P-A-S-S-I-O-N and Confidence And Publication Part 11 of 11
Why do you need confidence when you write is there something you need to worry about? If you are wondering why people say it doesn’t seem to move them, can it be because your writing is not passionate enough? You haven’t made the reader feel for your writing?
Feel free to answer all of some of these questions, so you get an idea where I’m going with this one here are a few to start with:
What is the most important thing about passion in writing?
Can it be possible to publish a manuscript if there isn’t passion put into it?
Why should we ave confidence and focus and persistence alongside our passion?
Is writing more than just one book?
Does publishing mean anything in the grand scheme of things?
Boy those are hard ones and when you think about it they are more than just a yes or no, as they can both divide and unite writers. In some cases, some put their hearts and souls into one book with the rest being the “money.”
Here is one that I was thinking long and hard about:
Do writers write about dark sides because they, more so than most have darker passions that only writing can eliminate?
Or…
Do writers express the darker side because that is how writers deal with the darker sides of passion?
Wow, hm two opposing views.
Now let’s hear it from you!
7 Comments
AmberInGlass
What is the most important thing about passion in writing?
Though, I must admit I've missed most of this series, I would say that passion's most important aspect in writing is the fact that without the drive of passion behind the words, writing really shows for it. Anyone can tell the difference between something someone wrote because they had to, or something the author really enjoyed writing.
Can it be possible to publish a manuscript if there isn't passion put into it?
Yes, but it isn't something I would opt to read. I've closed a lot of "popular" books after the first couple of chapters because I thought the author lacked passion.
Why should we have confidence and focus and persistence alongside our passion?
Confidence is hard to develop, but it is important. If you spend all your time thinking you aren't good enough you limit yourself. I think everyone as a writer must reach a point where they suck up the self doubt, develop a tough skin, and just start putting their work out there, proud of their accomplishment.
Focus and persistance is also important. Writing a good manuscript is a slow work of art. You might have months where you are just churning out ideas and good material, and those months may be followed by other months, where you don't touch the manuscript at all. If you lose your focus or your persistance to see it through, you will never finish.
Is writing more than just one book?
It depends. Some people may just have one story to tell. Just telling that one story doesn't negate the writing process that they surely have put into the other story. Other people may just want to tell stories.
Does publishing mean anything in the grand scheme of things?
It depends on what the individual is writing for. Maybe someone chronicled the tales of their life to pass down to later generations. Publishing wouldn't matter as long as it was saved and passed down. In this day and age it could be saved digitally.
Do writers write about dark sides because they, more so than most have darker passions that only writing can eliminate? Or…
Do writers express the darker side because that is how writers deal with the darker sides of passion?
I think the beauty of writing stems from the fact that authors are probably the most diverse group of any people. Writers come from all walks of life and they bring their own perspectives into their writing.
Because of writer's varying backgrounds, I find it impossible to just say yes to the first option of that question. However, some writers certainly do use their writing as a way to explore the darker sides of their passions.
I think the same reasoning also applies to the second half of the question. Some writers express the darker side as social commentary–a way of saying "look at this world, why do we do this?"
Other writer's may just turn a blind eye to darker issues, prefering instead to write candy coated fairy tales. Again, I think neither option is so black and white. Writers all write for various reasons.
Christy Pinheiro, EA ABA
I think it's possible to publish a book without passion, but the reading material reflects the author's ho-hum attitude.
I think it ultimately hurts sales if the reader can tell that the author is bored with the subject matter.
The best example of this that I know of is Anne Rice's last "vampire" book. She had recently become a widow and a born-again Catholic and the reviews on her last book were so scathing that she responded to them publicly and it became a bit of a web phenomenon.
Fans accused Rice of "selling out"– I think that writers really have to be true to themselves, otherwise it's just an exercise in futility.
Conquer The Monkey
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JS
One line uniform answer to all the questions posted:
Passion should bring out the best to deliver the best – whether it's writing, publishing or marketing – irrespective of the topic written about.
Graham Moody
Passion doesn't hurt. But writing is work, and passion can go out of work before it is done. That's when discipline is necessary.
Graham Moody
This 'anonymous' posts random advertisements everywhere.
Rebecca
Graham– in fact they did four on other posts of mine, hard to find things these are.