Everyday Canvas

Kerouac’s Writing Tips

Prompt: Jack Kerouac has uttered the wildest writing tips. Here are five of them. Choose one and explain what you understand from it and if you would like to use that tip in your writing:
*The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye
*Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind
*Blow as deep as you want to blow
*Visionary tics shivering in the chest
*Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea

===============

These tips show that Kerouac was of the beat generation dependent upon what most of his generation of people of all arts were addicted to. Basically, I agree with him to a point and only when writing the first draft; on the other hand, I give a lot of weight to the rules of language, grammar, and usage.

For this exercise, I am picking the “Visionary tics shivering in the chest." After this, I’ll try to write in a few words what I understand from the remaining four.

I think Jack Kerouac is referring to inspiration, here. When the inspiration hits, we writers feel it very strongly, possible in the middle of our torsos where most strong feelings punch us severely. At least, that’s where my strong feelings hit me. By chest, however, he may also mean the heart as, when things come from the heart, they carry the highest truths. It is also interesting that he refers to tics, which mostly happen with repetition, just like an idea that bugs us until we put it to words.

Creativity is a huge concept, and everyone goes about it in a different way, but when the idea or inspiration hits, we know it’s something we mustn't let fade away. To hold on to this inspiration, we need first to trust ourselves. If we empower ourselves to try something, no matter how far out and give ourselves permission to fail, that feeling of inspiration has a very good chance at success; moreover, should we lose, losing when we follow our passion doesn't feel important at all.

Kerouac also raises the ideas of vision and visionary. Vision is something he has referred to over and over; thus seeing, truly seeing, be it with our eyes or our hearts, is the most important thing in all arts.

------

The other four tips (The way I understand them):

**The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye:
This one’s kind of transcendental and beat. I think he means the most profound and valuable thing is what you see within what you have seen, possibly referring to seeing with your inner eye or third eye.

**Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind:
He might mean writing from desire and at full speed without any regard to rules or any obstacles, in other words, pushing the limits all the way to find out where the real limits lie. Crazy to him may be being enthusiastic, wondering and wandering, plus bewildered. As saints are usually mystics, they may seem dumb from the outside, as does a first draft written only with inspiration and no pre-planning.

**Blow as deep as you want to blow:
Be spontaneous like a jazz musician. Get into it fully. Write as profoundly or as impulsively as you wish and satisfy your own senses first, so your writing resonates into the hearts of others.

** Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea
The middle eye, the third eye, or what you see within creates the language and the language gives form to thought; then the writing catches up to the thought. This is the way writers let the words disclose what’s inside them. They immerse themselves in words letting the words save them from drowning.