The Two I’s

So, what is the difference? I posted a few weeks back about Influence being a bad thing. And it can be, when it gets too strong. But what of Inspiration?

Well, let me highlight the difference, as I see it.

Influence is when you are (consciously or unconsciously) driven to emulate someone else’s work.

Inspiration is when you are driven to progress your own work after being exposed to, well, whatever source.

Yes, I know I’m making positive and negative distinctions here. Influence being negative, Inspiration being positive. But over the past month or so, this is how I have come to regard the two. Influence can be insidious, as I discovered when I realised that what I was currently writing could be seen as a rip off of the work of Neal Asher (though let’s be fair, if you’re going to rip someone off, you might as well rip off the best!) This sent me into something of a crisis, and actually put me off writing for a while.

But in that time I have been subjected to a great deal of, lets say Input, and I have drawn Inspiration from it. Whether its been watching Manga, or playing Mass Effect 2, or watching the new series of Spooks, the avenues of thought that have been opened up for me have been a revelation. And it’s not just big things, it might even be something as simple as a tiny idea which has caused me no end of grief in trying to explain away a plot hole, or giving me new opportunities to develop back story that make my characters feel more fleshed out. I know I’m not exactly making a strong case for originality here, but it can be the most tried and tested ideas that give us the biggest inspiration to do something new.

You want evidence?

OK, so I’ll take a simple example. A while back now, I spoke enthusiastically of my genre, science fiction. And about how dangerous it can be to get dated very quickly. I had to do a minor edit on a piece, just because it was set ten years from now, and one of the characters used a computer mouse. And current technological development indicates that mice will be obsolete in ten years.

Mass Effect 2 - best on PS3

Anyway, my first book, which I am forever redrafting is also in such danger. Due mainly to it’s heavy reliance of computer technology. How do you predict it though? Well, I’ve been having a few issues with how to develop the ideas of the technology without it becoming too ‘out there’. This is where Mass Effect 2 comes into play. Much can be said about the writing behind video games, but this is not the time or the place. The universe of Mass Effect is very rich and full of little details, and it was whilst reading through the many codex entries that are discovered in the game that kicked off a deluge of Inspiration for me. Now, if I were going to be Influenced, I’d have said ‘that’s a good idea, I’ll use that.’ But no, I was Inspired, which kicked off new avenues of thought, cultivated new ideas, and actually helped me solve some of the issues I’d been having.

The Moral…

I know it’s a bit of a no-brainer to say that you should absorb as much material as you can. Watching, reading, playing, whatever, are all necessary practices for developing as a writer (just so long as doing so doesn’t get in the way of, you know, the actual writing), but one must always be aware of the two I’s. Yes, draw Inspiration from whatever you absorb, just be wary of being too Influenced by it. Anyone have any thoughts on the difference between the two?

This cool writerly image provided by geishaboy500. To see the original, follow the link.

I got thinking about this due to a conversation I had at the weekend.  Despite the fact that I write (occasionally) and I have several projects all but completed (damn you endless editing process!) I still don’t feel like a writer.

Yes, ok, this may have something to do with the “not being published” thing, but that aside…  There is part of me, I guess, that still feels like writing is a part time thing, like a hobby, rather than a vocation.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with writing in your spare time, just because you enjoy it, and not really writing to get something published, but I’ve always felt a little more serious about my writing.  My first major idea, that I developed when I was about 12 is still on my flash drive, and I do still look over it every now and again.  When I’m in the right headspace for it.  Everything else though has taken a back seat for this serialized project I’ve been working on, and which has frankly, worn me out.

The Stigma

I have no idea why, but I still feel like there’s some kind of stigma attached to being a writer.  Almost as if it’s something to be ashamed of.  Just like every other aspect of creative profession.  I have in the past felt myself cringe when I’ve told people “Oh, I’m acting in this thing” or “I’m writing a book” and the like.  I’ve never had a problem with telling people “Oh, I’m a technician with a touring theatre company” because that’s working with equipment, it’s less namby pamby I guess, coming from one of those grim northern towns where people still remember coal mining and ship building and proper “man jobs” like that.

So why should I feel ashamed of being a writer?  Just look at who the writing world has given us.  Hemmingway, Wilde, Shakespeare, Clancy.  Granted, it’s also given us Dan Brown and the frigging Twilight Saga, which in turn has ruined poor Robert Pattinson’s life, but that’s another issue entirely.

A Full Time Thing

Maybe I don’t feel like a writer because I don’t treat it as a full time thing.  I’ve never made money from it, so I still can’t take myself seriously as a writer.  Or maybe it’s because of what I write about.  This is why I never tell people why I’m a writer.  Because it’s one of the main questions you’re asked.

“What do you write about?”

Sure, the pretentious answer is “love, loss, revenge, betrayal, all kinds of aspects of the human condition.” But I guess that’s because I don’t want to tell people I write stuff with giant space lizards and laser guns.  Because as soon as you mention the words “science” and “fiction” together, most people switch off and lose interest, because they think you’re writing star wars slash fiction.

An Underappreciated Genre

DavidTurnbull uses this image as his desktop to remind him that he IS a writer. Grab the original by following the link.

But is it so bad?  If you forget about Star Wars for a moment (which purists will tell you is science fantasy anyway), lets look at the genre.  Science Fiction has given us Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, I Am Legend, Brave New World and we cannot leave out Neuromancer.  This is what I always go to because ‘The Novel’ is cyberpunkish.  I dislike the fact that just because a book is set in the future, it is automatically classed as science fiction.  There is a wonderful book by Max Barry called Jennifer Government which yes, is set in the future, but isn’t sci-fi.  It’s satire.  And disturbingly prescient.  A lot like 1984.  It’s the kind of book you read alongside No Logo and makes you realise just how, well, that’s me getting on my soapbox.

I don’t want to feel this stigma.  Just because my serialized project is about time travel (which in this country will make 80% of people you say that to instantly think “Oh, like Doctor Who” and instantly stop taking it seriously) doesn’t mean its geeky sci-fi.  Ok, so my reading material is string theory and chaos theory, but ultimately, it’s a human story.  Which all the best science fiction is.  The titles I mentioned before, Do Androids…, I Am Legend, Brave new World, they are all, at their hearts, about the nature of humanity.

Do you get that from Dan Brown?  No. Twilight?  Please, don’t make me laugh.

Anyway, what was my point?  Am I the only writer out there who feels some degree of shame as labeling himself as such?

Although I feel very comfortable with my writing voice during the act of putting pixels to.. er.. pixels I guess, I have often wondered how other people perceive it. I am just as paranoid as the next writer it seems. I have for a long time had the sneaking suspicion that my writing style is… not boring as such, but lacks a certain dynamism. There are very few jokes aside from the dry observational variety, and I sometimes feel I present situations rather plainly. That is as best as I can put it, although you will have the opportunity to judge for yourselves eventually of course (a whole new can of paranoid worms there).

Now, I don’t mean this to be in any way detrimental to Carl Sagan’s writing, which as I mentioned, I am thoroughly enjoying. But I found some relief in knowing that if anything his style of writing was “dryer” than mine. Again, I don’t mean to be critical, and perhaps “dry” is the wrong word to begin with. This is not a situation where I think, “well, his writing is worse than mine, and he got published”. It’s more a case of, “his writing is perhaps plainer, more dry than mine, but it is still interesting to read”. Very much so in fact.

Interesting does not sound like much of a compliment, I’ll grant you, and it perhaps represents a kind of minimum requirement of a text for most people. However, being interesting is very important to me when it comes to the creative endeavors of others. A piece of music does not have to be emotive, or have clever lyrics, or even be pleasant to the ear, for example. But it must be interesting; it must have something about it that keeps me listening. The same goes for visual art or written text.

So, to find another author who exhibits some of the traits that I worry about in my own style, and that I still find interesting to read, and want to read more of, is a great source of reassurance. I guess the lesson is to trust your own style. I often will read something and really love the voice of the author. Something in me tells me I could never write like that. And, of course, that will be true for a great many authors I read. But, perhaps the aim of writing like an admired author is something of a red herring anyway. After all, your aim should never be to write like them, but to write like yourself. That is what your “voice” is all about.

I think you should be less concerned with what other people think of your writing, and be more worried about what you think of it. Do you like it when you write it, and later, when you read it back? Worrying about other people will come later, of course, and at some point you may lose the objectivity that tells you what you’ve written is great (after going through the fifth draft of a chapter, for example), but remember, it’s your voice, and if you find it interesting, chances are someone else will.

Who here is confident about their writing voice, and why? What gave you that confidence?