8: What Should a Writer Do?

WARNING: This post has been only skimmed through for errors and some lack of coherent thought. I cannot guarantee that this post is not just a long rant, you are going to have to judge that for yourself. You can say what you like about me, but I am being honest when I place the blame on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for this one.

If you have not figured it out by now writing is my thing and while I do not possess the ego to place myself on the same level as the giants of the literary world; I do hold my mind in high regard. The thoughts, concepts, and Ideas that come out of my gray matter are uniquely mine and I value them. That being said, no one is perfect, and while I strive to be the best that I can be each day, I still tend to make mistakes.

Every post on this blog is an exercise in thought as well as writing. The thought aspect is when I take a topic and break it down into portions that I can examine and provide a form to my understanding of that particular part. This is where the subsections of my blogs come from. The writing exercise involves taking each subsection and arranging it in a way that is hopefully readable, and I would like to think that this part of the process has gotten better over time.

When I write a blog post or work on the stories I wish to tell, there is one question that is always hanging around in the back of my mind. That question is: As a writer, what should I be doing? My immediate response to this question is that I should be writing, but this answer does not come close to forming a conclusion in my mind.

I will say that this question does not fill me with any doubts as to what I am writing or if it is the right career for me. It has more to do with the fact that what I write lands on different points across the spectrum when it comes to the aspects of writing.

When I think about blog posts, novels, and short stories I have planned things like strict adherence to any particular genre is not what I concern myself with. After all, other writers have delved into other genres, but I cannot go off of what other people have done.

The question of what should a writer do then becomes, what should I do as a writer, and this question at least for me has some branching paths of thoughts, ideas, and even ideals that I am going to attempt to put in a linear format. I plan to eventually come back to this post and see if my perspective has changed or if I have lived up to what I have written here.

The first thing I am going to do is divide writing into two distinct categories nonfiction and Fiction. There might be a better way to start categorizing all of writing, but it is only the first step in my possess. Step number two is to look at the two categories and find as well as express what is common between them. The last and perhaps the longest part is to loosely define the two categories before going into detail of what I see them as.

The Similarities of Nonfiction and Fiction

The two essential things that fiction and nonfiction have in common is that they are written in a language and at the same time can be understood. Examples of this are Shakespeare and scientific studies. Both require a certain amount of understanding for you to get the most out of them.

Everything that is written tells a story. An instruction manual, grimoire, dictionary, or the latest best-selling novel. Sure, they all display information in different formats, but it all depends on how that information is preceded by the person reading them to find the story within.

While the story within a novel is more or less explained by the act of reading it, the other things on my list tell a story by applying a frame of reference and then building upon it. Each item on that list and even others that were not listed are ways of conveying information, thoughts, ideas, theories, beliefs, and frameworks that represent a story if not through intent than by context alone.

You could say that I am stretching this when it comes to instruction manuals, but I would like it if you take the time to think of the reason why you would need an instruction manual, cookbook, or any writing that provides you information on how to do something, and you will find the beginning of that story there.

Nonfiction

Nonfiction is that category of literature that brings me back to those dusty old college textbooks I have stacked in a storage container, but nonfiction is more than that. Biographies, autobiographies, and historical records, or think of anything that is based on facts, real events, and real people. That would include news articles, editorials, research studies, and even blogs fall into this category.

Nonfiction is intended to display information, thoughts, concepts, and ideas presented to the reader in a way that is intended to be informative. With that being said, this does not mean there is no creativity or art to this category of writing. While nonfiction tends to focus on people, places, or things that its audience is already interested in, there are ways that are used to draw new readers in.

You see these methods to draw people in every day. One of the ways this is done is simply by using the appropriate title. For example: “The Moon Looks Larger, Does That Mean it is Getting Closer to Earth?” or “Sony may owe PlayStation owners $500”. The former title is the beginning of an article about how the perspective of things in the night sky can change depending on your geographic location and the different seasons. The latter title the starting point of an article about a lawsuit that is not over.

While this way of phrasing titles like the two examples above is common, they serve as a way to sensationalize the content they represent. If you have no problem with the “eye-catching” experience these types of headlines or titles provide for you then you and I simply disagree and I have no problem with that.

What I refer to as eye-catching in this instance is more or less another way of saying that the title is a form of manipulation used to make the topic of the article more relatable or important. This method is used to push the idea that you should read this because it concerns you, and it is important.

My approach to creating titles, especially when it comes to my blog is to provide the shortest description possible without it sounding too abstract. The idea that I would need nearly misleading titles to use as clickbait has never crossed my mind. I think that the content of nonfiction is what matters and that clicks or taps on a link do not accurately represent the people who read the complete article, blog, or whatever the nonfiction may be.

The idea of how the content within nonfiction should be presented is something that appears to be straightforward, a writer is just restructuring, duplicating, or rewording information so that it can be properly presented to the reader, but this is not always what happens.

You can agree or disagree with the paragraph above, but that does not change the fact that the purest form of information is simply a list of facts. Examples of this are dictionaries and encyclopedias, but while there are perhaps a few people in the world who have the mental fortitude to read things like this cover to cover, the majority of people cannot. That is why information is broken down into something more manageable.

Content can be tricky when it comes to nonfiction. An angle or a prospective can easily turn into an agenda or propaganda if the writer’s words are applied without forethought. This can also happen accidentally if the nonfiction work is presented as a narrative. There is nothing wrong with providing a reader with a backstory or additional information as an example of why something happened even if that information has to do with an emotional state, but it is my opinion that the only accurate way of doing this is if that particular information comes directly from the source; otherwise, it is second or third-hand information that drifts into speculation and Creative expression zone.

I find it best to directly specify between fact and opinion. For example, Ex Tenebris is based on my life where I share my experiences and opinions, I do toss in some facts when I find it necessary, but I do not go beyond things that a quick internet search can provide.

All of my blog posts start with the intent to simply be honest with people. I think it is important to show my true self, and I cannot think of a better way to do that than by sharing the way my mind possesses thoughts and ideas.

Fiction

Fiction is a category with plenty of genres that cover whatever you can think of, and if I am being honest the stories in fiction do not always have to make sense for them to be enjoyed. Creativity is what drives the nearly always narrative experience here and you can always expect your mind to be taken to a new world, even if that world emulates your own.

I want to get this part out of the way and say that I am not so fond of a lot of things commonly used to establish characters or plots, but at the same time, I am not above using them if I need to. I know that statement was a contradictory one at best, but it does apply to the category of fiction. (Bear with me and I will attempt to explain.)

Fiction is something that does not have to be real, but that does not mean that it cannot feel real. This is done by introducing an internal or external problem that no matter how big or small it appears to be, is always part of the plot. Even if these problems are just a meconium that helps you relate, empathize, or sympathize with a character. This is a way to bring a character or situation to resonate emotionally with the reader thereby creating something that feels real.

I am going to place fiction (Something that I am passionate about.) in the harshest light I can think of and call each work of fiction an effort of manipulation. Before you start to read fiction you typically begin with at least two of these things a title, the author’s name, a summary, the cover art, or a general idea of what you are about to read. Once you start the act of reading the fiction of your choice, you are enucleating a partly subconscious contract that harshly states that you are willing to be lied to and miniplate.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with what I just wrote, fiction is full of conflict, secrets to be learned, anger, beauty, hatred, enlightenment, fear, conflict, depravity, vulgar language, intellect, obscurity, betrayal, friendship, romance, love, plenty of things that I did not mention, and most notably conflict of any kind. (Yes, I know, but it was intentional.)

There is a list of the different types of conflicts that I am positive nearly anyone can recreate in their mind if not looked up on the internet. These conflicts are always used in fiction and the only that makes any difference is in the way they are presented by the writer.

I have no problem with this, but there is an aspect of one of the listed conflicts that I do have a problem with, and I think it is something that might make the stories I am working on not completely connect with some people. The inner conflict that a character has upon being something more than what they thought they were, the doubt or brooding of self, and the broad sweeping fear that any change or transformation could bring.

This is done in plenty of fiction that I do in fact like, but for me, it is something that falls into more or less of a gamic that should not progress past a certain point in a story or series because if a character is stalled by a particular conflict for too long it overshadows and at times decreases the impact of the solution to that conflict when it is finally revealed.

Try not to get the wrong idea, a lot of stories even my own have to have many internal questions and concerns for characters to deal with, but I always ask myself, where should that end before it becomes a stereotype to buffer word count?

I also dislike the use of characters coming from a place of isolation rendering them ignorant of the world at large that they live in. This happens in stories that I enjoy, but it is also a way for a storyteller to present the world in a different or reversed point of view. I have nothing wrong with characters not knowing things, learning is part of the development of a story, but does it have to be a stereotype of a character learning how the world works seemingly for the first time?

To me, the unknown things that a character must know should reflect that character’s personality to a degree that is appropriate for that character’s personality, and not just have them look at something slack-jawed just because it is something they have never seen before. That does not reflect what would truly happen.

Looking Back

I think that it is appropriate that I end this because it has already become a tangent of sorts and yes, I am distracted by other things. My only excuse is that while there is honesty in what I have written, the journey from thoughts to perfection can only exist when there is space for revision, and while I will never claim to be perfect, it is something that I will always strive for. Until next time, I am Nolan Ex Tenebris. (Now, go and play a video game, they are fun, and everyone deserves to have some fun.)