tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4056652857722842516.post4073297755016089513..comments2024-03-27T09:59:30.485-07:00Comments on MYRIAD SPHERES: A Writer's ResponsibilityMichael K. Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03128433159545304223noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4056652857722842516.post-5909097355421654502012-05-01T21:36:53.668-07:002012-05-01T21:36:53.668-07:00Van Gogh created some of the most evocative works ...Van Gogh created some of the most evocative works of art known to the modern world but that was hardly appreciated by the world of his time. Maybe I'm just romanticizing it but I think he simply painted honestly--and desperately.<br /><br />Inasmuch as what good as great art changes from one era to the next, what counts as great literature changes over time. I think it's pointless to get hung up on notions of whether what we write will be worthwhile to posterity.<br /><br />If I write a book, I would like to write the best book I can write. I'll make a point of remembering that what defines my characters in their worst and finest moments are the same things that define humans in our wrist and finest moments. I'll endeavor to write it as honestly and unpretentiously as I can. <br /><br />From where I'm sitting, writers merely bear witness to the machinations of our world--no matter what form our works take. In every story, we are constantly reminding ourselves of what it means to be human. That's all.Tonya Moorehttp://www.tonyamoore.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4056652857722842516.post-56717156133257228782012-04-16T18:43:42.045-07:002012-04-16T18:43:42.045-07:00I would say that a writer has a responsibility to ...I would say that a writer has a responsibility to TRY to create great art. It may not be possible; it may not fall within that writer's talent. But if one is going to write formula novels for a living, one should have already tried and failed to write a great work before that time. It's also possible to work towards a great work of art, attempting to perfect the craft through intermediate attempts, including formula or genre writing that may not have the cachet of snootier literature. All art is inherently deceptive, including writing. Good art illustrates a simple truth (or several); great art illustrates a universal truth (or even many). <br /><br />I like your list of requirements for great art, especially the need for meaning. A book doesn't have to have a moral in the Victorian style to have meaning. Reading a novel is the closest you can come to seeing the inside of another mind--actually getting a view of the world from another set of eyes. The medium of language is unfortunately clumsy in the translation, but it's the best approximation we have. I think every writer has a duty to attempt to show--not tell--his readers whatever truth he can, putting every bit of his understanding into the picture (of course, it's more likely HER, but the same rule applies). Not every maxim or bromide possible, but what morals, values and virtues, observations and extractions apply to the story and characters at hand. Even Jesus taught by parable; saying "be excellent to each other" garners a laugh, not a thoughtful meditation as does the parable of the Good Samaritan. What's hilarious is that there was a great debate on the subject in the middle 1800s--many claimed that Jesus must have been telling the literal truth, so his parables were not fiction. Personally I come down on the other side; they were fiction, and art, and great art at that, because they still cause people to stop and think to this day. That's a high standard, but shooting for the moon will at least get you a chance to reach higher than your own rooftop.Renaissance Nerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13952798313519783430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4056652857722842516.post-50383121433499368282012-04-08T14:53:57.951-07:002012-04-08T14:53:57.951-07:00Thanks, Steve! I'll definitely have a look.
B...Thanks, Steve! I'll definitely have a look.<br /><br />Best,<br />MichaelMichael K. Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03128433159545304223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4056652857722842516.post-23235683935052118462012-04-08T14:52:39.333-07:002012-04-08T14:52:39.333-07:00You may want to take a look at Sarah Hoyt's no...You may want to take a look at Sarah Hoyt's notion of Human Wave SF. It is a response of writers of a certain age who realize SF isn't as much fun as when we were all kids. Maybe the future need not be dystopian and we've a responsibility to show the light side as well as the dark. <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/03/reading-and-writing-manifestoes.html" rel="nofollow">My</a> scribblings are in the same vein, but Mrs. Hoyt's <a href="http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/03/21/what-is-human-wave-science-fiction-3/" rel="nofollow">manifesto</a> is a better starting-point.Steve Polinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com