So You Wanna Be a Writer?
Are Successful Writers More Passionate or Only More Persistent?
An examination of inherent artistic inspiration as envisioned by writers such as Tom Robbins, Rainer Maria Rilke, Charles Bukowski, and Kurt Vonnegut.
The orthodox view of artistic inspiration is that it is inexplicably magical – a divine spark that only occurs in the minds of a select few. This depiction of artistic inspiration has actually been championed by many of the greatest writers who ever lived. Indeed, many take this view much farther.
Bukowski's "So You Wanna Be a Writer"
In his famous poem, “So You Wanna Be a Writer,” Charles Bukowski describes artistic inspiration not just as a spark, but as an entire sun inside an artist, burning the person’s gut. He further asserts that unless literature comes pouring out of a person, they are not a good writer and shouldn’t even try. Rainer Maria Rilke would agree with Bukowski. He once wrote that in the darkest hour of the night, when a true writer was asked why he/she writes would answer with simple conviction, “I must.”
Tom Robbins weighs in on this topic in his novel Skinny Legs And All. He continually makes reference to artistic visions, which come naturally to some and not to others. The many characters in the novel who struggle to make art, or who make intellectually driven art, are portrayed as fakes. Whereas the heroine, Ellen Cherry, can naturally turn anything she sees into life transcending art. However, it should be noted that her artistic drive is more impulsive than compulsive. Still, it is necessarily an aspect of her personality. She is an artist inherently.
For many aspiring writers, however, writing does not come easily. It could, for many, be described more as an inclination than a compulsion. Are these writers then doomed to failure?
It seems that Kurt Vonnegut at least would say no. In the Preface to his novel Slapstick, he relates an anecdote where he complains to his editor that he thinks he has the hardest job in the entire world. His editor responds, “I never heard of a blacksmith who fell in love with his anvil.”
For many writers, this sentiment strikes closer to home. While there are times for every writer when words seem to flood onto the page in an unimpeded stream, there can be just as many times when a writer stares at a blinking cursor with no idea what to type. Yet, it is true that if one pushes hard enough, eventually inspiration will usually come.
While inspiration may come more easily to some than others, this alone isn’t enough to make a good writer, or, indeed, a good artist of any medium. Inspiration must be tempered by skill and practice before it becomes relevant, successful art in all but the most esoteric cases.
This is the saving grace of all those would-be writers whose only in-born skill is determination.
It would seem that there is in fact more than one way to skin a cat – artistically speaking of course.
