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Writing

Are You a Writer or an Artist?

September 13, 2020

art, artist, experience, experiencing, marketing, mediocrity, reality, subjectivity, writing

Most fiction writers would like to think of themselves as artists. To be an author is to be an artist, right? Well, no; not necessarily. The question “are you a writer or an artist” might corner some of you. Perhaps you resist it.

“Surely”, you might say, “one can be both a writer and an artist”. Again, the answer is no, not necessarily. And mind you, I don’t mean that you might be writing nonfiction.

There are untold numbers of fiction writers out there who think they’re artists. Remember that short-lived meme that began with a statement – let’s take “I’m a writer” as our example – then continued with a series of photos, captioned like “What my mom thinks I do”, “What my friends think I do”?

writer or artist — Art, expression, narrative, affect… These are *very* different concepts

It then ended with “What I really do”. And here’s where the problem lies. What you really do is often in conflict with what you think you do.

If you feel brave enough to discover something about you as a writer (or an artist) – self-delusion is a viable strategy for some people – by all means, read on.

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Rhythm in Prose: The Rolling Waves of Storytelling

August 31, 2020

Criticism, Writing

guest post, Igor Livramento, narrative, pace, sounds

Today’s post on the concept of rhythm in prose is authored by Igor da Silva Livramento. He’s a fellow academic from UFSC, fellow author, fellow creative-writing advisor, and overall a great fellow. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. Check out his papers on Academia.edu, his music on Bandcamp, and his personal musings on his blog – in Portuguese, Spanish/Castilian, and English.

So you’ve heard of rhythm. It exists most explicitly in music, especially music with drums and beats and looping patterns. It also exists in poetry, with its rhyming and metrical patterns.

Indeed, rhythm is a remarkable feature of our very life and its processes. Think of sleeping, walking, breathing, or having a heartbeat.

No wonder, then, that rhythm in prose is so important. In this post we’ll see how it manifests and why it matters.

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Concept Fiction: a How-to Guide for Intelligent Narratives

August 11, 2020

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

concept, creativity, fiction, genre, imagination, literary fiction, narrative, writing

By “concept”, we usually refer to an abstract theme, topic, or group of ideas. And so, in this context, concept fiction refers to writing that is not plot-based but rather themed-based.

In some way, this might make you think that concept fiction is a matter of genre, but this is not entirely accurate. True, most e.g. crime fiction is plot-based (whereas literary fiction isn’t), but there is an important difference.

Whereas the idea of genre fiction (or of literary fiction) informs the aesthetics and form of the narrative – that is, what it looks like – concept fiction refers to the process itself: how to write the narrative.

Of course, having a different methodology of writing directly affects the outcome – and so, to some extent, the aesthetics. This means that:

although concept fiction is applicable to any genre (or literary fiction, or experimental fiction), it does somewhat blur the established borders between genres and can destabilize its own position in the literary category.
it’s an invaluable tool of imagination and creativity.

Especially if you’re a genre writer, the first element above might sound like something bad. It isn’t, but it also depends on your priorities. We’ll get back to this later in the post. For now, a simpler way of putting it would be this: “Concept fiction helps your work stand out from the vast crowd of mediocre works”.

Much better, isn’t it?

In this post we’ll take a closer look at all these elements, and see how writing concept fiction can help you produce intelligent narratives that are cohesive, symbolically rich, and intriguingly original.

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