The author of the classical non-fiction writing guide On Writing Well said in one compound sentence: "Writing is an act of ego, and you might as admit it." This short insert of humor struck me. It was the escape rope from my torture, the pink fairy in my bottle, the resurrect ability in my spell book. Actually, it was a brief moment of pure shock and delight.
For many years now, I've been writing as an act of ego; yet I could never publicly admit this. I always had to speak in second person to avoid criticism. Well, why bother? William Zinsser says that we shouldn't limit ourselves. There is no noble cause for writing. Writers are narcissistic, stubborn, immoral and crazy members of our society. Kurt Vonnegut writes in his infamous autobiography TimeQuake: "FUCK ART."
Why spend our time trying to model an ideal Homer who is only known to be a concept? Aristotle was the first person to actually start this craze over morality in literature. He said that "[Homer's] greatness was that he himself was nowhere to be found in his story. His characters were everywhere." - The Odyssey by Homer (Translated by W.H.D. Rouse and introduced by Deborah Steiner)
You may then wonder where I’m going with this. Well, in the literature community, we creative folk like to chat from time to time despite the fact that most writers are considerably hermits that pop out of their holes once in a while to either yell at someone or go shopping. Now, the writers I always seem to meet are self-righteous pricks like myself. So we spend the next half hour duking it out using our expanded vocabulary with the intent to embarrass the other. And this last sentence always comes out of the other writer’s mouth: “You’re such an egomaniac!”
That would be the winning punch. My pride would be shattered. I’d sit there in deep thought. Why am I writing? Did I really have a reason to write? What’s his/her noble cause: an audience? That’s a bunch of bull. All writers write for an audience. All writers know that a stranger will be looking over their material. Why am I the only egomaniac?
Well, it turns out that all serious writers are slightly egomaniac. They spend night and day working on a story for what – a dying friend? No, they work on a story because they want to. And if that’s not selfish, then what is?! All you who are diehard writers are ego obsessed jerks. Admit it! But now that you know you’re selfish and very fond of your opinion on a variety of subjects, embrace your ego. Take that energy and write! Use that selfish attitude of yours and express yourself with characters, background, ideas, and stories. Embrace your humanity and become great with your craft.
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Read On Writing Well by William Zinsser for more tips on writing! This short article was inspired by chapter "Style."
For many years now, I've been writing as an act of ego; yet I could never publicly admit this. I always had to speak in second person to avoid criticism. Well, why bother? William Zinsser says that we shouldn't limit ourselves. There is no noble cause for writing. Writers are narcissistic, stubborn, immoral and crazy members of our society. Kurt Vonnegut writes in his infamous autobiography TimeQuake: "FUCK ART."
Why spend our time trying to model an ideal Homer who is only known to be a concept? Aristotle was the first person to actually start this craze over morality in literature. He said that "[Homer's] greatness was that he himself was nowhere to be found in his story. His characters were everywhere." - The Odyssey by Homer (Translated by W.H.D. Rouse and introduced by Deborah Steiner)
You may then wonder where I’m going with this. Well, in the literature community, we creative folk like to chat from time to time despite the fact that most writers are considerably hermits that pop out of their holes once in a while to either yell at someone or go shopping. Now, the writers I always seem to meet are self-righteous pricks like myself. So we spend the next half hour duking it out using our expanded vocabulary with the intent to embarrass the other. And this last sentence always comes out of the other writer’s mouth: “You’re such an egomaniac!”
That would be the winning punch. My pride would be shattered. I’d sit there in deep thought. Why am I writing? Did I really have a reason to write? What’s his/her noble cause: an audience? That’s a bunch of bull. All writers write for an audience. All writers know that a stranger will be looking over their material. Why am I the only egomaniac?
Well, it turns out that all serious writers are slightly egomaniac. They spend night and day working on a story for what – a dying friend? No, they work on a story because they want to. And if that’s not selfish, then what is?! All you who are diehard writers are ego obsessed jerks. Admit it! But now that you know you’re selfish and very fond of your opinion on a variety of subjects, embrace your ego. Take that energy and write! Use that selfish attitude of yours and express yourself with characters, background, ideas, and stories. Embrace your humanity and become great with your craft.
---
Read On Writing Well by William Zinsser for more tips on writing! This short article was inspired by chapter "Style."
