Recently I attended the Melboure Writers Festival. I went to a panel called The
Future of the Novel. Most people would expect a panel with that title to be a discussion about the demise
of book reading in the near future. Refreshingly, that was not what this panel
was about. Instead the panellists were concerned about the effect social media
could be having on what novelists write.
Future of the Novel. Most people would expect a panel with that title to be a discussion about the demise
of book reading in the near future. Refreshingly, that was not what this panel
was about. Instead the panellists were concerned about the effect social media
could be having on what novelists write.
The
panellists were an impressive intellectual in Nigerian born American novelist
Teju Cole, who wrote the much lauded Open City. The other, much quieter panellist,
was transmedia creator Christy Dena.
panellists were an impressive intellectual in Nigerian born American novelist
Teju Cole, who wrote the much lauded Open City. The other, much quieter panellist,
was transmedia creator Christy Dena.
Cole began
with the proviso that anything he had to say about the future of the novel was likely
to be wrong. He then tried to describe what makes a great novel. He said a
novel was a place where life slows down. He said great novels always had
something wrong with them, and this was a good thing, because in their
wrongness they managed to create something unique. He then asked, in a world
full of social media and its instant feedback, would this wrongness continue?
Let me
explain. The panellists felt that writers who used social media extensively,
which is most of us, now receive instant feedback on anything they post. In our
attempts to increase the number of hits, retweets, and friends, most writers seek
to avoid offending their readers. They also endeavour to write positive posts
as no one likes a whiner. Many writers
like to look busy to, as though they are leading pro-active lives. So writers adjust
what they write on social media based on the feedback they are receiving.
explain. The panellists felt that writers who used social media extensively,
which is most of us, now receive instant feedback on anything they post. In our
attempts to increase the number of hits, retweets, and friends, most writers seek
to avoid offending their readers. They also endeavour to write positive posts
as no one likes a whiner. Many writers
like to look busy to, as though they are leading pro-active lives. So writers adjust
what they write on social media based on the feedback they are receiving.
Before
social media arrived, a writer might worry about offending their mother with
their writing, but now they risk offending the twitterverse. So social media could
lead to writers, tooled in its rules, writing sanitised versions of their novels
as they impose social media learnt self-censorship.
social media arrived, a writer might worry about offending their mother with
their writing, but now they risk offending the twitterverse. So social media could
lead to writers, tooled in its rules, writing sanitised versions of their novels
as they impose social media learnt self-censorship.
I found
this self-censorship concern interesting in relation to another panel I
attended: Healing Words. The panel was about how reading and writing can
help the healing process. It was about how reading about someone who had gone
through similar health problems, could be beneficial or console the reader. But
what if the reader is reading a sanitised, self-censored version of what really
happened?
this self-censorship concern interesting in relation to another panel I
attended: Healing Words. The panel was about how reading and writing can
help the healing process. It was about how reading about someone who had gone
through similar health problems, could be beneficial or console the reader. But
what if the reader is reading a sanitised, self-censored version of what really
happened?
Another
panel I attended, On The Spectrum, was about writing about Asperger’s Syndrome.
Jo Case was a panellist who had written a non-fiction book about bringing up her
son who had Asperger’s. I have nearly finished reading her book. In it she says
she blogged a lot about her son. The book itself reads like a lot of blog
entries. She said she received a lot of comments on her blog, a lot of empathy
for her situation. Then finally some bloke made a comment that her son might
have Asperger’s.
panel I attended, On The Spectrum, was about writing about Asperger’s Syndrome.
Jo Case was a panellist who had written a non-fiction book about bringing up her
son who had Asperger’s. I have nearly finished reading her book. In it she says
she blogged a lot about her son. The book itself reads like a lot of blog
entries. She said she received a lot of comments on her blog, a lot of empathy
for her situation. Then finally some bloke made a comment that her son might
have Asperger’s.
I have to
wonder how the blog feedback she received influenced the writing of her book.
As it is, the scenes in the book seem to go a bit like this: Leo doing
something strange and then Jo or someone else doing something that, for the
moment at least, causes Leo to acknowledge or modify his behaviour. There are
very few dummy spits in the book by the author.
wonder how the blog feedback she received influenced the writing of her book.
As it is, the scenes in the book seem to go a bit like this: Leo doing
something strange and then Jo or someone else doing something that, for the
moment at least, causes Leo to acknowledge or modify his behaviour. There are
very few dummy spits in the book by the author.
Feedback
from social media might also affect how novelists write their self-censored
novels. Most writers try to write easy to read blogs and tweets in order to
make them as accessible as possible. This might lead to a lack of
experimentation by writers. So the future of the novel could be bland,
unchallenging, self-censored writing.
from social media might also affect how novelists write their self-censored
novels. Most writers try to write easy to read blogs and tweets in order to
make them as accessible as possible. This might lead to a lack of
experimentation by writers. So the future of the novel could be bland,
unchallenging, self-censored writing.
0 Responses
Although writing what people want is the typical business model to increase sales, I believe it's better to write from the heart without considering if you will offend someone. If you write the best story you can, it will show in your writing, and others will like it as well.
Reid, I agree whole heartedly. I write what I want to read, which may or may not be what publishers and most readers want to read.