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Newbie Notes

Coloring Inside the Lines

"Rules are restrictive! I hate coloring inside the lines!"
True.
"You said these classes would help me free up my creativity."
Yes.
"So, why are you expecting me to follow rules? That's not the way I write!"
Are you satisfied with the way you write?
"Of course I am! Well, I'd like to be able to"
If you just keep writing long enough, you will find out what works for you.
"That could take years!"
True.
"Oh! Just tell me what to do."
Do you mean you want me to tell you what the rules are?
"Uh..."

The rules are not walls or barricades to imprison you, but guidelines for your pen. Color inside those lines and a seemingly random collection of lines may suddenly reveal the form and shape of a face or tree or house. It probably won't be exactly the face or tree or house you have in mind. But it will be recognizable and you will learn something about how, not just the lines, but the shapes and colors go together to reveal the whole.

If you stick with the lines for a while and experiment with different colors, you will learn something about how each variation affects the whole. It is much easier to see the results of a change when you make only one change and keep everything else the same. Many of the lessons at WVU are based on that idea. Keep everything, but one factor, the same in order to see more clearly what varied difference that factor creates.

By all means, think about and question the purpose of the lines/rules. Try to figure what benefit you get from them. "Help this will" is understandable but, for most of us, "this will help" is clearer. If you are trying to give the flavor of a language that uses a different word order, then "help this will" may be just what you need. So, you move the line, or even erase it, to serve your purpose. If you cannot figure the purpose of a rule, try practicing with and without it to see if the change does make a difference.

Coloring inside the lines is not a life sentence. It is a method of learning. Once you are confident in your skills, you will find that you, the writer, will be in control both inside and outside the lines.