Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Writers write for many reasons. But readers seldom care what motivates an author. Instead, readers subconsciously ask every writer–whether it be a composer of ads, a journalist, a magazine feature writer, or an author, “Why are you telling me this?”
How might a writer respond?
- To sell you something (and keep my job).
- To tell you that you’re not the only person to feel that emotion, that you’re not alone.
- To scare you or to give you a thrill.
- To motivate you to change your behavior.
- To change your mind and heart.
- To make money.
- To be famous.
- To entertain you.
- To inform you.
- Because I need to tell someone, and that just ended up being you.
The answers are revealing. And hopefully lead the writer to ask him or herself a question:
Am I proud of my answer?
And perhaps some followup questions:
- Is this something only I can say?
- Or is my way of saying it unique?
- If not, should I be writing this?
- Is this essential for someone to say?
- What potential difference can my writing make in someone’s life? Or someone’s day?
The genesis for this blog post is an article I read in Publishers Weekly. Camille Perri writes about an interview with short-story writer and creative writing instructor Amy Hempel. In the interview, Hempel was asked, What’s one piece of advice you give your students?
Her response was a question: “Why are you telling me this?”
It’s a question that digs deep, if the writer lets it, into not only a writer’s motivations but also the writer’s desired effect. It forces one to ask if the work is contributing to others’ lives, if the piece’s focus needs to be changed, if the work should be abandoned altogether because the answers to the question reveal flawed thinking about just how imperative it is that the manuscript be written at all, let alone be read.
And now it’s your turn. I ask you, “Why are you telling me this?” If you’d like, share your answer with us. What have you read lately that made you wonder why the writer felt the need to tell you that particular thing?
TWEETABLES
Writers: How would you respond to the question, Why are you telling me this? Click to tweet.
Every writer should ask: Why am I telling you this? Click to tweet.
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This reminds me of something I read just, today, Janet, from an essay in C.S. Lewis’ “The Grand Miracle”. – when asked how a young writer should develop a style, he replied, “Decide exactly what you want to say, and say exactly that.”
* And staying with Professor Lewis, I didn’t wonder why he chose to tell me those things he put forward in “Perelandra” and “That Hideous Strength”, but I did question the medium. “Out Of The Silent Planet” is perhaps a nearly perfect exercise in science-fiction, but the remainder of the trilogy crosses the line into polemic, achingly borne along by (and suffocating) plots that might have been much more vivid with a better balance. Much of the message of “Perelandra” (which I recently re-read) is far better expressed in Lewis’ apologetics. So I suppose the question I would pose to Clive Staples is…”Why are you telling me this HERE?”
* And why I am telling you those things you will find in my writing? Because I believe that romance and marriage (between a man and woman, thank you very much) is the greatest adventure and most glorious sacrament we’re offered in this life, and it’s worth fighting for.
OK, I just thought of a “why are you telling me this?” example…Nevil Shute’s “On The Beach”. (And Mr. Shute is my favourite novelist.)
* It’s a well-crafted tale of plucky Antipodeans facing extinction by nuclear fallout slowly creeping into the southern latitudes, and a stunningly depressing tale it is, what with everyone committing suicide at the end, albeit with stiff upper lips.
* The only thing is, fallout doesn’t DO that, and the factual basis for the story’s rubbish, so millions of readers were given a glimpse into a hopeless abyss for, really, nothing, except the message that nuclear war would be unpleasant. By 1959, I think most people knew that.
* Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not criticizing the post-apocalyptic genre, but sending a message based on what was know, even then, to be a Chicken-Little-style fantasy simply dilutes its importance, and offering that sort of bleak change-of-pace to a generation of readers who’d looked to one’s work with hope and affection seems a bit mean-spirited.
* Happily, Mr. Shute completed one more novel (published posthumously), “Trustee From The Toolroom”, a charming story centered around a character who can only be the author’s doppelganger. I’d recommend it very highly, and with a smile.
* And for those who may be interested in such things, Nevil Shute actually died at the typewriter, having completed the opening paragraphs of a novel that placed the Second Coming in Australia’s outback…with the birth of a baby to an Aboriginal girl.
I read “On the Beach,” but that was a long time ago. If you venture back to the question, “Why are you telling me this?” is it possible Shute had a political/social agenda regarding nuclear proliferation? His highly popular book was well received, and then, of course, there was the film adaptation. Despite it’s inaccuracies, it still was a disturbing novel that made one want to do whatever was necessary to control nuclear arms.
Janet, I think Shute did have an agenda…the war that putatively kicked off ‘On The Beach’ was started by what he called ‘the irresponsibles’, countries that didn’t have a terribly good grasp of what they were doing.
* The problem, as I see it, is that in its inaccuracies it made an almost desperate case for disarmament at any price, not really seeing that when one is on the edge of a cliff, the slow way back is what can ensure survival.
Andrew, that’s an excellent adaptation of the question, “why are you telling me this” to “why are you telling me this here?” That’s one of the payoffs of asking the question. If you know WHY you’re telling us a certain thing, it hopefully will direct the writer to ask if he is telling that particular thing in the best way to convey the message.
After closing the chapter on my first completed book, I had found that I’d become addicted to writing, and I missed it terribly. I had to write. So, I wrote a middle grade novel … and that was a great learning tool–POV, etc. The last two novels I’ve written have been closely related to the mission articles I write for a magazine … the people’s stories touched my heart so much, or the idea that I had to write about touched my heart so much that I just needed to give them more attention. And when I write articles, like I’ve said before, I am told to write them in a way that the reader will think–I can do that. And that’s what I want people to walk away thinking after reading my novels … I can do that. I want them to think–I can enrich others’ lives in a simple way.
*I was always a quiet kid, quiet teen. I just smiled. I can still be very quiet today … but if I am comfortable with you, watch out. Just ask my girls. I can be silly, and I love to laugh. But writing helped me find my voice …
Shelli, what a lovely insight into your writing life and heart. Thank you for sharing this! I think your message…that simple decency makes a difference…comes through loud and clear here, and in your blog.
* It is said that a quiet Texan is like a drawn bow, and that the energy contained within would make the Tasmanian Devil look like an indolent oaf. Would your girls agree?
My girls would agree, Andrew. My mom calls me a tornado when I get my mind set on something. 😉
What an excellent post. I never set out to tell anyone anything, in fact, I didn’t choose writing. God chose me. I struggled with that revelation for a long time, but the people living in my head just wouldn’t go away. Finally, I started writing them down, their stories and such and one day God said, “Thank you for finally listening. Now let’s get this show on the road.” I write because I’m compelled to. I write Inspirational Romantic Suspence because I believe in God centered love. The suspence part came about because my mother was a mystery reader, and I cut my teeth on the likes of Del Shannon, Gordon Gordon and Victoria Holt.
MacKenzie, it’s been suggested that I might find a better fit with romantic suspense…but after years of reading P.D. James, Dick Francis, and Arthur Upfield, I realized (in the middle of a book) that I simply didn’t care whodunit.
* Can you suggest a writer to whom I might give another chance, vis-a-vis the genre? I’d like to find a way forward in writing, but it seems like rather a box canyon from where I stand.
Andrew, one aspect of the writers you listed is that they didn’t write romantic suspense; they wrote mysteries. Hence, the focus of their stories is on who did it. But suspense focuses on how to stop the mayhem; it’s all about building tension. Murder may be the crime, but it’s often a murder that the protagonist tries to stop from happening. Romantic suspense retains the tension but adds a romance for the protagonist. Here’s an article that lists 10 top-selling romantic suspense writers. I’ve only read J.D. Robb from the list (and liked it), but see what you think. http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2014/01/keeping-you-in-top-10-romantic-suspense-novels-you-should-read
My apologies in my tardy response, by best girlfriend/sister/housmate lost her father today, and this is the first moment I’ve come up for air. Yes, I’ve read James and Francis, my suspense suggestions would be Lisa Jackson, Erica Spindler, Mary Higgins Clark, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, and my fave, J. A. Jance, not her Joanna Brady books but the J. P. Beuamont (spelling) ones. Romantic Suspense, Jessica R. Patch. Her first Love Inspired Suspense, FATAL REUNION was fantastic. Anne Perry is another who comes to mind. Hope that helps. Blessings, MacKenzie
MacKenzie and Jane, thank you so much! You’ve given me direction and purpose. I truly appreciate the time and thought.
“I write because I am compelled to.” Amen, MacKenzie.
* I am a story teller. I have a story for almost everything (just ask my coworkers–they particularly like my Kickapoo River tales). I tell to entertain. But mostly, I tell to share the joy of the Lord.
I write for a fair of exchange. Provide entertainment, emotion and edification in return for discretionary spending.
Yes. I agree.
Well said, Jim.
I started writing because we live in times where believers are torn between following the easy way or the faithful way. As I watched a dear friend struggle with doing what American society says is fine when God has said it’s wrong, a plot came to me about the joy and pain of remaining faithful to Jesus when the person you love doesn’t share your faith until God uses the faithfulness of His followers to reach the lost one you love. I simply had to write my first story of hope about human love and spiritual transformation, a story about how our faithfulness can inspire others to open their hearts to God. I keep writing because the plot for the next novel that is a new twist on the theme takes shape in my mind even before I finish the one I’m working on. As long as that keeps happening, I’ll know God wants me to keep writing.
Bravo for those motivations, Carol. I’m assuming, then, you’re writing to encourage those who are taking the narrow path and challenging those aren’t.
Spot on! I’m also trying to encourage those who choose the narrow path to not be content to be on that path alone. The stories show how important it is to risk yourself to share what Jesus did with those who might not want to hear it from you. Great risk can bring great reward for both.
Most of my writing time these days is consumed by my contracted cozy mysteries, my weekly column, and my blog.(All three involve humor.) Why do I tell these stories? Because I believe that in this dark world, a smile or belly laugh can be a candle lit, a tiny illumination that mirrors the true Light. In writing cozy mysteries, I want to portray the battle of good and evil, emphasizing the difference between the two–something that should be axiomatic, but isn’t in these post-modern days. In mysteries, the sleuth is always seeking the truth. The journey to the truth is important (and entertaining), but ultimately, the truth is the major point of the story. This, too, is something that is being lost in our current culture and must be preserved in story. Cozies aren’t always realistic in some ways, but they do emphasize that the extraordinary (including extraordinary evil) exists amid the ordinary. Jesus, in His parables, looked at the world that way–a worldview I can share in my stories.
Then, of course, there’s the fact that I’ve signed contracts and had better deliver 🙂 A very real motivation for my writing!
Eloquently expressed, Rachael. And, of course, there’s that contract-thing that does push one on…
Janet, in reading some of the comments above, I have a question for you (and for anyone who cares to chime in).
* I’ve never felt compelled to write; C.S. Lewis, in the essay I mentioned above, called the drive an ‘itch’, and I don’t have that. I do believe in my mission statement, I know that I can write well enough to get the point across, and it’s the best way I can reach people who might be willing to listen. Writing’s a tool, the act of writing is not a passion.
* I don’t feel a calling from God. He’s never spoken to me on this or any other issue (save one), and He seems to be neutral here. (The one time He spoke to me, He said, “Duck!”, and I retained my present height.)
* So the question…how serious a deficiency is this? I take for granted that both factors are crippling, especially in trying to reach a Christian audience, but there are times when it feels like a high-wire act with no net, and a long fall to the sawdust below when it’s discovered that writing isn’t ‘who I am’, but merely ‘what I do’.
You and I have great similarities, Andrew. Being a novelist is what I do right now. It’s not how I would define what I am.
*I haven’t spent my whole life feeling compelled to write fiction. I first considered it when I had an idea for a science thriller in 2008 about a massively successful male molecular biologist who was an adult convert to Christianity, a female post-doc raised in a church where she’d never made the faith her own, and an atheist leader and the other members of the research team she joins for whom success in a particular project will almost certainly win a Nobel prize. I did a very rough outline of the plot, wrote a few scenes, and abandoned the project. I may still write it someday, but I don’t feel compelled to right now.
*Then, in September 2013, I got the plot for my first novel one Friday night and started writing. Now I’ve finished five novels and am working on two more. It’s become a compulsion to write these particular stories, but not to write fiction in general. If I weren’t writing on the plots that directly relate to my overarching theme of the real power of Jesus to transform lost, wounded people into saved, healthy ones and the role a faithful follower plays in helping that happen, I don’t think I would be writing fiction.
*I do feel compelled to write nonfiction about the Christian faith from the perspective of a scientist who knows the power of Jesus to reconcile me with God and wants to share that with others. This is for the science-and-theology website I’m working on, and it is a ministry calling I have to answer.
*I feel compelled by the necessity to write historical articles about many different aspects of my historical period to form the basis of an author website. This is a commercial necessity if I intend to ever get my novels into the hands of the people who would benefit from reading them. This is much more like someone yelling at me to do it than a calling.
Andrew, I don’t think you should say you aren’t fulfilling a calling from God to write.
You may not have heard it consciously, but no one could read your blog without knowing it’s a direct response to God. It is truly ministering to the people who need it most. Only a man directly empowered by God for that ministry would be creating posts with the power of those that routinely appear in your blog.
*You’ve already had people tell you that your novel was very important for them. I bet they would say you have a calling, too.
Carol, thank you for both of your replies…and please forgive my delayed response. Today was a fell experience, and required rather more morphine that I would like to have used (and I have little left).
* First, I hope you write the story about the molecular biologist one day. I suspect it will be important.
* I never really thought about a calling being hidden in duty, and doing the job at hand…but I suppose that is more my lack of vision, a kind of spiritual myopia, rather than a reflection of the working of the Almighty.
* I started writing seriously when I had to proctor an exam being taken by four students, all of whom were bright and sharper than I could hope to be…and I was bored silly. Earlier that day I’d seen a roadside memorial cross, and thought…what might the story be?
* The result was BPH, six months later. I wrote 4000 words a day for two days, and then left it alone for five months…and finished it in a month. God’s whispers? Perhaps, but I could not divine them as such at the time.
Faithfulness in doing the job at hand is very often the truest answer to God’s call. Ripples from the pebble tossed in the lake – only time will tell what they lead to, and often we won’t know this side of heaven what a difference simply doing our duty has made for another soul.
Andrew, you have a gift for writing. And you have a responsibility to employ the gifts God gives. In that sense, we all have a unique calling. It doesn’t have to emanate from some “divine” moment when you know you must write. Just as some people can point to a moment when they put their trust in Jesus while others made a slow slog to discover that was the outcome.
All in all, I’m not buying that you aren’t called. Besides, you don’t strike me as the sort of person whom God would lay his hand on your shoulder and say, “I want you to write.” You are driven to act by other means.
Janet, thank you…and I never really looked at it that way, but I do realize I have some skill at writing, and it’s a duty to use that which was entrusted to me. But how I wish I could clearly hear God’s call! I am sometimes so envious of those who do.
I was just talking with a friend at church about this yesterday, Janet. The pastor was encouraging the congregation to get involved, to take on a ministry, as led by the Holy Spirit. Yes, I write because I enjoy it. Yes, I also write for the income, piddly though it may be. 🙂 But I also write because it’s a ministry. I cannot count how many times I have been encouraged in my spirit by both non-fiction and fiction. This is my way to pay it forward.
And what do you want readers to say/think/do as a result of reading your writing?
Buy the next book. 🙂
Grow. Trust. Step out in faith. Believe. Be encouraged. Enjoy a moment of escape and relaxation from life’s troubles. It depends on the reader and his or her circumstances.
Buy the next book is also a good thought.
What an interesting way to frame such a conversation. It really gets me thinking. My first reaction is to say I write because I want to tell others through story how powerful and freeing God’s grace is. I want to add something of value to the world. It feels only right to give back after being so positively affected by stories since my childhood. I simply do not know where I’d be without them woven into my life. I am also someone who is often overwhelmed by the things that evoke emotions — good or bad — and writing has proven to be the way I can best work through those feelings in a way that makes sense. However, I’ve also recently found that when these catalysts aren’t lining up, or when they are TOO overwhelming, I have a very difficult time writing. The ideas are there, but they are a jumbled mess of noise. Like standing in the middle of Times Square. You don’t know where to look first. It’s a real block for me, if I don’t start scribbling and sifting each independent sound. I think I got off track here….haha.
Teresa, those are all legitimate reasons for writing–even though you thought you careened off track. My question back to you is: What do you want the reader to do or feel as a result of your writing?
My writing is that of a messenger. My message consistently shines a beacon of light on the hope found in an intimate walk with God. The writings vary in intensity, some are strictly to the point where others are more about grace in action. I have a purpose; I want my readers to desire more in the spiritual realm than they already know about or have personally experienced.
I also write because of a vow I made to God back in 2002. I promised Him I would share with others whatever He would see fit to teach me. It’s been a beautiful experience. Once God has your heart, the sky’s the limit. It’s the stuff of real life.
Norma, it seems that you have a very real sense of the difference you want to make in readers’ lives. Bravo!
The short answer is “because I can’t not write”.
The longer answer is “if I don’t, no one else will”.
I’ve started my 3rd book, and I can’t stop. I don’t want to.
And what response do you want to elicit in your readers?
Can you tell I commented on the fly?
I want them to feel so a part of the world I create that they pester me with how the characters are doing.
I sent a chapter about a scary plot twist to a friend to ponder and she said “Haven’t you put him through enough!?!?!”
Nope.
I want them to laugh, cry, feel deeply for people who may be awful, and feel awful for people who may never have been. I want them to be thirsty for more of what *I* write in a way that no other writer can quench. I want my work to find that target they didn’t know they wore, and hit it every time.
In short, I want them to beg for more. And I want to be the one to give it to them.
Not for ME, but for what the story has done to me in the telling.
Is that
Yeah, this is the sort of thought I was looking for. Thanks!
I’ve always wanted to write. I grew up in folk tales, and by eight, I was a good storyteller, albeit in my native language. Then, I changed states, parent, and life. I started attending church, went through the motions for three years (I got born again sometime during those years) before my life was hit.
I loved stories, but hated reading. I only read academics, and some literature (mum teaches literature in a high school, and brother is a poet). Then, Christmas in 2013 came, and along with it were three Christian novels, thanks to brother again. By then, I had ripped off four pages of a story, convincing myself the time was not yet right for me to write. After reading Karen Kingsbury’s “Between Sundays”, I couldn’t stop. Read about nine of the novels in our church’s library in twenty-one days.
I knew I had to write then. So, I picked a pen, and started another draft. It wasn’t time still. Between then and now(the title of another novel), I’ve read about a hundred novels, known more than I ever thought I would by this age, and the time to write couldn’t be more perfect.
Therein lies my reason for writing. My life was positively set on track by stories rooted in the truth, and I know I owe someone out there. I’m working on a second story now(the first was so bad, craft-wise). There are still those moments when I wonder if I heard the right call, or misconstrued, or just working out of selfish motives. I’ve had dreams of hitting bestseller lists, but during those quiet minutes of meditation, I know it could just be a teen, a couple, or a family. Someone needs to read my story, and discover why they are here in this ephemeral, what God wants for us, and the power of transformation that is available in Christ.
Besides, I have a lot to figure out about myself (why I would rather watch an episode in an action series rather than write, my motive for wanting everyone I meet to have a taste, a drink, or an overdose of Love for example) and what better way to figure that out than stories.
I want a reader to finish my story, and feel the joy of acceptance, the pain of being rejected by those who haven’t been enlightened, the blessings of our Father, and the riches of His Love. It doesn’t have to be the accuracy of my writing craft (though that’s important). And maybe they’d get to know my favorite Hillsong tracks…
Michael, thanks for unveiling the various motivations you have for writing. It takes honesty with oneself to figure this stuff out, doesn’t it?
It does. I’m pretty surprised I wrote all this. I look forward to being this honest in writing dialogues (Stephen King – dialogue is about being honest).
I suspect only someone who is honest can write authentic dialogue. You’ve got a good start then!
Michael, I can see God will someday be using your writing for great things in His service!
Amen Carol. Amen.
On a slightly different note, I often ask that about things people post to FB. “Why are they telling me this?” I try to remember to ask myself the same question before I post, too.
Yes, that question does apply in more places than in the reader/writer relationship, doesn’t it?
I write to give back some of what reading other people’s writing has given me, and, hopefully, to touch people’s hearts and lives. (Making some income is nice, too.) I’ve been thrilled to learn my writing has made a difference to readers, though that hasn’t happened often.
It’s a privilege to touch even one life, isn’t it, Janet?
I don’t know what Jan will say, Janet…but it’s exactly what’s made my entire life worthwhile.
* And it was a canine life. It was finding a stray, hurt, crying dog, and saying, “The heck with this, you’re coming HOME.” (My exact words were more succinct, and less repeatable.)
* Life is only validated by love.
Very much so.
The mind consists of many conceptual models. Each time I develop a story or an essay, I develop a new conceptual model, and enhance my mind.