What The Hell Are You Writing?
I’ve had an itch lately as I’ve read guides on publishing, advice on story telling, and how-tos on writing effectively, and so on… there’s something missing from the stock of advice available to authors these days, and it took me a long time to name it.
See, the great authors of history certainly wrote with clear and original voice, snapped with witty discourse, used active verbs, plot, and character development. Yes yes, these are critical things. But the message delivered by all these experts is clear: write to entertain.
The greats did something more than that. Every story I’ve loved, every great masterpiece of history that stands the test of time, moved me spiritually and mentally. They challenged my beliefs, ran rampant through my ideas, and made me want to go do something, build something, or become someone.
Consider some of these famous lines:
All men die; not all men really live –Randall Wallace, Braveheart
So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide…All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us –Tolkien, LOTR
Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once. –Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Take thy beak from out my heart and take thy form from off my door! –Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven
Did these authors write to entertain? Would these stories have captured the spirit without the powerful movements behind the text? Without ideology and depth? If everyone in the story was nothing more than a base and selfish turd seeking to get something?
Which brings me to the point: If you’re writing just to shock or entertain, what the hell are you doing?
You have in your hands a weapon, an ancient artifact of magnificent power, which can be used for great good, and great evil.
Don’t just tell stories, transform people. Don’t just aspire, inspire. Use the pen in your hand to change the world. The world is full of filth and normalcy and stories that sell shockingly droll and apathetic anti-heroes.
That’s not to say that they don’t have a place in your stories. But don’t write for the sake of those things. Use them to build something wonderful.
Move. Your. World.
Merc
21 Oct 08 at 8:34 am
Good post!
Yes, I see that’s where theme comes in to some extent. The problem is… how do you learn how to do that?
Eh, I dunno, personally I feel like I have some disconnect between what I’d like to be able to do in my writing (have an impact) and the tools or skills to DO it. *sighs*
Bleh! I still see nothing wrong with writing for entertainment only some of the time. I mean, really, how life-changing can you MAKE a story about zombie pigeons?
~Merc
wulf
21 Oct 08 at 8:51 am
Haha, zombie pigeons can be… inspiring…
How you learn to do it is by becoming a person who moves the world, by talking to people who move the world, and by studying the lives of people who did.
As for a disconnect, I couldn’t agree more. I can’t achieve it either; but, it’s still an accomplishment to be strived for with every draft, and a skill to be honed with every draft.
Merc
21 Oct 08 at 9:22 am
Well, I do agree it’s something worth striving for!
Inkblot
27 Oct 08 at 2:15 am
And in the end, striving is what counts.
Awesome post, Wulfie-One, and I couldn’t agree more.
You do it, I think, in the end, by caring, Merc. You care what happens, you care about knowing… You dare to ask the questions you don’t know the answers to, to bare your soul, to inject something that means something to you into your work, even though people might hate it, and by extension you…
I think that this is one of those cases where wanting, trying – this is enough. There will always be a disconnect. You can never move yourself like others can move you, because you see the imperfections, you read behind the lines and find the blood and sweat and tears… But if you’re trying, genuinely trying… That, in the end, is what counts.
House 6
28 Oct 08 at 2:56 pm
No.
Not every book needs to make people think. Not every book needs to be ridiculous navel-gazing. Not every book needs some deep thinker.
There is more to this world than work and constant striving for perfection. There’s this thing called joy, and it’s neighbor, laughter. Some people read to relax, have fun, laugh, and be happy.
I don’t need to write some book preaching anything.
I don’t write to shock, I don’t have a terrible anti-hero, but I won’t force deep thought and lectures of morality into my writing.
wulf
29 Oct 08 at 5:41 pm
I’d almost think you’d replied to the wrong post, considering that the words “every book must be”, and “preaching” and “lectures of morality” don’t appear in this one.
Lord knows enough words come out of my mouth without people going to the trouble to put more in.
But your point, if I’ve deciphered it correctly, is still valid.
You’re the writer. Write what you want. And don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.
Rock on. And remember, it’s your life; don’t let my attempts to inspire others to strive a bit higher twist your arm.
Inkblot
30 Oct 08 at 4:18 pm
L, child, there’s a world of difference between a preaching book and a book that makes you think. Entertainment is perfectly capable of making you think as well.
For me, at least, an entertaining book is a good book; an entertaining book that /also/ manages to make you think is a great one.
And if you’re honest in your writing, you can’t help but put some version of your own morals and opinions in there, unlike true fluff, which spends its time going ‘whee, fun! fun-fun-fun! look at me, i’m fun!’ and nothing else.
I still maintain my own definition: if the characters grow, it isn’t fluff, because they’ve had to think about who they are. Hence, you don’t write fluff.
Not that I don’t enjoy reading fluff – I do. I just like it even more when something manages to be both entertaining AND thought-provoking, and get frustrated if I /feel/ like /I’m/ writing fluff
What Do You See? at Wulf
5 Nov 09 at 1:59 pm
[...] decided to take a bit of my own advice. If I’m going to keep a blog, it might as well move the world a bit. I’ll be posting [...]