About The Self and Jail

Post 1425:

When I used to write more songs than books, I usually made it about myself and the things in my own life. Not a bad thing. Personal stuff can be hard-hitting and poignant. Some would say autobiographical from-the-heart writing is the only way to go. Write what you know. Be honest and naked and unabashed with your bad self. We’ve heard that bit.

It’s all debatable. My thoughts on prose writing are a bit different, though ever-changing. I believe now more than ever that personal feelings and experience CAN get in the way of the story.

Let’s take a step back. You can’t not have personal feelings. You are in fact you, after all. But my favorite writers tend to imagine all the feelings and shove them into the characters they conjure.

Let’s use Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge as an example to make some sense out of this tangled ball of yarn. The story contains myriad points of view. He can't believe all the things the characters believe; that would make him an impossible walking contradiction. Hardy is able to imagine different perspectives—social, political, spiritual, etc.

But every now and then he just starts going off with full on personal commentary. It’s genius, really, because he gives us brief little moments to stamp his ownership on the story. We might forget that we’re reading Hardy until he offers us a little wave to show us he’s still there.

It doesn’t have to be like this. There are no real rules. I do think it’s an artful way to write, and it gives you more options for creativity. It’s not about losing yourself, either. The more sides you try to see and infuse into your characters, the more you might codify your own feelings.

Hope that made some sense. And don't forget, in the end, all writers are narcissists and we should all be put in jail with our “ideas.” Can you imagine the stories?

Cheers and see you after.