Writing Is A Real Job! An Author's Purpose
You'll hear this a lot in your writing career. Writing isn't a real job. No one reads books anymore. Stop writing and be an Instagram influencer. Or something.
Stop the lies. Writing is a legit job and we authors have a purpose. We play one of the most important roles on Earth, if I do say so myself.
Not only do you have power, your job as an author is to tell the world about their problems so they can fix it.
Unlike other people *coughpoliticianscough*, writing done well is much more discrete and readers are less likely to slam you or your book down the trash. I'm not saying you won't gain haters. you probably will and that's the harsh truth of it, but it a way, it's more real.
Take Zootopia for example. Read the reviews. They say they went in expecting a typical Disney movie about talking animals. But then Byron Howard and Rich Moore give us a story about intersectionality. That's why we love it so much. (Apart from the gorgeous animation. And a beautiful performance by Ginnifer Goodwin. And Jason Bateman's comedy. And...okay I'll stop there.)
If we read a book flat out about racism, would it be as welcomed? By some people, yes. By others, no. But there will be more debates over it than something like Zootopia. We are more likely to accept Zootopia because it doesn't force it down our throats, but does it more subtly we can pick it apart at our own pace.
If you're ready to acceptJudy's fistbump the author's call, I encourage you to make it official and hand a poster. Put something like Camus' quote on it.
Or, if you're like me and want to make it more personal: My purpose as an author is to keep civilisation from destroying itself.
Also if you're like me, you'll eat chocolate to seal the deal. Anytime is a good time to eat chocolate.
Related: Do Books Really Need A Moral
Stop the lies. Writing is a legit job and we authors have a purpose. We play one of the most important roles on Earth, if I do say so myself.
1. Our purpose.
"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying itself."
I love this quote. It makes me feel powerful.
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| You got it. Source: Giphy |
Unlike other people *coughpoliticianscough*, writing done well is much more discrete and readers are less likely to slam you or your book down the trash. I'm not saying you won't gain haters. you probably will and that's the harsh truth of it, but it a way, it's more real.
Take Zootopia for example. Read the reviews. They say they went in expecting a typical Disney movie about talking animals. But then Byron Howard and Rich Moore give us a story about intersectionality. That's why we love it so much. (Apart from the gorgeous animation. And a beautiful performance by Ginnifer Goodwin. And Jason Bateman's comedy. And...okay I'll stop there.)
If we read a book flat out about racism, would it be as welcomed? By some people, yes. By others, no. But there will be more debates over it than something like Zootopia. We are more likely to accept Zootopia because it doesn't force it down our throats, but does it more subtly we can pick it apart at our own pace.
2. What this means for us.
It's fine for us to say in a buff voice hey look I'm an author and I have a purpose!
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| If you said it in The Ember Island Players's Toph voice, you're right. Source: Giphy |
But it'll just be empty words unless we take the responsibility to write about a problem. You have to actually go out of your way to observe daily life. What's something you see that needs to be fixed?
This is theme, guys, theme. The message of your story. The moral of your fable. The you get the point.
Find the problem. How does it manifest in your characters and their world? How is it resolved? Think about this from every perspective. I have a future post planned where I'll go into this in more detail, but for now, these are a few pointers.
It's not hard to find something humanity is struggling with. Take the virus crisis for example. (That sounds pretty cool for something not cool.) Many people are struggling with peace and are panic-buying essentials. There, a problem. There's people living in horrible conditions simultaneous to people living in glamour homes? Problem.
After finding the problem, you have to find a way to fix it.
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| Be a Felix! Source: Tenor |
You want to ask as many what ifs as possible. What if the governments globally worked together to organise grocery services? What if world peace was a thing?
It is possible to write about a problem without fixing it within the story. You see it a lot in books with negative change arcs. I'm not an expert in writing these kinds of books, but when I read them, my number one tip is to show how it could be fixed. Ending things with a glimmer of hope, no matter how devastating everything else is, rings true with audiences. Done well, it can be just as good as a story where the problem is fixed.
Take the musical Jekyll and Hyde for example. *A spoiler warning.* There's a problem with society's two-facedness. (They sing a song about it, Facade. Go listen to it, it's a cool song.) Jekyll finds a solution in an elixir that separates good from evil, which would fix the problem, but something goes wrong and the story ends in despair.
While Jekyll and Hyde isn't a perfect example of ending with hope in spite of the gloom and fixing the problem with an injection is a questionable way of solving something, it illustrates the main point. Identify the problem and hint at the solution though the character is in a downward spiral.
Does this mean that theme is compulsory? Of course not. Writing is subjective. You can do whatever you want. But if you want to make your story great, theme is a must have. The stronger the message, the stronger the story.
3. The possibilities.
Let's assume your writing is perfect, the design process is perfect, the smell of the paper is perfect and everything else is perfect. Let's also say that one person reads your book and identifies with your story's problem.
By the rule of the 6 Degrees of Separation, if that one person goes out and tells six people about your book who all read it, then tell six more people, if the cycle goes on long enough, your book will be known worldwide.
We've all heard of Harry Potter. I haven't read or watched the movies, but even I know the main characters are Harry, Ron and Hermione. That's the power of six!
More exposure means more people will read about your message. And who knows, maybe enough people will change and the world will become a better place.
By the rule of the 6 Degrees of Separation, if that one person goes out and tells six people about your book who all read it, then tell six more people, if the cycle goes on long enough, your book will be known worldwide.
We've all heard of Harry Potter. I haven't read or watched the movies, but even I know the main characters are Harry, Ron and Hermione. That's the power of six!
More exposure means more people will read about your message. And who knows, maybe enough people will change and the world will become a better place.
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| Atta girl! Source: Giphy |
If you're ready to accept
The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying itself.
Or, if you're like me and want to make it more personal: My purpose as an author is to keep civilisation from destroying itself.
Also if you're like me, you'll eat chocolate to seal the deal. Anytime is a good time to eat chocolate.
~
Writing is a legitimate job. It's also an important job. Without authors, the world would still be deep into the crimes of history. I don't mean the smoke of today, I mean the fire of problems. I mean legal slavery compared to today's illegal slavery. Even if everyone around you is telling you to not become an author, don't listen to them. The world needs you.Related: Do Books Really Need A Moral
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