Writing isn't just "writing"
Sep. 7th, 2010 11:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravensweptRecently I've been reading about different ideas on what writing is. How does one qualify the act of writing, and how would someone go about actually defining it. To me, as with most things, it's all in how you see it.
Two big things that have popped up, and what I'll focus my attention to, are what encompasses the aspect of writing, and to whom that writing is directed towards. Because these are the things that seem to start the most fights, and therefore most likely the most fun to talk about.
It's always weird trying to explain to someone what exactly "writing" is. You can avoid it by saying you're an author, but if you don't yet have that honor than you usually defer to "I'm a writer". "Of what?" they ask. And you explain your genre choice, and what subjects and themes you cover in your work. And then, if you're really unlucky, you hear, "Oh. Well, it's not that hard, right? It's just telling a story. You know, with words."
Yeeeeaaaaaahhhno. It feels like playing a word game with people (one I'd normally enjoy) but really "writing" is not the same thing as "writing". Printing words on paper in a coherent manner is not the same as telling a compelling story on the printed page. Granted, technical skill does help.
That technical skill is what makes your story clear. You use the correct words, in a correct manner for that sentence, and repeat like words in order to string it all together in such a way a reader isn't bobbing their head around a page like an epileptic tennis match. Periods, apostrophes, semi-colons, commas, dear god, the commas, grammar, these are no what make a story. These are the tools used to build with, not the house you live in.
Words, to continue the metaphor, are what you shingle the house with. I like shingle, because it's one small part of many that come together to do their job. Words are what a writer use to tell the story in interesting ways, and the same words can have different meanings. Simple words and sentences can mean you're reading a story meant for children, using that which they are most likely familiar with at that stage of their height challenged lives in order to allow them to make the story their own. Conversely, simple word choice and short clear sentences may evoke a tense atmosphere; a simple mind amongst geniuses; rapid fire action scene, their use is what makes them powerful.
Plot is the foundation. Screw that up, and you have a crooked house. Maybe you like eating breakfast sideways, and sleeping upright in the bathroom. Be that as it may, you need solid footing to build your dream. "But plot isn't writing!" You fool, that is why you fail. This is why I say writing isn't "writing," because just telling events in linear fashion does not a plot make. The good ones will take their time, and though it may never be shown a writer will have the whole plan in their minds. Where support beams go, how many rooms, is there room for electrical and plumbing, you get where this is all going right? And don't fool yourself otherwise, it takes enormous skill to correctly lay down plot as to make something worth while, and not just another cookie-cutter like that housing tract down the road.
Characters and setting make up the interior design aspect of this home. It needs to blend together, because just because you create the perfect pair of star-crossed Uranian lovers doesn't mean that the topical political-intrigue set in the dinosaur-riding, caveman era you plop them into is what they're going to work well in. They need to flow with the planning, be a natural part of how everything evolved to this point. Yes, some things are out of place or quirky, but sometimes it's accents the rest what's around them, so they're still welcome. But you don't build a three bedroom, two bath family home in the suburbs and model the interior after early Pee-Wee Herman.
Unless, you know, you're a huge fan. In that case, more power to ya.
All that, more or less, is what is so difficult trying to convey to someone who doesn't know, that just because you can describe the process doesn't mean that it's easy. The unseen skill involved is often much larger than they imagine, and being a writer that imagination is often huge.
But it's not just putting down words that constitutes writing. It's the whole creative process, especially the unseen elements (insulation, wiring, pipes, you know, I think you get it). Just because you can look at something and say "Yeah, I see it, I can replicate it" doesn't mean you understand what goes into making it all come together and still function as one whole.
*INTERMISSION*
Often, after the asking of profession and telling of, you are asked to explain what kind of writing it is you do. Short stories, novels, children's picture, magazine, etc etc, you know the lists. No matter what choice it is you've made, no path is like the other. Just because one candy bar is chocolate and another is chocolate and nuts does not make them the same stick of sugar.
Your choice dictates a lot about how you go about what it is you do. And it should, the format changes how the work will be interpreted, as well as what kind of tools you can (or should) use to achieve the end goal. I'd go into it all, but that's not what I'm here for. Also, I'd rather not be called out on those whose entry I will eventually get wrong.
Instead, I will speak of those we as writers speak to... you know, those peons known as readers. Our audience. The ones we dress in silly clothing and dance around to entertain.
I'm going to make this clear, as this is how I see it; you should write to an audience, not for them.
This is where a big argument sprung up on one site of amassed writers, where one person said that the audience is who you write for, and the other side, well, they disagreed.
Here's as I see it. Unless that is specifically what you are being paid to do (and if you're doing so, I do so hope you are being paid), you should not be putting your effort and sweat into writing for anyone, unless it be yourself. Because that's who you answer to (that deity known as Editor doesn't factor in yet); you write for yourself. You are who needs to be happy with what you're doing.
By all means, should you want to, craft your craft to fit inside your target audience's Snuggie and heart. You want a certain kind of person to enjoy what you do, and there are certain ways to go about that. But if you're writing and doing solely for others, then why are you writing? Because you're good at it? That's great, but you aren't enjoying it, and writing is something that needs to be enjoyed, by both the holder of the pen and the reader of the page. The end result is something a good reader can tell has no heart behind it.
Which, to run over myself, doesn't mean you can't write for someone. You totally can. You can write for your children, a loved one, a charity, yourself even, but you can't let it be just. The nagging little detail that sticks up when it should lie flat, is that it can become too personal. You write for yourself; that's good. But when you are the only one who gets anything out of it, and you meant it for more than a party of one, that's where you stub your toe.
When you write to an audience, you're not hobbling yourself in order to cater to their needs. They are simply of a certain mind that you are presenting yourself to. You can tell the story you want to tell, it simply needs to be told in a way they will enjoy it as well as you. Going back to the houseaphor, you aren't changing the plot, merely the home's layout. Shingles are a labor intensive job, perhaps a more simple paneling will do, as long as the color scheme is still in tact. It's not about not doing what you love, but about trying to let the person across from you (metaphorically, you can't be across from everyone as they read) understand what you love in a way that you both understand.
Write to them, not for them. Writing for them is saying what you think they want to here, regardless of how you feel about it. "Vampires and prissy brats are hot? Well, I don't really like either of those, but if that's what they want, I guess I'll do that too." NO, bad writer, no cookie. You shouldn't have to compromise yourself by doing what you think they want to hear instead of what you want tell. Instead, you tell it in a way that they will want to hear.
And you won't get everyone. Nothing is foolproof, a better fool is always in production. Some may not like it, some may hate it, some may be indifferent. But they are not who you are writing to, because they are not who you are speaking to. You are speaking to your audience. And if you did your job right, they'll hear you.
*EDIT* Because I feel like making sure this metaphor is good and ground in, genre; genre is the neighborhood in which your house is built. You may be able to afford a mansion, having worked so long and hard to build such a thing, but that's really going to stick out when your neighbors are an apartment complex and an empty lot, and not for the good reasons. Know the lay of the land before crafting your story. If your architecture is good, you can build a home that's much larger inside that it appears from the exterior. If you're forced to deal with that damn home owners association, know the rules of the neighborhood so you can catch the eye without bringing about their wrath for having a tacky mailbox that you think is cute, but nobody else, including the guy you bought it from, does.
Two big things that have popped up, and what I'll focus my attention to, are what encompasses the aspect of writing, and to whom that writing is directed towards. Because these are the things that seem to start the most fights, and therefore most likely the most fun to talk about.
It's always weird trying to explain to someone what exactly "writing" is. You can avoid it by saying you're an author, but if you don't yet have that honor than you usually defer to "I'm a writer". "Of what?" they ask. And you explain your genre choice, and what subjects and themes you cover in your work. And then, if you're really unlucky, you hear, "Oh. Well, it's not that hard, right? It's just telling a story. You know, with words."
Yeeeeaaaaaahhhno. It feels like playing a word game with people (one I'd normally enjoy) but really "writing" is not the same thing as "writing". Printing words on paper in a coherent manner is not the same as telling a compelling story on the printed page. Granted, technical skill does help.
That technical skill is what makes your story clear. You use the correct words, in a correct manner for that sentence, and repeat like words in order to string it all together in such a way a reader isn't bobbing their head around a page like an epileptic tennis match. Periods, apostrophes, semi-colons, commas, dear god, the commas, grammar, these are no what make a story. These are the tools used to build with, not the house you live in.
Words, to continue the metaphor, are what you shingle the house with. I like shingle, because it's one small part of many that come together to do their job. Words are what a writer use to tell the story in interesting ways, and the same words can have different meanings. Simple words and sentences can mean you're reading a story meant for children, using that which they are most likely familiar with at that stage of their height challenged lives in order to allow them to make the story their own. Conversely, simple word choice and short clear sentences may evoke a tense atmosphere; a simple mind amongst geniuses; rapid fire action scene, their use is what makes them powerful.
Plot is the foundation. Screw that up, and you have a crooked house. Maybe you like eating breakfast sideways, and sleeping upright in the bathroom. Be that as it may, you need solid footing to build your dream. "But plot isn't writing!" You fool, that is why you fail. This is why I say writing isn't "writing," because just telling events in linear fashion does not a plot make. The good ones will take their time, and though it may never be shown a writer will have the whole plan in their minds. Where support beams go, how many rooms, is there room for electrical and plumbing, you get where this is all going right? And don't fool yourself otherwise, it takes enormous skill to correctly lay down plot as to make something worth while, and not just another cookie-cutter like that housing tract down the road.
Characters and setting make up the interior design aspect of this home. It needs to blend together, because just because you create the perfect pair of star-crossed Uranian lovers doesn't mean that the topical political-intrigue set in the dinosaur-riding, caveman era you plop them into is what they're going to work well in. They need to flow with the planning, be a natural part of how everything evolved to this point. Yes, some things are out of place or quirky, but sometimes it's accents the rest what's around them, so they're still welcome. But you don't build a three bedroom, two bath family home in the suburbs and model the interior after early Pee-Wee Herman.
Unless, you know, you're a huge fan. In that case, more power to ya.
All that, more or less, is what is so difficult trying to convey to someone who doesn't know, that just because you can describe the process doesn't mean that it's easy. The unseen skill involved is often much larger than they imagine, and being a writer that imagination is often huge.
But it's not just putting down words that constitutes writing. It's the whole creative process, especially the unseen elements (insulation, wiring, pipes, you know, I think you get it). Just because you can look at something and say "Yeah, I see it, I can replicate it" doesn't mean you understand what goes into making it all come together and still function as one whole.
*INTERMISSION*
Often, after the asking of profession and telling of, you are asked to explain what kind of writing it is you do. Short stories, novels, children's picture, magazine, etc etc, you know the lists. No matter what choice it is you've made, no path is like the other. Just because one candy bar is chocolate and another is chocolate and nuts does not make them the same stick of sugar.
Your choice dictates a lot about how you go about what it is you do. And it should, the format changes how the work will be interpreted, as well as what kind of tools you can (or should) use to achieve the end goal. I'd go into it all, but that's not what I'm here for. Also, I'd rather not be called out on those whose entry I will eventually get wrong.
Instead, I will speak of those we as writers speak to... you know, those peons known as readers. Our audience. The ones we dress in silly clothing and dance around to entertain.
I'm going to make this clear, as this is how I see it; you should write to an audience, not for them.
This is where a big argument sprung up on one site of amassed writers, where one person said that the audience is who you write for, and the other side, well, they disagreed.
Here's as I see it. Unless that is specifically what you are being paid to do (and if you're doing so, I do so hope you are being paid), you should not be putting your effort and sweat into writing for anyone, unless it be yourself. Because that's who you answer to (that deity known as Editor doesn't factor in yet); you write for yourself. You are who needs to be happy with what you're doing.
By all means, should you want to, craft your craft to fit inside your target audience's Snuggie and heart. You want a certain kind of person to enjoy what you do, and there are certain ways to go about that. But if you're writing and doing solely for others, then why are you writing? Because you're good at it? That's great, but you aren't enjoying it, and writing is something that needs to be enjoyed, by both the holder of the pen and the reader of the page. The end result is something a good reader can tell has no heart behind it.
Which, to run over myself, doesn't mean you can't write for someone. You totally can. You can write for your children, a loved one, a charity, yourself even, but you can't let it be just. The nagging little detail that sticks up when it should lie flat, is that it can become too personal. You write for yourself; that's good. But when you are the only one who gets anything out of it, and you meant it for more than a party of one, that's where you stub your toe.
When you write to an audience, you're not hobbling yourself in order to cater to their needs. They are simply of a certain mind that you are presenting yourself to. You can tell the story you want to tell, it simply needs to be told in a way they will enjoy it as well as you. Going back to the houseaphor, you aren't changing the plot, merely the home's layout. Shingles are a labor intensive job, perhaps a more simple paneling will do, as long as the color scheme is still in tact. It's not about not doing what you love, but about trying to let the person across from you (metaphorically, you can't be across from everyone as they read) understand what you love in a way that you both understand.
Write to them, not for them. Writing for them is saying what you think they want to here, regardless of how you feel about it. "Vampires and prissy brats are hot? Well, I don't really like either of those, but if that's what they want, I guess I'll do that too." NO, bad writer, no cookie. You shouldn't have to compromise yourself by doing what you think they want to hear instead of what you want tell. Instead, you tell it in a way that they will want to hear.
And you won't get everyone. Nothing is foolproof, a better fool is always in production. Some may not like it, some may hate it, some may be indifferent. But they are not who you are writing to, because they are not who you are speaking to. You are speaking to your audience. And if you did your job right, they'll hear you.
*EDIT* Because I feel like making sure this metaphor is good and ground in, genre; genre is the neighborhood in which your house is built. You may be able to afford a mansion, having worked so long and hard to build such a thing, but that's really going to stick out when your neighbors are an apartment complex and an empty lot, and not for the good reasons. Know the lay of the land before crafting your story. If your architecture is good, you can build a home that's much larger inside that it appears from the exterior. If you're forced to deal with that damn home owners association, know the rules of the neighborhood so you can catch the eye without bringing about their wrath for having a tacky mailbox that you think is cute, but nobody else, including the guy you bought it from, does.
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no subject
on 2010-09-08 03:20 pm (UTC)I agree. I personally believe that if you focus your writing around writing for an audience, your stories will always feel a little soulless, because you're not putting much of yourself into your work.
And by "soulless" I don't mean it can't be deep, or funny, or poignant. Just that it won't have you in it.
...Which sounds kind of dirty, but I haven't had enough coffee to care.
if you're really unlucky, you hear, "Oh. Well, it's not that hard, right? It's just telling a story. You know, with words."
Have you ever had a, "Oh, writing! I've done that. NaNoWriMo and all that."
Nooooo. A contest that promotes nothing beyond writing 50,000 words in one month is hardly even the tip of the iceberg. It's more like an ice chip.
no subject
on 2010-09-08 06:09 pm (UTC)^.^
no subject
on 2010-09-08 03:24 pm (UTC)This also made me think of how many times people have been dismissive or even derisive toward fiction writing, insisting the "real money" and the "real writing" are in nonfiction writing. Articles, in particular. I've tried to engage people on this topic, to explain why being a fiction writer is not at all like being, say, a technical writer, but it's often lost on people.
I'm not a writer for the sole purpose of stringing words together about any old thing. I'm a storyteller. I love words. I love sentences and syntax and cadence and rhythm and poetry. So, I write novels.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I really enjoyed this.
no subject
on 2010-09-08 06:16 pm (UTC)Non-fiction is "real writing"? Really? Articles I know can be more prolific, but they aren't what I think of when I think non-fiction. And even then, non-fiction is often a much more narrow catagory to fill, and has a much smaller demographic.
Glad you enjoyed my long ranting!
no subject
on 2010-09-08 02:39 pm (UTC)