Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Writer's Block:

Facts & Fallacy

“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?”

~ Kurt Vonnegut

Of all the things that have been said about writer’s block, I find the English humorist, Terry Pratchett’s take most amusing: “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.” I suppose he’s referring to Hollywood, a not-so-subtle dig at screenwriters. But he isn’t the only one who disparages the idea. “I don’t believe in writer’s block,” Peter Arpesella, an award-winning actor, writer, and published author, says. “If I can’t write, I go out and live. Then, if I’m a writer, I’ll find something to write.”

But writer’s block is real. It is a condition in which authors suffer a creative slowdown that causes them to lose the ability to produce new work. It could be poetry, songwriting, fiction, screenplays, et al. And contrary to what many think, it is not measured solely by time passing without writing, it is primarily determined by time passing without productivity in the task an author has embarked on. For example, a writer may choose not to write for a year or more for any number of reasons without necessarily suffering from writer’s block. But a writer who takes on a new project—songwriting, movie script, television show, fiction, or poetry—and produces little or nothing as time passes, is suffering from writer’s block.

When that happens, usually, some writers offer excuses that range from a flight of inspiration to problems with day jobs to family responsibilities to juggling too many ideas that make it difficult to decide on the best approach to the story, which, not surprisingly emboldens cynics in their belief that writer’s block does not exist. The American novelist and journalist, Norman Mailer, who’s written 11 best-selling novels, puts it bluntly, “Writer’s block is only a failure of the ego.”

If that sounds harsh, perhaps a subtle take on the issue by the essayist, Orson Scott Card, might be of some comfort, “Writer’s block is my unconscious mind telling me that something I’ve just written is either unbelievable or unimportant to me, and I solve it by going back and reinventing some part of what I’ve already written so that when I write it again, it is believable and interesting to me. Then I can go on. Writer’s block is never solved by forcing oneself to “write through it,” because you haven’t solved the problem that caused your unconscious mind to rebel against the story, so it still won’t work - for you or for the reader.”

British comic book writer Warren Ellis doesn’t share such sensitivity. “Writer’s block?” he says. “I’ve heard of this. This is when a writer cannot write, yes? Then that person isn’t a writer anymore. I’m sorry, but the job is getting up in the f--king morning and writing for a living.” Except that some people don’t write for a living, they write for a hobby. But for those who do, the author, Barbara Kingsolver has a word of advice, “I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say oh, I have writer’s block, oh, I have to wait for my muse. I don’t. Chain that muse to your desk and get the job done.” Why? Well, because, as the ghostwriter, Larry Kahaner, says, “Professional writers don’t have muses; they have mortgages.” And that probably explains why social activist, Jack London, insists that “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

However, for many writers, that’s easier said than done. For them, writer’s block is as real as day; but then, so is that elusive element called inspiration, both of which can be hampered or boosted by the same factor - adverse circumstances in the writer’s life, such as a broken relationship, financial difficulties, or pressure to produce work not attuned to their natural inclination, like an unsuitable genre, for example. What to do? Sometimes it helps to “walk away” for a while and concentrate on other things, but often, what transforms writer’s block into inspiration is extensive research. It also doesn’t hurt to pick someone’s brain on a particular subject-matter.

“The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting,” says J.K. Rowling. “The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.”

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Creative Writing - Challenges & Drawbacks

“Writing is so difficult I often feel that writers, having had their hell on earth, will escape all punishment thereafter.”

~ Jessamyn West

The Downside of Studying Creative Writing

/ KRISTINA ADAMS /

I studied Creative Writing for my undergraduate degree and continued studying it into my postgraduate degree. I am proud of my degrees and I enjoyed studying the process of writing, but as with everything, there are downsides to studying Creative Writing.

Studying Creative Writing isn’t as simple as writing a story and getting a grade for it. Pieces are marked on their originality, their use, and control of language, and your ability to explain your writing process. You must approach your writing from an academic perspective whilst maintaining the creativity that you need to carve a piece out of a blank piece of paper (or screen). Studying Creative Writing is not a walk in the park, nor is it for people who class Fifty Shades of Grey as the greatest book ever written.

It Can Take the Pleasure Out of Reading

Once you know the technical rules of writing, it becomes hard to sit and enjoy a book — particular a mainstream one that was written/bought for the sake of profit, not because of its quality. The rules that you’ve learned studying Creative Writing will make it difficult for you to switch off your editor mode, meaning that unless a book is incredibly well written, you won’t be able to help but dissect it.

Some courses also contain Literature modules — you can also study Creative Writing with Literature — and those modules are often compulsory. It is impossible to study writing and not change the way that you approach reading particularly once you have begun to workshop.

It Can Take the Pleasure Out of Writing

Before studying writing, Meg Cabot was warned that it would take the fun out of it for her. You have to really love writing to study it. Not only that, but you have to make sure to study the right kind of writing for you — if you’re a poet and you don’t feel comfortable

"There are really only two reasons to write: desperation or revenge."
~ Elizabeth Hardwick

writing short stories, make sure to go somewhere that you can focus on poetry and won’t be forced to write things that you’re uncomfortable with. It’s good to experiment, but if you already know which area(s) you enjoy writing the most, don’t study the areas you enjoy less — you’ll go from less fun to no fun.

The more we’re forced to do something, the harder it is for us to enjoy it: our appetite for it can become saturated to the point where it’s no longer fun. If you’re worried about this happening to you, think about how you approach writing. Do you do it for fun? Is it a hobby for you, or is it your life? If you approach everything in life and think about what angle you could approach it from were it a piece of fiction or a poem, or you carry a notebook around for ideas, studying Creative Writing may well be for you.

Commentaries

Speak to anyone that’s studied or is studying Creative Writing, and most — if not all — will go off on a five-minute rant about how annoying commentaries are.

Commentaries go hand-in-hand with studying Creative Writing and often amount to 50% — possibly even more — of a grade. They are just as important as your creative work, sometimes even more. In commentaries, you have to justify why you’ve made certain creative decisions, referencing theories that back up your choices.

Commentaries are an entirely different skill to creative work. They’re much closer to essay writing than short stories, scripts or poetry. If you’re planning on doing any form of degree in Creative Writing, writing commentaries will be mandatory and will go with most pieces of creative work that you submit. If you’re not comfortable writing essays, I would seriously think before deciding to study Creative Writing.

Workshopping

Workshopping is one of those things that you either enjoy or you don’t. Many people — particularly if they’re new to writing — dread them. They’re intimidating environments,

particularly if some or all of the people you’re workshopping with have more experience in writing than you do.

Writing is seen as a solitary craft, and the initial process is, but if you wish to improve, it is necessary to workshop, and workshop as much as you possibly can. The more people you workshop your work with, the more perspectives you’ll get. The more perspectives you get, the more likely you are to find things to change or to find out how people interpret your work (and it may not be how you intended).

If you don’t enjoy group work, workshops can be difficult. Likewise, it might be the way that the workshop is led that you’re uncomfortable with. There are many ways to lead a workshop, and many ways to give and receive feedback. How it’s done will depend on where you study, who your teachers are, and what your peers are like.

Some Teaching Methods

The place that you choose to study Creative Writing will have a huge impact on you. Some of it will be conscious, some of it won’t be. Some places are much more involved in the local — and wider — literary community, and those places are where you want to go because it will help you long-term as well as short-term.

Like with everything we study, how something is taught to us can and will affect our opinion and approach. Do your research on where you want to study before you decide, because some places have a focus on certain areas such as fiction, whereas others will be more diverse.

Conclusion

Studying Creative Writing isn’t for everyone. Just because you love writing, that doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy studying it. That’s ok — studying Creative Writing is much more academic than many people think. It’s also much more difficult.

It may seem like I’m against people studying Creative Writing, but this isn’t the case. I enjoyed and am proud of my degrees, and wouldn’t have chosen to do a postgraduate degree in Creative Writing if I didn’t enjoy it. However, I have seen many people fail or drop out because they choose the course as an easy option, or they pick it because they had an idea for a story. Having an idea for a story is not enough to study Creative Writing — there is much more to creative writing than just one story. To study it, you must have a never-ending supply of ideas that you can dip in and out of at any time. If you struggle to come up with new ideas every week, you may be better working on your sources of inspiration before you look into honing your craft.

If you’d like to pursue creative writing but I’ve put you off above, why not consider joining a writing group instead? Writing groups are much more laid back, and there’s less pressure because there’s no assessment involved. You can still meet like-minded people, but with the pressure off it gives you more time to hone your skills and less time working on essay writing.

Did you study Creative Writing? Did it take the fun out of writing for you, or did it make you love it more?

About KRISTINA ADAMS

The Alliance of Independent Authors - Author Member

Kristina Adams is an author of fiction and nonfiction, writing and productivity blogger, and occasional poet. She has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Derby and an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University. She can be found under a pile of books with a vanilla latte.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Indie Publishing

Freedom vs Quality

These days, debates are rife about the qualities inherent in good writing or the presumed lack thereof in some indie literature. Following a digital revolution which saw decision-making power slip from the hands of literary agents/trade publishers to individual writers, these debates have triggered a craving for the authentication of readers and the public at large.

And this craving for authentication has sparked a kind of rat race given that the literary marketplace is congested. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that owing to the desire to stand out in the crowded marketplace, demand for book reviews have surged. Overnight, on book blogs and review sites, opinion leaders have risen to the challenge, some even charging a fee for their thoughts and ‘professional opinions.’

Interestingly, for many of the self-proclaimed experts, the huge demand for book reviews which sometimes borders on desperation seems to give them “a right” to heap praise and/or criticism, often undeservedly, on the ever-increasing output of indie publications.

No matter, one fact remains unaltered - in a digital era where anyone can become a published author and a single eBook can be seen as a momentous achievement, little attention is paid to depth, quality, and technique. That’s partly because in this day and age, stardom - including literary renown - is social media-driven, and many readers, usually friends and family members tend to lap up whatever their beloved new author throws at them.

In the past, a good piece of literature was recognized both for its timelessness and the power of the message it conveyed, which affected thoughts and feelings no matter what era or place it was set in. Not so today. Frivolity seeps through every fabric of society the way water seeps through the soles of boots, and this, as some believe, has permeated the arts and literature as well.

It is therefore not out of place to hold the view that not everything that goes through someone's mind ought to end up as a book, after all, a written work should have a keen aesthetic sense. It should be distinguished as a literary culture of value. Many say there is a difference between a writer and a storyteller. Marianne Moore puts it this way, “If technique is of no interest to a writer, I doubt that the writer is an artist.”

Therein lies the difference, not only between a storyteller and a writer but also between a professional book and an amateurish one, for, while a writer uses written words in various styles and techniques to tell a story, a storyteller merely narrates events in words, sometimes in images and sounds as well. Of course, this is fine if the output is of tolerable quality. But what's the benefit of an indie revolution if the quality of literature is sacrificed for publishing freedom? While everyone can tell a story, not everyone can be a writer. According to Carlos Ruiz Zafón, “The only way you can truly get to know an author is through the trail of ink he leaves behind him. The person you think you see is only an empty character: truth is always hidden in fiction.” So, quality vs freedom, where does the indie publishing lean?