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Thank you. Obviously, I struck a nerve among some, but my point remains the same. The writer writes to communicate, not for therapy, which means there has to be an audience, no matter how small it might be. Saying that one writes for oneself without need for anyone else to read it and react to it is the equivalent of saying masturbation is the same thing as sex. Sure, the end result is roughly the same in physical terms, but without another participant it is a lonely and empty act. What's more, given the number of posts on this board about finding publishers and the whatnot, given the number of attendees at the million "Get Published" workshops, writers understand this on an instinctual level.
Mind you, as I was very careful to say at the beginning of my post--and which some of you cheerfully ignored to write your screeds--it's not about the money. It's about finding an audience for your work.
Hmmm... I can see your point, but as a writing instructor and open mic host I still think everyone has "the right to write" (Julia Cameron). There is a rightful place in our lives for writing as a process of self-care, healing, and psychological/spiritual growth--e.g. journaling, poetry therapy, biblio therapy, expressive arts therapies, etc. By the same token, there is a place, imo, for "self-love." Still, to tell someone you are a writer when you haven't been sharing your work, either on the page or on the stage, is at the very least questionable. I am learning to play the guitar, for instance, and while I have become a pretty good strummer, I play mostly for my own enjoyment, for songwriting, and to share my work with intimate groups of artist friends and students. I might call myself a budding guitarist, but I cannot honestly call myself a guitarist or a musician until I learn some more guitar licks and tunes, and become ready to play for any audience anywhere.
To each his or her own, I always say. Maybe we just need a better word for folks who write for themselves. But calling ourselves writers implies getting our work out there--whether for love, enlightenment, or money. Just my take on it. I'm open to other perspectives.
Hmmm... I can see your point, but as a writing instructor and open mic host I still think everyone has "the right to write" (Julia Cameron). There is a rightful place in our lives for writing as a process of self-care, healing, and psychological/spiritual growth--e.g. journaling, poetry therapy, biblio therapy, expressive arts therapies, etc. By the same token, there is a place, imo, for "self-love." Still, to tell someone you are writer when you haven't been sharing your work, either on the page or on the stage, is at the very least questionable. To each his or her own, I always say, but come on. Maybe we just need a better word for folks who write for themselves. But calling ourselves writers implies getting our work out there--whether for love, enlightenment, or money. Just my take on it. I'm open to other perspectives.
I understand your point. So it really boils down to a philosophical matter. What makes a writer? What is the act of writing? Is it just the act of scribbling down stuff and shoving it into a drawer, or is it the act of having your voice heard by an audience? I would argue for the second definition, for if you doodle on a scrap of paper and toss it without ever being seen by others, that certainly doesn't make you an illustrator.
Oh, and I don't deny anybody "the right to write." My thoughts on this thread really originated from the last writer's conference I attended. A large number of the people there I had seen before at other writer's conferences. Yet when I asked them about their progress, they still had not done the first thing about satisfying their ambition to be published. My point here is that if you really want to write, then get off your ass and write. I'm not sure how anybody could take issue with that, regardless of what their motivation might be for doing so.
Anyone can self-identify as a writer. Doesn't bother me.
I appreciate anyone who appreciates words, literature and feels drawn to string words together to express themselves. Some may be very talented, yet never published. Or not yet published. Hard to get published these days, harder than ever. But those who keep at it incite my admiration.
I tend to think of myself as a commercial writer. I write for a living. Usually on assignment from a magazine or company. But apart from that, I do have short, stories, essays and poems in my files that have never seen ink or bytes. But they had to come out and so they did. Doesn't mean they're not good. Just means they've not yet found an audience or an outlet.
I think real writers just have more passion and sheer determination than the dreamers. Talent helps, too. Look at Rowling and Harry Potter. How many rejections did she get before getting published? She deserves all her success. Grit, talent and determination. I'm in awe.
I acknowledge the right of everyone to write, regardless of audience, money, or reason, but I guess for me it is about the money - someone who describes themselves as a "writer" should make money from it. Not a set amount of money, no formal minimum, but when I hear the word writer I think professional, and a professional needs to be published and to receive some money for doing so. I'm not sure where self-publishing falls into it, but if people aren't buying the resulting book I wouldn't call the author a professional writer, either. Now I realize there are problems with this definition (the author who was never paid while living, but is published widely in the years to follow, for example), but for my own personal working definition then, yes, it is about the money.
I understand your point. So it really boils down to a philosophical matter. What makes a writer? What is the act of writing? Is it just the act of scribbling down stuff and shoving it into a drawer, or is it the act of having your voice heard by an audience? I would argue for the second definition, for if you doodle on a scrap of paper and toss it without ever being seen by others, that certainly doesn't make you an illustrator.
Oh, and I don't deny anybody "the right to write." My thoughts on this thread really originated by the last writer's conference I attended. A large proportion of the people there I had seen before at other writer's conferences. Yet when you spoke to them, they still had not done the first thing about satisfying their ambition to be published. My point here is that if you really want to write, then get off your ass and write. I'm not sure how anybody could take issue with that, regardless of what their motivation might be for doing so.
Spot on. I do think it's a philosophical issue, or maybe even a psychological issue. Call it writer's block or a creative block, those who write privately or dabble, so to speak, are within their rights, but I think it is a shame. Dare to share.
In my line of work I come across students who can talk a good game, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty work of moving the pen across the page or the fingers across the keyboard all that bravado goes out the window and they freeze up. The writing students who learn to move past their blocks make it in the long run, but not everyone makes it. Writing takes a lot of courage, I believe.
In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron (yes, yes, yes, one of my heros ) discusses the phenomenon and plight of "shadow artists"--those who want to be artists but hold themselves back or hang around or even serve other artists. Maybe the "wannabe's" in the literary world are shadow writers.
Spot on. I do think it's a philosophical issue, or maybe even a psychological issue. Call it writer's block or a creative block, those who write privately or dabble, so to speak, are within their rights, but I think it is a shame. Dare to share.
In my line of work I come across students who can talk a good game, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty work of moving the pen across the page or the fingers across the keyboard all that bravado goes out the window and they freeze up. The writing students who learn to move past their blocks make it in the long run, but not everyone makes it. Writing takes a lot of courage, I believe.
In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron (yes, yes, yes, one of my heros ) discusses the phenomenon and plight of "shadow artists"--those who want to be artists but hold themselves back or hang around or even serve other artists. Maybe the "wannabe's" in the literary world are shadow writers.
I hope I didn't touch any nerves with this thread. All I'm trying to do is level with you in hopes that you'll move forward and fulfill your most cherished aspiration of seeing your name in print and having total strangers react to it in a positive fashion. Hope this helps.
I have the ambition and I do write but it lacks cohesion and focus. I do not have the language sometimes and when I go back I am confused as to what I meant to say. I have started to write stream of consciousness and try not to be self conscious about the obvious confusion I see when I go back to read it. It all seems so certain and clear as I write it?! I am humbled each time I have a thought and try to put it on paper only to find some gibberish I cannot connect to what I had been thinking of.
If I ever do get what I am trying to say down on paper, I am not looking to see my name in print, though it will be nice, or to be famous which I am sure will suck. I am writing because I need people to know my story. I am hoping to finally get release from the emotional effects of the evil done to me, I think it will make a difference to others, and possibly get justice for a lot of powerless people who are still suffering today from abuses inflicted and crimes committed against them as children. I am writing because it was always my intent to be a writer from as young as age 3 or 4.
My story is the thing that presses me now, I am pretty certain if I do ever get it out of me, there are some other things in there to be written about as well.
What's up with the housewife and Midwest bashing? There are plenty of women (and yes, women who stay home with kids but still manage to write) from the Midwest who are highly successful writers. (I get your larger point about irritating people, and am envisioning the kind of person who would submit a cover letter in a flowery font, perhaps even in a color other than black, but want to stick for Midwestern housewives when they are unfairly attacked!)
An office manager who writes short stories during his lunch break.
A lawyer who hates her work and would rather be an artist.
A janitor who secretly writes poetry.
A non-professional, non-published writer.
And i should have put the word silly in quotes because i do not think there is such a thing as a silly or stupid or irrelevant question.
You didn't understand my post.
I am one who would not be annoyed with the "wannabe" writers that the o.p. was referring to and don't classify artists in such a way.
I have to respectfully disagree. That may be YOUR version of a journey, but who defines the journey here? Each person defines what role writing will play in their lives.
Writing is not simply communicating. It is expressing. Just as an artist uses whatever medium to CREATE or express some abstract thought on paper, he is still an artist even if no one ever sees his/her work.
Poetry, like dance, is done for the love of expressing one's self, desires, and observations.
Thank you.
There is too much judgment on this thread and a lack of understanding of the artist and the artistic process.
Last edited by coyoteskye; 07-16-2009 at 11:20 AM..
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Still, to tell someone you are a writer when you haven't been sharing your work, either on the page or on the stage, is at the very least questionable. I am learning to play the guitar, for instance, and while I have become a pretty good strummer, I play mostly for my own enjoyment, for songwriting, and to share my work with intimate groups of artist friends and students. I might call myself a budding guitarist, but I cannot honestly call myself a guitarist or a musician until I learn some more guitar licks and tunes, and become ready to play for any audience anywhere.
) discusses the phenomenon and plight of "shadow artists"--those who want to be artists but hold themselves back or hang around or even serve other artists. Maybe the "wannabe's" in the literary world are shadow writers.
