The Best Craftsman Always Leaves Holes

For Christmastime and the turning of the year, here's a note from a
writer I consider one of the best, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

The best craftsman always leaves holes and gaps in the works of the poem so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash, or thunder in. The joy and function of poetry is, and was, the celebration of man, which is also the celebration of God.
—Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet

Anytime you want some advice on writing well, re-read "A Child's Christmas in Wales."

From the first paragraph:

One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.

To the last lines:

Looking through my bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow, I could see the lights in the windows of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music rising from them up the long, steady falling night. I turned the gas down, I got into bed. I said some words to the close and holy darkness, and then I slept.

Merry Christmas to all.

Welcome to These Spindrift Pages

Welcome to my blog. I'm the series editor of The New Writer's Handbook (Scarletta Press, www.scarlettapress.com). The purpose of that softcover anthology of recent articles (60+) on literary craft and career, and this new blog, is to help you write better . . . to share best advice & good thoughts from diverse successful writers.

To quote from my Afterword: "To be a good writer, you need to do lots of diverse things. Some you're naturally good at. For others, you need to stretch and listen and consider new ideas. There's no right or wrong way to write, no ten easy steps. There are no initiation rites to take you into the dark hut and reveal the magic chants and secret knowledge. Writing isn't logical, it's a part of life."

This blog will offer more ideas about good writing, in particular on the craft portion of the equation. We'll look at words and wordplay, poetry, and more.

For other thoughts on writing, visit my other blogs: The Writer's Handbook Blog, on developing a writer's career, and Creeping Past Dragons, on the field of fantasy literature.