Do aspiring writers benefit from Masterclass.com?

I’ve watched most of the masterclasses by writers on Masterclass.com — so you don't have to.

Some are considerably more inspiring than others.

Today, I will delve into the masterclass presented by Salman Rushdie.

(Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPDOioWeByo)

1.

For Rushdie, setting is typically the starting point of his writing process.

He advises you to write from a place of deep feeling, whether it’s love, hate, nostalgia or whatever else that stirs you, which will, in turn, move the reader as well.

An interesting exercise: Try writing 300 words on a place that is important to you — without using adjectives.

If you cannot write that a place is beautiful, or green, or ugly, you're forced to tell a story about it in order to show the reader what you want them to see.

Treat your setting as a character and you will be able to tell that story.

2.

Rushdie is a writer who explicitly draws upon storytelling traditions, whether they are the myths of Ancient Greece or the stories from The Arabian Nights. In his view, The Arabian Nights contains stories that actually tell you how to write a good story.

And I agree: those tales abound with cliffhangers, cleverly embedded stories-within-stories, and various other sophisticated techniques.

3.

A refreshingly straightforward advice when it comes to character development: Get to know their exterior.

Don’t hesitate to think of banal matters. Does a character wear fashionable clothes or not? Do they have a large nose? Are they bald?

According to Rushdie, it's easier to start from those external elements and then work your way inwards.

You could consider whether external matters are forms of self-expression. Or defense mechanisms. A flamboyant appearance, for instance, might conceal an insecure inner self.

4.

How characters speak is of vital importance to Rushdie and he has much to say on this topic.

One interesting exercise he proposes is to write a piece of dialogue without attributions, so omitting the 'he says' and 'she says.’

It should be evident from the lines of dialogue which character is speaking — and if it isn't, you should strive to distinguish your characters.

5.

Rushdie's advice and techniques are valuable, but what truly sets his lecture series apart is an element you rarely hear writers talk about: the mess that inevitably comes with writing.

When discussing the peril of your literary idols wielding excessive influence over you, Rushdie reads from one of his earliest attempts at a novel, an unpublished work titled The Antagonist.

Here, we witness a young writer striving ardently to emulate American postmodernist Thomas Pynchon.

And failing.

Usually, when a celebrated writer scoffs at their early attempts and then reads a piece from that period, it turns out to be quite brilliant after all. I often suspect that some quick editing took place years later.

But not here. The fragment is genuinely dreadful, and it's remarkable that Rushdie dares to read it.

6.

He also reads from the notes he made while working on The Satanic Verses. What we see here is a writer in conversation with himself about his characters and themes.

We see a writer stumbling in the dark, taking wrong turns, arriving at erroneous conclusions, and subsequently regrouping.

Rushdie also tells how he was mistaken about the pace at which he alternated storylines in The Enchantress of Florence and how he changed that after feedback from early readers.

He discusses a passage from Midnight's Children that he had envisaged as the opening for the original version of the book, but as that version evolved, the opening passage became unsuitable for that spot.

7.

All in all, this masterclass offers a rich package of insights, techniques, confessions, advice, and exercises.

And, not unimportantly: in his audiovisual incarnation, Rushdie is just as captivating a storyteller as he is in his fiction.

The Secrets of Fiction’s Masterclass Verdict: 5 M's out of 5 (MMMMM).

In the "Writing" section of Masterclass, you'll also find names like Aaron Sorkin, the renowned screenwriter, playwright David Mamet, novelists Margaret Atwood and Joyce Carol Oates, non-fiction author Malcolm Gladwell, essayist Roxane Gay, and poet Billy Collins.

So, expect more Masterclass reviews in the forthcoming months!

(If you enjoyed this article, you might like my weekly newsletter on writing and reading: The Secrets of Fiction => https://thesecretsoffiction.substack.com/)