Writing Shorts Stories Every Week : The Ray Bradbury Challenge
52-Weeks of writing short stories to become a better writer.
Practice makes perfect in the world of writing and story telling. Only a few have the natural, raw talent of putting words on paper, outlining the perfect story telling experience. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. So imagine my openness as I routinely search for helpful hints.
A profound back story focused on Ray Bradbury, a prolific author and screenwriter, known for writing Fahrenheit 451 amongst other books and writing projects that have left a mark in the industry. The best takeaway from Bradbury was in 2001 when he was the keynote speaker at Point Loma Nazarene University’s writer’s symposium. Imagine the energy in the room while he spoke! Imagine the wisdom shared!
The Best Six Pieces of Writing Advice from Ray Bradbury
1. Don’t Start Out Writing Novels. Bradbury stated how starting off as a beginning and intermediate writer whose first published work is a novel is not a smart move. If the finished project is a failure, that is one thing you will be remembered for, which isn’t good.
When you start writing short stories, the quality doesn’t really matter; you’re practicing your craft. At the end of the year, you’ll have 52 short stories. Bradbury suggests that out of 52 short stories, you are bound to have at least one good story. Writing short stories will teach you to be constantly looking for ideas. Also, the natural high you feel week to week after writing each short story is rewarding.
Bradbury advocated an everyday dose of writing as a cure for the sadness, depression, and challenges of everyday life, a tonic that has the potential to energize all that we experience (The Ray Bradbury Challenge).
2. Read Great Short Stories. Of course, Bradbury recommends that you read an array of short stories by prolific and great authors. An author that comes to mind is Stephen King. The very first short story I read from King was “Jerusalem’s Lot”.
3. Stuff Your Head. Bradbury recommends for one-thousand nights, before going to bed, read the following:
- Read one short story.
- Read one poem.
- Read one essay, from diverse fields and areas: politics, philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, economics, business, anthropology, etc.
At the end of the one-thousand nights create juices will start flowing, ideas will be swimming in your head, and you’ll be able to come up with lots of new ideas.
4. Dump the Friends Who do not Support You. The next thing that Bradbury recommends is getting rid of all of the friends who don’t believe in you, and who take your drive to become a writer lightly. Especially the ones who make fun of you.
- “If any girl doesn’t like what you’re doing, ‘Out of your life!’”.
- “If your friends make fun of you, “To hell with them. Out!’”
5. Live In the Library. Bradbury didn’t go to college, which was a fact I didn’t know. However, he would go to the library regularly and read everything; he indicates that he graduated from the library at the age of 28. Bradbury’s take on libraries:
- “I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it’s better than college. People should educate themselves — you can get a complete education for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I’d written a thousand stories.”
- “You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.”
6. Write With Joy and Elation. Bradbury would often say that writing is not a serious business; it does not work. Writing is a celebration . . . have fun with it. Bradbury shares that he never worked a day in his life; the joy of writing propelled him from day to day, and from year to year. Here are two of his quotes that reflect that sentiment:
- “Love is easy, and I love writing. You can’t resist love. You get an idea, someone says something, and you’re in love.”
- “Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The keyword is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.”
In my journey to becoming a better writer and storyteller, I want to continue to thrive amongst a group of writers who uplift each other and offer nuggets of wisdom. Bradbury set the standard on how writers can grow if they truly have the commitment to do and be better. I continue to thirst for knowledge and lessons learned. I have set the expectation for myself to release as many short stories and content a week (avoiding an actual number because I do have a regular 9 to 5 job with great benefits). I pray and hope my writing improves tremendously to where I can work for myself, write notable and worthy content, publish books, and be able to mentor to new writers along the way.
Thank you, Ray Bradbury.
