Wild Perspectives: The 39 Steps of Writing by Frederick Barthelme
Frederick Barthelme co-authored the well-known memoir Double Down. He is the former director of the famous Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, and Founding Editor of New World Writing Quarterly, one of the consistently best online lit journals around. I love Barthelme’s iconic rules, maybe mostly because they make me laugh but they also give me permission to have fun. I fear that such advice may be considered controversial, as craft-of-writing advice has become so deadly serious these days. This worries me, as I feel we need our humorous vision most keenly when we create. Suffice it to say that after all these years, it’s Barthelme’s 39 steps I’m keeping in mind when I write my own stories. In the comments section, please let us know which of these 39 steps calls out to you the most!
THE 39 STEPS BY FREDERICK BARTHELME
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Before going any deeper into the rules, is the introductory statement tongue-in-cheek? Did he mean to say 1907? Thanks for pointing me toward these rules! I didn't know Donald Barthelme had a brother (and such a wonderfully named brother, too 😊), and I didn't know about these 39 rules. Great find!
Thanks for posting this, Meg. Really interesting and I’ll refer back to this list again for sure. The number that calls to me the most, as something I have done but want to do a lot more of in my writing, is number 24. Also I’ll think twice about using the name Amber from here on out. Unless she’s a stripper. Or a cheerleader in the 80’s. Or, you know, a really smart bookworm who’s brilliant AND a cheerleader and confuses everyone. Yeah. Then I might use it 😆