Different Roads, Different Stories: When Writing Advice Fails

 

For the last two years or so I’ve posted my take on writing. Which is ironic since, aside from blog posts and some dusty-dry technical stuff, I am unpublished. I have neither the benefit of an MFA nor a English degree. I even chickened-out of posting to Literotica. So, yeah, no writerly bonafides here.

How dare me?

Most of my posts are based on nearly five decades of reading. The good, the bad, and the ugly—comic books to scholarly criticism, pulp to literature—there are lessons in all of it. But only if the message accessible. 

Learn by doing

My subjects range from the publishing game (shoptalk) to improving your writing (craft talk). Inclusion is a subject near/dear to my villainous heart and a lot of my articles address gender, LGBTQ, and ethinic/cultural inclusion. It’s where I come from and it is a hallmark of life in the fourth-largest city in the states. I also believe writers have some social responsibilities. Somewhere in there, I also advocate strongly for subverting stereotypes and clichés.

Of course, me and my opinions are not everyone’s cup o’ chai

I have understood that since first-grade, (yes, I thought See Spot Run was puerile and derivative). But recently, a fellow scribbler contacted me to say that they felt defeated. They had been reading my posts and they felt antiquated and out of touch. My views on writing and my PC politics left them feeling distinctly like a dinosaur and that their works were antiquated. They were considering whether they would even continue writing. 

First, do no harm

My posts were never intended to stymie or discourage. More than anything else, I want to share what I have learned and what I enjoy and what I feel is important. It doesn’t take much reading to figure out my politics but I don’t (often) campaign or preach in my little diddies. 

Mostly, the same holds true for my blog-stuff...mostly. The best writing commentary should encourage writing, not throw up roadblocks. 

Instead of motivation, my scribble sibling found my work judgemental. Instead of sharing my joy, I inadvertantly downed-nosed someone else’ jam. Of course I feel lousy about that.

I support writers. Crime to science fiction, romance to horror, (same/same?) Xian to erotica. Does every writer I follow share my socio-political views? No. In truth, most of us would not be hang-out buddies. None of that matters. It’s the work and how hard the work is that unites us.

The world tears us down, so it’s important to lift each other up

The critic’s business is to assess or challenge the work and report on the results of that assessment/challenge to the student of writing and/or the prospective reader before they drop their hard-earned coin. A critic’s job is NOT to tear someone down as entertainment or because they can. Though, lit departments are littered with folks who behave otherwise.

The writer’s business is to tell a story and elevate, ideally through entertainment, the reader’s condition. Agendas easily become problematic. All-too often, agendas get in the way of the story.

It is difficult to divorce art from the environment (political or otherwise) that influenced it

You don’t get the Grapes of Wrath without the Great Depression and you don’t get Fear of Flying without the sexual revolution (oh, and millennia of sexual repression visited against women). And every writer brings their views, either forthright or subconscious, to their stories. The trick to avoiding manifesto or sermon is balance. A bit of self-awareness helps, too. Failing either, well, that's where the critic comes in.

Why can’t we be friends?

Robert Heilein was an elder statesman of golden age science fiction. His works remain in print nearly three decades after his death and have been adapted into multiple motion pictures. Starship Troopers is the best-known adaptation of Heinlein’s work, (highly militarized, rigidly conformist, bordering fascist). Ironically, the film is a send up of Heinlein's style.

Philip K. Dick, (PKD) was one of the “new science fiction” writers and his work, (themes of identity, truth-in-perception, and absurdist extremes) represented a seismic shift in the genre. Unlike Heinlein, PKD never served in the military. Unlike Heinlein, PKD embraced the counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s. 

In short, the men were polar opposites...yet still, there was respect... 

After years of drug abuse and mental-health issues, Philip K. Dick undertook a program to get clean. During this period he was contacted by Robert Heinlein who offered his support in any way possible. Even for a fiction writer, this contact strains credulity. To quote PKD, 

“Robert Heinlein… has a military background, even to the haircut. He knows I'm a flipped-out freak and still he helped me and my wife when we were in trouble. That is the best in humanity, there; that is who and what I love."

Heinlein’s regard for PKD was so strong, Heinlein loaned PKD tens of thousands of dollars to satisfy a tax debt (and penalties for failing to file a return that could have resulted in jail time). In gratitude, PKD dedicated his 1980 short story collection, The Golden Man, to Heinlein.  

Respect is the baseline

While we may not all love each other’s work, we must all respect the effort and the skill of telling a coherent, cohesive story from start to finish. In that endeavor, all writers have something to offer and a unique perspective to extend. My work isn’t likely to look like my friend’s work. That is okay. It’s the reader that matters and the reader doesn’t care about our views on inclusion or agency or social responsibility. The reader just wants a story and a voice they can relate to. 

My first goal in the posts I write is to better understand what I do and how I can do it better. I want to share what I learn with others. So, I will continue to advocate for inclusion, respectful representation, and social responsibility in storytelling. It’s what I do. However, I will also strive to insure that it’s understood that there are other paths and other stories.

The promotional photo for Wednesday (top) is the property of Netflix. The photos of Robert Heinlein and Philip K. Dick are both of unknown ownership. All photos are used here for educational/instructional purposes as covered by the Fair Use Doctrine.