tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post7474265783417218045..comments2024-03-19T02:14:31.704-04:00Comments on <center>OnFiction</center>: Write what you don't knowKeith Oatleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419339550879570935noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-60591226079794930382014-04-21T18:59:25.222-04:002014-04-21T18:59:25.222-04:00I agree. Of course, there is rarely good writing w...I agree. Of course, there is rarely good writing without good reading. Good writing is a result of knowing the material of good writers who set standards and models. Artistic literature without Dante, Homer or Shakespeare? Marquez without Borges (or Faulkner, Hemingway, Kafka or Proust?) Isabel Allende or Salman Rushdie without Marquez? One who does that (who has been and continues to go through that type of training) and has the writer's flame is always able to communicate. And readers, on the other hand, will always know how to be in the receptive end of that communication. They, i.e., the writer and the reader, will most likely find each other.ABihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17915873051472844227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-71329470208580343212014-04-18T18:12:48.241-04:002014-04-18T18:12:48.241-04:00Thanks ABi for this comment. I think you are right...Thanks ABi for this comment. I think you are right that exploration is the key issue here, and the near-obsessionality to keep going. I don't think communication with a readership or audience should be ruled out entirely, though. One can write to make contact with other minds without thinking about best-sellers. I think that as one writes and re-writes, one needs to read and re-read, and as one does this one puts oneself into the role of the reader. I think that, too, is part of the exploration. Keith Oatleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16419339550879570935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-41769779979474158452014-04-17T22:42:41.151-04:002014-04-17T22:42:41.151-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.ABihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17915873051472844227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-21243769716960923572014-04-17T22:41:55.606-04:002014-04-17T22:41:55.606-04:00"Write what you don't know" - well s..."Write what you don't know" - well said! Writing about what you don't know is THE true writing!<br />Writing is about laboring to understand. That's why the truly great writers, painters and musicians (especially those who did not experience public fame when they were alive) wrote, painted and composed for themselves, not for others; out of compulsion; to clear up the overwhelming chaos of thoughts and feelings and establish order; simply for the sake of it and beauty of creation; to explore the world around them externally or internally; to discover who they were; or to send a message in the bottle and communicate with the stars - they did not do it for others! They were oblivious or unaware of, or consciously did not or chose not to care about the so-called "needs and expectations of the audience". Had they cared about meeting such needs and expectations, the product would have most likely been a typical pre-calculated "bestseller", a commercial success, but never a masterpiece or a true diamond of human thought and beauty.ABihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17915873051472844227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-31068325847415510362014-04-14T17:55:39.124-04:002014-04-14T17:55:39.124-04:00Thank you, Inkling, for this comment.
Yes, you ar...Thank you, Inkling, for this comment.<br /><br />Yes, you are right. There are lots of advantages to writing what you know. I was wanting to suggest, though, that it isn't everything. So, your suggestion that really, one should think of two categories is a good one.Keith Oatleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16419339550879570935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5455277388900637928.post-6934231146227864382014-04-14T10:42:44.079-04:002014-04-14T10:42:44.079-04:00Writing often breaks into two categories. The firs...Writing often breaks into two categories. The first is, as you note, writing what you know, which has the marvelous result of informing your readers about a subject. One of my books, My Nights with Leukemia: Caring for Children with Cancer fits that. I write about what I did for over two years. Read it any you'll understand all the ups, downs, and complexities of caring for children with cancer.<br /><br />The other categories, which you call "write what you don't know" has a competitive advantage. Knowing nothing, your views are likely to more closely fit those of your readers. You can cater to their whims, please their desires and feed their prejudices. A lot of readers, alas, like that and come back again and again for more.<br /><br />I once knew a woman who wanted to get into writing romantic novels. According to her, quite a few were written either by men following a tried and true formula or by elderly spinsters who'd never had a romance or marriage to break down their illusions.<br /><br />I always opt for the first. Other writers prefer the second. Each will find readers.Inklinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05272203500649628022noreply@blogger.com