Should a Writer be Invisible? Discuss

I believe that in most cases art should stand for itself; it shouldn't need any further explanation.
When I am reading a fictional story or watching a film I enjoy the voice of the narrator as a mysterious presence. If the voice educates me, I feel involved and am not concerned about whose voice it is.

I think it is the author's decision however and I think it also depends on the subject. If they want to discuss their work online for educational purposes I think it is a useful resource however if they want to discuss autobiographical information for the reader I feel it isn't necessary.

If a non-fictional writer has published a pioneering piece of work on a particular subject however; I think it is important for others in the same field to meet and assess the new theory and also give them the recognition and appreciation they deserve.

Stephen King wanted to prove that the quality of writing should always come first and that the identity of the author is not important. For several of his novels he wrote under the pen name of Richard Bachman, he wanted to know whether his work would receive a similar response if people did not know it was himself writing these books. The result was that the books gradually became just as successful as his other works. I do wonder whether a lot of readers buy books in response to critical reviews however.

What inspires me as a writer.

A subject which is often at the forefront of my mind when I write is nature. As a toddler I was a huge fan of the film, The Lion King, and I don't remember a time when there weren't animal tracker books on my shelf. At the age of seven I was given my first Wildlife Encyclopaedia and I took on the challenge of reading the whole thing over Christmas. Even now when I see an animal, images and facts from the book return to me. I find that the subject of nature and other subjects such as history, literature, music, art and pop culture which interested me at a young age have given me a particular eye to seek them out and a drive to explore them further.
I find the books I enjoy provide a sense of involvement, thrillers, action, and Gothic romance/mystery. I feel that I am on the same journey as the protagonist and I am learning and gaining a sense of fulfilment by the end. Also if there is a hook or a cliff hanger/missing piece in any form of art I have to pursue the subject further. I love an unsolved mystery.
People in society inspire me, when I see that the selfless act of one person can make a huge change for the better; Artists, peace protesters, charity workers and everyday people who make a difference.
And finally dreams, I keep a dream diary which inspires the yearnings and the insecurities in the characters I write.

Music:

Books:



Wildlife:

Art: Richard Long, Rolf harris, Banksy, Jenny Saville and Judy Chicago.

Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness

Socio-political relevance? or Natural Craftsmanship?

The literature which has kept me milling over its meaning and effects over several years is that which has shed light upon previously suppressed social and political issues.
I have come to realise that for writers affected by political and social ignorance, writing for them can often become a peaceful and effective form of protest.

For example, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the injustice of racial segregation and discrimination in Post-World War II America, and became a significant milestone in the progression towards the civil rights movement. Angela Carter contributed in the rise of gender politics in the late twentieth century through several of her books including The Sadeian Woman and The Bloody Chamber, educating readers of how gender should not affect status or power in society.

However I feel that there was something extra which these two author's brought to their work which made them particularly successful and I think it was not only their passion for change but also their understanding and empathy towards different members of society. It can be difficult writing with the intention to educate and please everyone, and a piece of literature can easily become too overwhelming and confusing for the reader to take in or so personal that the reader is put off by the arrogance of the narrator.

Writing about a new, diverse or past culture can equally educate and inspire a reader; there are always elements of character and socio-political elements which the reader can relate to. People can easily develop nostalgia for a time in which they haven't lived in, fans of period dramas or sci-fi for example.

"Uniquely American?" or "Typically British?"

After reading a selection of John Cheever's stories I must admit that it was only due to different literary components such as the language and setting in each piece that I came to realise Cheever's American nationality.
American spelling and local dialect instantly rang bells, and after studying the stories more in depth I realised how the continually evolving new world/industrial America in turn effected the character's emotions and attitude.
Ann Enright states that the honest reflection was for her "A breath of fresh air [...] he was alcoholic and bisexual which gave his work a bit of an edge [...] the dreamlike metaphorical nature calls to me."
This made me realise just how important our life experiences are when creating characters, and also how a writer must experience a setting in order to create a character to place in it. I'm not sure Cheever would still be considered uniquely American if he placed his typical thirty-something New Yorker in a different country or had an immigrant as the story's protagonist in New York?
So what might make a piece uniquely British? I feel that the work would be slower paced and more reflective on the character's emotions and decisions. Cheever's work tends to be more motivated by prosperity and survival in a still hostile and evolving new world. For example, when Cheever completed the piece The Enormous Radio in 1947, he dealt with a sense of paranoia towards society's obsession with people's private lives. A year later, J. R. R Tolkein completed The Lord of the Rings, a powerful and creative yet relatively conventional story of good versus evil.

J. R. R. Tolkein                                                                                                John Cheever


























Creative Piece: A Typically British story.

There was no traffic on the London Streets, yet the vibrant lights and the crowds made the event seem more like the Christmas eve rush or another fashion product launch. She couldn't feel her legs anymore her calf muscles had tensed up an hour ago. All that was driving her now was the glucose in her bloodstream and the caffeine pinning her eyes open. Her moving legs seemed alien to her brain now asthough sprinting of their own accord. With her free hand she pulled out the remaining jelly squares from her tracksuit pocket and bit into them, chewing took some real effort now, the raspberry taste was intense despite the dryness of her mouth.
She turned the corner to the final street and was hit with the roar of the sidelining crowd. The final mile flag flickered violently in a sudden gust of wind. She checked her watch, timing was good. She gripped the torch firmly in her hand, and continued alternating when her palm became too sweaty.

Is there any place for the "truth" in writing?

As you can see from my last post, I have never kept a blog before. Apologies for the very formal tone, I am glad to see from other posts that I can now write more or less from thought process so here goes:

I was interested to discover from The Autobiographer's Handbook edited by Jennifer Traig, about the attitude of different non-fictional writers during the writing process and what they have learnt from past publications of their work. Caroline Kraus says that: Keeping to the truth is my chief policy, though that is not reason enough to write about someone. I think it’s a case-by-case decision, but in my view, knowingly hurting someone in print, even with the truth, had better serve an unimpeachable purpose. [...] it may happen that feelings are hurt in spite of honest and honourable intentions. So it’s something to weigh carefully in every instance.

Steve Almond on the other hand emphasizes how when writing about one's family you sometimes have to deal with the consequences of revealing the truth.
...you have to be able to go home again, so if there are relatives whose feelings you would hurt by writing about them, then you have to weigh that-not hurting them-against your desire to tell that particular set of truths to the world.

The requirements for writing non-fiction seem pretty clear, you write the truth or you don't. Yet sometimes hiding the truth can be just as hurtful as exaggerating or lying about it. There is often a fear that we are making our fiction seem unrealistic without an element of the truth or our non-fiction seem less dramatic without an element of fiction, and the freedom doesn't end here, we just have to be respectful of our subjects and be aware of what we reveal to our readers as "the truth" as it is never purely fact or fiction.

Is a writer, as an artist, special and, if so, how?

Everyone is unique as a character due to life experience. However, an artist is special; an artist has the drive and the confidence to present themselves to their audience honestly. An artist is vulnerable yet fearless to sacrifice.

If a writer is to become an artistic success they must also be completely open, presenting us with a new and unique craft to study. A writer intervenes with whatever life experiences have inspired them to provide an original combination of literary elements and a new journey for the reader. This personal and courageous transformation evokes recognition of the familiar within the reader yet also a desire to explore the unknown. It is a writer's loyalty to themselves which in turn provides loyal readers.

There have been many writers who have been restricted in what they can publish during their lifetime due to various social conventions. One of those is the poet Emily Dickinson who although as a young woman was able to gain a college degree, a great rarity in 1840's New England, was still subjected to the strict conformities of women at the time. She published fewer than thirty poems in her lifetime, yet her determination to accept the dangers of pushing those boundaries gained her a voice and work to be admired for literary generations to follow.

For a woman of the time Dickinson was strong willed and true to her work. Helen McNeil explains that; when editors insisted on conventionalizing her work, she felt her poems 'robbed' from her and withdrew from publishing.

Dickinson expands upon her feelings in poem 709:
"Publication - is the Auction/ Of the Mind."