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foolserrant — Hack Stamp
Published: 2009-01-20 03:25:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 554; Favourites: 12; Downloads: 26
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Because I find it absolutely annoying when people compare their writing to that of Hemingway, Orwell, Ayn Rand, Huxley, or any of the other classic writers. Let the critics decide if you're really that good. And chances are, if you're describing yourself as, say, "Orwellian", it means that you pretty much copied their style, whereas a critic would describe you as "Orwellian" if your work was really unique but reminiscent of Orwell. The styles that any of those -- especially Hemingway -- wrote in worked for them, but only for them. Anyone trying to sound like one of them will just end up sounding like a poor copy. The way to write is to write in a way that is true to yourself and unique, using a voice that you are comfortable with. Who cares if it's daring or edgy if it's poorly written or derivative?Also, this is dedicated to all those writers out there that are too arrogant to take the advice of someone who's been there, done that. You may think that you're visionary, but the publishing industry isn't going to change to suit your needs. And no publishing company will buy and publish a novel that is available in either its entirety or in significant chunks online. It's just not good business, whether you really are the next Ayn Rand or not.
XD I never thought that I'd be actually defending Hemingway. I read The Sun Also Rises in high school and thought it was a terrible book, clearly wish-fulfillment of the highest order. (I also thought that it's title abbreviated, TSAR, was really funny due to its Russian connections.) However, I am now (finally -- it only took me 4 years) reading his quasi-autobiography, A Moveable Feast and it's surprisingly good. However, that stream-of-consciousness style of writing is not something that many people could pull off without seeming derivative or terrible. Hemingway just had a knack.
Anyway, wish I could use this but I don't have a subby so oh well. Please, PLEASE use this and post it wherever you see lurking arrogant hacks!
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Comments: 20
Quite frankly, I consider Hemingway to be a bit of a hack himself. I do realise that this is somewhat of an unpopular opinion though.
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You should read "A Farewell to Arms" by Hemingway! I find it much better than "The Sun Also Rises".
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My writing style is Ashleelian. So there.
If you compare yourself ot a classic writer, you're probably just out to stroke your own ego.
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... Why would anyone want to be the next Ayn Rand? She was incredibly unattractive and she was a very socially irritable person. Nobody that knew her really liked her, with the exception of her inner circle. Even then, members of her inner circle were driven away from her.... No, I don't have anything against Ayn Rand: I actually encourage people to read her books (especially right now with the current economic and political situation of the United States, and today I talked my grandmother into buying her own copy of the book) and she's my favorite writer. She was just a bitch - you wouldn't want to be her
I do understand where you're coming from, though. I can understand if you've been inspired by an author and want to use their beliefs or some other essence of their writing, but comparing yourself to them is just being arrogant and stuck-up. Right now I'm writing a novel that I will admit was inspired by George Orwell and Ayn Rand, but I would never compare myself to either of them.
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and when I say, "the book," I meant Atlas Shrugged. My bad.
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I would never say I'm great as a writer. 
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Very true. And thank you for the fav.
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Sadly, yes. Or they compare themselves to Orwell or Huxley or one of the other greats.
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That's just arrogant. I don't think I know anyone who'd do that - guess I'm lucky...
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The Old Man and the Sea. With a title like that you can't help but fall asleep before even opening the book...
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XD lol From what I understand -- I haven't read it yet -- the whole book is him reeling in a fish.
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It's also interesting to note that a writer like Hemingway, if he were still alive, would not be able to get his work published if he submitted it now, because his style and his stories are not what the market "wants". Same goes for writers like Tolkien or even Stephen King (the latter gets published because of his reputation--and because people are guaranteed to buy anything he puts out).
Which makes it an even better reason NOT to compare your work to that of other, older authors.
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That is very true. In fact, Hemingway had quite a bit of difficulty getting published in the first place. In A Moveable Feast he talks about being extremely poor in Paris because the only market that would buy his books was the German Market. It took him years of work to get published in America. Stephen King, on the other hand, had to drastically change his style and type of writing to initially get published (which was under a pseudonym). As for Tolkien, he spent about 40 years developing the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it was most likely only his association with C.S. Lewis and the others in their writing circle that got him published.
I don't know why people today have such an aversion to creating their own style. It isn't that hard, really; I personally find it harder to emulate a particular author's style than to write in my own.
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Back some time ago (when I was...more ignorant), I read LoTR and fell in love with the prose, and I tried to duplicate Tolkien's writing. Don't ask why, it was stupid. But I can see I suppose why people do it--they adore a certain style and think, "maybe I should use it, too". Even if it's ultimately bad for them.
That said, there's some use in examining and dissecting your favorite author's written words--it helps you to see what *can* work, and help to improve your own writing. Just as long as you don't try and copy the style.
Personally, when I do write prose, I take to heart the advice of an Advanced Essay Comp. teacher I once had...
Make sure you writing is these three things: simple, clear, and vivid.
Where you go from there is up to you.
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Nice, very well put. And I agree with your teacher's advice. I also agree with Hemingway when he said to write one true sentence, truer than anything you've ever written. It seems to be a decent piece of advice.
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