Meditation:
Today’s meditation is probably going to take the form of a rant, inspired by this Note:
Here’s a principle for you:
If you have a strong opinion on a topic that you haven’t thought all the way through, that opinion is someone else’s.
So, the part that Stephen bolded is a thing you hear all the time. But have we all really thought about it? Or just taken it on the shaky authority of somebody else?
Why does that have to be true? I seriously can’t think of a logical reason why the statement should be so. I think it’s hogwash.
The well-meaning bunch probably intends it to be encouraging. I think. To temper expectations so you are willing to work through the difficulties. That’s fine and good in principle.
Now, look, it’s entirely possible. You might write a book and it might suck. But I fear a lot of people will unconsciously use this as an excuse not to try. What is meant to be a spur to action in theory, in practice often becomes a roadblock to ever doing it.
And who defines “suck”? What makes a good book? I have my ideas about that and I’m not saying objective quality doesn’t exist. And people have aptitudes and some people have a big head start simply based on talent. They might be able to write a great first book and you might not be able to.
Who cares?
That’s my point, really. Why are you thinking about this at all? Do you love to write for the sake of it and not the response?
I really believe in the end the reader decides what a good book is. You might disagree. I don’t care. I want to connect with a reader, to show them something I think is important. The skills are a vehicle for doing that. There are plenty of technically dazzling books that are vapid and boring. There are plenty of very moving stories written by people who are less good at the writing craft than I am after a year and a half of doing it.
As Stephen says in the other Note he quoted, we need to trust our storytelling instincts more. We are telling stories when we write fiction and if you have enough skill to carry the reader’s attention through that story, you’re good enough already.
By all means keep getting better. Write more books, more stories. Never stop improving.
But why the hell are you thinking about writing a “good book”, whatever that is?
Just stop it. Stop thinking and start writing.
/end rant
Writing:
On that note, I’m at 4.5k words of fiction for the week and counting. This current story will be up on
on Friday, barring any life catastrophe. It’s a bit of post-apoc. Which I never thought I’d be writing but I write what the muse says to write. I hope you’ll enjoy it.Reading:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley
And a-gley it went. I still didn’t finish the damned book. But I had a freelance writing gig come up that I had to take which meant a couple all-nighters. Family has to eat. This is getting farcical at this point, but I’ll finish it and then I’ll figure out how to up my reading pace to a more respectable level.
Ciao:
That’s it for now. Probably a grumpy one but I get sick of all the dumb myths about writing that hamper people’s efforts. If you wanna write you go write. Then you get better. Then people read it. Then you get the women. (Kidding, Scarface joke). Anyway, yeah, just keep writing and don’t worry about that crap people say. I don’t care who they are and how famous a writer they are. They can still be wrong. And in this case they are.
Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow.
I don’t care about writing something that’s good. I care about writing something that’s done.
I get up and go to my desk every morning to do the work and to see it through. Most days I think it sucks. Some days I think it sucks less. Regardless I share it. I put it out there, because I don’t get a say in whether its good or not. Mine is not the final word when it comes to how much it does or does not suck. That's not up to me. It's up to the one's doing the reading.
And regardless of what even they or I think, my job doesn't change. Tomorrow I'll get up. I'll go to my desk. I'll find a few words. I'll share them. And I'll put an x on another day...