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There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

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Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#41

Post by pm90 »

gnaritas wrote: post #34
Mendenhall wrote: post #30

Him sitting next to author reminded me how I always think you are a writer when you pay your bills through writing, same with art etc. I find so many that say they are an "artist" yet thats not how they pay their bills. Sure you may make fantastic art but you are not an artist. You never here someone say I am a basketball player just because they play basketball as a hobby. Doing something that pays your bills is tot…

Not everyone defines themselves by what pays the bills, plenty of artists do menial jobs to make ends meet. How they pay their bills is a bad measure of who/what they are, you shouldn't reject someone's self definition because you want to judge them by how they make money. You are not your job.

This is a good point. The profusion of people who claim to be artists or writers, but aren't really, has really colored the perception of many people though (including myself). I was quick to mentally agree with the op comment before yours made me realize that there are probably many genuine artists who have not been "discovered" and thus have to find other means to pay the bills while continuing to create art.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#42

Post by greenspot »

AndreyErmakov wrote: post #38

It's interesting that the author pursued a degree in literature and that's what ultimately pushed her away from that career path. It seems to be a common theme where a formal education in creative arts makes people want to do something else in life, anything else. I've had acquaintances with a musical background and eventually they went to do something else, including IT. From what an old buddy told me once, most gra…

> but you're missing out on an incredible body of thoughts and ideas that might expand your vision borders.

Have to disagree here. Yes there is a lot of good stuff especially written in the past but looking at today I see high caliber English writers and books in every category I do not see in that quality and quantity in any other language. Ok I do not know how it's about Chinese but that's my perception regarding other in particular European languages.

Always when I look for something, literature, fiction or non-fiction I switcch after seconds to Amazon.com from my local Amazon and find way better and more stuff. Frankly, the local selection feels like written by amateurs comapred to the US, I know this might sound bold and is probably too generalizing but the general perception is that you do not miss out anything if you stick to English based literate, rather the opposite. Of course therr are exception and genious writes not from the US like Unberto Eco and others but still nothing to the vast majority English based literature offers. Heck, even my Kindle account is US only.

If one country produces excellent media it's the US.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#43

Post by bobwaycott »

methehack wrote: post #28

I know folks are trying to be helpful by listing all the handbooks on the mechanics of writing, or on the creative process (closer), but it's off topic. The author is talking about 'being a writer', as in the title. As in: "What do you do?" "Oh, I'm a writer" Not like: "Should one _ever_ begin a sentence with 'but'?" "No, you should _never_ do that. I'm a prig!" It seems that sitting down to write every day and telli…

I thought this was obvious merely upon seeing the title.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#44

Post by bobwaycott »

m52go wrote: post #9

But there is a game! It's called Write On Par. It teaches concise writing, playfully. Because no writer has the patience to sit through a grammar class...and no reader wants to read wordy, confusing writing no matter what the topic. http://writeonpar.com /shameless plug Beautiful article though. I've met a couple recently-turned full-time authors and have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the author/a…

I wonder how many writers ever sat through a grammar class[0]. Of course, I somewhat romantically consider a writer to be a person who doesn't learn to be one.

[0]: I exclude the compulsory educational curriculum of childhood here. I've never personally known a writer who bothered to study grammar, particularly in such a manner as would have ever been a burden.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#45

Post by vonnik »

methehack wrote: post #28

I know folks are trying to be helpful by listing all the handbooks on the mechanics of writing, or on the creative process (closer), but it's off topic. The author is talking about 'being a writer', as in the title. As in: "What do you do?" "Oh, I'm a writer" Not like: "Should one _ever_ begin a sentence with 'but'?" "No, you should _never_ do that. I'm a prig!" It seems that sitting down to write every day and telli…

I actually think the headline, which the writer may not have chosen herself, is a bad description of the post. The irony of a article about writing somehow missing le mot juste... It's not about handbooks; it's about the blurry edges of the writing profession, where people tip over from "someone who writes" into someone who self-identifies as a writer and is dubbed a writer by others.

This is partially because writing, like coding, is an open profession. Unlike medicine for a example. Degrees may be helpful, but they are not mandatory. So there is no clear symbolic threshold separating the hobbyists from whoever deserves to be called a writer. There is no officially accepted imprimatur, no government-certified club that doles out memberships.

But there is a clear practical threshold, and that is money. If you make a living writing, then you are a writer as long as you do that.

There are also other good indicators, which may involve less (social) currency: If you spend a lot of time writing or thinking about writing, until it becomes your daily and predominant activity, then you are a writer.

Being a writer does not mean someone is a good writer. Personally, I don't think Stephen King is a good writer, and I wouldn't read him for advice -- but he is indisputably a writer, regardless of that subjective judgment.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#46

Post by gokhan »

Mendenhall wrote: post #30

Him sitting next to author reminded me how I always think you are a writer when you pay your bills through writing, same with art etc. I find so many that say they are an "artist" yet thats not how they pay their bills. Sure you may make fantastic art but you are not an artist. You never here someone say I am a basketball player just because they play basketball as a hobby. Doing something that pays your bills is tot…

AFAIK, van Gogh was quite unsuccessful paying bills with his paintings, always borrowing money from his brother.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#47

Post by d33d33 »

I agree to the topic's message...but...who is a writer? Realeasing a book (and especially in that travel genre) - in my opinion - does not make you a (good/belletristic) writer.

But if it is just about writing for living / journalism and similar stuff, then yes, handbooks exists and do work.

ps: worked as journalist and studied literature, but don't feel like i could write books that come close to what i like to read.

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#48

Post by kriro »

My litmus test for being a writer is fairly simple. How many completed items do you have lying around. I don't care if they are published but they need to be finished (as in a cohesive and typed out whole).

It's basically the same as being a programmer except programmers tend to self publish their work rather quickly. I feel like writers should generally do the same (and solicit feedback).

Re: There Is No Handbook for Being a Writer

#50

Post by AndreyErmakov »

greenspot wrote: post #42
AndreyErmakov wrote: post #38

It's interesting that the author pursued a degree in literature and that's what ultimately pushed her away from that career path. It seems to be a common theme where a formal education in creative arts makes people want to do something else in life, anything else. I've had acquaintances with a musical background and eventually they went to do something else, including IT. From what an old buddy told me once, most gra…

> but you're missing out on an incredible body of thoughts and ideas that might expand your vision borders. Have to disagree here. Yes there is a lot of good stuff especially written in the past but looking at today I see high caliber English writers and books in every category I do not see in that quality and quantity in any other language. Ok I do not know how it's about Chinese but that's my perception regarding o…

It's true that the golden era of the non-English writers lies mostly in the past. What is not true is that the past writings are now invalid/deprecated or whatever term you may coin. If I had a choice between the body of the past literature and the modern content, I would have chosen to stick with the old texts without a second thought. They're just unbelievably great and what is written today is merely an echo of the past.

But what concerns me the most is that you dismiss the world literature without even knowing it and without being able to learn it. It's so arrogant that I can't seem to find the words to express my sorrow. All I can say is that the loss is yours. Nobody in the world has ever produced literature, songs and music like the French and Russian masters have. I am able to enjoy them in their natural form, as well as the English... let's call it "content". I can directly compare them and I'm telling you it would have been a loss of a monumental scale if I had been born in an English-speaking country and would have never been able to make acquaintance with those pieces.

That's not to mention that foreign languages are often less constrained and more expressive than English which on itself allows for more profound thoughts to be born and more naturally and creatively expressed. But that's not something that English-only speakers will ever find out.

I might try to persuade you to change your opinion but I won't. There's nothing in your position to brag about. In a way, I'm luckier than you and to that end I can only express my deepest regrets to you.

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