Learning How to Write Well | Yann Martel | Big Think

Learning How to Write Well
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There’s no formula to writing. The key thing is simply to read, says the novelist. "The best teacher is a cheap, little Penguin classic."
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YANN MARTEL:

Yann Martel is the author of The High Mountains of Portugal and Life of Pi, the #1 international bestseller and winner of the 2002 Man Booker (among many other prizes). He is also the award-winning author ofThe Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (winner of the Journey Prize), Self, Beatrice & Virgil, and 101 Letters to a Prime Minister. Born in Spain in 1963, Martel studied philosophy at Trent University, worked at odd jobs—tree planter, dishwasher, security guard—and traveled widely before turning to writing. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada, with the writer Alice Kuipers and their four children.
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TRANSCRIPT:

Yann Martel: The standard, the usual suspects. All the great, dead, white males, then, you know, some women, everyone, you know, everyone from Yukio Mishima the Japanese writer, Knut Hansun the Norwegian writer. The living writer I admire the most, don’t know if he influences me much, but is J.M. Coetzee, the South African, well, now Australian writer. It’s amazing what he does with so few words. The most monumental book I’ve ever read, I believe, would be "The Divine Comedy," by Dante. I love all the Russians. Dostoevsky, to me, is not necessarily a great novelist, but he’s a great writer. Tolstoy is both a great writer and a great novelist. But I also like sort of the slightly lesser known, you know, Turgenev, Gogol, Goncharov all of those, you know, the usual 19th, you know, to me, the apogee of English language writing was 19th Century English writing, those great, you know, naturalistic writers like Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Joseph Conrad, and then moving on to 20th Century American literature. So, as I said, the usual suspects, you know, the Hemingways, Faulkners, Sinclair Lewis, all of those. Willa Cather, you know, so all those. You know, I have no, I can’t say there’s any writer, you know, in "Beatrice and Virgil," I used Flaubert, I used Diderot, the play within the novel is very much in a Beckett kind of mode. But none of those are gods to whom I kneel every day, each has their strength, each has their weaknesses.

Question: What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

Yann Martel: I don’t know. Maybe letting go, like go at it and then, or maybe take a break. Not let go, but take a break. Try to figure it out and take a break and get back to it. I’m saying that actually because I recently heard Martin Amis, who now as an older writer, where as a younger writer, he would just force himself to work through, whereas now, as soon as he has a problem, he gets up from his desk and gives himself time. So, maybe that. I don’t know, you know, I think there’s no formula to writing, so, the key thing, I’d say to anyone who aspires to write, would be to read. The best teacher is a cheap, Little Penguin classic. Read beyond what you want to write, so if you want to write romance, great, but also read science fiction, read classics. If you aspire to be a literary writer, if you aspire to be the next John Updike, read Harlequins. You know, read outside, read beyond the narrow ken of what you, what your particularly like. So, read, read, read.

Question: What’s the hardest part of being a writer?

Yann Martel: It’s so damn cerebral, you’re just in your head. You’re in a sitting position in your head. I love the physicality of dance, the physicality of painting. I love the emotional immediacy of music. It’s so in your head, so that... that drives me crazy at times. I wish it were more physical, which is I suppose why, in some ways I love theater, because it’s spoken. Now, the playwright is still sitting, but the end product is more physical. So I guess that, that that is very, now I say that in the conversation that it’s, there’s no greater representation of reality than a great novel, nothing can beat a great novel, nothing. Not cinema, not music, not painting. They all have their strengths, but if you want to capture a past reality, you know, Russia in the 19th Century, nothing will do it better than a great novel by Tolstoy. It’ll give you, it’ll capture that past reality better than a painting, better than a symphony, nothing can beat a great, great novel. It is the greatest mode of representation. It doesn’t mean it’s...

[trizane]

How to write good.
1. Avoid alliteration. Always
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. They're old hat.
4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
5. Be more or less specific
6. Writers should never generalize.
Seven: Be consistent!
8. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
9. Who needs rhetorical questions?
10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

[philipmann]

The hardest part of writing is looking at what you've done, maybe 1, 000, 3, 000 words, or more, and realizing that it's just no good and you have to do it over. A few times.

[JSLigon]

"A human who has no stories is someone who has not been loved and not been able to love." Fits better than I would like. Never connected it with not having stories to tell.

[makiimedia]

well nothing does action better than a movie, nothing can beat music in energy and unity, nothing is more physical than dance, nothing more immersive than a video game, nothing can convey as much as a painting with so little ... all the mediums have their strenghts ... writing however seems to be the purest form of storytelling there is. its like telling a story, while being able to think about every word and for the listener to take their time when they have it and really focus and listen

[memie]

I totally agree that the hardest part about being a writer is that you have to be in your own "world, " sometimes. That's why I'd say its important to do a physical art as well. Dancing, acting, and drawing are great for writers block and to get yourself out of your own mind so much. Haha!

[frenchkids]

He speaks very well for a writer. His explanation of the novel as the greatest mode of representation was clear and unpretentious.

[JavierGonzalez-lpke]

Idk why but after a busy day about, for some reason interview clips like this can be very calming and serene to hear

[AttRandyReynolds]

Everyone has a story in their head and they think is worth telling. It is like looking at a sunset and realizing it is beautiful and wanting to put that beauty onto canvas. The trick is: how do you do that? I don't think that knowledge can come from writing classes. No matter what kind of instruction, or how much practice, it is unlikely that a random person can climb into a racecar and be competitive.

[drugstorerecords]

good advice brother. same deal with music - the only thing that makes a good musician is if they're also a good listener

[TheWhistlinphil]

I used to read a lot from the "classics" and knew of a lot of writers. The last decade, though, I have read very little.
That saddens me.

[infinityLTFS]

In terms of the question "Whats the hardest part of being a writer?"...He nailed it on the head. I was actually thinking about this the other day... My social circle and my upbringing is primarily made of artists of different mediums; painters, musicians, thespians, etc. Being a writer is sometimes so frustrating to me because whereas my friends and family can quickly produce a physical expression of what they are getting at, I, as a novelist, cannot. The only time I can get remotely close, is if i finish writing my book. And doing that, is no small or quick feat for me. And even once my work is done, it still takes time and dedication to read the work lol. 

[ravenkamali]

Here is an advice for writers:
Write your story and when it is finished, put it away for a few weeks, then go back to it and read it. You will find plenty holes in your story as well as grammatical errors. You have to do that a few times to produce a well-written story..

[ryancoulter]

I missed the year he was writer in residence at my local public library. I had nothing finished then, barely started even. Now I’m finishing my second novel.

[EmpereurNapoleonex]

Yann Martel, Life of Pi was amazing! My teacher used our class as a guinea pig for your newly-published book back then, and that was fantastic!

[erdwaenor]

Great and elegant conclusion at the end, thank you.

[danyterrence]

I'm Nigerian. I loved The cave and Cain, and All the Names to an extent. I hope that changes your perspective. Underrated is not necessarily the same as overly exposed.

[TOUGHEYES]

When he said that the best kind of storytelling is religious in nature, I couldn't help but think of Ghost in The Shell.  What did you think?

[jamiemajor]

when you lost your ego,  you became believeable

[BlackMetalWorld]

I love good horror. Doesnt matter what medium, what you have to realise is what you want to do with your work. Books, movies, music and videogames are just tools. Personally I love works that combine as much as possible is the right balance. That itself is something like a symphony.

[MM-sbgd]

Remembering Saul Bellow, one of the greatest writers in the English language, Ever!   Henderson the Rain King, Herzog, Augie March, Mr. Samler's Planet