I like this quote by Thomas Mann, a German-born novelist, short story writer, essayist and Nobel Prize in Literature winner in 1929. His writing journey and amount of work he produced certainly gave him the insight shown here.
Why is writing more difficult for the 'writer' than for others? I think it comes down to a true writer is striving for perfection. They are the ones hoping, dreaming, and praying they can sell what they write and are well aware only the best work is chosen for publication.
The true writer also wants to offer readers something that will inform and entertain. The true writer puts words together with an intensity that the nonwriter cannot truly understand. He/she also understands how difficult it is.
The real writer cares about his/her writing. It's not a matter of throwing something together to submit to an editor. Pride comes into play. Think about it. What a writer produces and offers an editor is going to be opened wide to the public if it is accepted for publication. I wonder how many writers had mothers who said Do your best. Those early admonitions become habits, and that's generally a good thing.
A real writer is concerned with reviews if they have a book published. It's much harder to write a book that receives four and five-star reviews than it is to hurriedly put something together and then maybe self-publish. Yesterday, I read a review in our Sunday paper of a nonfiction book that the reviewer thought had an excellent topic. He went on to say that it was a shame that it was so poorly written. Turns out the 'writer' of the book really was not a writer but someone interested and knowledgeable about the topic. The reviewer suggested he would have done better to use a ghostwriter. The ghostwriter would have most likely had to work a great deal harder than the guy who knew the facts but not how to put them together in a credible form.
If you are a writer who finds writing more difficult than the average person, go right ahead and pat yourself on the back. It is harder when you're striving for perfection. But, in the end, it's worth all that it took to write something you're proud of.
Nancy, Yes, writing sure is easy for those who don't know or don't care. Jim
ReplyDeleteYou don't know until you try it! :)
DeleteIt's hard for me to imagine a person going to the trouble of putting a book together if they are not, at least on some level, a writer. Then again, I have learned so much about the process of writing from each book I have worked on (not as a writer, but as an editor, proofreader, format and design person), and I learn amazing lessons many different types of writers. Some of the books that I love, other readers hate. Some of the books other readers love, I can't get past the first few pages. I do keep asking myself when it is going to get easier. I keep learning and learning, and still I struggle (as a writer).
ReplyDeleteRe your final comment about wondering when it gets easier...I'm not sure it ever becomes truly 'easy.' Maybe we shouldn't want it to be easy. Better to have a challenge to keep us on our toes. As long as we keep learning, we're just fine.
DeleteWriting is definitely difficult. The more I write for publication, the harder it gets, probably because of the desire for perfection. Even though I agree with the thoughts here, I also think everyone can be a writer, so I wouldn't say "A true writer . . ." I work with writers and the way I might refer to "new" writers is: Inexperienced with understanding the editing/revision process. Like the title of a book by Joel Saltzman indicates, " If you can talk, you can write."
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Marlene. Food for thought.
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