Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.
Luke Raftl included that in a recent email to me. It was a quote from Hemingway.
I am not here to argue the value and importance of Hemingway's writing versus Faulkner's writing. Any longtime reader on this site knows that I revere Hemingway - that he is my favorite writer - but I also respect Faulkner, and I appreciate his writing. I believe the contributions of both writers are inarguably invaluable.
I bring this quote up, instead, for another reason...
Luke Raftl stumbled upon my site a few weeks back through Paul Joseph's site, and I stumbled upon Luke Raftl's site through him stumbling upon mine. It's a tidy little triangle, and it has brought me great pleasure over the last few weeks.
After visiting Luke's website, I sent him a brief email, encouraging him in a few things. And his reply email kicked some gears into action...
Without divulging too much about our interpersonal correspondence (after all, there may not be a "writer-to-writer confidentiality agreement" tantamount to the one that exists between a doctor and a patient, but I believe the personal thoughts shared between two writers should be kept close within the confines of the discussion - allowed to incubate and to grow), one thing Luke mentioned is that he sometimes reads certain writers (his examples were Huxley or Thomas Wolfe) and thinks, "...there's no way I could ever write like this."
Luke went on to say this:
"In moments after this when I sit at my computer I sometimes find myself overwriting something that doesn't need to be that complicated, because it's not my style. What works for one can be a complete failure for another."
After which, he included the quote from Hemingway.
For anyone who has ever felt the way Luke mentioned feeling (and if you have never felt this way, you are probably lying to yourself), you have to understand that this is a valuable feeling to have. When you read something and feel, "I could never write like that," it helps you stretch yourself. It helps you grow.
But also, when you feel this way, be sure and ask: "Do I feel that I could never write that well? Or do I feel that I could never write that way?" Each feeling can lead you to the same end result - stretching and growing your own writing. But the proper approach to the two feelings is entirely different. After all, you must remember: We each have (or, at least, should aim to have) our own unique voice.
When you read a voice similar to yours, and you begin to despair, thinking, "I could never write that well," you will find that you can use this realization to pick up tips and nuances and subtle advice that the writer has buried in their work for the benefit of other writers.
And when you read a voice different from yours, and you begin to despair, thinking, "I could never write that way," realize that this is true: you could never write that way. Allow yourself to appreciate what this other writer does; and then, remember what you do. And of course, remember to stick to what you do. This will help you settle even deeper into your own, unique voice.
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We're taught that writerly writing is "good" and straightforward writing is "hack", but I think most readers today wouldn't wade through Faulkner (or maybe even Hemingway) unless they were dubbed "classics." Contemporary writing is expected to be cut-to-the-chase lean, not self-consciously prettied up. Even if you could write "like that" the work might not make it into print.
ReplyDeleteThe patient guy with the red hair that shares my life recently handed me a book and said: 'Read this. Perhaps it will inspire you since it is in the same genre as yours.' I read about ten pages and flung the book across the room. Then I flung myself across the bed. Then I started wailing. 'What is wrong with you?' he said. I tried to explain it to him but, somehow he never quite got what drove me to tears and eventually gave up. It was the realization that I can not write like that specific best selling author and many others like him for that matter. In the end, and after lots more tears, the penny dropped: they can not write like me either.
ReplyDeleteAnne - At the same time, I feel talent always finds its way to the top in the end. There are many writers who still write beautiful, intricate prose (Jonathan Franzen, Ian McEwan, Michael Ondaatje, Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth, etc.) who win tons of awards and sell tons of copies of their books. But I think the biggest problem is those writers who do not naturally write like this, and who try to anyway.
ReplyDeleteMarlene - This is awesome. And so true!
I'm going to pretend I posted this in the right spot the first time. Man, I'm not having a good tech day...
ReplyDeleteI just sat here and wrote what I considered to be a rather profound comment, but my laptop ate it. I don't even know what I did, but I somehow got away from the page and now it's gone.
So, despite my OCD telling me to sit here until I get every last word back in its place, I'll just say I think this advice is golden. I have a lot of the moments Luke described - they usually occur after reading something written by anyone else. But, at the same time, I recognize I'm not supposed to be writing like anyone else because I am not them. That doesn't mean I always remember that fact, but I try.
I use myself as a frame of reference. Having spent many years as what people consider a reluctant reader, I shoot to write with a voice and style that would interest me. There is a theme to the type of books I enjoy most. Hopefully, people who like the same books I like will like the one I am writing. Sound familiar?
My currently finished manuscript is in the Young Adult vein and I spent years reading YA Lit in order to tell myself that I CAN write like these authors if I wanted to. I think a lot of the time, we tell ourselves we "can't," when it's more a matter of "don't." As in, I don't take the time to try.
ReplyDeleteIt Just Got Interesting
I really like the analogy you use here Jordan about stretching your own writing. It's why reading a book is the greatest school a writer can attend. Everything we encounter grows and improves us, as long as we don't overthink or lose faith in our own abilities.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately doing just that is human nature. Self-doubt is natural, and can be another growing tool in the long run.
I know exactly what you mean about allowing your thoughts to incubate and grow following an email discussion. Until next time, my friend!
I agree with Luke. How can one become a great writer if you are not a great reader? How will you be able to figure out what sounds good, and great and amazing, and what doesn't? It's almost like saying: I am going to make a Oscar winning movie but you don't really watch movies.
ReplyDeleteMarlene - Or (the example I always use), it's like deciding you are going to do something different with music than anyone else has ever done...but the only band you've ever listened to is The Rolling Stones. How would you know what has and has not been done if you have only listened to one band! (I like your example as well. A lot.)
ReplyDeleteThanks JM. I said this because I know of people who write books and don't read much themselves and then struggle to find publishers. When you read their work though you realize that the writing is average and in some cases even below average. Not being an avid reader and trying to write, to me at least, does not make any sense whatsoever. At the risk of repeating myself: I see writing as, yes, raw talent but also as a skill that is learnt through 'studying' other writers. My dad, who is now 74, still loves to tell anyone who wants to listen that from around the age of 3 I took to reading the dictionary. Man how I loved that book... best one ever written :) And I think that is another facet of decent writing: an inherent love of words whether in sentences or on their own.
ReplyDeleteI have heard it said that nothing in this world is 100% original. That is, the idea for everything that is considered 'new' has its origins in something 'old' that has been done before, and the new thing is an adaptation or an embellishment or an evolution.
ReplyDeleteThis is why everyone has influences, and why I find it fascinating to see who has influenced who, and how. In this way, we are all doing new and wonderful things, we are all creating work that is inherently ours, but we are also being shaped and molded into this by what we observe and discover from others.
Naturally by widening the scope of influences we widen our potential for growth. This is true of everything we encounter: not just literature, but art, film, conversation, news, a tree, a flower, a blog, anything.
I love this discussion, it's one of my favourites. I hate it when I can't find the time to read for myself ... I feel like i'm losing valuable 'growing' time. The best writers before us entered the world with wide eyes and open minds, let's all try to learn from them again and again.
You know, there comes a wonderful -diary noting moment- when you read a great slice of writing and think, I can write like that. Equally wonderful is when you read a piece of your own slice and think I DID write like that.
ReplyDeleteNow what I am aiming for is: I now write like me, and they do not!
I read the best (such a speculative term I know) in order to be like the best, to eventually be just me. In music composition, you don't only listen to pop(not if you wish to be any good at least.) You feast on the classics to learn how it was done and done correctly. I approach writing n the same way.
Yes there are times when I think, damn that writing's good. But it inspires me to keep on with my own page fitness.
I love Hemingway also, though Steinbeck pips him for me. But the world is full of pens that have copied their signature. Better to forge your own from the ashes of theirs.