Literature, unable as it has become to be a profession, can only generate maladjusted and abnormal types. Because, after all, practicing it is no less than working with no expectation of return, something that nobody consciously does. The writer therefore detaches part of his time from “normal life”, and the greater this part, the more authentically he is a writer, the further he will stray from the norm, the more abnormal he will become. There is no solution. And if the tendency for him to fail in leading an ordinary life is almost unavoidable, at least it has become easier to verify the sincerity of his vocation.
Tag: writing
The Act That Unites Writers and Sets…
The act that unites writers and sets them apart from ordinary people is sitting down to write. Sitting down, isolating the mind, enveloping it in a silence that only allows the inner voice to manifest. And then to put it down on paper. This act, which is both creative and organizing, if for some it serves as therapy, for all it serves as a guide, and once the brain gets used to it, to refrain from it is almost always to fall into disorientation.
One of the Dilemmas Faced by the Modern…
One of the dilemmas faced by the modern novelist stems from the realization that, in many respects, today’s daily life would be incomprehensible to men of the past. When we read stories from five hundred or eight hundred years ago today, we can easily understand the activities, customs and societies of those times, even though the contrasts are obvious. Planting, harvesting, celebrating, sailing, fishing, fermenting, weaving, riding, praying, building, marrying, painting, playing… all of this is very old and very current, making possible countless scenes and entire books whose meaning will never be lost. On the other hand, modern tasks such as “surfing the internet” or simply operating a computer, something on which one makes a career and spends a lifetime, certainly do not have the same timeless quality. The novelist, looking at them, that is, looking at a considerable part of the material of his time, has to decide how much he can use them, and although he knows that to hide them might be to falsify himself, he experiences the impression that, if incomprehensible to the great men of other times, his story will probably be worthless.
One of the Worst Mistakes a Writer Can Make…
One of the worst mistakes a writer can make is to produce in order to fit in with a group. The result, almost always, is the sacrifice of what is most valuable to express. So talented, promising minds, pulsing with authentic artistic motivation, give it all up for something that, if summed up correctly, is nothing more than the old desire for acceptance. The biggest problem is that, for the prize of being accepted, the mind sees fit to pay the price of pleasing; however, in art, when you try to please, you do not please, and you certainly corrupt.