I was having a chat (or blether!) with a friend yesterday about the fact that we both enjoy writing, but the thought of writing publicly (in the form of a blog, for example) makes us feel very vulnerable and open to criticism. Personally it has taken a lot of determination on my part to begin this blog considering the number of friends and aquaintances I have that are considered by many to be intelligent, articulate writers. This then lead us to talk about what makes a good writer.
We both agreed that Salmon Rushdie is an excellent writer. He’s insightful, creative and as writer friend of mine puts it, “Rushdie delights more frequently, turning his lines with charm and jocularity and regularly intervening as the author lest you forget that he is telling you a tale. He gives permission for the author to be visible, and funny.”
As a fan of Rushdie I would have to totally agree with this description so eloquently put, but if you were to place ‘Midnight’s Children’ or ‘The Satanic Verses’ in front of my husband, for example, barely a chapter would be read before his mind drifted onto the newest application he’d just downloaded for his ipod and very quickly he’s laid down book for gadget.
The very same writer friend commented that one of his golden rules for inspiration in writing is reading good fiction, and that ‘trashy bestsellers might have the opposite effect’. But if these uninspiring fiction books that he’s alluding to are that ‘trashy’ then why are they ‘bestsellers’?
As a primary school teacher I am constantly trying to find ways in which to engage ALL children in reading. In my opinion being able to read is the key for any child to achieve success and reach their potential. In order to inspire a child to read the text needs to engage, interest and provide a purpose to be read. What interests one child will invariably disinterest the next. Does this make the author of the text a good writer or a bad one?
Certainly a good writer is someone who cleverly identifies their chosen audience and writes with them in mind. But why is it that as a target audience of a particular writer such as Rushdie, we deem it acceptable to criticise and judge other writers as ‘bad’ or ‘trashy’ purely because their writing doesn’t inspire or stimulate our minds, regardless of the fact that it might be enjoyed by the other readers who are stimulated in different ways and are engaged by different styles of writing?
With that in mind maybe we can all feel more free to ‘just write’ without worrying about whether we are a ‘good writer’ or not, because surely if one person reads and enjoys then we are a ‘good writer’ to at least that one person.
