Touched by Creation
Written by Aywren
Figpress
Wayfarer Wings
I don’t remember a time in my life that wasn’t touched by creation.
When I was very young, there was the big three: reading, writing and art. I read everything I could get my hands on. And when I was done with that, I would rush off on an inspiration high, filled with other people’s magical words, and create my own. I would fold sheets of wide rule notebook paper in half, glue it down the middle and write and illustrate my own hand-made books.
As a child, you don’t question creation. You simply do it. You don’t reach for inspiration. It’s simply there. The words may have been simpler and rougher around the edges… but the love of creativity was never more pure and unblemished by thoughts of the world. I think there’s still a lot we can learn from the creativity of children.
But there comes a day when child creativity becomes adult creativity and you find yourself in a world where writing suddenly means wordcount, editing, deadlines, cost-per-word or cost-per hour. Copywriting? Freelancing? Technical writing? Materials development?
Where did all this come from? And when did it get to be so difficult to jot down even a few sentences on a page?
I guess I’ll never really figure out the point of transition. I just know that I was a college student who earned a full degree in professional writing. So there I have it. A piece of paper on the wall that officially states that “I R Wrighter.” A professional job in which grant writing, technical writing, material development and PR are the daily chores.
But is this what it really means to be a writer? Is this what I would consider my greatest accomplishment (although I can say it’s probably the one thing I’ve worked hardest to earn)?
No… for me, I still reach back to the simplicity of a time touched by creation. And the true love of the craft that I feel when I find myself on that inspiration high, writing fiction… with no other purpose but the love of writing for a group net of friends who (for some odd reason) seem to enjoy reading it.
Every year for the past six years, I’ve taken a part in the online writer’s challenge called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal of this month is for writers to write 50,000 words in 30 days – a rough equivalent of a short novel. Even if you’re not a novelist, if you’ve never heard of this before, I highly encourage you to give it a thought this November. You can find the website at http://www.nanowrimo.org.
It was during a writing slump in my life that I decided to go out on a limb and attempt my first NaNoWriMo. I had heard other people talking about it and had passed it off as crazy. If I couldn’t write a few paragraphs on my own, how could I think of taking on a writer’s challenge to finish 50K words in 30 days?
Nuts!
I must have been feeling reckless that day, though. I had no preparation -- not like some of the writers who has spent all October shoving other real life activities from their lists just to be able to write during November. I signed up on November 1st and I sat down to write.
I’m so glad that I did.
The challenge was tough. I was starting from scratch writing a world and characters I hardly knew. There were days where the writing well was dry, but I had to force myself to write anyhow. I learned about making progress one painful word at a time, no matter what distractions bombarded my mind. I learned about living with rough drafts, ignoring the backspace key and the power of promising myself a strong edit on the flipside.
I rediscovered what it felt like to free-write without constraints. I learned the joy of hearing my characters introduce themselves, speak to me and unfold their life stories. I learned how to step out of the way and watch them carry away my story, taking it in directions I would have never imagined were possible.
I walked into the challenge with no real plot. No outline. No solid characters. And I walked out of it with 50K+ words, a brand new world and a story that I’ve continued to write every November.
I think my biggest accomplishment was printing out that NaNoWriMo certificate that said I had completed a goal that I thought was impossible. That was the day that I felt like a real writer. I had set my goals. Planned my time. Organized myself. And I had achieved.
Sure, it’s not a published work. I’ve still yet to hold any hard copy of my writing in paperback form. But I’ve begun to learn as a writer that accomplishment isn’t always about physical things… or even praise and attention from others. A writer can’t always be measured by what has been published, as great an accomplishment as publishing is for any writer.
Growing internally as a writer may be far more important than any of this. And growth doesn’t always result in tangible changes for us to point to. It comes from learning and re-learning the things that we may have forgotten from a simpler time in our lives. It comes from discovering passion for our craft and learning how to balance that with the motivation, goals and organization that can carry us through to the end of our work.
I’ve also learned the value of good writing friends. People who really love your work and your characters almost as much as you do. People who you can trust to edit with an honest opinion and brainstorm without laughing at all of your off the wall plot suggestions. These are rare friends – I know how blessed I am to have mine. When you find people like that, hold on to them and don’t forget to tell them how much you appreciate their understanding and support.
I feel that writers have both a wonderful gift and a great burden. Amidst the ever-growing demands and clutter of life, we are charged with the task of helping the human race make sense of it all. We sometimes struggle with an existence that is touched with creation… and in turn, are compelled to reach out to others to share that experience. Even though it doesn’t always feel like it, our task is so much more important than we can begin to understand.
Afterall, if writers don’t write… who will?
The epic NaNoWriMo work in question, Dreigiau, can be found here.
I haven't been asked to plug it, but I want to.
A fair number of people seem to be a fan of the Dreigau series. I'm pleased to report that in the last week, that number has grown by at least one.
11 comments:
You say: "A writer can’t always be measured by what has been published, as great an accomplishment as publishing is for any writer." And I agree.
Question: At what point did Joseph Heller become a great writer? Was it when he published Catch-22 or when he finished it? Or perhaps at the half-way point. Or was he a great writer before he even set pen to paper? Writing the book provided the evidence that he was a great writer, that's all.
Okay, my argument is a bit flippant, but my point is not. Publication is a part of the process. It is not proof that you're a great writer. The Sicilian's Red-hot Revenge has also been published. Perhaps I'm judging it unfairly but I think you get my point.
I've never been one for the "if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound" type questions.
So with that in my mind, I'll venture an opinion as to answering that question.
Joseph Heller became a great writer when he finished Catch 22.
Not when it was published.
Not when it was a blank page, or halfway through. Discipline and slogging it out to the end are traits that cannot be bypassed when it comes to tallying up great points.
But if Heller hadn't been a great writer could he have written the book in the first place?
The point I'm emphasising is that publication proves nothing. All you have to do is look at the best-seller list any week of the year to prove that.
Now days, those who publish have to be ready to alter their work to please the whims of their publication house and editors -- or at least, that's the impression I get from published writers. So I guess another good question is... who does the work belong to if a writer is only catering to the desires of others? Is a book good (or bad) because of the writer or because of the demands the writer has to meet to get their stuff published?
It's part of the reason I never chose to pursue publication. Maybe I could have. I'm not sure. But I was really turned off by hearing the experiences of writers breaking into publication. I'm not sure I could sacrifice that much of my work just for putting it in print. Especially since there are a lot of other options for writers now days -- print on demand companies online are something that have never existed up until lately.
I could be wrong about this. But since we were on the topic of publishing, I'd like to hear other people's take on it!
Oh, and Tam. Thank you again for the opportunity to guest post! :)
If I write a book, if the publisher wants to change it in ways that will give it more mass appeal, is this so bad?
If I write to entertain, and changing the book will help more people enjoy the book, I wouldn't see myself complaining.
So long as they spell my name right, and I get paid. :)
Tam! YES! Oh, yes. It's called selling your soul. Holden Caulfield said his brother was prostituting his art. The simplest way to illustrate this is by looking at film adaptations where they take a perfectly serviceable novel like I Am Legend and turn it into an overblown action flick. Sure it might get a bigger audience but it's no longer the book the author wrote. Integrity versus hard cash is a hard call though.
Tam, I think it really depends on the extent of the changes. Now, if the editor is giving good, trustworthy suggestions on how to change your story to make it a stronger and better piece, that is one thing. But it's another thing if you have to completely re-write your work just to please the public and the editor.
I'd have to agree on Jim in that instance.
Jim - The I am Legend example is at the extreme end of the scale though is it not.
I'm sure there are more examples like it, I am just wondering if these make us raise our artistic hackles too readily when it comes to proposed changes to a work from a commercial point of view.
Surely there must be many examples where a manuscript has had minor alterations made to it, after suggestions from a publisher, and it hasn't affected the integrity of the book, and has maybe even improved it in a small way.
I suspect we don't hear of this that often for the plain fact that it's not as interesting.
I know I'm at an uber-naive stage of my career, but I find it hard to get my head around how some will take on board criticism from friends and be prepared to change their work thusly, but not be prepared to shift as much as a comma if someone who makes their living selling books thinks it's a good idea.
Is there no midddle ground? Can one take on board commerically minded feedback without selling one's soul?
Ayren,
I guess I'd be slightly peeved if I finished a novel and had to completely re-write it to please a publisher.
The critical factor for me is that I would only be changing my work, I wouldn't be changing me.
To that end, I'd be prepared to give the re-write a chance. Who's to say when I'm done, I might even like it better?
I agree the I Am Legend is an extreme example but there have been three goes at translating that book and all three have managed to miss the point. Each took the story and presented it in a form that the public of that day were comfortable with.
But we're talking about a book here. When Peter Benchley wrote Jaws he was advised – on the advice of Doubleday editor Tom Congdon I believe – to add in a sex scene which he did. It's unnecessary and, to my reading, clearly obviously into an exiting text and slows down the action. Nothing is lost with its removal which is precisely what Steven Spielberg did when he adapted the book for the big screen. This is not just my opinion. Here's part of a review I found on-line: "I read this as a teenager after seeing the movie. It was an ok story except for the sex scene in the exact middle of the book that really had no plot value and was obviously there to sell the book."
Is there middle ground? Yes, I'm sure there is. But where do you draw the line?
Where to draw the line?
Hopefully at some point before you become James Patterson. I really can't stand the stuff he churns out.
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