Brilliant writing - inspiring or intimidating?

III · Mar 14, 2008

I just finished reading Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Now I'm not only questioning my abilities as a writer, I'm questioning whether I should even be allowed to use the English language at all. The story crafting, settings, and characterizations were brilliant, but Chabon's fluidity of language and imaginative descriptions were simply stunning.

So after you finish reading a masterwork, are you inspired to do better as a writer or do you just feel like hanging it up and taking up finger painting?

(And btw, thanks for the recommendation KTC!)

DWSTXS · Mar 14, 2008

I see great works as inspiring. They are intimidating, sure, but if you let that stop you, then you might not get anywhere in life, in any endeavor.
After all, how many different fields can you say that you will be THE best in?

Siddow · Mar 14, 2008

Great, another for my ever-growing TBR pile...

That said, I feel inspired. I'm reading a memoir right now that makes me want to break my pencil at some of the fantastic insights and the way they're shown, but still it inspires me in ways to show my own characters growing.

JimmyB27 · Mar 14, 2008

Neither. I read as a reader, and I write as a writer. Everything I read will, obviously, ultimately have some effect on my writing, but I'm not usually thinking about my own writing when I'm reading.

If you see what I mean.

nerds · Mar 14, 2008

My reaction for myself is: Do better. Be a craftsman. I love when high(er) standards are set, something to shoot for. What brings me down is reading careless, slipshod writing, which I quickly toss into the nearest wall even while knowing it has sold a zillion. THAT discourages me. Great writing/craftsmanship and the fact that it gets published at all spur me.

dgiharris · Mar 14, 2008

nerdsRus said:
My reaction for myself is: Do better. Be a craftsman. I love when high(er) standards are set, something to shoot for. What brings me down is reading careless, slipshod writing, which I quickly toss into the nearest wall even while knowing it has sold a zillion. THAT discourages me. Great writing/craftsmanship and the fact that it gets published at all spur me.

GUess I get the exact opposite effect as far as horrible writing goes.

Whenever I read a "bestseller" that seems written by retarded monkeys on a drinking binge, it gives me hope.

If they publish that dogshit, then I have a shot!!!

But, when I read great writing, it inspires me to be better and I look up to it like a boy who looks up to his big brother. And I think to myself, "One day, i will be big and strong like him"

Mel...

rugcat · Mar 14, 2008

Definitely intimidating. I feel the same way about music. If a writer or musician is merely better than I, it raises the bar and pushes me to work even harder.

But when you run up against someone really stunning, totally out of your league, whether in writing or music, it can make you wonder, "what's the point?"

But eventually I get over it. I will never be a awe inspiring writer or a brilliant musician, but I do believe I have a talent for both, albeit a minor one. And most importantly, I've found my voice. What I write and play have obviously been influenced by others, but my voice is my own -- distinctive, for better or worse. So I do feel I add something, and occasionally I can pull off something halfway decent.

Oh, and I get paid.

Claudia Gray · Mar 14, 2008

It used to intimidate me. Finally, a few years ago, I read Lolita and was utterly blown away.

I said to myself, "I will never write a book that good."

Then the thought followed, "Neither will anyone else."

I realized that I didn't have to set the bar as high as Nabokov, or even Chabon (b/c I had a similar reaction to the beautiful Kavalier and Clay. I am not an artist on that level, and I accept it. But that doesn't mean I can't be a good storyteller and write at my own best potential. So now I take it as inspiration -- a sign of what writing can be.

Cranky · Mar 14, 2008

I've never been intimidated. More like awestruck. Writing that good comes from a place inside that I don't have, so I can't be intimidated. It's just beyond my reach.

I read the masters to be entertained; to be carried off by the experience and the feeling I get when I finally touch the earth again.

KTC · Mar 14, 2008

I'm glad you liked it, III. I use him as a template.

I am not intimidated by the great writing of others. I am motivated to improve my own writing and I allow myself the knowledge that I will never be that good. I don't have to be that good...I enjoy reading more than I enjoy writing, I think. Michael Chabon is such a great writer...I buy his books as they hit the shelves now. Each one is so uniquely different.

Great writing is a motivation to me. I am inspired by it. Like Claudia, I accept my level...and take great writing as a sign of what writing can be. Good answer, btw, Claudia.

III · Mar 14, 2008

rugcat said:
Definitely intimidating. I feel the same way about music. If a writer or musician is merely better than I, it raises the bar and pushes me to work even harder.

But when you run up against someone really stunning, totally out of your league, whether in writing or music, it can make you wonder, "what's the point?"

But eventually I get over it. I will never be a awe inspiring writer or a brilliant musician, but I do believe I have a talent for both, albeit a minor one. And most importantly, I've found my voice. What I write and play have obviously been influenced by others, but my voice is my own -- distinctive, for better or worse. So I do feel I add something, and occasionally I can pull off something halfway decent.

Oh, and I get paid.

That pretty much sums up my thinking (except for the getting paid for writing). When I saw the G3 tour with Vai, Satch, and EJ I couldn't touch a guitar for months afterward. But eventually I recover (in writing and playing) and learn to enjoy my own "voice".

KTC · Mar 14, 2008

PS...whenever I think of Michael Chabon I think of this great Cake song. Listen to the lyrics of the first verse...they describe him!

Shadow Stabbing

sunna · Mar 14, 2008

Both. My first thought is usually Damn, I'm never going to be that good; my second is usually Well, I definitely won't if I don't try.

Me sainted mum said it best, IMO: we do the best we can with what we have - and some people certainly do have more than others. So I do my best. I think that gets a little better every time I read something so far out of my league it leaves me questioning myself.

Shadow_Ferret · Mar 14, 2008

III said:
The story crafting, settings, and characterizations were brilliant, but Chabon's fluidity of language and imaginative descriptions were simply stunning.

So after you finish reading a masterwork, are you inspired to do better as a writer or do you just feel like hanging it up and taking up finger painting?

Usually, I'm just tired. Then I go to bed, wake up and read some fluff like Mickey Spillane and I'm all better. I don't write literary, so no, it doesn't intimidate me in the least. I figure that's great for his audience, not for me or mine.

dreamsofnever · Mar 14, 2008

Sometimes it intimidates me, and sometimes it inspires me. So a little bit of both. Darn those brilliant writers...

HeronW · Mar 14, 2008

I read really good stuff and feel inspired but I've yet to find one author who blows me away page by page. No one can keep that standard.

LaceWing · Mar 14, 2008

If I can appreciate great writing, there's hope for me. If it's too far out of my league to even grasp how and why it's good, I kinda think I won't get there. But then, I won't know what I'm missing. So why worry?

Brighid · Mar 14, 2008

Inspiring.

I look at my writing as a work in progress. I keep studying the craft - whether it be reading books about writing, or just reading with the critical writer's eye to figure out what tools the writer used to make a darn good story. Hopefully, my writing improves as a figure out how to put all the pieces together.

KikiteNeko · Mar 14, 2008

Both. I'd be lying to say my writing as it stands today wasn't built partly on jealousy I had for other literary works. I envied characterizations or descriptions or word choices, so I worked to improve those things for myself. Even though I'm happy with my voice, I still find myself envying some authors and I probably always will. I try to avoid reading while I'm working on a story, though, because I find that whatever I read will influence me too much.

Perks · Mar 14, 2008

I swing between inspiration and intimidation (which feel an awful lot like elation and despair) so much, I should probably be medicated.

Good thing I don't let anyone see it. I hate medicine.

But in all honesty, I do sometimes feel like only the virtuosos should be allowed to write. I'm a fraud.

Shweta · Mar 14, 2008

I am inspired and intimidated all at once. It generally goes "Ack, I'll never write like that. Wait, this person started somewhere, too. Besides, I'm writing way better now than I thought possible 2 years ago. So... let's see where I get."

SpookyWriter · Mar 14, 2008

Perks said:
I'm a fraud.

I doubt this statement, so very much. I've read your writings, visited your blog briefly, and remain a person of conviction that you will be successful one day.

SpookyWriter · Mar 14, 2008

Shweta said:
I am inspired and intimidated all at once. It generally goes "Ack, I'll never write like that. Wait, this person started somewhere, too. Besides, I'm writing way better now than I thought possible 2 years ago. So... let's see where I get."

Practice, practice, and more practice. Whether the writing is for entertainment, corporate, or personal the only way to get better is by practice and continuous improvement.

Shweta · Mar 14, 2008

SpookyWriter said:
Practice, practice, and more practice. Whether the writing is for entertainment, corporate, or personal the only way to get better is by practice and continuous improvement.

Strangely enough, that's what I've been doing for the last 2 years, much more seriously than before

Shweta · Mar 14, 2008

SpookyWriter said:
I doubt this statement, so very much. I've read your writings, visited your blog briefly, and remain a person of conviction that you will be successful one day.

Seconded. You don't seem fraudy from here either, Perks

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