The Happy Writer

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Posted on October 5th, 2009 in Online Writing by Guy Hogan

Where can you always find great content to write about?

We writers can be such touchy people. It’s difficult for some of us to separate ourselves from our work. And I think there is good reason for this touchiness. When we write we are dealing directly with our own subconscious minds. And we all know that there are dangerous things in the subconscious that we don’t want to face. Some of the people that are always urging others to face what is hidden in the subconscious don’t realize that confession is not always good for the soul. Confession could lead straight to the nut house, too.

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Writing allows some writers to get close enough to the truth to write a good article say for Triond without getting too close and causing a mental collapse. Anyway, this is only a personal theory of mine and there’s probably nothing to it.

But writing can make a writer analize his or her life. I mean, where is a writer suppose to get content from?

When I was a teaching assistant at Pitt, some of my students would turn in short stories about exotic places they had never been to and about exciting people they had never met. Then they would tell me it was fantasy. It was fantasy all right and I wasn’t buying it.

I encouraged them to base their writing on places they knew and people they had met. The stories I got back made for some very interesting reading, far more interesting than the stories they tried to make interesting.

You want an endless supply of great content to write about? Let me suggest your own life. You can tell it straight or change things around like crazy. You can even make some stuff up. But your own life is the best content you could ever wish for.

We all know that good content makes for a happy writer.

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Tags: article, content, Life, short stories, students, teaching, write, writer, Writing

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40 Responses to “The Happy Writer”

PR Mace
October 5th, 2009 at 4:10 am

I write what I know. I often take an event in my life and make an article out of it. The night my husband and I almost hit a kid on a bike, I turned into,” Dark Rider” our story which ended with nighttime bike safety rules. Even some of my fiction was taken from my childhood and changed a bit. It is always better to write what you know or what is of interest to you.
Unofre Pili
October 5th, 2009 at 4:26 am

Realism is what makes literature great. Without doubt, you’re certainly right, Guy. Writing is easy if a writer doesn’t take himself/herself wandering in unfamiliar territory.
Frances Lawrence
October 5th, 2009 at 5:10 am

Thanks for that, it was the prod I needed to write about something very close to my heart.
martie
October 5th, 2009 at 6:56 am

Perhaps, even those students who wrote fantasy were trying to write what they wished their lives were like.
chitragopi
October 5th, 2009 at 7:39 am

Yes, something personal will put more passion into it. Good suggestion.
Jane Jane
October 5th, 2009 at 7:56 am

nice post. A great piece of advice for all writers.
Marie Antoinette
October 5th, 2009 at 8:46 am

I read this line in 7th grade and it stuck with me forever: “It is the missing word, an unordinary torment.”
martinpm
October 5th, 2009 at 8:59 am

great suggestion, nice piece of article.
Vikram Chhabra
October 5th, 2009 at 9:19 am

This was a really great article. I have often found myself exploring the dark and bright moments of my life. Sometimes they come out in prose, sometimes in poetry. I guess for aspiring writers like myself, it is an endless search for perfection in the relationship between our exterior and internal selves…
royee100
October 5th, 2009 at 9:27 am

I like the idea of publishing my life but i kind of dont want the wrong people looking at it
N. Lloyd Andrews
October 5th, 2009 at 9:27 am

“Write what you know.” That was the main rule that I remembered when I decided to take up writing again.

I know about myself. I know about my own life. Writing about that also brings learning and insight.

The number one rule I use as a machine mechanic is “Don’t Force It.” I can say the same for writing. If I try and force the creative process, it will ultimately end up broken.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 9:52 am

PR, I definitely believe in the motto, write what you know. I don’t like doing research. Never did. So to keep from making mistakes I have to write about what I know.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:00 am

Unofre, even when I write fiction it’s usually based on my participation in an event or an event I’ve witnessed or something similar to the two. That usually keeps me out of trouble. The reader can feel comfortable with my reporting of reality.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:06 am

Frances, good luck. A writer has to be vulnerable and tough at the same time. It’s a diffucult balance to maintain.
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas
October 5th, 2009 at 10:09 am

I totally agree.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:14 am

martie, I’m sure that was part of it; but they always got details of the fantasy world wrong. They didn’t live in the fantasy world so the quality of their writing suffered. When they wrote about the world they lived in their writing came alive. I had to show them the great writing content their lives made.

I know you know this. I was just re-stating my position.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:21 am

Chitragopi, passion is very much a part of it. There is a big difference between content that should be written and content that must be written. The reader can tell the difference.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:26 am

Jane, I’m a true believer in the saying, Life is Art. It just takes the artist to make it true. It’s an opportunity that every writer can take advantage of.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 10:33 am

Marie, I don’t know what that means. The Artist can make the ordinary Art. The work of Ray Carver made me realize I could use my life to make fiction. Before that realization, I thought you had to have adventures like Hemingway to write good fiction. I love Hemingway’s work, too.
strovek
October 5th, 2009 at 10:37 am

Good advice. Unfortunate a lot of time, we always think that grass is greener on the other side – that is we think that our stories are not interesting or exciting enough. That is why we write about someone else or something else.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

martinpm, and I take my own medicine. I don’t know how to write any other way. It keeps me from writing something foolish.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 11:43 am

Vickram, that’s a great way to put it: our exterior and internal selves. It’s always a struggle to balance the needs of these two parts of ourselves. The tension can produce some interesting writing.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am

royee100, of course you have to use your judgement as to how much of yourself you reveal to the world. Every writer must make this judgement.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am

Lloyd, both sayings represent a philosophy about writing that I can totally agree with.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am

Melody, the writers that I truly appreciate are the ones who can take ordinary events and turn them into good reading and writing. That’s the kind of writer I want to be.
Sourav
October 5th, 2009 at 1:50 pm

Life is the best teacher. No doubt about it. Rightly said!
bintenadeem
October 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm

very correct!
Aleena
October 5th, 2009 at 6:54 pm

So true, I agree with you completely. Although, sometimes looking outside of your own personal experiences can make for a good story too.
Gijo George
October 5th, 2009 at 7:32 pm

People are interested in each other’s life. Writing from our own experience can yield good results and becomes popular content in less time.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

There is no doubt that people can go outside of their own personal lives to get good content. It’s done all the time. I’m just too lazy to do that. Or maybe I should say I feel more comfortable using material from my own life.
Joanna Maharis
October 5th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

A fascinating article. There is so much beautiful insight here.
Guy Hogan
October 5th, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Joanna, I’m too lazy to do a lot of research so I have to use my own life for content. And guess what? I still get some things wrong. I forget. At least in my fiction I can make up what I don’t remember.
sunshine926
October 5th, 2009 at 9:11 pm

I have never thought of writing a story on my life. Hmmm. that would sure be interesting. good article:)
W.C. Barron
October 5th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Guy, I like how you think and write, I know it comes from within. This article has great depth, looking forward to more. Thank you!

P.S. I also like how you reply to every comment you receive, I wish I had the time for that.
Netty net
October 5th, 2009 at 11:06 pm

sometime fiction is easier then truth but writing from only life can make interesting stories,
teddybear55
October 6th, 2009 at 12:06 am

I agree with you totally, Guy. When you wrote about what you know, it is hard for someone else to dispute what you say, because it is your truth. Writing from our own experiences and about our own lives makes for a very interesting topic because it gives the reader insight as to who the real you is. Thanks for sharing this article. I really liked it. It was very good writing and much food for thought.
mo hoyal
October 6th, 2009 at 12:09 am

They say, “Write what you know” and your advice fits right into this category. Another good one from you Guy! Thanks for your articles, I do enjoy them!
Guy Hogan
October 6th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Actually, I don’t reply to every comment but I try to reply to most. It takes time but then time runs out and you have to move on. But I want people to know that I do read every comment whether I reply to it or not.
diamondpoet
October 7th, 2009 at 8:26 am

Life experience makes for good writing, you don’t exactly have to be detailed you can leave a lot to ones imagination. Great article. But I disagree with you slightly, I think that writing from the soul can make you work a little more personal and people can feel you passion more.
Christyan S.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:17 am

This article inspired me alot !