Intro to Writing – Lecture One

My personal responses to the lecture

This lecture made me think deeper about so many areas of writing.  Deeper in ways that I never actually thought, and already with the first lecture, it has opened my mind to the possibilities out there, but also the pitfalls involved in writing.

The question of self is a good example as I've never felt comfortable with myself as a person, but in the way that the lecture puts it, the self as a writer is different in many respects.  I've never liked writing as first party, preferring only to write as 3rd party, but when I see now how 'self' can be used in the writing form, I might actually find it much easier to write from that aspect as it's not writing as myself as the individual, but self as in the writer/character.

As to my thoughts on each of the questions mentioned, I wanted to see how I think of them now, as it may change further into my studies how I think of them.  I look to see if there is (if any) improvement in my thinking patterns down the track…

What is the relationship between the ‘flesh & blood’ author and his writing?

The relationship between the person, the author and their writing is actually a good question.  This brings to mind the WHY he chooses to write about a particular subject.  This also brings to mind other aspects of the question.

Does he choose to write because he needs to?  Does he choose to write because he wants to? Or is it that he just loves to write and always just wants to put pen to paper for whatever reason.  Personally, I think I'm a combination of all 3.  There are days where I love to write for the sake of writing, there are other days that something happens, and I feel an overwhelming need to vent by writing out what happened and my feelings about the situation.  And there are times when I feel the need to write as I feel something needs to be said so that others can see it also.

But the other type of relationship that I started to get into earlier as to why he chooses to write about a particular subject.  Is it something that he's experienced and feels the need to share?  Many autobiographicals are just this as someone has experienced a tragic accident and has taken a long journey of discovery and felt the need to share their stories with others.  Many are mistakes made, and just as many are written confessions.

The writer could have a professional need to write, the need to make it his life's work.  Seeing something new that he feels the need to report to others.

The writer, who loves to write, perhaps just want to pen down his fantastical thoughts in the work of fiction from the many genres.

What sort of power dynamics might exist between a writer and his subject/s?

The online dictionary at http://www.freedictionary.com gives several online meanings to the word dynamics.  I thought I knew the word, but looking at the meanings, I think I vaguely understand this question but will postpone my answer until the course goes more fully into this subject.

Ok, as another writer friend, Meg Leigh (http://megliegh.net) explained to me, by providing me a link to a Yahoo discussion on this very question.  One answer there provided by someone named 'okstatec…' (as far as I can gather) mentioned that issues like prestige, class, status would be in play, and power isn't always about money.  I'll admit, I'd have to agree with him.

When I initially thought of this question, the idea 'puppet on a string' came to mind, as in the power between a cartoonist and his character.  A daffy duck cartoon once gave this example when the artist (in the cartoon, it showed later this was bugs bunny, another cartoon character) was using an eraser to erase donald duck's body and keep giving him new oddly shaped body.  But now that I understand this better, it's not that, but more to do with social structure.  So as to the power dynamics of the writer and his subjects, would that really matter?  Perhaps, I guess, the writer might choose to write in an area where he's more comfortable.  The old cliched 'struggling writer' fallen on hard times might just want to write of those that are equally on hard times, and those that are in the media spotlight such as an actor/writer, might want to write of similar subjects.  I have read books in the past where writers have crossed their 'social boundaries' so to speak, and found that when they do, the area outside what they're familiar with is often condensed down to a couple of sentences, a paragraph or half a page at most.  When they try to write beyond that outside their boundaries, a lot of imagination comes into play.

What makes us 'trust' an author's account in writing?

What makes us trust an author's account would perhaps vary from person to person.  Personally, as a reader, I'd like to think that the author has done his research and got all the facts sorted, and I often find it more believable when dates and events are mentioned that correlate to the written word.  If an author failed to do this, especially that of a journalist, I more than likely see it purely as fiction and not take it seriously.  Don't get me wrong, I like fiction too for purely entertainment value, but if it's non-fiction I wish to read, then I'd feel I was wasting my time on what the author had written or I'd feel the need to do more research to compare results to what has been written.

What is ethical representation?

I've seen examples of this in the field of journalism when watching current affair type programs.  I believe ethical representation to mean, when writing about someone/something, to not falsely talk of them as in slander.  If a writer must write negative connotations, then they must make sure that all the research has been done and all the facts correct, and to be impartial and not emotional when writing about someone.  Only in this way can the reader still be objective and come to their own conclusions.  If emotions were added to the mix, it could incite emotions in the reader, thereby causing more damage/harm to the subject, especially if facts presented are incorrect.

What is provocative writing?

Provocative writing I see in many social media areas.  Sites such as Twitter, Dogs Online, and Facebook are all good examples, most commonly the latter.  Many people will write provocatively to incite hatred or dislike in others, or plead a friend's case to draw in more support from other friends.  The competitive and political arena of animal rescue is a good example of this, where rescue members will plead the case of a dog or cat in the pound, pleading for help to get that animal released, or groups of rescues will belittle and slander other rescues, as to why is still beyond me, but sadly, it does happen.

I've also seen this in commercialism, where charities will pull at your heart strings to donate.  They will try to convince you that just $30 is enough to cover the research to help save a dying child, or that $15 will feed an entire village for a month.

Provocative writing would have to be one of the easiest things to achieve, but would also have to be one of the hardest things to avoid, and even in the field of journalism, I have even noticed journalists (in a few news or research articles that I've read) to fail in this, and thereby failing to be impartial when writing an article, so that the article reads more as a selling point for a product than actual facts on research.

Do I want to be a writer?  Why?

Of course I want to be a writer!  More than anything!  When I was about 6, there was only 2 things I wanted in this world: to rescue animals and to be a writer.  Neither dream has ever left me.  All my life, I have been an avid reader, partially for entertainment, but mostly to study the layout of books, how the author chose that kind of layout, and I often wondered why.  I studied the way the stories were written; how they started, how they ended, what writing style would work best with what type of story.  I read up on the authors and their personal experiences and their reasons to write.  I even studied the history of letters, as I wanted to know the history of the alphabet.

Years down the track I studied news articles, commercial (especially printed Ads), I wanted to see what the writer was seeing, what they were aiming for, what kind of audience they were trying to reach out to.  When it came to news articles, I studied how they worded it so as to cover all the facts.  The latter especially, aiding me in my own writing skills, as it's showed me how to get the most said with minimal words, (more recently, Twitter has helped with this also).  I've learned that depending on what needs to be written, that's what dictates the word count, but only to a limit.  That although news articles and printed Ads need to be kept to a basic minimum, fiction can be exaggerated upon, but not so much that readers notice the abuse of trivial unnecessary words.  By adding description to the story line rather than how many "and"s, "the"s or "but"s can be squeezed in here and there.

Thanks to writers websites such as http://www.fictionaddiction.net, back in the old days when they had a social forum, I met some wonderful, now published, writers.  Through their critiques on my writings, I learned what needed to be said, and what didn't. and how to word it all.

My hope for this course is to help me improve and refine what I have already learned over the past few decades.  I then hope to combine my dreams, to write about animal rescue; to write about endangered species, why they need our help and how we can help them.  I hope to write about the environment and wake people up to the need of change.  Basically, I want to write, so as to educate others, and open their eyes as to what needs to be done overall for planet Earth and its inhabitants.

What is the role of the writer in our culture as I perceive it?

The role of the writer in our culture is a big one.  Our world thrives on the written word.  It's everywhere; the internet and social media, in newspapers and magazines, on products we buy from the supermarket.

I see the role of the writer as being one to educate others in what they have witnessed or experienced.  Be it bad food or lifestyle choices, an accident on the motorway, research they have done that they wish to share,  Research writers, for example, may suggest to us not to drink coffee as it causes health problems, or just the opposite; news writers want to share with us the daily or weekly events.  Fictional writers help us to escape in a fantasy world of romance, science fiction or mystery, amongst other genres, when we find our own lives get boring or unbearable.

Ever since the very first alphabet was written all those centuries ago, there have been writers, putting down their thoughts to paper. Since then, many writers have 'sprung out of the woodwork' so to speak, and although modern technology may slow down the popularity of books, writing in itself will never cease, for as long as there is a need to communicate, there will always be a need to write.