Does writing change the author? Do you think your writing has changed you in any significant way?
I believe it’s a mutual change. Writing does change me, but, as I change, so does my writing. (Hopefully, for the better. LOL) Most of the stories I write require me to research some place, some technology, animal, or just the human condition. The very nature of research expands the mind, and we are never quite the same. Constantly learning means we are constantly growing, whether we’re aware of it or not. This changes our view of the world even if it may be very slight. Those slight changes alter our perceptions and, perhaps, result in a different reaction than how we would’ve reacted in the past. Small changes eventually lead significant differences. I like to think this is positive. (I could be deluding myself. That has been known to happen sometimes. 😉 )
A perfect example of this is my novel Snow Spirits. This story is set in China in the early 1960s, but it truly begins at the end of WWII in Unit 731, a Japanese medical experimentation camp. When I studied WWII in high school, we focused mainly on the European battles. I was aware of thee Pacific theater and battles there, but I knew very little about what actually happened in the Far East and how the countries there were affected by the war. My knowledge of this expanded significantly in order for me to write this story. Then I had to study the culture and find out more about China in the early 60s, not really that easy. I learned about their invasion of Tibet, their treatment of the Uyghur (before it became “popular”), and about the Tibetan people. All of it was fascinating, and I have a deeper appreciation of the freedoms we have and the hardships these people face. It’s why this story took me over two years to write, but I also think it’s the best one I’d written up to that time. There is no doubt my view of China shifted with that research.
Research isn’t the only thing that can affect an author’s view of the world. Each character is different with different needs, personalities, dreams, and obstacles to overcome. In order to write a riveting tale, we have to immerse ourselves in the characters, their plights, their triumphs, everything about them while we write (most of us don’t “become” them or think like them when not writing). How can you not be changed when you’ve walked a mile, so to speak, in your character’s shoes? It’s humbling, invigorating, and amazing. It’s exhilarating and sad to type “The End.” But I am never the same after writing the book.
My current WIP will end up as a novella-length story for an anthology. I’m living my dream of being a famous rock star (although not of being a wolf shifter LOL). As I have performed on stage to a few thousand people, I’m able to pull on my stage experience for some of it. This story is different, though, as there are a lot of important secondary characters, all of whom have distinct personalities. It’s challenging to write, but it’s fun. Perhaps I’ll walk away feeling like I’ve lived vicariously as a famous rock star through Asta, the main character’s name. 😀 I haven’t had to research anything . . . yet. There’s still plenty of time for that, though. I’m less than 10,000 words in, so that could change at any time. LOL
So, dear authors, if you don’t write, but are rather an avid reader, do you feel that books change you? If so, which book(s) have impacted your life the most?
If you found my blog post interesting, please visit the other authors who are participating in this month’s round robin and find out if, and/ or how, their writing has changed them:
“Writing does change me, but, as I change, so does my writing.”
This sentence, your opening, speaks to me. It’s a pithy summary of one of my points that, um, slipped me by. Thank you.
That book about China sounds fascinating.
Thank you, Bob. Honestly, I have small moments of brilliance. When I re-read my blog post, I realize there was so much more I could’ve said, but, in my rush to finish it (because I remembered at the last moment ), I didn’t. I need to fix my WordPress site so I can schedule posts. That might make it easier. (I’ll keep telling myself that. LOL)
For some reason, your link takes me to a WordPress sign-in. I’ll have to try it on my laptop.
We are on the same wavelength. We change by sometimes imperceptible amounts as we research and are exposed to other ways of seeing things. And we change along with our characters – and change is growth. I firmly believe the writer who does not change can’t continue to write new and interesting stuff. They stagnate.
I’ve never thought of it that way, but I agree with you, Skye. How can you write new and interesting stuff if you yourself do not change? Excellent point!
I had the same reaction Dr. Bob had to your line: Writing does change me, but, as I change, so does my writing. I also agree about research and about how our characters affect us. Great post!
Thank you. I think as we write the experiences our characters go through we can’t help but be affected. One would hope we’d grow. 🙂
Marci, I’m pondering your statement about “living through our characters”. I can see where this is possible. I think I shove too much of my personality into the heroines to live through them; they have a tendency to remold themselves–leaving me to wonder what happened here?
I also think I shove a certain amount of my personality into my characters, but I’m working on changing that, although most of my heroines do have certain traits similar to me, they are also their own people. However, I can experience the fear of the character. For instance, in Snow Spirits, Xue and her husband Bao are constantly on the run, trying to evade capture. It’s a mental game as much as a physical. You have to get inside their heads to convey what’s happening with them. So, to some degree, I do live through them.
Interesting post, especially your point that research can affect an author’s view of the world. So true.
I found it interesting how all of us came to similar conclusions just in different ways and perspectives. And that’s what makes writing, and reading, so exciting. 🙂
Hi Marci, we’re all enjoying this topic a lot. I, too, was struck by your opening. Also, I think research is a factor for change in the researcher. I’ve discovered so much recently about the lives of intelligent, upper-middle-class women in the nineteenth century and it has humbled me. Where did they find the strength to keep on? Anne
In the past couple of years, I’ve become a scientific copy editor. I don’t just point out things that don’t work, I make suggestions and rewrite sentences. I don’t pretend to understand all of the computer science (especially the calculations and coding), but I do understand a lot of it. I’ve also been editing botany papers. There could be a botanist in one of my books in the near future. LOL It will require more research, of course, but I feel that even the editing changes me. 🙂
Research abounds that says readers have more empathy–we immerse ourselves in someone else’s life and experience what they do. Even more so for writers. So yes, writers grow as they write. Insightful comments on such an interesting topic.
I agree, there are a lot of insightful blog posts on this topic. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Hi Marci, I really enjoyed your take on this topic. I hadn’t thought to mention how research has changed me in my blog post, but now you mention it here, I see how true that is. Like others have commented, your point about your writing changing as you change has really struck a chord, too. Great post.