But what I really meant to talk about in this blog post is something that has been bothering me some, lately: the modern writer's duty.
Back in the old days, if you wanted to become a writer, all you needed was an ironclad will, stubbornness, the means to write, enough imagination to create stories and the capacity to ignore "down-bringers" and the complaints of your own hungry belly. Back then, what it meant to be a writer was that you had a dream and were just crazy enough to follow said dream.
Back in the old days, if you wanted to become a writer, all you needed was an ironclad will, stubbornness, the means to write, enough imagination to create stories and the capacity to ignore "down-bringers" and the complaints of your own hungry belly. Back then, what it meant to be a writer was that you had a dream and were just crazy enough to follow said dream.
But now...
These days, the modern writer may have all the imagination and writing skills in the world, it's not enough anymore... Writers are so numerous, stories so incredibly huge in amount that the modern writer needs to be more than "just a writer". Because nowadays, talent means naught. What count is how often you can put your face (and guts) out there! The modern artist is not a simple creator anymore. No. The modern artist has to sacrifice most of his creation time to being a part of the "community". The modern artist needs be present and clash his work against that of many other artists on the world wide web's virtual platforms.
As a writer, I have to have a website, a blog (or two, in my case), a Wattpad account, Facebook pages and an account, a Twitter, a Pinterest, a Tumblr, etc. I have to read, comment, like, poke, wink, follow, pin and share for many hours every day leaving me very little time for my own stuff. Why do I put up with all that, you ask? Because if I don't, I simply do not exist as an artist (or a person, for that matter, but that's a society problem for another blog post, another day maybe...)
And now that I juggle all these accounts, I find that I have less and less time to create... But what's worse is that, on all those various means of reaching out to the outside world, I only came to realize that I am one in a million.
Not in a "you're special" way. No.
I am now literally one in a million other aspiring authors...
It's draining, really.
Although, as a "wise" man once said in a movie I love*: "Never give up. Never surrender." Somehow, I have to believe that all my efforts will pay off, that it will all come together in the end.
But, to borrow Rachel's words in F.R.I.E.N.D.S: "What if it doesn't...?"
(N.B.: That blog post is about writers but really, that goes for ALL the artists out there! Be it painters, playwrights, scriptwriters, dancers, singers, actors, etc. It's all the same, now.)
*Galaxy Quest
Well the first solution would be to train a monkey to handle the social media part :D You won't always have to handle everything yourself, only when you're starting out.
ReplyDeleteThe second solution is to ask yourself "why do I write?" Is it for fame, money, or glory? Is it to tell a story or communicate your thoughts to others? Perhaps it's to share your knowledge or re-tell stories from your youth. But whatever the reason, it is YOUR reason. Writing is personal. It's not about the world - it's about you.
Your heart. Your world.
You write because you love it, because there are words flying around in your mind that press against your imagination. Every detail is in YOUR mind.
It is everyone's hope that the breadth and width of that story can be shared with others. But there is a hope more dear to us than that. The hope that one day you can say "I did it. And I love my story." :)
Aaaaw another nice comment! ^_^
DeleteLOL Yeah, I gotta get me a monkey! :P
Your words are very nice and comforting. :) And I used to write so I could say "I did it!". Really, I did!
But after 9 novels written, I tend to write for other reasons... The simple "I did" that was so exciting back in the beginning means very little to me now. It's like every time you accomplish something new, you go "OMG, I did it!!!" but after a while, it becomes normal. For instance, I was super proud of myself the first time I posted a quote on Guru but now, it's like "Another done", you know?
The feeling it different and you will see it change too! Give it time and a few more completed novels ;)
I think this is a very interesting subject -- it's certainly the case that half the game is interacting with potential readers. But isn't that also half the fun of it? I don't know, I think it depends on how you go into it and which angle you look at it from. Reading and writing are such a tight relationship -- you really do need contact between the two because, in the end, you write for yourself but you publish it for other people. You don't exist in a bubble and nor does your writing. I've said this to you before but I'm going to say it again because it's important: You can only be the best you can be. But *someone* has to be the best, so it may as well be you :) Don't think about what other writers are doing and how you'll never compete, because you *have* to compete. You have to work hard and give it your all. If you give up, that's when you become a failed writer. But if you keep persevering and writing because you love it, then you've already succeeded far beyond most people.
ReplyDeleteHi Esme! It's nice to hear from you again! ^_^
DeleteThanks for your comment!
Actually, I don't hate doing all that stuff. But I hate that it has become a must, an obligation, a good two-third of the job sometimes even more than creation itself!
I love to interact with my readers! I just find the lack of time very stressing with all the creation and social media we have to do, there's very little left for the rest (recreational and chores) and goodness forbid that we'd have a full-time job as well! It just such a tremendous amount of work!
It's no wonder today's life is so stressing: being productive isn't enough anymore. Now, we have to be super-over-the-top-productive!
Anyway, like Rachel told me yesterday, I'll just keep on doing my own little stuff in my own little world and mind very little of the bigger picture. One step at a time is less overwhelming than looking at the mountain that must be climbed! :P
Hope to hear from you soon again! ^_^ xx