Four points to uncover the essence of a work
When writing a story or non-fiction, it is important not only to come up with an interesting setting and story and write it, but also to have a good understanding of what makes the work interesting and to be conscious of presenting it to the reader. Stephanie Duncan Smith, a writer and senior editor at a publishing company, explains how to focus on the theme of your work and dig out the essence of the work.
Stephanie Duncan Smith on Excavating Your Work's Aboutness ‹ Literary Hub
During his career, Smith has worked as a publicist who sells products to the media, a magazine editor who reviews sales pitches, and an editor who develops book concepts with authors, and in each case, he has always looked for ways to make the 'true purpose' work. As an editor for authors in particular, he liked to ask the question, 'What is the boldest statement you should make (in your work)?' to bring out the true appeal of the work that is not apparent on the surface.
However, when Smith decided to write a book as a writer, he realized that it was difficult to dig out the true purpose of the concept. The true purpose of a work may be something that the writer himself may have forgotten or hidden, but it is something that the writer certainly understands because it is what inspired the idea for the work. However, when writing, there is a sense that 'writing about what you know is a farce, and writing about unknown things is much more interesting,' so Smith realized that it may not be important to just keep in mind the true purpose of the work.
So, Smith said, 'The essence of a work should not be a starting point, but a discovery that can only be reached through a process of dedicated discovery.' He then explains four guidelines for rediscovering the essence of your work.
◆1: Start your creation with a question rather than a definite idea
Joan Didion, a writer and essayist active from the 1960s to around 2000, once said, 'I write only to find out what I think.' As Smith also said, 'It's a farce to write what you know,' and Smith pointed out that writing based on some kind of conviction tends to be boring reading. According to Smith, what we sympathize with most as readers is not a monotonous, self-evident report, but 'when we are invited to accompany the writer's process of discovery and experience the moment when the writer crosses boundaries.'
Specifically, if you start writing with questions like, 'What's going on here?' or 'How is ___ treated in this world?', you'll make some surprising discoveries as you write. And those surprises will be conveyed to your readers. So when you're stuck writing, it's important to let your curiosity take over and dig in a direction where you don't know what's going to come up. 'In the end, nothing will enliven your final work more than showing the process of discovery and the surprises you feel about it,' Smith says.
◆2: When stuck, turn to analog and spatially orient your ideas
Many people use PCs and smartphones to write from creating idea notes to plot creation and actual writing. However, when you get stuck, it's a good idea to try analog processes such as printing out documents, printing out manuscripts and marking the parts that interest you, or writing by hand. According to Smith, when you are engrossed in writing, your brain activity becomes biased, but there is research that shows that by moving your hands in an analog way, both the right and left brains are fully activated and a connection of thoughts is created.
Writing down idea maps on a whiteboard or writing themes on sticky notes and swapping them out can also lead to discovering new combinations that you wouldn't see in a digital bullet point list. In addition, Brazilian poet Ananda Lima recommends 'paper crafting' by folding a page of a manuscript in half, cutting out and pasting parts of it, when you feel anxious about whether your work is insufficient or not. According to Lima, crafting requires concentration and can temporarily erase the anxiety you've always had, and it can help you realize that your work is a tangible thing made with love.
Advice that the solution when you feel uneasy about your work is 'paper craft' - GIGAZINE
◆3: Distinguish the subject of the work from its explanatory elements
Even if you are writing about a clear theme, it is not necessary to explain the theme in detail. In her book ' Even After Everything ,' Smith writes about her experience of pregnancy, miscarriage, and becoming a new parent, but she uses each of these as examples only, and the theme of the book is 'the risks of love.' Smith describes the theme of her work as a 'prism of individuality,' and says that just as light leaks out of a prism, it is conveyed to the reader through the development of the story and logic without being directly stated. It is important to distinguish between the theme of the work and the elements that are used to convey the theme, and speak in a way that helps the reader reach out to the important elements.
◆4: Give appropriate names to demonstratives such as 'that' and 'this'
From his experience as an editor, Smith points out that writers often write sentences with abstract subjects beginning with 'It' or 'This'. As Smith believed that it is easier to create empathy with readers by starting a creation with a question and exploring, the writing process sometimes involves exploring while writing, so the subject noun may be abstracted and proceeded with. However, sentences that evoke empathy from readers are born when 'truths, experiences, and realities that readers have felt but have not identified in language' are clearly stated. By giving the subject noun precision, at the sentence level, the volume of the sentence increases, it becomes memorable, and it becomes quoted. At the structural level, it becomes possible to express the theme of the work. To do this, the subject that was abstract at the time of writing must be made concrete in the revision process.
Summarizing the four points, Smith said, 'If you're having trouble deciding what to write your book about, listen to the tension, and it will tell you. Just walk through the maze of ignorance with faith that there is a center to aim for, and the journey will lead you there.'
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