Philosophy of Writing and Life
On that chat Sunday, after the formal chat was done, we talked about philosophy. There were a couple of brand new writers and one of them had the idea (don't know where it came from) was that writing was to enlighten readers. That if one wrote to please readers it was pandering to them.
So. I said I, like most genre writers, took a more practical view.
Digressing, everyone wants to make the world a better place, and writers are no different. But when you write popular fiction, and write for a paycheck, then you need rationalization and justification.
I write to entertain, and there's nothing BAD or WRONG about that. I'm pleased if I can take people away for their mundane cares (heaven knows during all my plumbing problems I LOVE being able to sink into another world, and it helps). That's enough for me.
Yes, I've gotten some email (which I won't share because it's private to the people and I think self-aggrandizing for me) that makes me very, very proud.
But bottom-line, I see my job as entertaining...the same as any other entertainer or sports figure. That's enough.
So I told this person that, and that also themes WILL creep into your work. Since I'd had a rum and coke I was on a roll...HeartMate is about gangs. Heart Thief is about society's outcasts and redemption. Heart Duel is about arrogance, selfishness, blindness and war. Heart Choice is about loving children because they are lovable and not simply because they are your own blood, about tradition. Heart Quest is about making other people's choices for them for their own good... I think all of these themes, outer stories, topics, may shed a different slant of light on a problem someone else is struggling with. Heaven also knows that some of my beliefs and problem solving has come from books.
This new writer was thrilled at the thought that s/he didn't have to "enlighten" readers. That s/he could trust him/herself to write what s/he wanted and themes would appear. That entertaining can be a good calling.
May you feel validated today,
Robin
So. I said I, like most genre writers, took a more practical view.
Digressing, everyone wants to make the world a better place, and writers are no different. But when you write popular fiction, and write for a paycheck, then you need rationalization and justification.
I write to entertain, and there's nothing BAD or WRONG about that. I'm pleased if I can take people away for their mundane cares (heaven knows during all my plumbing problems I LOVE being able to sink into another world, and it helps). That's enough for me.
Yes, I've gotten some email (which I won't share because it's private to the people and I think self-aggrandizing for me) that makes me very, very proud.
But bottom-line, I see my job as entertaining...the same as any other entertainer or sports figure. That's enough.
So I told this person that, and that also themes WILL creep into your work. Since I'd had a rum and coke I was on a roll...HeartMate is about gangs. Heart Thief is about society's outcasts and redemption. Heart Duel is about arrogance, selfishness, blindness and war. Heart Choice is about loving children because they are lovable and not simply because they are your own blood, about tradition. Heart Quest is about making other people's choices for them for their own good... I think all of these themes, outer stories, topics, may shed a different slant of light on a problem someone else is struggling with. Heaven also knows that some of my beliefs and problem solving has come from books.
This new writer was thrilled at the thought that s/he didn't have to "enlighten" readers. That s/he could trust him/herself to write what s/he wanted and themes would appear. That entertaining can be a good calling.
May you feel validated today,
Robin
posted by FantasyAuthor RobinDOwens | 5:00 AM
4 Comments:
A reader...
Sorry to know that the publishers do not care to get original titles and prefer rehashing old ones! Not easy for the writer, I'd hate it myself. I am sure though that your book will be fun to read & imaginative. Not achieved very often. I read a lot and I know.
Agree with your opinion on writing. Maybe you'll find interesting a book on this subject from the point of view of other writers -mystery in this case: The fatal art of entertainment by Rosemary Herbert, 1994 Maxwell MacMillan International/Canada, G.K. Hall
I love to write, and that is enough to make me feel good.
Thanks for the book notice, I'll look it up!
Janice, always keep the shine.
Robin
As a reader, I read for my own enjoyment. I don't read to learn anything. If I happened to have learnt alot about Waterloo because I like to read Regency Romances (enough to impress my husband when we visited there), it is a great happenstance of my reading. I probably would never search out a history of Waterloo though.
How do you explain what you like and don't like? You just do. It is probably the same for writing? You write what you like?
Keep writing Robin, and I will keep reading. I am looking foward to 'Echos of the Dark', 'Heart Fate', and the new series you were talking about a while back.
Tine
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