Hi folks,
A short while ago, I briefly recapped Marcel Benabou's Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books. In my summary, I talked a little bit about how the process of writing is a form of torture for most writers and, therefore, next to impossible at almost all times.
I made this point in part by borrowing from Benabou's analogy that compared writing to the story of Sisyphus rolling a boulder up the hill. Of course, I should also note that Benabou points out an important detail about Sisyphus that often gets lost in retelling of the famous tale – Sisyphus was probably a pretty muscular guy after all that work! Even if the boulder doesn’t stay at the summit doesn’t mean there was no benefit. I think if a writer – or anyone who takes on the challenge to create – keeps this fact in mind, the challenging aspect of writing can be reframed as practice or training for the real writing that is sure to come.
One up: Benabou makes an interesting point about how most lives are universal enough that others can easily recognize themselves in anything after tweaking a couple of minor details. I suppose a writer who understands this can leave some of the work of relating to the reader (though this is certainly easier said than done).
If this is a tough concept to grasp, let me remind you – most work gets misinterpreted anyhow so what’s the point of worrying so much over how the message gets crafted?
One down: There was a laugh out loud line in this book about how a person could live off of happy memories much like rich aristocrats could live off the dividends of their investments. The thought obscured a darker point, however, which is that a life steeped too much in past memories makes us reluctant to step forward into the future. A memory should encourage us to look forward, not spend all day gazing longingly into the rear-view mirror.
Just saying: One of the more thought provoking ideas from this work related the experience of writing to the first tooth – like the one-toothed child, a writer knows that sometimes reaching a destiny is a matter of waiting for what has always been within to burst forth at the time of ripening. This is a nice metaphor and a perfectly useful way to think about enduring a moment of difficulty.
However, I do not think I really agree with it. At the very least, I can see the other point of view. Life doesn’t usually mean waiting around, enduring a ten second spot of pain, and then being rewarded the next morning with some money under the pillow. Rather, life is a different challenge, maybe better, but certainly different, where as I get older I simply have to do more things and commit more time to the pointless process of being 99% as good as I was last year.
So, what is the truth? I suppose it doesn’t matter much. This is life, unfortunately – we try to enjoy ourselves, find out we are wrong about a few things along the way, and then we die. So to say one idea or the other is ‘true’ strikes me as a waste of time. But surely, one worldview represents a healthier perspective for the writer?
Well, I do not think the former is very helpful. There is something I’ve noticed among the successful writers I’ve studied – they tend to do a fair bit of writing. A writer who believes in The Moment Of Ripening just as a child believes in the second tooth is surely not a very busy writer!
So, here at TOA, we officially endorse the latter point of view. Writing is a lot like trying to keep healthy – we slowly learn exactly what to do yet find circumstances continually conspire to make it harder to do those things. Reader, let’s not live in the Never Never Land of tooth fairies where The Myth of the Ripening Writer rules all!
Instead, let us admit that we do have a good idea of what writing requires (writing) and yet need the help and support of those around us to do it (write). Let us, in short, agree that acknowledging reality is the key step and any worldview that encourages otherwise is corrosive – for if we cannot acknowledge reality, how could we ever hope to change the future?
