Students and staff filled Watson Forum Tuesday
afternoon to hear visiting professor Rick Bass speak.
SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
Renowned author Rick Bass began his craft talk on Tuesday with an uplifting note.
“Happiness as a writer is overrated,” said Bass as he opened his lecture in Watson Forum on the January 3. Bass is the Mary Rogers Field Distinguished University Professor of Creative Writing this semester.
Bass who is leading an upper-level non fiction writing course this spring, wasted no time declaring his theory on learning. “There’s only one way to learn, that’s repetition,” he said.
Though Bass was able to summarize his philosophy on how to be a good student in one sentence, his rules for how to be a good writer are more complicated. Bass summarized those into his “14 Rules of Good Writing.”
-
Symbolism is good; abstraction is bad
-
Read poetry
-
Read out loud
-
First sentence and last sentence have to be the best
-
Watch out for numbers, don’t enumerate
-
No adverbs; they’re often unnecessary
-
Show, don’t tell; make the reader be invested
-
Get back to what your story is about
-
Always assume the reader is as smart as you
-
Love villains, hate the heroes
-
What’s at stake? Who wants what?
-
Characters happen into a story, don’t let them be passive
-
Don’t write in dialect; dialogue on page is different
-
Know at least something when you write
He believes it’s important to have multiple hobbies separate from writing.
Students took Bass’s advice to heart. “One thing I found interesting, was his emphasis on having a life outside of writing,” said sophomore, Jake Smith.
Bass also expanded on his life outside of authoring beloved stories, refelting on his home. "I moved to northwest Montana and I fell in love,” said Bass who normally resides in Yaak Valley, Montana.
Despite his endearment to his home, Bass will be residing in Greencastle with his dog for the remainder of the semester.