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.
An interesting argument you have put forward here, I personally do not think you need to go out and do something to be able to write but I do believe that in order to improve you need to open yourself up to new experiences.
ReplyDeleteHow are we meant to grow and develop not only as writers but as people without experiencing the world?
Interesting post, I definitely agree that with with the advent of the internet it's possible to experience a lot of the world around us from the comfort of our own homes, but that the payoff for experiencing things first hand will always be more rewarding and give a writer's work more authenticity and depth.
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