Creating a Writer’s Manifesto

I was recently in a writing workshop with author Pinckney Benedict, who spent a portion of his time discussing manifestos. A manifesto is defined as a public declaration of intentions, opinions or motives. As an exercise, Benedict suggested we draw up a list of items or subjects that would make up our own manifestos. For the purposes of writing, think of it as a list of items that usually (or always) appear in your own stories, poems or essays — either subconsciously or by your strict intention.

Benedict asked workshop members to begin drafting our manifestos by listing up to five (5) items. This exercise might be best designed for intermediate writers who have a few stories under their belts. With actual material to look back at, it should be easier to see those noteworthy reoccurrences. Benedict prescribed we list very specific items. Our manifestos should not be vague or too general.

As an example, Benedict talked about his love for a certain model of Cadillac and that one often comes into play in his stories. My own writing is often set in rural locations — either the farm where I grew up or in a made-up location that borrows heavily from my personal experience. In looking back at my own stories, I found a cow has often made an appearance, sometimes as an important device in the story or simply as a detail to describe the location and to add to the sense of place. The range of subjects that occurred within our small group was pretty amazing, including lawn mowers, Christmas trees, fruit, robots, song birds, cars, monsters, doctor’s offices, diners, guns, fireworks, etc.

Benedict believes once you recognize what kind of items keep popping up in your work, you should embrace them. “Only obsessive interests are interesting,“ he said. Maybe it will help you to investigate why your mind is triggered to bring these subjects back to the page. Or maybe it will work for you to not examine it too closely but to just go forward with it. That’s up to you and the writing.

Here are two additional exercises for you to try once you have your manifesto.

1. Attempt to write your next piece of work by excluding anything on your list. See how hard it is, and possibly find out why those subjects are necessary to you.
2. Trade manifestos with a writing partner and attempt to use most of all of the other person’s items. This could be a great way to explore new characterization and settings.