which Orwell portrayed this scary phenomenon with a book that no other author could write. Orwell’s style is that of precision, he hated careless and messy writing. You can see this exemplified in this very famous ‘1984’, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength”. This meticulous style ensured that every sentence and every word drove the story forward. Unlike other writers who use tangents and side plots to their advantage, Orwell made a point of knowing exactly what each aspect of the story is for. This may make it sound as if his narrative was predictable, this could not be further from the truth. His well known hatred of overused metaphors and cliches resulted in a unique approach to heavily explored topics.

Orwell cared so deeply about the art of storytelling that he created a list of guidelines to write in the way that he does. Many of the rules he added to this list contrast with the tendencies most writers would consider valuable. The items on this list were as follows: no common figure of speech, no long words, cut out as many words as possible and no foreign phrases or Jargon. He described the breaking of these rules as ‘barbarous’. As I mentioned previously these guidelines would be second nature to most authors, but in Orwell’s eyes, these elements added unnecessary clutter to narratives.

In contrast to Orwell’s refined, calculated approach to storytelling, Ursula Le Guin famously compares it to steering a ship over choppy waters. Conjuring images of an untamed wave of words and ideas to create a story. Her chapter ‘long and short’ in ‘steering the craft’ showed how a short sentence and a long sentence can be just as effective as each other. According to her, crowning either one as superior is the sign of a weak writer. If I’m honest I did not read ‘steering the craft’ cover to cover. I read specific passages and I tried a couple of the workshops. In a way, Le Guin's hostile nature in the first paragraph made me feel like an unwelcome guest. I have not been writing for the minimum 15 years that is required to read the book. I have been writing creatively for one semester, 10 weeks. That being said I can see how this book is relatable and inspiring for more creative writers. It seems to me that both Le Guin and Orwell have this protective attitude toward writing. I might too if I possessed the veteranship that they do. This type of superiority manifests itself in similar ways for both the authors. They both say that there is a correct way to write and to write in any other way is to be uninspired. It is undeniable that both Le Guin and Orwell are gods in the writing world, however in my own personal opinion, it is far more impressive and rewarding to create your own unique style, rather than attempting to replicate the greats.

Gatekeeping is a phrase that means one must reach a minimum amount of knowledge or experience to truly immerse yourself in a culture or be allowed into a community. It has become something of a buzzword in the last few years. However it has never been uncommon in creative circles. Le Guin and Orwell are tragically guilty of this behavior. They use rules and guidelines to ensure no future writers deviate from their style. Rigid strategies have never been celebrated in arts, although for writers it is fairly common. Often these rules for writing are enforced by experienced superior feeling people. It may come from a book like ‘Steering the craft’, but many beginners or students experience cliquey or gatekeepy criticisms from teachers or older peers. I know that I have. That is all fine if the aim is to write a story like how George Orwell would write one or write prose like Le Guin. imitation like this leaves nothing for innovation. I feel that writers who cling to these teachings will never reach their full potential. It is difficult to find examples of this in other creative fields. In painting, recreating another artist’s work will attract criticism. Your art will be labeled derivative.

I do see value In teaching techniques, but I see damage in discouraging various writing styles. I do not doubt that in time, my opinions will change with experience. After all, I am new to the craft.