I'm still fairly quiet in
Blogosphere, as I'm focusing my efforts on editing my books. Aside from my
biggest problem, which is creating more new stuff than I ever finalise from the
panolply of old stuff, I'm making quite good progress. I thought I'd take a
break this morning, as the following thoughts about being a contemporary writer
entered my head.
I don't know much about
modern fiction (I'm a classics man), but when it comes to non-fiction, it looks
to me like it has never been easier to be a writer, and it has never been
harder either. Everyone knows why it has never been easier: the Internet has
given us the best tools we've ever had for successful writing - increased
knowledge, a wider platform, and more ways to become a widely read author. But
those are the same tools that have also made it harder than ever before to be a
successful non-fiction writer, because a combination of greater competition and
more ubiquitous and intense scrutiny has greatly increased the required
standard for academic writing that is sold as popular social science.
This generation more than
any other is a generation in which the anachronisms of Thomas Carlyle's Great
Man theory - that history is written by the impact of a minority of charismatic
and powerful men - have been well and truly put to bed. Nowadays, pretty much
everyone is a writer of some sort (even if it's just publically sharing a thought
or making comments on social media) and everyone is a critic too. Widely read
authors receive thousands of comments, as the readers seek to obtain parity
with the author, and in many cases supersede them with their wit and
intelligence.
Intellectual endeavours
have been more widely collectivised and democratised, while at the same time
specialised research has become so interconnected within international fields -
it is harder than ever before to write anything truly remarkable that does not
trespass on other people's toes. Given that almost every field is awash with
expert analysis resulting from years or decades of rigorous research, it is
hard for an individual writer to produce anything that covers a broad and
complex domain of thought that is at the same time seminal and ground-breaking.
For writers looking
to make a big impact, the challenge has never been greater!
