Blogger: Wendy Lawton
I thought it would be interesting to debate the two pieces of advice writers hear most often.
The first is to write from your passion. No doubt you’ve sat through many a workshop where you were told to forget trying to write for “the market.” That you’ll only be successful if you write out of your own heart.
Then you hear that writers need to pay attention to the market— what sells and what doesn’t– if they want to be published. It does no good to write about something that readers don’t want to read.
And, of course, there’s the possibility of middle ground. Benjamin Franklin said, “If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” And Dale Carnegie advises, “Flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.”
So I’m looking forward to your take on this. Which is more important, passion or pure practicality? I’m going to let you chew on this in the comments and then I’ll pop in later in the day with my comments.
My logical reflex is to break this down. All practical and no passion, makes Jack a dull boy. Wherever I have worked in my life, those who did it purely for an income or as a job or to tick boxes or to succeed, rarely did much more. Greatness eluded them. The advice given by most career counselors is to follow your energy. Ask what inspires you to get up each day and return to the front – and follow that. If your job doesn’t ignite your passion, change your job, not your dreams. I accept that all passion and no practicality is like being so heavenly minded you are of no earthly good, but ask any pastor, no rather, go and ask God, what would He rather have – a passionate prodigal, willing to make mistakes and learn from that or a safe soul who is often as unteachable. The battle for every pastor is to light a fire in our souls, but once ignited, the spirit will shape that for God’s glory. Indeed, the mechanism for shaping us is not a blade, but the friction of all that resists our passion – life is God’s chisel. You cannot steer a stationery vehicle, but God can achieve the impossible through a willing heart. Of course, if the horse is dead, dismount, because you cannot achieve a different outcome by doing the same thing over and over again, but I have no doubt whatsoever that a heart ablaze for God will find a way – and maybe that is why God values it so, because they won’t need hand holding in the future, they will find a way, just as Matt Damon does in the Martian. Indeed God promises that our gift will make a way for us. That is why faith matters far more to God than knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but faith humbly learns and grows through many aches and pains to get something the head never will – the heartbeat of God. If I had to choose between the two, I would always start with the passionate soul, because they will fight to get there, while the others won’t even know when they get there. Up the revolution. Passion is a harder, longer route – but I would rather die as as penniless as Van Goch and count, than live a life as pointless as those whose success is measured in logical terms. The system rewards the compliant in society and employment, but God rewards the zealous heart.
You are passionate about this, Peter. Love it.
Peter, you crack me up and I love it! Not sure which metaphor to respond to first… but my husband and I were just discussing the parable of the talents last night. Writing stories is my passion…and learning to write in a manner that attracts my target audience is also important. Which then leads to the question of “why” do you write, or why do I write? If I am to impact lives through my writing (and I believe this is God’s calling on my life!), I need to embrace certain trends to ensure my stories get to my audience. I haven’t found the answer yet. But the concept of a college textbook sums it up — it is finding the balance between creativity and constraint.
Write from passion, Edit out of practicality.
I hate it when someone edits passionately.
I love that dry humor Shirlee. I thought further of all the business pioneers I have met – generally unreasonable, fiercely passionate, defiant to a fault, always able to find a way forward … the poor man in Rich Man, Poor Man, would have frowned as he pointed to his college degree and corporate manners, leaving the rich man to cry …. all the way to the bank. The world is shaped by unreasonable visionaries, not by safe predictability. Frankly, I would not have the energy to keep writing were it not for the passion that keeps me going. I would have succumbed to the discouragements long time ago were it not for a fire that has a life of its own. I sense that Isaiah and Jesus agreed on that, for they both said, “The zeal (passion) for your house, consumes me” – not cold, religious logic, no matter how expedient it may be.
Ha ha! Nice one!
Yeah, I’ve seen those edits, Shirlee. You’d think there was a sale on red ink.
Love this, Shirlee!
Good Shirley. Love it. But of course when we deciding WHAT to write about do we go with passion or what will sell?
On my FB news feed ten minutes ago:
Roald Dahl ~ I began to realize how important it is to be an enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love and above all be passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good.
I so agree. But there’s still the question about choosing subject matter. Passion or practicality?
Wendy, perhaps the subject’s the vehicle for the deeper message that inspires passion; to contradict McLuhan, the medium’s not the message.
One of my favorite childhood authors! Yes, passion is essential to start and will transfer to your readers once you discover the practical path to get there–which can mean tweaking a bit to comply with trends, but not losing your voice or passion in the mix of it.
I definitely lie more on the passion end of the spectrum, but think both are necessary. I’m a non-fiction writer and I focus on grief, authenticity, and community, so it’s important to me to write from passion in order for me to be vulnerable with my audience and demonstrate authenticity.
I think any writer who wants to build an audience has to be practical enough to realize when their passion isn’t aligning with what is interesting to their readers and keep the focus and theme of material consistent.
I agree, Becky.
If historical is what everybody is looking for, and I try to write historical, I know I’ll be miserable. Same for fantasy and Amish. I enjoy stories others write in these genres, but I don’t want to write them.
But if publishers are looking for romance with specific things included, I’m willing to try. I’m about to start writing a story with a little boy. I usually have dogs in my stories but not young children. If a certain state or country becomes popular, I’d be willing to try that.
Exactly. And with fiction, those preferences are like fashion, in this week, out next. You can’t chase trends. A book takes too long to write to be able to turn on a dime to suit a fashion preference, right?
Good point, Becky. But you are also writing from a practical standpoint. Never has there been such a need for books that deal with grief because of an aging population and nation-wide grief over atrocities, etc. You’ve hit the nail on the head with the word balance.
Wendy – thanks for the affirmation. Sometimes I wonder if my writing is too much passion derived from my own circumstances. I appreciate how you always taking the time to respond to the discussion on your posts.
I see why both of these bits of advice keep being told to writers. There was no way I would have spent 5 straight years writing that first novel ms. if I hadn’t been so passionate about it, sure YA is a tough sell, I’m still revising it 14 years later and it hasn’t sold yet, but I love the story and I will keep at it because I am passionate about it. And yet…it was only when I was forced out of my preferred genre that I sold something. Romance is a much easier sell than YA or middle grade, and I felt awkward writing something new, but I put my own slant onto the romantic story, my own quirky sense of humor and storytelling style, but in a different genre. It was good to try that big scary thing of writing something new, something for the market. So…I agree with both. There is a time and a place for both kinds of writing, although usually it works best if they are mixed together a bit.
Interesting point, Kristen. Passion keeps you persevering. I hadn’t thought of that but you can’t underestimate the importance.
Middle ground is probably safest from high waters on either side of the issue. But I lean toward passion.
Balance is usually the right answer. 🙂
Passion fuels most authors to write, don’t you think? But passion, like faith, can be grown from the seeds God plants in us, Sometimes they lie dormant, as my writing seeds did until my late 40s. Then, in God’s often odd time and season, they grow. Occasionally they burst out overnight like biblical Jonah’s vine. More often, an author’s desire to read, study, and interact with other readers and writers helps cultivate the impetus to write and write and rewrite. Even writing about subjects that don’t follow an author’s current interests can foster curiosity, the beginning of passion. So can deadlines, that drive us to leaner, cleaner prose.
That said, I don’t think God has planted any grant-writing seeds in me, nor potential passion to write appliance manuals! But I’ve learned to never say never:-)
Love that attitude. I also love that you used the word curiosity. I’ve tackled many a subject out of curiosity rather than passion and become downright passionate about it.
I’ve never been fond of the word ‘passionate’; to me it speaks of lack of control, lack of self-discipline, and a certain narcissism. Kind of like Charlton Heston playing Michelangelo in “The Agony and the Ecstasy”.
* But if Michelangelo has been, like, this laid-back surfer dude, like, whoa, man…he would have dozed off while supine under the Sistine, and instead of making rock dust would have lit up a…well, okay. Far out.
* Passion’s really the only thing that makes anything we do worthwhile, but it’s a deeper passion that for writing, or for a subject, because, as John the Evangelist said, these are, by themselves, of the world.
* The passion’s got to be for ministry, in one form or another, even if the ministry is only to ourselves (“…love one another AS yourselves…”…clever Carpenter, eh?).
* We’re born into this world wounded, and we leave it dead. The Rising we seek is only found in the healing we give.
I absolutely agree Drew. The word “passion” is used interchangeably in our vernacular, more often to denote carnal desire, which we are not into here. We refer to Easter and events surrounding that, as the passion, but that alludes to a different impulse, the kind that ignited the burning bush without consuming it. Zeal also has a somewhat secular connotation, but is the word used by Isaiah and Jesus, to describe the purpose that set His eyes aflint to Jerusalem. It was never natural to me, but transcendent – I hate saying so, as it sounds so, so presumptive, but it would be as wrong to claim it is natural when it isn’t. I only ever set out to journalise my daily journey, but God added the fire, as in the sun rising with healing in its wings. My hope is that the words He speaks through me, you, and every other writer here, will do what they have always done – create, give life, heal, renew, restore, inspire. Our calling is nobler than most callings in life. The same timeless craft deposited a legacy of truth in our world, through the gnarled, tireless hands of the scribes that labored with inexplicable purpose, to keep the fire burning. Yet even they didn’t start the fire that was always burning since the world’s been turning. At best they just caught the fire – so did we.
Love this, Peter. Beautiful way to put it.
You wrote:
I’ve never been fond of the word ‘passionate’; to me it speaks of lack of control, lack of self-discipline, and a certain narcissism. Kind of like Charlton Heston playing Michelangelo in “The Agony and the Ecstasy”.
Cracks me up, Andrew. I’m so like you in that. (Type A personalities Unite.) But that deep heartfelt connection is key to rising above the dreck, right?
Wendy, you’re absolutely right. Rising above the dreck…perfect!
As others have said, there is a place for both passion and being aware of the market in the writing realm.
*Passion fuels the determination to get the work done. It can define elements of the story. But, practicality needs to guide the story.
*I don’t have the definitive answer. I just know that passion for my theme of my current MS has done a lot to keep me writing when I didn’t want to. It’s given me the impetus to keep writing. But having a feel for the market has also given guidance to certain elements of my story too.
So there you have it. My (not so) profound answer. 😉
I think your answer finds it profundity in its perfection, Jeanne. You said it exactly right.
Thanks, Andrew. 🙂
Jeanne, I certainly agree that being sensitized to the market is vital. If passion is the engine, it is still a bit pointless without someone to steer, channel or route that beast. Love for our market behooves us to resonate with them and to eliminate what detracts from our message, without which we will remain mere noise: a jangling of brass and tinkling of symbols. Love is a spiritual synonym for passion, as in love for the work before us. Such love is not soon puffed up, never gets ahead of itself, refuses to compare with others but finds its own groove and calling. It suffers long, endures, bears, believes, hopes and endures all things. It will never fail. Everything else will fail – so terribly true for the long journey that most writers face, but what will never fail, is the love that first set us on that path. It will endure and persist long after most others have walked away.
You share timeless truths, Peter!
I like that you connected passion to determination. Going back to Peter and Andrew’s comments, too often the word passion is misused to mean wild, uncontrolled and carnal. You rightly ascribed some of the power to passion.
Thanks, Wendy. Your post gave me good food for thought. 🙂
In most areas in life, I would say passion. If you want to have a writing career in today’s difficult industry, I would say a hybrid of passion and practicality. The passion is what motivates you to write, to craft and to infuse your blank page with words and subjects and characters dear to your heart. The practicality comes in when it comes to the entire publishing process: learning about agents, creating a proposal (which favours logicality over passion) and receiving the rejection letters framed around practicality while your book is on submission. Some of these practical moments are numbers, market saturation, timing, etc., In these instances, the passion on page that got you as far as a committee decision wasn’t enough to hold you over. As a writer, I think it is imperative to recognize how both are integral to your prospective career. Never lose the passion you have for writing: that is what drives you through difficult days and gives you the stamina to make it through those practical rejection letters. But, be practical enough to know you may have to write according to the market, that your first proposal may not be the charm, that numbers are as key in today’s market as a brilliant work and that you cannot ( and this is the most practical at all ) quit your day job 🙂
” I would say a hybrid of passion and practicality.” So would I, Rachel.
I agree, and was about to write a similar comment 🙂 I’ve learned so much about writing well based on current trends, while still holding fast to the true themes and purpose of my current fiction series. It is possible and I think a sign of strength, not weakness when we decide to make needed changes to get our work published.
I can see all sides. But I’m reminded of Shark Tank … investors look for ideas that meet a need. We can be individually passionate about an idea, but if it doesn’t meet a need, we may have a hard time finding an investor. And I believe we can have it all. We can see a need and meet it, finding our passion there within. Meeting a need above our own can possibly spark a passion in our heart we didn’t know existed.
I agree Shelli. I don’t have a “passion” for the subject of caregiving but I have a story to tell that resonates with a felt need.
Jane I think you have it exactly right…perhaps the passion comes with that perception of need, which you are called to fill?
Yes, Jane. My latest project … I didn’t even know the situation existed. But I had to write an article about it … and it opened my eyes to a greater need. The topic seeped into my heart.
It seems as if both are necessary and, ideally, one begets the other.
Of course, Jane, in your case, when you are less than passionate about the task of caregiving and are honest about that, you have a book that will meet needs. Most of us are passionate about the people we care for but fearful and reluctant caregivers. You are in sync with your readers.
I like your answer, Shelli. Publishers need to choose their investments wisely. Writers need to produce work worthy of their promotional dollars.
Yep. Exactly, Shelli. Though when we sat down at ACFW and you shared the premise of your book I could sense the passion behind it. (Perhaps because it is a shared passion.)
Wendy, I’m so glad you could sense my passion over it. 🙂 If it deals with children, it will stir my heart.
I think we need both. If I only wrote for myself, then yes, passion wins! But I’m writing for publication, and I want my readers to be blessed. Being aware of market trends is a way for me to attract readers to my books, therefore blessing us both. However, if I wrote to the market without genuinely enjoying what I’m writing, it would bless no one.
Great question today, Wendy!
Yes! You mention readers. That is the key if we are writing for publication.
I suppose the right thing to do is to write passionately to the market, if you can.
It’s amazing, however, how self-publishing has freed me from this dilemma. I won’t say I’ll never pursue a trade publishing deal, for who knows what the future holds, but for right now self-publishing serves my purposes. I have a creative outlet that allows me to write to whatever holds my interest at the moment without worrying about what agents, acquisitions editors, or publishing execs think, and helps keep me sane in an increasingly insane world. Sales stink, which no doubt reflects my scatter-brained approach to the things I publish. My Genre Focus Disorder is strong, and seems to be growing rather than waning.
I love your honesty, David. And you make a good case for writing to explore interests. A whole different reason to write.
Wendy, the two quotes you mentioned are excellent guidelines to consider. Since writing is a tough and lonely pursuit, passion is needed to ignite the project and keep it going. But “reason (must) hold the reins”. I don’t want to exclude either in my writing/publishing journey.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
I know, Wendy. It’s that balance thing we all keep seeking, right?
Or is that balance a Wendy Thing? 😀
As Jane Daly mentioned above, one might not have a passion for a subject, but have rather a unique placement to fill a perceived need.
* On the subject of caregiving, I certainly would not have chosen it…but it’s chosen me. While I don’t believe that God ‘sent’ illness to drive the story out of me, I do believe that He is prodding me to write “The Long Goodbye- Caring For Your Dying Spouse”, which will become the book version of my blog (up to 69 blog ‘chapters’ already!).
* Writing it takes a lot out of me; the physical act of writing has become quite difficult, but even more trying is having to face up to hard issues, knowing that only through that crucible of pain and heartbreak can I be effective.
* The passion comes from wanting to share the thought that even at the end, one can still live a worthwhile life, and that while love is transfigured, it’s nonetheless present on the deepest level, the level that reaches out to God, and takes His hand. The diagnosis is not the end, and death is simply a new beginning.
* That passion works both ways; in facing the fearsome, I draw strength for the task, and the inspiration to use what I have to keep hope alive. For my readers, and for myself.
Andrew, that book would definitely meet a great need! From personal experience, I know that it’s a little discussed topic, but possibly one of the most important. Thanks for the sacrifice of your energy to write it.
Becky, thank you for the encouragement.
Andrew, definitely a “felt need.” When you talked about caregiving, I thought you were going to be talking about your unique ministry to dogs. (Hint: we keep hearing that publishers are hungry for great dog books. Everyone’s looking for the next Marley and Me.)
Wendy, I actually did write about the dogs, though in a supporting role; the protagonist in “Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart” is a haunted Viet Nam veteran whose metier has become providing a sanctuary, a forever home, to lost an abandoned dogs.
* The scene in the book I still like best is the one in which his romantic interest insists on seeing his house, and he’s horrified at what her reaction might be when they walk in to a deafening cacophony of greeting. The best bit of dialogue I think I ever wrote was –
“Hey, be careful, she…”
“YeeeOWWWW!”
“…bites.”
Andrew, the truths you share on your blog on this topic are profound, heartfelt and practical. It will be a great book to read and to have as a resource.
Of course, having a passion for what you’re doing doesn’t mean that you can’t at times hate it.
* The American portraitist John Singer Sargent got the idea for what is arguably his most famous work, “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” when he saw Chinese lanterns glowing in a friend’s garden at twilight, and drew up a composition with two young girls lighting and placing lanterns.
* He worked en plein air, and the light was right for only a few minutes each day. The process exasperated him; his nickname for the piece was “Damnation, Silly Stupid Pose”.
* The painting’s now in the tate, and if you like, you can see it here –
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sargent-carnation-lily-lily-rose-n01615
Musicians are the same. You often hear about stars who would rather slit their wrists than sing their best known pop hit one more time.
Passion is riding the horse, practicality is doing so with saddle and bridle. You need both to guide you in the right direction. Too much of one and not enough of the other, and you end up in places you never expected.
Great metaphor, Leon.
Well, you have to have passion for what will sell! I am in kind of a spot with this in my own writing. I write women’s fiction; romance with a literary spin. (Wanted to bring 19th century writing to the 21st century woman!) I was told by an agent: “…you have the pace and tone of a romance genre, but you are not that..and with this difficult market it is hard to put you on a shelf not quite fitting into the box.” So, do I change to be more, ‘practical?’ Or do I continue on the path of my own voice and style and hope one day someone will see that there is room for something different? So, with that said….I will continue with my passion…but somewhere in the back of my head I will know I need to find a seat on the bus instead of trying to ride my own bike…
That is so difficult, Elizabeth. But as we always say, that is just one opinion. Collect a consensus before you make a sea change.
And yes, different does stand out so that is a plus, but is there a readership for it– that’s the hard question. It’s that awful tension– be different but not too different.
I think it is very hard to write solely for the market. Your writing will reflect your emphasis on practicality (and lack of passion). Relying purely on passion may work now and then for very popular, published authors, but the rest of us need to balance market with passion. I also don’t think it is impossibly hard to find a creative way to blend your areas of passion with the interests of the market.
“I also don’t think it is impossibly hard to find a creative way to blend your areas of passion with the interests of the market.”
Exactly. This is what we need to strive for.
Okay, let’s discuss practicality.
I aim to give as good a read as I can. I want to give my readers an excellent return on their investment. That way, they’ll come back for more and view the price of my books as well worth their sacrifice.
And, passion?
Mine just got cranked up in a big way.
Some of you know that after ACFW, I went to New Mexico and Texas for 2 weeks. On one of those days, I drove from Albuquerque to a very pretty spot south of Fort Sumner, NM.
A place called “Bosque Redondo”, or as the Navajo call it, “Hweeldi”.
It’s the site of a prison camp that held 500 Apache and 9500 Navajo prisoners from 1864-68. The Apache left early on.
Thousands of Navajo people died.
If I wasn’t so passionate about telling the story, I wouldn’t put myself through going to a massive graveyard. Nor would I read all those books and speak to all those descendants of the prisoners, and hear such horrible, awful things that families have had hidden away for over 150 years.
I had a focus group (each of them read 3 chapters of the MS), meet in late September in New Mexico. One older Navajo lady sobbed as she told us of how her grandmother would make her young siblings and cousins practice running until they dropped, would make them go without food and water for days, and would teach them how to hide quickly…all in case the white soldiers came again.
That would have been in the 1950’s. At least 80 years after General Sherman closed the prison camp.
The visceral fear of re-captivity stayed with that grandmother for her entire life, and was drilled into the next several generations, including her very modern, cellphone toting grandchild.
When that Navajo lady looked at me, tears trickling down her cheeks, and said “your writing made it all so real and that upset me very much”, I was proud, and devastated.
Passion is not something I lack.
*
I’m not one to post videos here, but….I actually entered the grounds of the camp and went for a hike, ummmm, not exactly by the rules. The camp itself was closed, which was NOT what the park rangers in Albuquerque told me, 3 1/2 hours earlier!! So I drove next door to the state fairgrounds and climbed the fence. Which is what I did in November of 2013, with the friends I mention in this video.
https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.z.major/videos/10153045903396035/?pnref=story
This kind of passion for a story drives the author forward, right, Jennifer?
I suspect the trick is being sufficiently aware of the market to figure out where your passion fits. I think if you’re market-savvy, you can find the spin that just might snag the market.
Exactly!
I love this, Sarah. Great point.
On the subject of subject, it would seem that practicality should rule.
* I’m ‘passionate’ about building a WW2 fighter, largely from scratch, in my living room (Barbara is VERY understanding), but I’ll never write about it, because there are about three people in the US who would be interested.
* The meaning of the project, however, transcends the medium of metalworking. When I question the ‘why’ of passion, I get two themes –
1) People say it’s impossible, you can’t DO this. Nothing like a challenge!
2) I’m pushing back against my own debility and the hovering imminence of death. Each hammer-blow made in shaping a skin-panel is something of a shout that I won’t quit, however long the odds. I want to live, and this project whose completion lies years ahead is saying, Yes. I am betting on my strength and fortitude to overcome the pain that drives me to my knees everyday. I am betting that I will burn out my malignant enemy through sheer will. Every day alive is a victory; every part made is a coronation, and the crown’s gold and rubies are pain and blood.
* But those passions don’t require a book aimed at historical aeroplane nerds. There are other stories that can supply the traction to carry that message to a wider audience.
When I want to write purely out of passion I journal or email a good friend. But if I want to sell books (and I do!), I have to do everything I can to create a product that someone (hopefully a lot of someones) other than just me will be passionate about.
I love hearing your take on things, Becky. 🙂
It has to be a combination. You can’t pander to the public well if you don’t have some sort of passion for what the public wants. And high art may be self-expression — but expression means communication, and that’s a two way street.
In the end, you do what works for you and your goals. Don’t pay attention to people who belittle your goals, whether those goals are art or commerce — or a path in between. Those people don’t matter. It’s none of their business and they aren’t paying rent on your attention span.