Musings of An Indie Author

Is Writing an Art That Everyone Can, and Should, Do?

This discussion comes up often when I speak to people about being a writer. It happened not long ago on an airplane flight, when I began chatting with a young couple sitting next to me.

I was eavesdropping on their conversation, side-eyeing the pictures the woman was showing her partner and trying to surreptitiously pet the cat they had smuggled on board, which was sitting on her lap. They delighted me no end, this absolutely adorable and interesting couple, and when they noticed my likely not-so-stealthy listening in, they began to engage me in conversation.

It turned out this couple lives in a neighborhood in Queens featured as a setting in my second novel, and I told them so. I do not always tout my work to random people- I leave that to my husband, my best marketing agent who will tell anyone that stands still long enough that I am a best-selling author, and my books can be found on Amazon and that the newest one that came out last June is going to be a blockbuster.

But that little mention of my book to this literally captive audience of two opened a whole interesting conversation about art, independent publishing, and life in general, that lasted until we touched down.

Eventually the topic wound up in favorite territory (well, I gently nudged it…okay, I eagerly shoved it in that direction): people’s life stories. We talked about how every single person on the plane, and every single person you walk by without even really noticing, has one. And then I said, as I always do, that I wished they would all write their stories down and share them with the world. It is my fervent belief we could learn more about the world and ourselves if we could hear those tales, and such knowledge would improve and enrich our lives beyond measure.

And therein lies the question: Can, and should, everyone write? My opinion is a resounding, unequivocal, decisive and definite YES. Did I use enough strong adjectives there to give you a hint how I feel about this subject?

I believe the reason most people do not write is lack of confidence. I have heard things like, Writing is really hard; I never could learn all the rules of grammar they tried to teach us in school; I could never allow someone to read something I wrote, and the worst one: I’m no good at it. This last one kills me.

Like painting, photography and music composition, writing is a product created by a person. It is a combination of your thoughts and your ability to put them on paper. No one is more critical of us than ourselves, but part of that self-criticism is often that we fear what people will think of us. Putting it out to others means they can and likely will judge both your product and you. It is my passionate wish that people could supersede these obstructionist fears and share their stories with the world through writing.

There are so many genres of writing to choose from, so many forms that it can take; I just can’t believe there is not one that suits each person. Blogs are written on every topic imaginable and some that are unimaginable, too. Gratitude journals let us into a person’s musings about her life. Lack of formal training can be overcome, if that is even necessary, by finding someone to help revise or edit the piece. In my opinion, the goal of writing is to share your voice; and to write your way to meaning. It is unfortunate, and robs the world of richness, to let anything get in the way of that.

A friend, who shares his story with the world through his amazing multi-media art, took exception with my diatribe that his life experiences should be written out in narrative or memoir form. He is happy and confident that fine art is his media; and I get it 100%…Or maybe 99% because I think words make those thoughts much clearer to the everyday person. He says that’s my bias, and I guess he may be right.

I am still convinced that writing down your words and thoughts is a legacy each of us owes ourselves, our family members and friends, and the world.

Please share your story!

The Process of Writing My First Novel

I took a leap of faith. In myself. And look what happened…

I should add that the leap of faith was based on what I learned once I decided that I could write an actual novel. Me. Write a book that could be found on a bookshelf at a bookstore. A real live author. Me.

I didn’t really believe it until it was done. This is me, looking back at the process.

Learning to Write, Writing to Learn

I learned an incredible amount of new information writing my first novel, a historical fiction called Woven: Six Stores, One Epic Journey. Some of it was factual, like events in history or geographical locations. Some of it was personal, like how much focus, mind space and time it took to write a novel, or how to communicate what was in my head onto paper.

But one of the interesting things I learned was about the art of writing itself.

A very favorite professor of mine, Ken Goodman (R.I.P.), used to say that in order to learn something new, one had to undergo disequilibrium and discomfort before truly understanding it. A clear example is learning how to ride a bicycle, where disequilibrium could mean scrapes and bruises.

But this idea applies to anything you want to learn; and for me, this time, it was about the art of writing.

I Didn’t Go it Alone

I was very well into writing my novel when I joined some writers’ groups. I really benefit from sharing my writing with others, and from “lurking” in the online discussions. But what kept coming out repeatedly was this idea that in order to write a “good” fiction, the story needed to follow this trajectory: introduce the characters, introduce a problem, have the characters fail to solve the problem in interesting ways, solve the problem and live happily ever after.

My novel did not fit into that round hole (in this scenario, my novel is the square peg). I thought my story flowed well; but I was told over and over again that I needed to make it fit into this construct.

My self-confidence as a novel writer was already fragile to say the least, this being my first attempt. I become discouraged and thought maybe I was not cut out for novel writing.

But, me being me, I began looking for exceptions to this rule. There were many.

So, I began to explore why people were saying this; and it hit me right between the eyes. It even has a name: commercial fiction. Commercial writing (think Stephen King or Anne Rice or John Grisham) follows this formula. It is somewhat predictable and satisfying and fun and entertaining and easy to talk about. There is an art to making it enjoyable for mass reading; if there weren’t, you would not recognize the names I mentioned.

But that was not what I was doing.

My book did not follow any formula, but I discovered that it has a name too: literary fiction. Literary fiction challenges the reader; each book in a unique way. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Watercolor Women, Opaque Men by Ana Castillo, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders; all worthy reads that make the reader work hard. While my novel is certainly not in competition with these masters of the writing universe, it is definitely in this large and, after all, welcoming house.

Amazing What One Can Accomplish if One Just Says “Yes, I Can.”

So I learned, once again, to be patient and loving and accepting of myself, and confident in my abilities. And I was reminded of another favorite professor, Jan Turnbull’s saying: “Green and growing, or ripe and rotting.”

Feel free to share your own journey to “Yes, I Can” in the comments. I know I’m not alone!