Writing is Incredibly Difficult

[Links Shadow]

Writing in and of itself is not difficult, atleast not in my opinion.  The problem for me is finding something worth writing about most of the time.  Something that other people can identify with and understand.  Any way what I wanted to say is that people should not write to get published, you should write for yourself and those close to you.  There have been many authors that wrote things and had them published after they were dead.  Aiming to be published makes the thought process much more difficult than it needs to be in my opinion.  Don't worry about getting your ideas out there, if they are good they will find there way out there naturally.  Anyway now that I have put my two cents in, I think your idea of creating sort of a vocabulary list of sorts is not really necessary as a particular form of writing does not really need to be identified by a word or phrase because the work will speak for itself again just my opinion, but if others want it I will surely help out.

Links Shadow

[Adrian]

Greetings everyone,

I recently watched on TV an interview with J. K. Rowling, and I have to say that I have the greatest admiration and respect for everything she has achieved. What the interview does not relate is what I understand to be her really difficult times before and during the writing of the Harry Potter books, times she quite understandably does not speak about. I believe she was a single parent going through very difficult times.

Here is the transcript of the interview:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3004456.stm

J. K. Rowling came across during the interview as one of the nicest, most genuine and unassuming people you could ever wish to meet, and who seemed to be genuinely embarrased by her sudden fame and fortune.

With best regards,

Adrian.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Hello again!

I hope my original post didn't make me sound like I write only because I want to get published or that I think that's whay others shoudl/need to do.  Quite the contrary!  Most of the writing I do is for school, but the rest of it is for me and a lot of it has been read by no one but myself, so I totally agree with you all.

Writing, like any creative process, is completely subjective...anything can be wonderful to he who creates it.  But anyone is says good writing (and when I say good writing I am stepping into the more objective realm of scholarly or publishable material) is not difficult is, in my opinion, not very well acquainted with the tradition and trade of the writing.  One has to reach back to the Greek philosophers and the debate regarding poetry and the virtue/importance of poetry and prose that is still ongoing in order to really even begin to grasp how the art has evolved.  

Anyway, I hope I have explained myself well.  In the end, I guess, the bottom line is that there are different kinds of writing and different reasons to write and in myu opinion one is no better than another, but they are definetly DIFFERENT.

[Links Shadow]

quote:Originally posted by PeacefulWarrior

Writing, like any creative process, is completely subjective...anything can be wonderful to he who creates it.

I don't remember who said it but here is a quote that I think really holds true, "If a man writes about himself in his own time, he is in turn writing about all men in all times."  Atleast I think that is how it goes.  My ideals go along with this idea in that we all face very similar challenges in the larger scope of things, and therefore by writing something that helps you, you will in turn be helping others.

quote:Originally posted by PeacefulWarrior

One has to reach back to the Greek philosophers and the debate regarding poetry and the virtue/importance of poetry and prose that is still ongoing in order to really even begin to grasp how the art has evolved.

I could not agree with you more in this respect.  I really think that it is kind of sad that many of the principles by which we live were created so long ago.  It is disappointing to me to think that after all of this time we have not been able to understand the universe any better than we could back then.

quote:Originally posted by PeacefulWarrior

In the end, I guess, the bottom line is that there are different kinds of writing and different reasons to write and in my opinion one is no better than another, but they are definetly DIFFERENT.

If I came across as saying that trying to get published is bad, I am sorry, that was not my intent at all.  I was simply trying to say that focusing on trying to please others who are looking out for there own self interest only adds many more frustrations than are necessary.  I have nothing against wanting to get published, but I don't think that it should be your main goal.

Links Shadow

[PeacefulWarrior]

Hey, great comments.  Thanks for fleshing this out with me...these topics are of great interest to me.  I will try to find some quotes and other info to add to this in order to stimulate more "conversation."

I just finished up a course in critical theory and literature, so we read tons of stuff from critics (classical and some moderately conteporary stuff) and everyone seems to have different ideas of what makes writing great and what it's function in society/the world is.  Very compelling stuff..it's funny because, like every topic, when you eventually get down to the nitty gritty, it's all about ideology and spirituality and the perspective each person takes of the world and reality and morality, etc.

[PeacefulWarrior]

I am studing English at the University of California and I also like to fancy myself as a writer, although just an amatuer (did I spell that right? See I told you I was an amatuer).  Anyway, I have been in love with books since I was a small child.  I have C.S. Lewis to thank for that, as well as a plethora of authors of children's books.

Anyway, I just wanted to state how difficult writing is.  Although I think everyone should write due to the fact that it's an incredible experience,no matter what level of writing it is, real "publishable" writing is extremely difficult.  It takes a lot of time, patience and practice.  

I hope this new forum will be helpful to me and all of us as we search to improve.  I love constructive criticism and I hope that this will be the focus of this forum.

I think it would be helpful to define a lot of terms right off the bat (ie. narrative, style, diction, etc.) for everyone who will visit this forum and seek input and guidance.

I'm at work and I can't write more...so until next time!