From Medium:
A while ago I wrote about what might be involved in a do-it-yourself MFA. Basically: lots of reading, lots of writing, some mentoring, and connection with other writers.
The best advice I’ve ever seen for how to become a solid writer comes from Ray Bradbury. His advice is a prescription for nightly reading, weekly writing, and watching a lot of movies.
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Bradbury suggests a short story, a poem, and an essay every night for 1000 nights. I have a feeling that he would hope that after close to three years of building this particular habit, you’d just keep going.
I’m going to expand on this advice, for the purpose of our 1000 Day MFA and say that if you harbor any dreams of writing a novel some day, you need to also read novels. Ideally, you’ll read a book a week. At the very least, read one novel a month.
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Train yourself to read like a writer. Pay attention to the craft behind the books you choose. Why do some books remain bestsellers for decades? Why do some fall off the face of the planet a few weeks after they’re released? What works for you in every book — and why? What doesn’t — and why?
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Bradbury’s advice is to write a short story a week for a year. I think it would be great to carry that on for the 1000 days.
If you’re working on a novel while you’re doing this project, write flash fiction. Write a 500 word short story every week, then spend your writing time on your novel. There is something magical about finishing something so regularly. I’m just learning that myself, as I take on this story-a-week challenge.
Link to the rest at Medium
I’ve discovered that if I don’t have any special distractions (I live alone) and not relying on my too-soon-to-die battery on my tablet, that I can read a novel every day. Sometimes I can finish two. But I’ve always been one of those people who has to read a story from beginning to end without stopping. A weird sort of compulsion,now that I think of it.
A drawing teacher once told our class the best way to learn to draw would be to be locked in a room for a year, with drawing supplies and a chair. The task would be to draw the chair every day all day for that year. He said there would be some very interesting drawings of chairs by the end. I say the drawings probably would cease to look anything like a chair long before the year was over.
It would work better, IMO, if there was something different to draw every day, all day. That would be more comparable to writing stories. Something different every day. Could work.
Considering I have 1500 books in the paper library alone, I think I’m well on my way. I just need to learn to write a short story in a day. I still need two-three days because of my perfectionistic streak.