8 Writing Lessons From J.D. Salinger | Neha's Notebook

 

“It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out.” - JD Salinger

 

Just like the sun in this quotation written by him, JD Salinger too was a man of privacy. He would come out only when he felt like, which means not much if at all. Famous for his square-shooting lines and a solitary lifestyle, Mr. Salinger produced a slim yet rich body of work during his lifetime. Though, it is said that he might have dozens of novels unpublished, still locked away in some nook of his house. He is best remembered for his novel The Catcher in the Rye, based on the loss of childhood innocence of a boy named Holden Caufield and for a collection of short stories that featured his fictional character sets called The Glass Family.

JD Salinger’s Journey As a Writer (in brief)

JD Salinger began writing short stories during years of his secondary school. Thereafter, stumbling and tripping from drama to business to theatre, Salinger finally found his muse in language. Leaving his father’s meat-exporting business, he paved his way into writing. Even though, he encountered many roadblocks including the outbreak of World War II, unlike most soldiers who were impatient in the environment of hither-tither, Salinger fought, but he also wrote — and kept on writing constantly, from war’s start to war’s finish. He stopped publishing his work in 1965 but his son Matt Salinger now confirms that he never stopped writing till death.

 

With this, we’re all good to step ahead and get started…

 

#1 Write From Your Heart For Your Heart

Everybody writes.

 

Out of them, many are writers.

 

But what sets apart a great writer from the rest is personal involvement and naked spilling of one’s heart.

 

Mr. Salinger too agrees with this point through these lines:

 

If you’re a writer, you should stew in your own juices. - JD Salinger

 

I like to write. I live to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure. - JD Salinger

 

#2 Focus on the character

Mr. Salinger was known for diving deep into his characters and the relationships between characters. Mostly, his writing appealed to young readers; catching and mirroring the psyche of most teenagers; tethering and piercing into their deepest passions and horrors – in the clearest and honest most way possible.

 

His writing reflected a savvy insight spearheading straight into the emotional centre of his readers making them pause and say, “Oh yeah, I connect with it!”

 

Say, for instance, observe your reaction when you read this line:

 

Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. - JD Salinger

 

#3 Read, Read, Read a lot

Most great writers appear to believe in reading as one of the best practices for writers. And so did Mr. Salinger. See what he had to say about this...

 

I’m quite illiterate but I read a lot. - J.D. Salinger

 

#4 Respect Your Individual Style

After a while in his career, Mr. Salinger released the control of literary rules and syntax. He wouldn’t write stories in conventional style. His fiction wasn’t plot-driven but, rather, it would be embroidered out of many bits & pieces of events, or moments taken in a span of time.

 

So, it is appropriate to say that as writers, we should explore our own style. And despite of our fears, we should respect the individuality of our writing voice.

 

An artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else’s. - JD Salinger

 

You think of the book you’d most like to be reading, and then you sit down and shamelessly write it. - JD Salinger

 

How do you know you’re going to do something, until you do it? - JD Salinger

 

Most of the times, thinking what people think about you is a sure-fire way to suppress your writing voice…Mr. Salinger says,

 

One day a long time from now, you’ll cease to care anymore whom you please or what anybody has to say about you. That’s when you’ll produce the work you are capable of.

 

#5 Write What You Feel. Feel What You Write.

Mr. Salinger’s writings depicted a controlled yet beautiful and flowy expression of emotional energy. His words are known to read with an ease of rhythm and stream of feelings just melting away, while piercing the dark rails of brain’s psyche. There is a subtle, invisible clarity of thought and emotion. Something, that doesn’t feel boring even if you read it again and again.

 

Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first one who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by the human behaviour. - JD Salinger

People never notice anything. - JD Salinger

I don’t exactly know what I mean by that but I mean it. - JD Salinger

If you’re lonely like most writers are, write your way out of it. - JD Salinger

 

#6 Discipline Discipline Discipline

Discipline is crucial to strengthening our writing muscles. Mr. Salinger too has shared in some of his interviews that he would start each morning at 6, never later than 7. Also, he believed in utilizing his night time for writing. While living with his two children in Manhattan, he would utilize the hours of the night to write while his children were asleep

 

Know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly.

- J. D. Salinger

 

#7 Structure is important too!

Along with the creative side of writing, things like organization, direction and structure are important too. Consider, for instance, the filing system of Salinger. He would keep a set of files, where a red dot meant ‘Under progress’ and a green dot meant ‘Needs editing’.

 

What structures, systems & tools do you use for your writing?

 

I think that one of these days…you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there. - JD Salinger

#8 Enjoy your Life (Yes!)

Mr. Salinger accompanied a smorgasbord of interests. He was a fan of spiritual philosophies including Sufism, Zen Buddhism, Taoism and Vedanta. He was also a regular practitioner of meditation. Apart from that, he liked whopper burgers, Chinese food, roast beef and mashed potatoes. When organizing parties and get-togethers, he would drink cold drink and eat wafers and chips with his writer friends.

 

Mean to say, explore life in all its glory. Especially if you are a writer. Hurray!

 

The true poet has no choice of material. The material plainly chooses him, not he it. - JD Salinger

 

Ending with…

this famous quotation from Mr. Salinger’s novel,

 

What really knocks me out is a book that when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like. That doesn’t happen much, though. - JD Salinger

 

Upon finishing his novel, I felt just the same for Mr. Salinger. 

 

What all books of J. D. Salinger have you read, if any? Tell me or suggest me a title for my reading list in the comments below!