WOW, this week’s topic is genuinely amazing. I believe there will always be a discussion about how people think artists should be versus how they actually are. It’s as if the dreaded “But you don’t look like you could write/make something like this…” is always haunting us. Nevertheless, I find it increasingly amusing to write about topics I know nothing about or that don’t exist at all in the way I imagine them to be, because this allows my imagination to soar and delve deeper into the details of the story I’m creating.
In a way, writing about the great unknown is a means of shattering the mundane image of reality by defying the laws of nature and telling a story that transports others to a distant land they can only visit through the pages of a book or in their dreams. It is both fun and precious to put yourself in the reader’s point of view and appreciate others’ art for what it is: a creation from their hearts.
Also, I’ve recently discovered that it is more common than not to find that a piece of art is very different from its creator. For example, consider an author of an epic love story who has never found romantic love herself, or an author who describes the training of an assassin without having exercised a day in her life, and so on. Yet, within the story, something of the author still glimmers—something that only the artist knows is there, while the work itself leaves others puzzled as to how that person could have created something like that.
What a beautiful response. I think it speaks to the magic of the relationship between artist and art where the artist is surprised by the art as much as the audience is. But it also makes us ask questions of what to do when we disapprove of an author's personal or political actions -- but loe the art... Hmm!
I love this topic so much! I really agree that it can be so valuable to write something entirely different from your own life -- because that is a big point of making art, to experience what you can't or aren't currently experiencing! And I agree with the other comments in that the "real" part of the story should be the emotions and experiences behind the actual world and characters. That way it will feel genuine and relatable to the reader, yet still new and exciting at the same time. I am definitely still trying to find the balance between reflecting on my own experiences and letting the characters speak for themselves; I feel like the pendulum always swings too far one way or another and so I find it hard to write realistic fiction where the characters are in situations I know so well (I prefer fantasy, where it's mostly all new and I don't have to worry about putting in my own specific beliefs/messages). But I would love to get better at both sides!
One of the funny things I've been thinking about is that we can't really decide these things and what we want to write about -- our unconscious is learning in its own way as much as our conscious mind. But it's the unconscious that does the writing, so sometimes we just have to see where it leads us... and it's often away from ourselves...!
I love that you wrote about this today! Yesterday I finished an assignment for a fantasy English class where I talked about the connection between fantasy and reality. In the essay I made a point about how people consider the fantasy genre to be an escape from reality, but I was arguing that it actually has a closer relationship than people think. Fantasy stories use magic and monsters and other impossible things to create a new way of looking at real world issues. For example, SGE (mainly the first one but it happens a bit in each book) is partially about the feeling of being different and not belonging. The situation of being kidnapped and dropped into a school you (and everyone else) believes represents the opposite of who you are doesn't happen in reality, but people often end up in places where they see themselves as different from the people around them and feel like the don't actually belong there (even when they do). I think when people say "write what you know" they don't mean only write about characters that are a version of you, they mean write about themes that you have experienced in some way (you don't even need to write about your specific way of experiencing the theme). I think that if stories that flow out of you naturally and stories that you feel you need to explore must come from you. In a sense... I think it's impossible to not write what you know, because if you don't know it at all, you won't feel any connection to it either.
Ah, yes. At the end of the day, the theme is that idee fixe which gives us away -- and the rest of it is just the glitter to distract readers from the fact the theme can be deeply personal. But sometimes you really have to dig to find that theme...
I don't really try to find the link between the art and the artist. Maybe I read a lot from one author and associate that style of writing to that particular author AFTER reading, but it's not the other way around.
The writing community I'm in always have some people that go around and ask, "Is there any part of your characters/world that are based on you/your experience/places you know?". In my case, my art at least comes from myself at first. Whether it's an interest in a topic or personal experience, in the beginning. I usually start somewhere I know, hanging onto something I know clearly for safety (or maybe that's just my trait, fear of the uncertainties =))))))))) Then, the story starts writing itself at some point, I let it be, and after a few drafts and edits, there's no trace left of "me" or things I know in the characters and/or the world.
The final piece of art is separated from me, but it has to come from somewhere I know first. I wonder if the process is similar for other people?
I think starting somewhere you know gives you that anchor of personal identification, which can be so important. Even in this novel, which is so far afield of my life, the main character feels very summon-able from within. We must have similar qualities!
Spelunking into the unknown! I love that. Haha this makes me think of when I submitted my first horror to my editor, after doing a couple contemporary. She told me the aquisitions peeps were like, "Wait, *Sarah* wrote this??"
I love following along with your process and can't wait for this book!!
Oh, I totally agree with art outside of artist! I often write characters, backgrounds, and world very different to me. Sometimes I base certain things on my experiences but even those get spun into something more or less.
What has been the most "out of yourself" thing you have ever written in fiction?
I think Princess Game is far, far afield of my normal voice. But there's pieces of Beasts & Beauty too. Sleeping Beauty is such a vibe, and I just could feel the tone of that more than pinpoint it in my head. Same with Peter Pan.
I feel like you HAVE to separate artist from art to appreciate the true rawness of it. Knowing the context of the situation the artist created the art in can give new perspective and gravity to the art, but to really see the work itself you can’t let the artist and your opinion of them influence you. I struggle with this often as I have my favorite authors (bc of course I do) but I try to look at their books with new eyes and as a NEW BOOK rather than ANOTHER BOOK by an author I love (or don’t love 🤪)
Agreed! When an author you love writes something mehhhh, it can be hard to separate them. I feel the same with movie actors I love too -- sometimes the movie is awful but I can just enjoy watching them at work (i.e. Julia Roberts, lol)
You have beautiful and thought-provoking reflections, Soman! I've subscribed now, and look forward to read more.
WOW, this week’s topic is genuinely amazing. I believe there will always be a discussion about how people think artists should be versus how they actually are. It’s as if the dreaded “But you don’t look like you could write/make something like this…” is always haunting us. Nevertheless, I find it increasingly amusing to write about topics I know nothing about or that don’t exist at all in the way I imagine them to be, because this allows my imagination to soar and delve deeper into the details of the story I’m creating.
In a way, writing about the great unknown is a means of shattering the mundane image of reality by defying the laws of nature and telling a story that transports others to a distant land they can only visit through the pages of a book or in their dreams. It is both fun and precious to put yourself in the reader’s point of view and appreciate others’ art for what it is: a creation from their hearts.
Also, I’ve recently discovered that it is more common than not to find that a piece of art is very different from its creator. For example, consider an author of an epic love story who has never found romantic love herself, or an author who describes the training of an assassin without having exercised a day in her life, and so on. Yet, within the story, something of the author still glimmers—something that only the artist knows is there, while the work itself leaves others puzzled as to how that person could have created something like that.
What a beautiful response. I think it speaks to the magic of the relationship between artist and art where the artist is surprised by the art as much as the audience is. But it also makes us ask questions of what to do when we disapprove of an author's personal or political actions -- but loe the art... Hmm!
I love this topic so much! I really agree that it can be so valuable to write something entirely different from your own life -- because that is a big point of making art, to experience what you can't or aren't currently experiencing! And I agree with the other comments in that the "real" part of the story should be the emotions and experiences behind the actual world and characters. That way it will feel genuine and relatable to the reader, yet still new and exciting at the same time. I am definitely still trying to find the balance between reflecting on my own experiences and letting the characters speak for themselves; I feel like the pendulum always swings too far one way or another and so I find it hard to write realistic fiction where the characters are in situations I know so well (I prefer fantasy, where it's mostly all new and I don't have to worry about putting in my own specific beliefs/messages). But I would love to get better at both sides!
One of the funny things I've been thinking about is that we can't really decide these things and what we want to write about -- our unconscious is learning in its own way as much as our conscious mind. But it's the unconscious that does the writing, so sometimes we just have to see where it leads us... and it's often away from ourselves...!
I love that you wrote about this today! Yesterday I finished an assignment for a fantasy English class where I talked about the connection between fantasy and reality. In the essay I made a point about how people consider the fantasy genre to be an escape from reality, but I was arguing that it actually has a closer relationship than people think. Fantasy stories use magic and monsters and other impossible things to create a new way of looking at real world issues. For example, SGE (mainly the first one but it happens a bit in each book) is partially about the feeling of being different and not belonging. The situation of being kidnapped and dropped into a school you (and everyone else) believes represents the opposite of who you are doesn't happen in reality, but people often end up in places where they see themselves as different from the people around them and feel like the don't actually belong there (even when they do). I think when people say "write what you know" they don't mean only write about characters that are a version of you, they mean write about themes that you have experienced in some way (you don't even need to write about your specific way of experiencing the theme). I think that if stories that flow out of you naturally and stories that you feel you need to explore must come from you. In a sense... I think it's impossible to not write what you know, because if you don't know it at all, you won't feel any connection to it either.
Ah, yes. At the end of the day, the theme is that idee fixe which gives us away -- and the rest of it is just the glitter to distract readers from the fact the theme can be deeply personal. But sometimes you really have to dig to find that theme...
I don't really try to find the link between the art and the artist. Maybe I read a lot from one author and associate that style of writing to that particular author AFTER reading, but it's not the other way around.
The writing community I'm in always have some people that go around and ask, "Is there any part of your characters/world that are based on you/your experience/places you know?". In my case, my art at least comes from myself at first. Whether it's an interest in a topic or personal experience, in the beginning. I usually start somewhere I know, hanging onto something I know clearly for safety (or maybe that's just my trait, fear of the uncertainties =))))))))) Then, the story starts writing itself at some point, I let it be, and after a few drafts and edits, there's no trace left of "me" or things I know in the characters and/or the world.
The final piece of art is separated from me, but it has to come from somewhere I know first. I wonder if the process is similar for other people?
I think starting somewhere you know gives you that anchor of personal identification, which can be so important. Even in this novel, which is so far afield of my life, the main character feels very summon-able from within. We must have similar qualities!
Spelunking into the unknown! I love that. Haha this makes me think of when I submitted my first horror to my editor, after doing a couple contemporary. She told me the aquisitions peeps were like, "Wait, *Sarah* wrote this??"
I love following along with your process and can't wait for this book!!
That's such a compliment. The idea that you can generate a whole other voice!!!
Oh, I totally agree with art outside of artist! I often write characters, backgrounds, and world very different to me. Sometimes I base certain things on my experiences but even those get spun into something more or less.
What has been the most "out of yourself" thing you have ever written in fiction?
I think Princess Game is far, far afield of my normal voice. But there's pieces of Beasts & Beauty too. Sleeping Beauty is such a vibe, and I just could feel the tone of that more than pinpoint it in my head. Same with Peter Pan.
Ooo interesting choices! I could totally tell Princess Game was different than how you usually write.
I always hated personal writing outside of poetry, I found it much more intriguing to write about and explore something other
Poetry would be hard to go too far afield -- it's like song lyrics... something has to be based in honest emotion, since it's so primal and id-based.
I feel like you HAVE to separate artist from art to appreciate the true rawness of it. Knowing the context of the situation the artist created the art in can give new perspective and gravity to the art, but to really see the work itself you can’t let the artist and your opinion of them influence you. I struggle with this often as I have my favorite authors (bc of course I do) but I try to look at their books with new eyes and as a NEW BOOK rather than ANOTHER BOOK by an author I love (or don’t love 🤪)
Agreed! When an author you love writes something mehhhh, it can be hard to separate them. I feel the same with movie actors I love too -- sometimes the movie is awful but I can just enjoy watching them at work (i.e. Julia Roberts, lol)