Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
How to Write, Part Three

How to Write, Part Three

Last updated on: January 16, 2008 at 1:48 pm by John Shore

How to Write, Part Three 2008-01-16T13:48:08-08:00 John Shore

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

First of all, I want to again thank everyone who wrote to express their sympathy for … well, what I wrote in My Stepmother Passed Away. I’m going to wait a day or two to see if any more such comments come in; I’ll then gather them into a single document and mail them to my father. He’ll cry to read them, I know. So again let me thank you all for the role you’ve played and will play yet in my family’s processing of this sadness.

So then: Back to the writing stuff. (If you’re … new here, or whatever, first I wrote How To Make a Living Writing; then How To Make a Living Writing, Part Two; then Writing: Don’t Get Me Started; then my poor stepmother became late; and now … here we be, G.)

I’m starting to feel a little pretentious offering writing advice; already I can barely stop myself from growing a goatee, smoking a pipe, and assuming a forlorn, haunted expression. Writing’s an art; producing art is as personal as personal gets; trying to guide anyone’s who’s producing art via General Principles or (where’s my pipe!) Sagacious Insights, is like trying to show someone a rose over the phone.

Oh, wait. You can do that now.

Wow! It’s moments just like this that make you realize how soon it’s going to be before you start rethinking just how funny all the bizzaro geriatric equipment at the drugstore really is.

Okay, this could be another such “Are We Old Yet?” moment: Today, at the gym I joined about three weeks ago, I blithley walked into the ladies’ locker room. Absolutely unbelievable. I was like Bigfoot having a heart attack in a harem.

I can’t think about it. It’s too painful. Let’s move on.

Right. Writing.

So here’s some advice I actually have given newerish-type writers. You pretend you’re a newbie writer to whom I’m giving advice, and I’ll pretend I’m a wizened, insightful writer who’s never strolled soaking wet into women’s locker room while wearing a Speedo:

“Young (or relatively inexperienced) writer! Listen to me! For verily do I have for you some top-drawer Writing Advice that’s actually real and true. Ready? Here it is: It’s not about you.

“You want to be a writer, right? Well, what people usually mean when they say that is that they’re very keen on communicating to the world what it’s like to be, specifically, them: to have their unique vision, their ideas, their sensibilities, their relationships, their experiences, their … whole thing. Right? And that makes perfect sense: What is art, if not an expression of individuality?

“Without question, a monumental part of being an artist is identifying, corralling, and ultimately allowing to dominate the process by which you express it the very essence of who you are. An artist must find his own voice, period. (And we can certainly talk about that process if … if anyone’s still reading this series.)

“But another massive, indispensable part of being an artist — of being a writer — is understanding that everything in the world has its own truth, a truth that doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with you. People who want to write are often so wrapped up in what they think about a thing that they never let that thing tell them what to think about it. Things — people, relationships, experiences, virtually everything — have their own integrity, their own dynamic, their own process, context, purpose, rhythm, reason. If you really want to be a writer, you have to learn to wipe out all your ideas and preconceptions about as much stuff as you possibly can, and let whatever it is that has your attention tell and show you what it is.”

Okay, that’s enough now with the quotes / fake speech-making.

Here’s the bottom line: Someone who is more interested in themselves than they are the world at large probably won’t make it as a writer. You have to be insanely empathetic to be a writer. To be a writer you have to think everything is more interesting than you.

Writing isn’t about exercising your ego. It’s about erasing your ego. It’s about getting out of the way of whatever needs to be said, so that it can be said in a way that does justice to the thing that’s telling you what you need to say about it.

Would-be writers are forever wanting to share themselves with the world. Fair enough; that’s a big part of writing, for sure. But if, in being totally honest with yourself, you find that you are more interested in sharing yourself with the world than you are with, in essence, sharing the world with the world, then save yourself the trouble, and stop imagining you’re a writer. You’re not.

Lucky you. You’re normal.

Previous Post

January 14, 2008

My Stepmother Passed Away

Next Post

January 21, 2008 My Last, Best 10 Tips on How To Make It As A Writer

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christian Issues Christian Spirituality Dear John En Espanol Everywhere She's Not Humor Look See Pastor Bob's Corner Personal Portuguese Relationships Russian Short-short story Smith Family Chronicles Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2024 August 2022 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 June 2019 December 2018 May 2018 May 2017 January 2017 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the only female judge of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hannah Esther Deborah Ruth

Books by This Author Books by John Shore

See All Titles »