6 Bits Of Writing Advice From Jorge Luis Borges
Discover six powerful writing lessons from Jorge Luis Borges and learn how his ideas can help you become a better, more imaginative writer.
Who Was Jorge Luis Borges?
Jorge Luis Borges (born on 24 August 1899 and died on 14 June 1986) was one of the great literary innovators of the 20th century. The Argentine writer, poet, and essayist explored ideas about dreams, identity, time, labyrinths, books, and reality, often blurring the boundaries between the real and the imagined. His work continues to influence writers around the world.
Borges also had plenty to teach writers about the craft itself. His observations encourage us to read deeply, trust our imaginations, pay attention to language, and turn our experiences into stories.
Here are six pieces of writing advice we can take from Borges.
6 Bits Of Writing Advice From Jorge Luis Borges
 1. Understand The Form You’re Writing
‘It is worth remembering that every writer begins with a naively physical notion of what art is. A book for him or her is not an expression or a series of expressions, but literally a volume, a prism with six rectangular sides made of thin sheets of papers which should include a cover, an inside cover, an epigraph in italics, a preface, nine or ten parts with some verses at the beginning, a table of contents, an ex libris with an hourglass and a Latin phrase, a brief list of errata, some blank pages, a colophon and a publication notice.‘ ~Evaristo Carriego: A Book About Old-time Buenos Aires
Borges reminds us that a book is more than the words on its pages. It has a form, a structure, and a history, and understanding those things can help us become better writers.
Before you begin writing, understand the form you have chosen. A short story needs a different approach from a novel. A poem works differently from an essay. A novella has its own demands.
Read widely within the form you want to write. Notice how other writers use structure, length, pacing, and style. The more familiar you become with the form, the more confidently you can make creative choices.
2. Make Your Readers Forget The World Around Them
‘Every novel is an ideal plane inserted into the realm of reality.’ ~Labyrinths: Selected Poems & Other Stories
Borges understood the power of fiction to create another reality. A story can take readers somewhere they have never been and make them care about people who exist only on the page. That is one of the great pleasures of reading.
As a writer, your job is to create that sense of immersion. Give readers characters they care about, problems they want to see resolved, and a world they want to explore. When a reader loses track of time because they are absorbed in your story, you have done something special.
3. Read Your Writing Out Loud
‘Truly fine poetry must be read aloud. A good poem does not allow itself to be read in a low voice or silently. If we can read it silently, it is not a valid poem: a poem demands pronunciation. Poetry always remembers that it was an oral art before it was a written art.‘ ~Seven Nights
Words are meant to be heard as well as seen. Reading your work aloud helps you notice things that your eyes may skip over on the page.
You will hear awkward sentences, repeated words, clumsy dialogue, and places where the rhythm breaks down. You may also discover that a sentence you thought was ordinary sounds surprisingly good when spoken. This is especially useful when you are editing poetry or dialogue, but it works for all kinds of writing.
Read your work aloud. If a sentence feels awkward in your mouth, it probably needs another look.
4. Read As Much As You Write
‘Reading… is an activity subsequent to writing: more resigned, more civil, more intellectual.’Â – A Universal History of Infamy
Borges was a passionate reader, and his work was shaped by the books, writers, and ideas he encountered throughout his life.
Reading is one of the best ways to learn how writing works. When you read widely, you absorb different voices, structures, characters, genres, and ways of telling stories. Don’t only read the books you love. Read outside your usual genres, too. Read old books and new ones. Read poetry, essays, short stories, and novels.
Every book can teach you something about writing.
5. Give Your Imagination Room To Work
‘Writing is nothing more than a guided dream.’ ~Doctor Brodie’s Report
Borges was fascinated by dreams, imagination, and the strange possibilities of the mind. His writing often begins with an idea that seems impossible and then follows it to its logical conclusion.
Writers can learn from this. Don’t dismiss an idea because it seems strange, impractical, or too unusual. Follow it. Ask questions. What if the impossible were true? What would happen next? Where could the idea lead? You can always edit an idea later. First, give your imagination room to surprise you.
6. Use Your Experiences As Raw Material
‘A writer – and, I believe, generally all persons – must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.’ ~Twenty-Four Conversations With Borges
Writers don’t need to have extraordinary lives. They need to pay attention to the lives they have.
Everything you experience can teach you something about people, emotions, relationships, conflict, loss, joy, and the world around you. Even difficult or embarrassing experiences can become useful material when you transform them into fiction.
This doesn’t mean writing your life story exactly as it happened. It means looking at your experiences with a writer’s eye. A conversation you overheard, a place you visited, a mistake you made, or a feeling you couldn’t shake may eventually become a character, scene, setting, or story.
Your life is full of raw material. Pay attention to it.
The Last Word
Jorge Luis Borges showed writers that there are endless possibilities in literature. His work reminds us to be curious, to read widely, to listen to our own words, and to give our imaginations room to wander. Most importantly, he understood that writers can find stories almost anywhere. Read. Observe. Imagine. Experiment. And use what you discover to create something that could only have come from you.
Source for image: Anonymous, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Borges_1921.jpg
By Alex J. Coyne. Alex is a writer, proofreader, and regular card player. His features about cards, bridge, and card playing have appeared in Great Bridge Links, Gifts for Card Players, Bridge Canada Magazine, and Caribbean Compass. Get in touch at alexcoyneofficial.com.
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