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Writer and his society



All genuine writing is rooted in at least 3 things:
1.     the complex social reality which the writer is trying to understand and interpret;
2.     the literary tradition in the Eliotean sense; and
3.     the writer’s heart.

The writer has to be constantly in touch with the world around him. Unless he understands that world, unless he is in constant touch with it, how can he write about it meaningfully? Good writers are sensitive people whose hearts are moved by what is happening around them.

William Faulkner advised writers to “read, read, read”.  He asked them to “read everything: trash, classics, good and bad.” Absorb what you’re reading, then write. Without such moorings in the literary tradition, no one can be a good writer.

The interpretation of the reality around comes from the writer’s heart, from his entire personality. Writing is the bleeding of the heart, as Hemingway suggested. Whatever has not been processed in the writer’s heart fails to carry conviction.

So, can a writer afford to distance himself from the society?


The process of writing is different from writing per se. More often than not, the process requires solitude. Most great writers have/had their own private, solitary places for the process of writing. While the reality around is necessary for providing the raw material for writing, the process of writing is a very personal affair. The writer has to detach himself from the world. Of course, you can be in the middle of a crowd and yet be detached.

Now to answer the question raised at In[di]spire, if you are going to write a book you might do well by shutting off yourself from the distractions of social media and even the society as much as you can. Good writers have their own disciplined schedule like setting aside a particular period of time every day to the process of writing without being distracted by anything. Such commitment is essential if you wish to be a good writer.



Comments

  1. voicesJanuary 13, 2019 at 10:15 AM

    Could not have chosen better words to differ from Anthony Trollope's idea of writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 13, 2019 at 11:06 AM

      I'm not sure i differ much from Trollope. Thank you for the appreciation.

      Delete
  2. Jyotirmoy SarkarJanuary 13, 2019 at 7:30 PM

    Totally agree with your three points and the rest of the post, very nice take on the prompt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Neeraj KumarJanuary 13, 2019 at 9:38 PM

    Very right explanations!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arvind PasseyJanuary 14, 2019 at 11:13 AM

    So reading and interacting are different? However, when a person reads isn't he interacting with both known and unknown realities of the world? And when a person is merely interacting through the written and the spoken words isn't he also immersed in the process of reading in some ways?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 14, 2019 at 1:37 PM

      Aren't reading and interaction different? My experience says yes. I hardly meet people who enlighten me the way books do.

      Delete
  5. Gowthama RajaveluJanuary 14, 2019 at 11:50 AM

    Reading impacts writing, I agree but experience matters the most and it shapes our writing process and also makes it even more meaningful which goes on to become influential. It all depends on how he perceives the world around him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 14, 2019 at 1:39 PM

      Of course, i never meant to discredit experience. The very first point in my list underscores the importance of experience.

      Delete
  6. Ruchira KhannaJanuary 15, 2019 at 12:07 AM

    I agree with you!
    Need solitude to write from my heart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 15, 2019 at 6:44 AM

      Solitude has a special knack for connecting us with our hearts.

      Delete
  7. AmritaJanuary 15, 2019 at 3:18 PM

    So very true.Raw material and the process of writing itself are two different things . Good writers are sensitive people whose hearts are moved by what is happening around them.

    ReplyDelete

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