The Grasshopper #91, An Existential Crisis; A Writer’s Responsibility?

Sometimes we have to get serious

Photo by Limepic on Unsplash

This morning I wrote a piece about the choice Americans will make next November, a personal choice. Voting is a private activity, more important than you might think in a democracy, especially when that democracy is in danger.

I’ve been thinking about the act of voting and the relationship to writing. First, both are done in private with no one watching over our shoulders. No spouse, no camera, no secret police. The wife of a rabidly pro-choice husband can still vote for women's rights without fear of reprisal at home. And writers can express ourselves, so far, without fear of being jailed or worse.

It’s important to note that these facts apply equally to the expression of any belief in our country, at least for now. Substack, the platform where this newsletter is hosted and published, is embroiled in a controversy about this very topic, freedom of speech, and I’m of two minds about it.

The situation is the use of the platform by Nazi hate groups, both to spread their message and to raise money via subscriptions. This appears to be in direct violation of Substack’s Terms and Conditions but the founders of the platform have been hesitant to to block or remove the content.

Personally I agree with those who think this is a display of extreme naïveté. I find these groups abhorrent and do not believe they have the right to promote hate and violence here, much less profit in the act. This is a clear case of the cliche, ‘crying fire in a crowded theater’, an example of speech that is not acceptable in our society.

I hope they wake up and realize the very real world effects of their decision. It could literally cost people’s lives.

I write about controversial topics out of a concern for the future of our country and our planet and our fellow humans. And I respect the right of others to disagree with me. That right is one of the things I respect highly in our Constitution, but it does not give anyone the right to threaten me or my family, as we are seeing today all over the political spectrum.

Fortunately in four years of writing on these topics I have only received one comment threatening me and it was apparent the writer was likely drunk or high because it was barely coherent. I blocked it and moved on.

You may ask why I’m addressing this in a letter about the writing lifestyle. I could be writing a recipe blog or about my interest in Buddhist thought. Both topics are near and dear to me. But I sincerely believe that all powerful writing is built on passion. I know mine is.

This is not to deride those who write about a passion for cooking or philosophy. If they found themselves unable to cook what they want or were told what philosophy they must believe in, I would fight for their right to defy those rules.

Somehow in the past three or four years we have seen the rise of censorship in our libraries and schools designed to tell us and our children how to think and how to hate those different than some vision of a perfect society. 

Fortunately we are seeing a pushback against this censorship from parents, teachers, librarians, and writers and artists, among others. It is vitally important that we find that fine line between promoting hate and fear and freedom of expression.

I am sympathetic, to a point, with Substack’s founders. They have hard choices to make which will not please everyone. That is another example of what freedom of speech means. In the meantime I am not leaving Substack as some much larger newsletter writers have done. This is still playing out.

But if Substack’s owners kick this down the road or waffle, as they have so far, I will have to rethink that option.

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Ok, on to the serious stuff (just kidding).

There’s a snowstorm coming in, which means perfect writing weather if you are warm and protected. For me that means a hot cappuccino and my iPad in hand tapping out my thoughts while the storm rages outside.

I never thought writing would feel like a responsibility the way it does for me these days. I probably would have dreaded that possibility. But I’m ok with it, in part because it has tightened up my voice, made it more active and direct and to the point.

Activist writing can often be poor writing, overly strident and sure of itself. I’m definitely guilty of straying into that territory. It’s one of the things I watch for and sometimes work to temper it into a more balanced perspective. But sometimes I just have to vent, like any other human.

I think it’s pretty clear to anyone who subscribes to The Grasshopper or my other newsletters, that I am an old school liberal, the kind that believes government is not the enemy, but necessary to maintain civility and keep the lights on in our enormous country.

A reminder: there are many places in the world where the government treats its citizens with suspicion and the lights are not on. And writers and artists are thrown in prison, or worse.

(Sorry, I guess I didn’t get all the serious out of my system!)

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I just mentioned a more active and direct voice in my writing. I am not a fan of the passive voice, writing that avoids making concrete statements and instead suggests ideas, always leaving the reader and the writer a way out.

Maybe it’s my experience in ad copy and business writing where the active voice is the standard. But when I first heard of the two choices, I never considered maybe thinking the passive voice might be a viable option for me.

The last sentence is the passive voice. Maybe, might, option. 

Whatever kind of story you are writing, readers will not want things to possibly be what you describe, they should feel real and solid, something you can buy into or not.

Think about ad copy. Soapy, your choice for cleaner clothes. Soapy, why not give it a try? The active voice sells harder. And if you think selling, as a writer, is something beneath you, get real. Our goal is to write things that keep the reader engaged and seeing the story through to the end.

In any writing, pacing is the first and foremost goal. Sentences should drive the reader towards a goal, an ending, or a change in direction, and it should be inexorable. This is why excessive description is a no no. It distracts from the story and can interrupt the picture a reader is assembling in their minds as they absorb the story.

I love to write descriptive passages but I’m not crazy about reading them, because I have to stop and build an image over again, interrupting the flow. Does she really need to be wearing a pink dress? Yes, if it tells us something about her character or figures as a story point. No, if it's just because you want her to be wearing pink.

It’s an old discussion, this active vs passive thing, but it is one of the ways to add momentum to your writing and momentum and an inherent rhythm are critical to getting read.

Why else are we writing unless we are journaling? That, to me, is self-therapy, not writing for readers beyond yourself. It has value but not to me as a writer.

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Anyone who has tried Zen meditation for twenty minutes or more knows that it is hard work, both mentally and physically hard. It’s not some lala thing where we drift around leisurely in our thoughts. That’s daydreaming.

Writing for readers should not be daydreaming. It needs your focus, like any other challenging skill in our lives. If you’re working with advanced power tools you better be paying attention unless you want to lose a finger.

(I’ve seen that happen and it’s not pretty)

We may not risk losing a limb when we write but we need the same focus and focus means not leaving wiggle room. Commit. The reader expects it.

Ok, I need to brave the cold and walk down to the deli to get some eggs.

Did you write today?

Martin

1387 words

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~ I write The Grasshopper, a letter for creatives, The Witness Chronicles, a place for my articles on politics and climate, and The Remarkable, a recovery letter, about my addiction and reentry experience. All are weekly and free with a paid option to share your support. Please check them out.

If you want to show support but don’t want to commit to a subscription, you can always buy me a coffee!

Believe me, it makes my day. M