The Grasshopper #47: Ranting and Raving

There’s money in outrage, and it can be cathartic

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Writing daily is a form of self-therapy, and in my case it means writing about things in the world that range from infuriating to cynically humorless. Politics, war, societal changes, etc. And occasionally spiritual ideas fueled by my interest in Buddhism.

It’s personal in that they are my opinions and observations, but it is public too, so it can’t be self-indulgent the way I might be in a personal journal. It turns out that there are a bunch of people out there who share my concerns and frustration and that spiritual stuff.

Sometimes, when writing a rant about a politician, I know it skirts the edge of the deep end. But that is often where the action is. If I simply vented without any edge of humor or cynicism, I risk being lumped in with only the disaffected. Unfortunately, for our society, these views appear to be mainstream with a lot of people.

When it works, it’s called striking a chord, a chord that resonates with others. Which is pretty gratifying.

I never set out to do this kind of writing but when I found it, I realized I had a well of subjects to work with, subjects that resonated deeply with me. I could get passionate about them. And you cannot fake that- we recognize false outrage.

So, writing these rants and raves requires a balancing act and as much honesty as I can put on the page or screen, these days. It’s a gift that the online platforms, like this newsletter, offer to writers and creatives of all kinds.

It’s also incredibly valuable as self-therapy to get this stuff out and find like-minded souls (and the occasional reader who strongly disagrees, though there are less of these than I would have thought), souls who find something in it.

In the Spider-Man movies there is a phrase that says ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. Pretty good for a comic book. But they always were an underestimated art form, cheap stuff that turned out to be a goldmine when it hit the movies. But I digress.

The responsibility is something that must be taken seriously and I try to balance between righteous anger and entertainment. I have causes, but they don’t own me. That can be a balancing act, especially when you’re writing about today’s politics or the endgame of climate change.

Occasionally I’ll veer off into other territory. This morning I finished a story for Medium about those personal injury attorneys ads that proliferate in the local media these days. I suppose it was triggered by the steady stream of them polluting my local TV news. But it was also fun, and cathartic, as I got stuff out of my system while writing about it.

I suppose this is ultimately about finding your niche or niches if you do the kind of writing I am doing these days. I can’t tell you how to find yours, but it’s not found by consciously imitating others. Imitation is a great way to learn, initially, but you have to move past it and find your own voice.

Mine is partially composed of that guy who writes rants, but I also write about meaningful things that have struck me working my way through life. The most powerful of those are what has driven me to write a couple of novels, a medium very different from my day to day writing. And some are what you read here in The Grasshopper.

Inevitably I find thematic meaning in that longform friction, meaning that expresses the overall intent of the story. In the first novel I wanted to convey the mystery of the world and the unreliability of memory. In the second, the afterlife of grief and redemption. My current project is about rebuilding a lost passion.

Those are portentous themes and I need to be clear that they only revealed themselves to be meaningful after writing a lot. I did not have a Post-it note on my monitor that said ‘unreliability of memory’! But, whatever kind of writing you do, I think seeing those underlying emotions and questions is part of the growth process as a writer.

In my case I seem to have found some themes of my own that resonate with others. I feel fortunate for that, though I recognize that these themes will continue to evolve with my work. And it’s still fun, which is equally important to growth.

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Don’t get me wrong, I don’t take myself that seriously

One of my least favorite things is constant self-indulgent thinking, the belief that there is pretentious and value in our work that we are gifting to the world’s readers. Fortunately life has a way of stopping that in its tracks. If I fake it, I don’t make it.

Thanks for bearing with me this introspective morning. Self examination has power but it can also just be indulgence. I hope I have not taken advantage of it. 

But there is always a balancing act. That’s what created tension and pacing. When it works you remember why you write or create. 

Thank you. Did you write today? Comments are always open. 

Martin Edic

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