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Writing Motivation: Why Do We Write Fiction

December 28, 2017

People approach the motivation behind an action usually from a linear, cause-and-effect perspective. This isn’t necessarily wrong: we eat because we are hungry, and we drink because we are thirsty. However, increased complexity begins to blur the lines between a cause and its effect. Sometimes we might eat not because we are hungry, but because we are sad. Writing motivation, that is, the force behind the production of text, is such a complex issue.

To some extent, you can claim that writing motivation originates from the desire to write. I write because I want to tell a story is probably a basic, simple way to describe it. But there is a problem there. “I want to tell a story” indicates volition. Writing fiction cannot be a process you do willingly.

The first thing you see when you visit the main site – https://homeforfiction.com – is a quote by George Orwell that aptly describes the madness and self-conflicting feelings behind writing fiction. Any author will tell you: they hate writing; every word, every sentence, every page and every chapter. It’s exhausting, life-sucking, it messes with your head.

So, why do we do it?

writing motivation
To paraphrase an oft-quoted phrase, authors hate not writing and hate writing. They only like having written
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Fake News, Based on a True Story

December 27, 2017

Why Are There Fake News?

There’s a question that has suddenly become relevant. But just because the question has acquired momentum, it doesn’t mean fake news is a new thing. It’s all about narrativeaffect, and control. Here’s a piece of fake news that’s already a couple of thousand years old: “God comes to earth in the body of his own son [sic], he is crucified, he is resurrected [by his own self, presumably?] and everyone is suddenly absolved [from the fact that a woman supposedly once ate a goddamn apple].

As a narrative, this fake news has a linear progression, but with plenty of intertextuality, which enhances its appeal. Crucially, it also has a personal-experience perspective. It’s not just about some random nameless character in a galaxy far-far away, but about you – yes, you, you sinner! As a result, it has great affective power, and is therefore effective in its mission: To exercise control over the populace.

The Discovered-Manuscript Trope of Gothic Fiction

Whoa, I hear you say. What kind of a leap was that? How did we get from fake news to Gothic fiction? Bare with me, and you’ll see.

Fake news, based on a true story
Fake news, based on a true story
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Big City Living (why I Love the Smell of Garbage)

December 26, 2017

What’s better, to live in a big city or a small village? Hey, there’s a thought: what’s better, to live in a small city or a big village (and does that phrase make sense)? I was born in a metropolis with a bit over 4 million inhabitants. I lived there until I was 17 – hence, a massive influence on my personality. Then I moved to another metropolis, about the same size (maybe very slightly bigger in absolute numbers, but covering a larger area it always felt smaller).

And then, I moved to a hamlet with about 100 inhabitants. Don’t ask why or where, it doesn’t matter. Life just happens. And life just happened when, after about two years in that village, I moved to a town that was larger by about 2000 people – and colder by about 40 degrees F (20C) on average. There, I lived for another two years until I moved to the place I currently live – a city of about 350.000 inhabitants.

Big city
My favorite city is in the mind
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