Is it necessary going out and doing something to improve your writing?

This may seem like a strange question to ask to any writer, but it is strangely significant to all writers. Take, for example, Emily Dickinson, a social recluse who got most of her insight into the world from talking to her family, reading books and newspapers, and looking out of her window. So It seems quite clear that the correct answer to this question is no, it is not necessary to go out in to the world and physically do something to improve your writing, because Dickinson has proven that you can create inspirational pieces of work without experiencing very much of the world at all.

However, Dickinson did have her emotions from what she had learnt about the world, which fuelled her work and made it memorable.

With today’s technology it isn’t necessary to go out and experience anything. The internet has various videos, blogs, stories, pictures etc which can feed our imaginations and spark new ideas for our writing.
 

However although it isn’t necessary to go out and experience things first hand, I think it is definitely worth it. Any writer can write about any experience that they’ve seen or heard about, but I personally believe it is quite obvious to the reader when a writer has experienced what they are writing about. Writers can include every single emotion and thought that was going through their mind at the time, making the readers experience much more realistic and memorable. 

Is a story our 'letter to the world'?

Many writers would see their work as a letter to the world. Biographies and autobiographies are the most obvious form in which a writer can get their story and life events across to the reader.  Fictional writers also have the opportunity to recreate certain events or personalities from their own life, by putting certain aspects of it into their fictional characters, subtly telling parts of their story in a less obtrusive and obvious manner.  Writing about your life in a way where the meaning behind it is not entirely obvious to the reader can be a great escape for some people.  Emily Dickinson is a great example of this. Dickinson wrote about her feelings for her sister in law (which at the time society would have been extremely against) in a number of her poems, which may not be entirely obvious to the rest of the world (were they to read them at the time), but the meaning would be more clear to herself and perhaps the intended receiver.

Not all writers start their work with the intention of including parts of their own lives into it, but I think this will happen to all writers with at least one piece of their work. It is hard for any writer to keep their personal lives and the lives of their characters separate, whether they relate to a character personally, or perhaps the personality of a character is very similar to someone they knew, it is very likely that the writers perceptions of the (real) person, and events that the writer connects with that particular person, will in some way be worked into their work. 

Should a writer write about the social/political issues of their time?

I don’t believe it is necessary for a writer to write about the social or political problems of their time. I think it is inevitable.

Most writers take a huge amount of influence for their works from their surroundings at the time, even if the piece they are writing is set in a past or futuristic setting, it will most likely contain influences from present day issues.  Emily Dickinson for example, wrote a number of poems on the civil war.  Dickinson herself was not directly affected by the war. At the time she was shut away in her room. She only observed the effects and devastation from the war from various newspapers which were brought to her by family members, and from what she could see from the view out of her window.

In my opinion, without the influence of social and political issues of the time a writer’s creativity will be very limited, being amongst strong opinions that they may or may not agree with will feed an artist’s imagination.

Social and political issues offer something that a reader can relate to, even if the writer is not directly talking about specific issues from current events, by having underlying similarities the writer is able to give something that the reader can connect with, which is something all writers strive to do. 

Artistic freedom...

She woke up to the crisp cold air of a winters morning which bit at the bare skin on her face and arms. Pulling in all loose limbs to the confines of the unnaturally warm duvet. Turning to her right she discovered the reason for her waking. Her boyfriend, a very broad and muscular man was sprawled out across three quarters of the bed, mouth wide open and snoring so loud that even after she had vacated the bedroom and sleepily shuffled downstairs, she could still hear him snoring away.
The New house seemed huge with the lack of furniture which would usually clutter people's living rooms and hallways. The walls were completely blank ... a blank canvas.
What more could anyone want. Four large walls of white to do with as she pleased...complete artistic freedom.

She would first start with the back wall, the one which would be seen first upon entering the room. Hovering on top of a ladder with paintbrushes protruding from various crevices between body parts; behind ears, under arms hanging out of her mouth.  But the most important brush hovered inches from the clean white wall, black paint coating the tip and only a very short distance from marking the beautiful sea of white. Here she stood, a top the ladder, hovering over the wall for a little more than an hour, frozen solid. So many creative images flowed through her mind in that hour, but which one should she choose?

How has my life influenced my writing?

As a writer everything I see and do will influence what I write about. Born and bred in London with a paranoid mother I've been inbuilt with a subconscious skill of noticing almost everything that is happening around me; cautious of everyone and everything. I’m quite sure if i didn't have my friends I would be as much a recluse as the great Emily Dickinson once was ... although for very different reasons. Dickinson’s surroundings, and the things she read are clearly shown in her work. She struggled with a depressed mother, possibly fighting with depression herself, and battled with feelings for her brother’s wife; all of which had a large influence on her poetry.

History is a huge influence on my writing. After being forced to watch countless documentaries with my mum and grandma about various events in history, I started to develop a real interest for it; In particular Victorian London. Some of the greatest novels have been set in the streets of Victorian London, one major example of course being Sherlock Holmes. With so much history coming from just one city the possibilities are endless. The same story-line can have such a different outcome simply by moving it through the strong divides of the class system that were more prominent at that time.

I definitely believe that where you are from, what you read and what interests you have has a huge impact on what you write. Without those influences I’m quite sure today’s books and films would not be nearly as interesting. 

Is the writer as an artist special?

Of course the writer would like to think so, who wouldn't? But is the writer actually special or is it what they write that should be considered special? 

When reading a book I don't often consider the author and how 'special' they are as an artist. It was only until earlier today in my author studies class that I even considered the life of the author. I'm sure most of you wouldn't take the time to research the author of the book you were reading (unless perhaps it was relevant to the story), and surely this shows that the author is not that special?

Once something has been published; or even just seen by people who aren't friends and family, the author no longer plays a part in what they have written. Barthes 1967 'Death of the Author' essay supports a similar theme that the writing and the creator are unrelated.
Once the book is in the hands of the reader, I consider the person who is reading it to be the special one. They have to use their imagination to create scenes and images out of the words that the author has given them. Every reader is different in their interpretations of characters and settings etc. which to me, makes their artistic imagination the most special part of any book.


When a piece of work is in progress, in an artistic point of view the author is the most important and 'special' person when looking at the success of a piece of work. However, once it is released to public eyes, the author, whether willingly or not, relinquishes their importance over the piece.