I’ve met a few people who had marvelous ideas for stories or articles but they quickly dismissed any skill to put that idea to paper. “I don’t have what it takes to be a writer”. Although I agree there’s a degree of skill needed, I think many people forget how vast the writing medium can be.
One must consider what you want then also where lies your skill. One writer I met wrote with such incredible wit and style, but complained how he couldn’t manage the colorful metaphors the other writers in our group managed. While writing from a prompt, his story read very much from the viewpoint of an officer chasing a fugitive. I explained that his choice in writing Voice fits perfectly with where his story was going. Police, or anyone of the military, tend to think concisely and with facts. Any other style and something would definitely be lost.
I think too often people think of a writer tells stories, and that’s not true. Plenty of writers master articles, essay, commentaries, and informative pieces that include compact, factual writing. Some styles are the down-to-earth honesty, while others master a style incorporating the weaving of symbolism and colorful phrases. Which one is best? Its like comparing apples and oranges.
Write from the heart, but experiment from time to time with other genres. Where one style doesn’t fit well, another might.
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July 2, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I felt the same way. I always wanted to craft lyrical descriptions that would lift the readers imaginations, instead I lock on like a laser guided bomb on those few descriptors that lift the scene out of the ordinary.
Multiplicity of authors means a multiplicity of styles. I like to think of myself more a Hemingway (with one-fifth the brilliance) than a Poe, although I like them both.
July 3, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Really? Just your comment here seems to reflect a better grasp of eloquence than many writers I know. Just thought you should know!
July 4, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Perhaps, but it doesn’t work that way in my fiction. I want to say things NOW, not three sentence after I described all the lovely colors of the hanging plaid window shades.
But that’s just me.
July 13, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I’ve recently been pitching for some ghostwriting and had to write sample chapters in styles that weren’t naturally my own. I learned a lot; that what seemed to be simple styles to follow were actually very skilful writing. And I also learned that my own style was perhaps a little overcomplicated sometimes. Having to write in a different voice made me examine how I express myself and learn tricks I wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
July 16, 2009 at 10:46 pm
You make a good point. It’s so important to understand your strengths as a writer, but also to experiment and expand the range of your voice. It’s sad that so many writers get discouraged because they don’t value their own strengths. Or because they can’t write with perfection on the first try.
–Sandy Ackers
Strangling My Muse: Struggling to Live a Creative Life in a Stressful World
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