I think the fiction industry forgot this a while back. The books and the movies and shows are not much fun anymore. They may win awards or tick boxes but they do not entertain, which was the whole purpose of fiction. Some writers swear that fiction must change the world. Well, that's a pretty tall order. Isn't it? But even if that's the purpose, how will it change the world if it's not fun? There is definitely a light-heartedness and sense of fun to anything that is fun to read and you get the sense that the writer had a blast writing it. I re-read my own stuff sometimes and laugh myself silly and that's the biggest thrill I get as a writer. I figure if I am laughing at it, someone else will as well and a bigger point is this- if you have a blast at writing, then you've already won. You've enjoyed your life, whether you sell one copy or a million. Great post, Elliot.
"I focused on the themes of my stories and wrote them with a heavy hand instead of the precision of an artist. I repeated myself, talking down to the readers to essentially say, “Do you get it? Do you understand this thing that I did?”
This is something I also find myself working through...whether to justify the weird stories I want to write or to spiffify stories that originally were just for fun...
There's a lot of meta-story-analysis-criticism hovering around in how-to-write circles, as well as a surge of "heres where all storytelling falls flat nowadays" content which used to fill my algorithms, which then told me stories weren't *allowed* to just be fun, they had to be Deep and Meaningful and survive the sarlac-maw that is the internet criticism circuit. Even the well meaning people who propped up things which were well made often fell into "and the strength of this ultimately was its theme!"
That's a lot of weight to carry, and I do find myself wrestling with how much to plan and how much to let happen. I do think craft is part of what to focus on, good writing, intentional conflicts, characters that you like (because they are fun and have good chemistry together, not just poor sweet angsty babies or something, though they can be that too if you don't overdo it)...much as I wish there was a magical way to hit that mark every time, I'm also practicing enjoying the journey, and playing, and not listening to my internal "but what if this is misunderstood?" fear. That has been weird, since I put things out for an audience.
Yeah, absolutely! I’m totally in the same boat. Studying the craft is, obviously, still very important, but it’s pointless if we’re not enjoying the craft. Writing is art, and art is to be enjoyed. It shouldn’t feel like labor (at least, not all the time).
I think the fiction industry forgot this a while back. The books and the movies and shows are not much fun anymore. They may win awards or tick boxes but they do not entertain, which was the whole purpose of fiction. Some writers swear that fiction must change the world. Well, that's a pretty tall order. Isn't it? But even if that's the purpose, how will it change the world if it's not fun? There is definitely a light-heartedness and sense of fun to anything that is fun to read and you get the sense that the writer had a blast writing it. I re-read my own stuff sometimes and laugh myself silly and that's the biggest thrill I get as a writer. I figure if I am laughing at it, someone else will as well and a bigger point is this- if you have a blast at writing, then you've already won. You've enjoyed your life, whether you sell one copy or a million. Great post, Elliot.
I totally agree. Thank you so much! I appreciate you.
I struggle with the same things as you did. What a blessing it was to read this, after having those same thoughts attack me again just yesterday.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Thank you!
"I focused on the themes of my stories and wrote them with a heavy hand instead of the precision of an artist. I repeated myself, talking down to the readers to essentially say, “Do you get it? Do you understand this thing that I did?”
This is something I also find myself working through...whether to justify the weird stories I want to write or to spiffify stories that originally were just for fun...
There's a lot of meta-story-analysis-criticism hovering around in how-to-write circles, as well as a surge of "heres where all storytelling falls flat nowadays" content which used to fill my algorithms, which then told me stories weren't *allowed* to just be fun, they had to be Deep and Meaningful and survive the sarlac-maw that is the internet criticism circuit. Even the well meaning people who propped up things which were well made often fell into "and the strength of this ultimately was its theme!"
That's a lot of weight to carry, and I do find myself wrestling with how much to plan and how much to let happen. I do think craft is part of what to focus on, good writing, intentional conflicts, characters that you like (because they are fun and have good chemistry together, not just poor sweet angsty babies or something, though they can be that too if you don't overdo it)...much as I wish there was a magical way to hit that mark every time, I'm also practicing enjoying the journey, and playing, and not listening to my internal "but what if this is misunderstood?" fear. That has been weird, since I put things out for an audience.
But that resonated with me a lot.
Yeah, absolutely! I’m totally in the same boat. Studying the craft is, obviously, still very important, but it’s pointless if we’re not enjoying the craft. Writing is art, and art is to be enjoyed. It shouldn’t feel like labor (at least, not all the time).