traits each writer needs to master . “ You have to have the knowledge base — through self-education , MFA program , or whatever — to understand what quality is ,” he says . “ You have to be able to determine in a clear-eyed way if what you ’ re writing is quality or not . You have to be willing to do the work , for as many revisions as it takes , to get the writing up to the quality it needs to be .” An MFA program , Heathcock says , is essentially training writers to see quality and to understand how to write great sentences , images , and dialogue .
Aspiring writers who can ’ t enroll in an MFA program can still master these traits by “ exercising their library card ,” Heathcock says . “ Don ’ t just read books in a casual way . Read to understand what quality is . Pay attention to your reaction as a reader . If a piece of writing excites you , ask yourself why . Is it scary or lovely or thought-provoking ? Work to understand how that writer made you feel or think or imagine in a certain way .”
Heathcock is a studied reader . He reads with a highlighter pen , marking passages and dialogue that catch his attention . Later , he writes those passages in a notebook that he revisits . “ It helps me hone in on who I am as a writer . I cultivate my own aesthetic ,” he says . “ Anyone can do that .”
A Daily Ritual of Discipline Writing every day is an essential discipline for Heathcock , but beyond that he admits , “ You ’ ve got to do whatever the heck works on any given day to get through it . I ’ m all over the place — sometimes I ’ m in a groove , and other times it all stops working .”
Heathcock gets his kids to school each morning and writes from 8:15 to 3:00 — but writing doesn ’ t always mean putting words on paper . “ Most of the time I ’ m figuring out what I ’ m going to type when I get to the computer , so I ’ m thinking a great deal ,” he says . “ I ’ m writing a novel , and I know tomorrow I ’ m writing a scene where there ’ s been a bombing and this woman is trapped in a cave . I ’ m thinking my way through the logistics of what the cave looks and smells like , what steps the woman might take considering her character , what the ramifications of this one moment are to the story . My imagination is completely with this character , and then I go to the computer and find the best words to capture the truth of that empathetic condition .”
Heathcock has been fortunate this past year to teach writing overseas , but he admits that travel disturbs a writer ’ s routine . However , the cultural experiences make up the loss by feeding his understanding of the world . “ You challenge yourself as a human being to have new experiences ,” he says . “ The travel has pushed me out of my very controlled comfort zone . Seeing new places and expanding my intellect and imagination — living my life and feeling alive — is incredibly important to me .”
Volt : Stories by Alan Heathcock is available online and locally at Rediscovered Books . For more information or to contact the author , visit his website : alanhealthcock . com
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