Originally published at: https://danieldavidwallace.com/2024/06/17/the-truth-about-the-pots/
Maybe you’ve heard this story before, about the pottery students — it’s a popular parable in the world of creativity and writing teaching.I will quote the story in full, and then I’ll explain where I think it misses the mark. Is quantity really better than quality? How do you balance quantity and quality in creative…
2 Likes
I do. I also think a story, let alone a novel, is more complex than a pot, with more elements that have to work together to make something truly wonderful. Characters, plot, pacing, language, humour, drama, world-building, subtexts, rhythm at the sentence, paragraph, page, scene, chapter, and overall level, twists, revelations, immersion, beauty, tension, foreshadowing… There’s a lot!
So trying to get all that right at once in one ‘piece’ is unrealistic. Improving your craft is a journey of thousands of steps and discoveries.
I agree, you need both - and feedback and enouragement along the way, too.