Playing With Clay

by Scott Rhoades

In a presentation at work this week, a coworker used his experience from when he studied pottery as an analogy for a businessy thing. The analogy worked well. It occurred to me during the presentation that the pottery metaphor applies to writing as well. With apologies to my colleague, and despite my own lack of pottery experience, I'm going to give comparing the three steps of making pottery to writing a try. So cue up some Righteous Brothers and let's get our hands dirty.

1. Center the Foundation

When you throw your clay on the potter's wheel (do I sound like I know what I'm saying?), you need to make sure the foundation of your pot is centered, so your pot is correctly balanced and doesn't get all wobbly and collapse while you're forming it.

This is the planning stage of your novel. Even if you are the kind of writer who prefers to let the story unfold as you write rather than planning ahead, you still need a foundation. At the very least, you should have some knowledge of your main characters and the premise of your story. Without that, your story will wobble and will likely fall apart while you try to spin your tale. Even if it does not collapse completely, your story is probably going to be an asymmetrical mess, something your mom will say she loves if you give it to her, but eventually you'll find it in the back of that cupboard above the refrigerator, the one nobody can reach, and whose contents become a mystery after a few years of collecting dust.

If your foundation is centered and you're aware of the basics of your story, you're ready to get started.

2. Give It Shape

This is where you start turning the wheel and the pot starts to spin. Slowly, your lump of clay begins to take shape. Your hands are constantly busy, getting dirty as you stretch and squeeze and do whatever else you do to shape a pot.

The shape you want doesn't come immediately. You have to use your skill and make constant adjustments, patiently working your story until it takes the form you see in your head.

Once you have your story, it's ready for the kiln. But it's still not finished.

3. Glaze for Success

You have your story. It's shaped nicely, but it's dull and not very beautiful. Your scenes are well constructed, the pacing is about right, but it's missing the shine and color that will make your mom proudly display it prominently in her living room.

This is when you apply the glaze, painting your story so it's colorful and exciting. It might require a few layers of glaze before you have the shine you want, but when you're finished, you have a beautiful work of art. It's well balanced, so it doesn't wobble on the table or shelf and is less likely to fall and break. The shape is perfect. And it's gorgeous, painted just right and shining in the light.

Now you're ready to sell to the highest bidder. And who wouldn't want to pay top dollar for something this wonderful?

Entertainers vs. Artists

by Deren Hansen

Writing in the November 2010 issue of Electronic Musician, Steven Wilson said, "This, for me, is the distinction between an entertainer (cater to an audience) and an artist (create your own audience)." [Emphasis mine.]

I found Steven's distinction enlightening, not because the artist is more noble than the entertainer but because of the way in which it clarifies the nature of the audiences.

This is not about selling out or maintaining artistic integrity. I've already discussed the notion of meeting the market half-way. That's something you must do whether you're catering to an audience or creating one. In the catering case, you've got to bring something new to the existing audience: without some variations on the theme, they'll get bored and go elsewhere. In the creating case, you've got to frame your novelties in familiar terms so that the audience you attract can get their bearings.

The distinction between catering to an audience and creating an audience is like the distinction between promotions that are compelling or enticing. When you're catering to an audience, you need something that will compel them to pay attention to your project. When you're creating an audience, you need to entice them to explore something new.

How do you know what kind of audience you should address?

If you're writing something that fits comfortably in one genre, like epic fantasy, where readers expectations are fairly clear, the audience expects you to cater to them. If you're writing something that mixes genres, you'll likely have to create an audience.

Think about what you're trying to do. Now think about how your audience will find you. I suspect the distinction between the entertainer and the artist will help clarify the issues.


Deren blogs daily at The Laws of Making.