The world is full of cliches of writers as drunks, addicts, horrible spouses, slobs, sociopaths, delusional freaks, hypersensitives, narcissists, hoarders and so on. And there are the cliches of writers as great lovers, wild adventurers, warm-hearted parents, magnanimous, free-thinking geniuses, etc., etc. The thing is, all of these are lies, cliches perpetrated by mass media, which romanticizes the writer as something one is rather than something one does.
If only I had a desk like him, THEN I’d be a writer.
We live in a world of images, and while this is a miracle (for example, imagine a person from a hundred years ago learning of Instagram), the nature of social media is just that: a world of images. When we log onto Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., we see carefully crafted images self-selected to convey a particular message. And because of this, it’s far easier for us to present an image of being a thing than to actually do that thing.
Parse that last sentence again.
It’s much easier to look like something than to do that something. If Sally Upstart Writer is looking to connect with the world via social media and the images she has in her head of what a writer is (images, by the way, Sally didn’t form on her own, but learned from the media she has consumed for a couple decades), then she will tailor her image to be what she thinks a writer is, because in the social media age, image is everything — you are your image.
The thing is, what makes someone a writer is writing. Not images, not your clever Tweets or your Instagram pics or your Facebook shares. This is not to say those things don’t have a purpose. But when your social media presence becomes a substitute for actual writing, when you are externally validating your self as a “writer” by the amount of social media feedback you receive, you can be sure your narcissistic tendencies have taken over.
I’ve done this myself and I’ve seen this behavior in others, especially those who are just starting out.
My advice therefore to Sally Upstart Writer is this: ignore everything you’ve ever heard about writers. It will be difficult at first, because you’ve absorbed all these images of what the media tells you a writer should be. But the only thing a writer is is someone who writes. All else is smoke and mirrors.
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January 11, 2016 at 10:22 am
Kudos, Matt! *claps*
I love this! I agree with everything here. As a newbie writer myself, I know full well the temptation to present a persona out there on social media of a writer being, well … studiously writerly! I see it pop up a lot in the crit groups I participate in as well. Some of my peers seem more interested in constantly promoting themselves as writers than they are with devoting butt-in-chair time to the craft of actual writing.
As I’ve been guilty of the same myself from time to time, I recognize the practice for what it really is: procrastination! 😉
Great post, my friend!
January 11, 2016 at 10:53 am
Thanks. We are all guilty of it. Some more than others. The key is, as you say, to be aware when we are using it to procrastinate. But also, are we writing because we love to write, or because we love the idea of “being” a writer? They are two very different things.
January 12, 2016 at 6:06 am
Very wise words, and food for thought. I do the occasional writing, but I am not an author. The words for “write” and “author” have different connotations in Swedish, so it’s hard for me to express the equivalent meaning in English. But the gist of it is: I respect the profession. And thus your ponderings on the concept of being (or perpetuating the image of being) a writer and the actual practice of writing ring so very true.
Best regards
Alexander Nyström
Sweden
January 12, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Thanks, Alexander.
I think the same applies to a lot of things: the image of that thing replaces the actual thing. Is it possible to enjoy our meal without sharing a pic of it on Instagram? Can we have a great moment without Tweeting about it? The need for external validation is replacing our sense of self. If we only exist when we get externally validated then we don’t really exist. Social media, in other words, is reinforcing our cultural narcissism (at least in the U.S.; I don’t know how it is in Sweden.)
January 16, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Christopher Lasch would have a field day with Twitter.
This piece is timely for me, as I try to write more and noodle around social media less. Thanks!
January 16, 2016 at 2:07 pm
John, thanks. I need to read more Lasch.
February 2, 2016 at 11:32 am
Hmm…”narcissistic tendencies” seem to be a fashionable trend these days, encouraged by voyeurism. For every person who posts details of their breakfast, there is someone else who apparently desperately wants to know those gastronomic details. This cycle of narcissism seems to repeat itself when new means of communication evolve. I have seen the introduction of FM radio, black & white, then color TV. I can remember a world where photography was something that required knowledge of f-stops, toner, fixer and all sorts of specialized skills largely unknown today. As the host of the Earl J. Arnold Advertising Card Collection 1885, I am learning (aargh, how painful!) about a world which was just discovering the marvels of color in print. Narcissism is so much more convenient now that your cell phone communicates all instantaneously–before you have time to think about the consequences. Writers I admire are those that inspire new ideas and spot trends of which I was unaware. Thanks for inspiring this meandering train of thought, Michael! Narcissistic or not, writers are part of the thinking world and that’s what makes them special to me as a reader. Oh, by the way, how was breakfast today? And Sally Upstart says hi.