The end game for most writers is getting published, which is a valid goal. Writers aren't often payed very much for being published but they are rewarded with a different kind of currency within the literary community: authority. It's important to be published and establish your place as a writer in the world, but some things need to be created for your own benefit.
Often times, writers are plagued with themes, recurring ones that they can't seem to do away with, or personal anecdotes that really only hold power to themselves. These things can't always be marketed to an audience who is not yourself, and thus, they are abandoned, left to flow in the ether. So what does one do with these things? Write them. Try not to write to an audience and write for yourself. I mean, writing is inherently an egotistical matter right? Though you may not produce a publishable text, you can still learn a lot about yourself like style, themes, and the goals of your literature. More importantly, you can observe the absence of certain devices that you use when trying to please a wider audience. By contrasting, you may just find that your "mainstream" writing is more contrived than you once thought.
Once you finish writing a few of these self serving pieces, you just might find that you have something publishable between the elements of all of them.
Another fun activity to do is go back and read your journal if you keep one (maybe start one if you don't). You may be surprised at the narrative that you unknowingly establish from day to day. Life carries as many themes as fiction. This is also a great way to see your development as a writer over time and to observe what your writing is like in a "natural" setting. And, quite frankly, sometimes it's just fun to reminisce with yourself.
These are both great activities to keep your writing skills tight and the creative juices flowing. Just knowing that you don't have to take part in some great endeavor every time you pick up a pen is enough to keep your stuff new.
All this being said, I can't help you sit down and write.
That's what Alli is here for, so check it out.
-Rainamoinen
I keep a journal and having been doing so on and off since 2009. It’s not like a thing I write in everyday but when I ever I have some down time, or just feel like capturing my thoughts down I grab it.
ReplyDeleteIts awesome looking back and seeing what I was thinking about a couple years ago.
I think that journals are going to be the next big thing in literature. With reality TV, twitter and Facebook giving us more and more or "real" life. These notebooks, if containing interesting material could be the next big thing. The problem is I suspect the author will probably have to be dead for any of the work to be of any canonical value.
Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda
Indeed, most famous writer's journals are published post mortem but it would seem egotistical to publish them alive, no?
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting point in that most people's lives are being recorded and put on display on the internet. We might just see a return to intimate/private journals in the near future.
As far as reaching literary canon status, I think it would be very useful and far more likely to simply gain a canonical status with the writer.