This happens with creative artists of a number of disciplines -- musicians typically go through a period in their training, roughly analogous to the first years of undergrad study, when they feel like they have lost the real spirit of it and it's all hollow technique. Then the thing wakes up again in a few years, richer and more mature even intrinsically, and at that point it can begin to soar, because they put the time in on the training. I've seen it in many people. Writing is no different.
I am an engineering student about to graduate this summer and this video and many of the comments below made me tear up. This is the first time in my life I find myself with the courage to pursue a dream and any word of encouragement right now touches my soul. Thank you so much you have no idea.
@aboctok the perfect reply for the all too common troll you are. Or do you actually think your masterpiece of a comment "Yikes. How old are you?" warranted that essay to defend it? Nobody cares how brilliant you think you are for being a dick to strangers on the internet.
You don't need creative writing programs. Read hours everyday for a decade and you'll learn what you need to about storytelling. Especially with the internet now there's just no reason to take classes. I've read stories by kids in highschool who just read and write a lot and are able to produce decent stories.
These classes provide an audience for your work, and to have feedback from people who don't know you. I find I learn as much from reading my classmates' work as from doing the task. Have you been on a creative writing programme?
@@christopherlancaster6735 Well said. There are multiple benefits to attending creative writing classes. Peer feedback and the very fact that you know others who are doing the same thing is splendid validation. Much better than splendid isolation.
"Writers need to Read"-I need to work on this better, "Writers are cut off from Cities, Countryside and Original places" I find if I go for a walk, a drive to the country or even just sitting down in the park or in the mall and watching how people communicate, their body language and all the other things happening around me, gives me so much energy as to what I could really write about.
I've read Ian McEwan, and the implied, but unstated message here, is that writers have to have lived a life; interacting with folks who are not necessarily literary. It's also obvious, that anyone who imagines they can write a novel without having read extensively, is probably delusional.
I agree. It’s akin to someone having aspirations to be a professional athlete, when they never played the game. Writers read when they are not writing.
Also delusional to think because you read a lot you are a better writer. Looking at a lot of illustration won't make you a better illustrator. It's only when you start molding the lines and colours yourself do you learn why things look appealing.
@@markporter1901 No it's like saying they need to watch football to be good at playing. Playing would be writing not reading. Footballers do watch themselves and others playing football to improve but it's not 90% of the training.
@@oskarwinters1873 The mistake here is to see that these two are mutually exclusive ways to practice writing. McEwan doesn't say here that you can't practice writing by writing. What he means is that you need to do both, but one doesn't come without the other. The comparison to painting and football is not relevant. Reading is not only the only way to interact with text, but it's also the crucial way for a writer to develop their own "voice" in writing. Like the author points out here, when you don't read a lot you're likely pick up influences all over the place and without even noticing. By reading more you start becoming conscious of these influences over time, and that means you can now use those influences how you want, you can utilize the different methods different authors have at their disposal.
Ahaha. Yes, I have read Kafka, Camus and Celine. Some of their books are right there on my shelf in fact and I do find them inspiring. The thing about Camus and Celine is that they weren't spoiled suburban pseudo-intellectuals. They had LIFE EXPERIENCE before they began writing. They lived in several countries. They served in and experienced wars. Life experience is something most undergraduate American writers just don't have. That was one of McEwan's points.
I am working on a series of ideas at the minute which I'm hopping will form the basis of a novel. I found at one time a lot of the content I was working on was very emotional and I was questioning whether or not to continue with it... then I seen a utube clip by Ann Rice where she says , "you must go where the pain is". I thought that's what I needed to hear. We have to face the things that challenge us, those past and sometimes hurtful experiences we'd like to forget, I think as writers we can't afford to just let them go.
@@WSUGLUE Or read a thousand books. Realise you only have six months to live (because you spent all your time reading books) and rush out your novel in the time left to you. It's good, but it will need a sympathetic edit before it is printed posthumously.
David Copson I’m sure “a thousand books” is not intended to be literal. She simply means “read A LOT of books, as many as you possibly can.” And it’s not as hard as we think: we’re all different, but there are many people who read a hundred books a year or go through at least one each week. At the end of the day, reading is important for writers, just as practicing is important for musicians and other artists.
I like what he’s saying about undergraduate programs. A professor told us, in a poetry writing class, to get ourselves (our work) out there now, even if we don’t have much experience. I’m not sure where I stand with myself as a person who likes to write, but I always didn’t really agree with that statement. I want to learn, I want to read, and see the connections before I just throw my writing out in the open. I don’t care if I publish (if I ever publish my writing) later in life. I think time and experience is more important.
Very true. Writers need to read and write no matter what. Writing programmes and writing classes lead you nowhere. The problem is, you'll only realise this during and after the study not before you paid or took loan for the tuition fees.
this video is really reassuring. i am a sophomore english major and have been rather anxious to prove myself as a writer, though i often feel like i haven't read enough or though i don't "get" literature enough to do so. mcewan's comments comfort me because people rarely tell me that i have plenty of time to mature.
This is excellent advice. Makes me wonder about the apparent general underestimating of literature and writing as an art form. One wouldn’t necessarily foster the delusions that they might compose a wonderful sonata without having first learned to play the piano, practiced and studied famous composers’ work. And yet with literary ambitions, some of us seem to lack the necessary humility.
There are stages to being a writer just as with any artist. An aspiring writer should be reading daily and writing as they feel they can until, at least, they understand a creative process which works for them. I should think that starting with short stories, testing out various genres and styles and things you've picked up from other writers, is good; trying to write something large like a novel with limited experience is only asking for trouble. Unless you're Miyamoto Musashi, I'd say you should test the waters as much as you can before just jumping in.
That's good. You're going to have alot of source material in the future and things to take inspiration from. You don't egt ideas out of the blue, you get them from SOMEWHERE, and the bigger your "database" is, the more experience you'll get and the better your work will be.
Just sit at your desk and fail. Do it again. Fail. Soon, you will have learnt the power of persistence, amid you're ego, frail and quivering. Persistence, edits out the failure, and a handful of words, may take shape...Success begins...
I thought that too, especially while I was studying literature. I stopped writing completely then. But the truth is: of course, everything has been written about - it is all human experience, and the basics of that don't change -, but it has never been written about from your perspective, out of your experience and in your words. And your point of view is valuable, and missing. So please write.
Good advice here. Read everything and anything you can. Try to figure out what sort of writer you want to become.When I was 20, I wanted to be Kerouac because he was the first writer to really 'talk' to me. As you can imagine, my reading experience had only just begun. Dozens of writers have since spoken to me (in a non-ghost/telepathic way of course) in much clearer and more interesting ways. I now worship at the alter of Joyce and Beckett.
I've never read any of his books but he sounds fairly sensible. I believe that if you are writing for a particular purpose, trade magazine, genre magazine, etc. you will need to now how to present your work properly and for it to be relevant otherwise the publisher will send it back and not use you again. Writer's courses can help you with this. Having tried two different well-known courses I found both of them orientated towards jobbing writers. Neither was very helpful for fiction and none of the tutors they linked me to were interested in science fiction. Only one could have been said to be a successful writer. I hadn't heard of the others. For one I was told to analyse a section from a book I didn't like. I did this only to be told "we do not consider this type of work suitable for our course" (It was not porn but it was unpleasant). They moved me from one tutor (I had never heard of) to another whose work I had read and respected. Needless to say I found no reason to continue the course. My own advice? Stop wasting your time on "how to" books and videos, most of which are from people who have had little or no success as writers. Most of the "how to" books I have read were by people who have only that single publication to their credit. I have had several exchanges with snowflakes on TH-cam (young women/girls) who don't like negative comments and haven't actually been published. One of them says her friends and family know her as a novelist because she has completed... one novel which took 7 years to write. I don't consider that being a novelist, that is a dilettante, the kind of person who has a fighting dog as a fashion statement, not because they particular like dogs. Here are 2 tips which have served me well, both stolen: 1. Write what excites you (what you know is probably of no interest to me or anyone else). 2. Finish your first draft BEFORE you start reworking/editing/otherwise altering it, otherwise you will never finish it. How many people do you know who have started a novel and constantly "improve" the work instead of getting it completed? An unfinished book is an unfinished book. There is a third, don;t write to a market, it is probably already saturated. Are you really going to write the next Harry Potter or Twilight series? Doubtful, they've already been done. Write.
Fly me to the Moon Thanks fro that very kind complement, More often I get trolled by people who probably don't even write seriously. I'm passionate about writing. I don't see other writers as competition but as companions on a journey. I wish you every success in what you do. Remember that success comes in all shapes and sizes. It could be in just getting that next chapter completed, it could be in learning something new from another writer. When it doesn't happen is when you do nothing to deserve it. Some people on TH-cam give useful guidance. I teach sefl defence, one thing I impress upon my students is that I am not the fount of all knowledge, if you find something that works, no matter the source, use it. If you find it doesn't work for you, move on. That doesn't mean it won't work for others, I apply the same philosophy to my writing. I'm not pushing my work on a fellow traveler, but I have 3 books in print and a fourth in proofreading. I have found a lot of people who give advice do nothing else.
Federico Insa HI there, I'm glad I could help. By following that advice myself I have recently completed my fourth novel in a series, and published three of them on Amazon. They must be liked as I have actually developed a fan base, who keep asking me for the next book. Even my proofreaders of the fourth are asking me for the fifth. I wish you every success. Luck comes to those who go out there and work damned hard to court it, not to those who do nothing, then moan that they aren't lucky.
Bill Fox "Luck comes to those who go out there and work damn hard to court it". Now *that* is amazing advice to act on. Reminds me of the simplest nugget of wisdom I was ever given in my early days as a writer. I was advised to "Just write". Like building muscle where one lifts, eats, rests and repeats so too do writers improve by being consistent and just writing. I didn't question the advice and instead acted upon it. I resolved to write at least one page per day, even on the days where it felt forced. I finished my first book, which I called my 'bad book' and then began my second. Writing the first one taught me the important lesson that I could indeed finish a piece of work and gave me the drive to write the second. So all I'll say is, I second your advice and also say to anyone else who may stumble upon this; *JUST WRITE*
One of the disheartening things about starting to read again is that ideas I thought were mine and new, turn out to have been done many many times before. Everything has already been written.
People often praise McEwan, Amis, Rushdie, Hitchens, etc., for erudition; I wonder if that isn't just a product of the sort of education on offer when they were in school. Of course the people on the screen tend to have been to elite schools-particularly in the UK where Oxford and Cambridge loom so large-but I still wonder if the standards haven't changed, and if we simply are more impressed now by someone who, in his or her time, would have been thought simply educated, rather than some kind of genius. What he's talking about is certainly a real problem; there's no doubt about that.
Well I don't think McEwan went to Oxbridge. Hitchens was definitely a great speaker. I don't think we call these people geniuses, they aren't Shakespeare, Mozart or Da Vinci. It is interesting that they had a little clique of creativity though. Might well be that all sort of pushed each other to go further than they would have done so without such friends.
+kelman727 Undergraduate studying English Literature at the University of Sussex (which currently has 3 Nobel Prize Winners among its faculty), and a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. No, not Oxford, but he's certainly a very educated man and thus the OP's point still stands.
I think education has changed over time. I know what my education was. I didn't live in an area with, what I consider, an adequate educational system. I'm speaking here of the start of our education, kindergarten through high school. I look at my grandchildren and nephew, who is in the same school district where I was schooled. The differences are enormous! There is no sense of the importance of humanities or art. There is no music program, no Christmas vacation reading list or challenge. The kids aren't even taken to the school library once a week. No one learns cursive anymore. What I thought was an inadequate education was quite good considering what there is now. I don't believe a good education is just of the left side of the brain. Education must have heart and at least the suggestion that emotion and creativity have magic. They are worthwhile pursuits to complement what is cold and absolute. How can a university education start from that inadequate place? There is too far to go to reach a place where an undergraduate has enough imagined experiences to succeed as a writer. Certainly, like in all things, there are exceptions.
he knows what he is talking about...we writers are talented people with gifts .. you are born with it! my 6 years old niece just wrote a short story on her own the other day! i was amazed! but she is GIFTED that is already know.. but to produce a creative piece of work on her own was wow...i she she has the writer's gift also and i will encourage this no doubt...
This is truly beautiful. I also believe that the ability to write is a gift. It sits within us - latent, waiting - from our very earliest days of childhood… and comes forward as soon as we have acquired enough words and can pick up a pen. Even though you wrote this comment 11 years ago, I would dearly love to know what became of your granddaughter. Did she continue to write (for the sheer love of doing so or for a career)? x
Yes look how many times Julius Caesar has been written about . But there's still room for more , a story as good as the life of Caesar will never die or stop . Just keep writing . Fronz
I agree that you need to read to be a writer, but I don't think it's too early to start in undergraduate years. I've had work published even before that and have been flourishing since (improving as the years go on as well).
One aspect that he may not have touched on in this video might be that with every description there might be a relational sketch or account of meaning in words of the description that is different.
This is interesting. Something I did not know about J. Buckley; Though similar methods are heard of. Creative and formal writing are more impersonal than we wish to believe. However there are ways to tap into an originality unique enough to each.
The rules have changed since McEwan was at university. He got paid to study. Today, kids have to pay extortionate rates for a course they could get for free online. They should do a computer degree, get a decently-paying job and write in the evenings and at weekends. True, we won't get many great writers, but can anyone name one great British writer working now?
Don't get me wrong. I'll read any old shite. I prostitute my literacy, to paraphrase Adrian Mole's English teacher. But when you read widely (as I'm sure you do) you know that Stephen King does not compare well with, say, John Updike or Philip Roth. Better genre writers than Stephen King include Clive Barker, Peter F. Hamilton and Lee Child - all British and all good, though not (I'm sure they would agree) great. Neither is there any recent British literary novel I've read that could be called "great", though there are plenty of good ones by writers such as: Graham Swift; Sarah Waters; Sarah Hall; Adam Thorpe; and many others, whose names escape me. Later this month I shall be reading something by American author Jonathan Franzen. I hear that he is a great writer. In the meantime, I've got to get back to "Extinction" by Ray Hammond. It's a "dazzling vision of global chaos that explodes off the page"!
John Layman That's your opinion, but I guarantee I'm at least as well-read as you, and probably more so. Seriously, go back to school. You not only get nothing at all right in your post, your comments about British writers and novels are, frankly, stupid. Moronically so.
+James Ritchie What is wrong about my post? Has university education become free again since I wrote it? Has one great British writer come along? Oh, you can name fifty? Go on. Name them. Without making me laugh.
if you want to write just get on with it! period and stop watching and listening to other people, that being said Ian McEwan's manner is very calming and non patronizing unlike some others on here who are so self assured and just come across like arrogant ass-holes. Just write even if it turns out shit, just frigin write, no one is in charge but you.
Jeff Buckley was one on his own, and he adhered to no strict writing schedule, instead penning lyrics in tune with the atmosphere of whatever story he was reading at the time. Such a principle can work for anyone.
A quicker way to get published is to sleep with someone well up in a publishing house. It sure beats doing a CW degree just to get connected, as does going to the right parties, and that's more fun too. The list of fabulously gifted, universally read writers who DIDN'T go on any course to write encompasses the WHOLE Project Gutenberg list. I taught for years at UEA, albeit not that goddamned course, which is lauded 'cos it raises a lot of dosh and profile. Writers can draw on knowledge and experience, and many do. The techniques and structures of writing are in every 'how to' book. Writers can get precious and arrogant if they're fêted everywhere. Like actors, their gifts are easily overrated. They haven't discovered relativity or quantum theory. They just build piles of words for sale. Who does not?
What ways methods for tapping into originality do you speak of? The last line of your first comment, 'There's no pride in this..' reminded me of 'There's no relief in this', the final line of Morning Theft by JB. I am at a crossroads myself with the Open University, and have the choice between a Creative Writing and an English Lit/Lang module. At such a formative stage in my life, which, in your experience, is least likely to depersonalise my individualism? Greatest of thanks.
Yes, but, there is always something different about them, no?...this is the exact thing that keeps me from finishing my writing. :) I'm sure you'll figure it out! I hope the best for you.
I agree, undergraduate writing programs are premature. Good writing needs life experience that most undergraduates don't have yet. And reading. Read everything. If we don't read, we don't know what writing is-- what makes it persuasive and beautiful. Most high school students haven't read enough to focus solely on writing. That said, those who have a passion for writing should do it alongside whatever they're doing-- including an undergraduate degree.
at the adelaide writers festival 2008 the visiting writers' dinner was late and this guy made the head chef get down on his knees to appologize, and after the chef did, mcewan said "That's not good enough, do it again." I was there.
"IF you write Myrh or Science Fiction. I suppose you really don't need to know much about life in general, but also IF you ever did really know what you're talking about Then you were there!! Ninety percent is True, only the Characters names really change, and not the Meal!"
What the hell McEwan? I completely defy your logic about needing to read before writing. I've read so much and I'm still in my undergrad. I've read more than anyone I know, except perhaps my professors.
I don't think Mary Shelley went to college... But I agree, writing talent tends to be there whether an author goes to college or not. MFA programs help with connections to the publishing world, though.
Writing stories is an art form...& there are NO RULES to true art. An idea is like a seed...indeed it will need proper elements to succeed in its growth for it to reach its peak for harvesting. But that does not mean that a poor farmer who has to sweat and bleed to plant, grow and harvest vegetables that he chooses not to eat, to feed his family will not succeed in doing so. Why do the rich mislead only to discourage the less fortunate? answer: Only to get rid of any competition.
Jane Austen wrote some of her most famous novels at undergraduate age. I'm an undergrad, and I'm about to start a creative writing unit next semester... soz Ian
Hmm, it's interesting that he says that undergraduate creative writing courses aren't good, but he himself was one of the first graduates of UEA's creative writing course...
TheCrazyviolinist123 1) The undergraduate CW courses at UEA are parts of much larger degrees, which like McEwan said, is okay (of course I'd agree with that, I'm on one at UEA!). 2) He was one of the first people to do the Creative Writing Masters, not undergrad. He'd already got a degree from Sussex before going to my university.
I have to say, I found this advice fairly surprising (I watched this video some time ago)...I mean...not that writers have to read, but that people are supposed to be influenced by writers they haven't read...how can they be?...
Personally, I graduated from the, ' Universality Of Hard Knocks,'. And reading, allot of reading ; transcended me out my, ' Badlands.' Now I got so much stories, so much stuff in me, that's just, 'bursting to get out!' And set the World ablaze ! ! (excuse my grammar, I wrote this in a haste ) So read, read ; then go out, embellish your real-life experiences, and write. The submergence of other Writers styles into your subconscious, well help you write more easily. Then you get to pick and choose ; pound out and shape whatever comes out ; into your own unique style, and voice.
I think what he means is the value of a creative writing course is infinitely less if you haven't studied English literature itself first. What 'studying' actually means is up for debate and I don't think you need a university for that, but you will have to engage with critical debates and concepts. You can do that at the library. But simply being someone who feels like writing without any context, and signing up for a course is very close to useless.
After atonement i wanted to end it all. Hey i find beauty in many things. But one day i may read something by him and change my view. He's obviously an interesting intelligent guy.
how was this advice for Aspiring writers. he was mostly talking about programs. This has nothing to do with Ian, ITS the TITLE OF THIS THAT WAS DECEIVING???? great respect for his work
To be honest, I find this rather vague and uninspiring advice from Ian on this occasion. It seems to be a rather snobbish, traditional mindset. I've read too many published books which have very tidy prose but weak ideas - where the author has perhaps studied a bit too much in their life and has neglected the raw creativity needed to truly excite a reader. I've read some self-published books that had some ropey prose but were immeasurably better books than some of the published ones I've read from established authors. Basically: Don't read too much into advice from established authors. Carve your own path.
I doubt that was his bookcase, and I doubt this interview was conducted in his home. As it's by his publisher, I'm guessing this is at one of their offices, and that they and the director arranged the books in that way.
He's really talking about knowledge and foundation, not literally education. People who go into undergraduate programs really haven't read that much. And surely you know that Mary Shelley was very well educated, even if not formally. People valued learning then and did more read constantly to learn. She was familiar with current and ancient literature in a way almost nobody is now. If only you had watched this for the message, not just in a mind to nit pick.
I'm writing a young adult novel called the Anti-creationist Chronicle. its a blend of twilight and the His dark materials series, but oriented towards exposing how insipid new-earth creationism is.
I agree with you, but still, undergraduates should be encouraged to write. if good writing comes along with experience, ( experiencing bein a writer,) then the more they write and the earlier they start is better,. they will build certain skills that would be useful, later on, if after some years of life- experience they decide they want to deepen their involvement in writing fiction or non-fiction. I am saying this a woman who loves reading and someone who has just started on the road to writing. and English isn't even my native language, so I regret not having adequate courses in writing . but again, may be it's a good thing that I didn't something I would have to unlearn to be the type of writer that I truly want to be! I am still deep in doubt about my ability to achieve this objective though. for now I just know that sometimes I've got ideas that demand to be made into words and be laid in paper or a digital word processor. I am trusting the process. and I find a excellent example in the writer: Ian McEwan, because, finally someone admits that writers don't always find writing and creating new worlds and original plots easy all the time. this actually, encourages me to go down this road if I had more realistic expectations. so thank you Mr McEwan and those who. posted this video. thanks😊
"This guy has said nothing till near the end of that piece. Novelists are writer's, but very few writers can be Novelists, simply because they get bored with writing about the same charaters, finish up with a short story instead."
I searched up 'spongebob writers give advice' and this came up... I didn't even realize he wasn't a spongebob writer, I was just confused on why he wasn't talking about how to write comedy (writers from seasons 1-3 btw) lol, I am an idiot
How many of the greatest writers in history were "undergraduates?" And since when "to be a novelist" is to do only what "intelectuals" enjoy? That chick that wrote 50 Shades of Crap IS a writer, we like it or not, right? I wonder how many PhD's she's got...
RoathRipper I sympathise with your position but I manage to read a little every day depending upon what I'm doing. As a published writer, and knowing how useless most advice is, there are only really two things I tell aspiring writers: 1. Write what excites you. 2. Complete your first draft before making changes. I know so many people who are halfway through a constantly revised manuscript with no end in sight. I wish you success in your writing, just make sure you write.
***** I appreciate those supportive words, Bill, especially the importance of finishing things. It's so tempting to abandon a an idea when the going gets tough and enthusiasm wanes. Cheers.
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My right ear enjoyed this very much.
Haha!
Pardon..........?
LOL
and I thought my ear phones were dying on me :)
Yeah 😂
This happens with creative artists of a number of disciplines -- musicians typically go through a period in their training, roughly analogous to the first years of undergrad study, when they feel like they have lost the real spirit of it and it's all hollow technique. Then the thing wakes up again in a few years, richer and more mature even intrinsically, and at that point it can begin to soar, because they put the time in on the training. I've seen it in many people. Writing is no different.
I agree with you Mr Beethoven.
I am an engineering student about to graduate this summer and this video and many of the comments below made me tear up. This is the first time in my life I find myself with the courage to pursue a dream and any word of encouragement right now touches my soul. Thank you so much you have no idea.
yiru zhan i wish you are pursuing your dream
@aboctok imagine replying to a 3 year old comment just to be a dick for absolutely no reason. Yikes indeed.
@aboctok holy shit lmao. I didn't read that.
@aboctok the perfect reply for the all too common troll you are. Or do you actually think your masterpiece of a comment "Yikes. How old are you?" warranted that essay to defend it? Nobody cares how brilliant you think you are for being a dick to strangers on the internet.
@aboctok just pinging you to remind you this happened.
In other news, Trump lost! Holy shit, it's a Christmas miracle.
You should always write, just don't expect it to be amazing.
You don't need creative writing programs. Read hours everyday for a decade and you'll learn what you need to about storytelling. Especially with the internet now there's just no reason to take classes. I've read stories by kids in highschool who just read and write a lot and are able to produce decent stories.
+littleripper312 maybe thats exactly why those programs are needed lmao
These classes provide an audience for your work, and to have feedback from people who don't know you. I find I learn as much from reading my classmates' work as from doing the task. Have you been on a creative writing programme?
You don't need classes for feedback.
@@jgrab1 lol that's a good quote
@@christopherlancaster6735 Well said. There are multiple benefits to attending creative writing classes. Peer feedback and the very fact that you know others who are doing the same thing is splendid validation. Much better than splendid isolation.
"Writers need to Read"-I need to work on this better, "Writers are cut off from Cities, Countryside and Original places"
I find if I go for a walk, a drive to the country or even just sitting down in the park or in the mall and watching how people communicate, their body language and all the other things happening around me, gives me so much energy as to what I could really write about.
I've read Ian McEwan, and the implied, but unstated message here, is that writers have to have lived a life; interacting with folks who are not necessarily literary. It's also obvious, that anyone who imagines they can write a novel without having read extensively, is probably delusional.
Got a similar vibe.
I agree. It’s akin to someone having aspirations to be a professional athlete, when they never played the game.
Writers read when they are not writing.
Also delusional to think because you read a lot you are a better writer.
Looking at a lot of illustration won't make you a better illustrator. It's only when you start molding the lines and colours yourself do you learn why things look appealing.
@@markporter1901 No it's like saying they need to watch football to be good at playing.
Playing would be writing not reading.
Footballers do watch themselves and others playing football to improve but it's not 90% of the training.
@@oskarwinters1873 The mistake here is to see that these two are mutually exclusive ways to practice writing. McEwan doesn't say here that you can't practice writing by writing. What he means is that you need to do both, but one doesn't come without the other. The comparison to painting and football is not relevant. Reading is not only the only way to interact with text, but it's also the crucial way for a writer to develop their own "voice" in writing. Like the author points out here, when you don't read a lot you're likely pick up influences all over the place and without even noticing. By reading more you start becoming conscious of these influences over time, and that means you can now use those influences how you want, you can utilize the different methods different authors have at their disposal.
he is absolutely right. one simply will be unable to write successfully without a foundation that includes having read good authors.
The product of trained writers in a school is so obvious that you know it with a short sample.
Ahaha. Yes, I have read Kafka, Camus and Celine. Some of their books are right there on my shelf in fact and I do find them inspiring. The thing about Camus and Celine is that they weren't spoiled suburban pseudo-intellectuals. They had LIFE EXPERIENCE before they began writing. They lived in several countries. They served in and experienced wars. Life experience is something most undergraduate American writers just don't have. That was one of McEwan's points.
There is no better example of the
self absorbed middle class pseudo intellectual than McEwan.
His whole life has been spent in Academia !!
Had a student tell me that she wanted to be a writer but she hated to read...
Sad.
I knew about an aspiring translator with the same problem. Maybe even worse, he believed that everything about a language could be learned at school!
Ian McEwan inspires and says "Writers Need To Read."
I am working on a series of ideas at the minute which I'm hopping will form the basis of a novel. I found at one time a lot of the content I was working on was very emotional and I was questioning whether or not to continue with it... then I seen a utube clip by Ann Rice where she says , "you must go where the pain is". I thought that's what I needed to hear. We have to face the things that challenge us, those past and sometimes hurtful experiences we'd like to forget, I think as writers we can't afford to just let them go.
Ellroy said it best; if you want to learn how to write, read, read, read...
+CroMarduk Stephen King said the same thing.
"Read a thousand books and your words will flow like a river." - Lisa See
@@WSUGLUE Or read a thousand books. Realise you only have six months to live (because you spent all your time reading books) and rush out your novel in the time left to you. It's good, but it will need a sympathetic edit before it is printed posthumously.
David Copson I’m sure “a thousand books” is not intended to be literal. She simply means “read A LOT of books, as many as you possibly can.” And it’s not as hard as we think: we’re all different, but there are many people who read a hundred books a year or go through at least one each week. At the end of the day, reading is important for writers, just as practicing is important for musicians and other artists.
I like what he’s saying about undergraduate programs. A professor told us, in a poetry writing class, to get ourselves (our work) out there now, even if we don’t have much experience. I’m not sure where I stand with myself as a person who likes to write, but I always didn’t really agree with that statement. I want to learn, I want to read, and see the connections before I just throw my writing out in the open. I don’t care if I publish (if I ever publish my writing) later in life. I think time and experience is more important.
Brilliantly simple advice from a brilliant writer. I've benefited from this advice and continue to do so.
Aspiring writers: stop watching TH-cam!
Very true. Writers need to read and write no matter what. Writing programmes and writing classes lead you nowhere. The problem is, you'll only realise this during and after the study not before you paid or took loan for the tuition fees.
this video is really reassuring. i am a sophomore english major and have been rather anxious to prove myself as a writer, though i often feel like i haven't read enough or though i don't "get" literature enough to do so. mcewan's comments comfort me because people rarely tell me that i have plenty of time to mature.
This is excellent advice. Makes me wonder about the apparent general underestimating of literature and writing as an art form. One wouldn’t necessarily foster the delusions that they might compose a wonderful sonata without having first learned to play the piano, practiced and studied famous composers’ work. And yet with literary ambitions, some of us seem to lack the necessary humility.
Also, I think writing makes you a better reader.
This was such a great episode
he's so right about knowing your influences.
There are stages to being a writer just as with any artist. An aspiring writer should be reading daily and writing as they feel they can until, at least, they understand a creative process which works for them. I should think that starting with short stories, testing out various genres and styles and things you've picked up from other writers, is good; trying to write something large like a novel with limited experience is only asking for trouble. Unless you're Miyamoto Musashi, I'd say you should test the waters as much as you can before just jumping in.
can you recommend what to read? specifically short stories and novels
Enjoyed this insight. I love to read and write.
That's good. You're going to have alot of source material in the future and things to take inspiration from. You don't egt ideas out of the blue, you get them from SOMEWHERE, and the bigger your "database" is, the more experience you'll get and the better your work will be.
Just sit at your desk and fail. Do it again. Fail. Soon, you will have learnt the power of persistence, amid you're ego, frail and quivering. Persistence, edits out the failure, and a handful of words, may take shape...Success begins...
I completely understood McEwan's point after reading through the comment feed.
I thought that too, especially while I was studying literature. I stopped writing completely then. But the truth is: of course, everything has been written about - it is all human experience, and the basics of that don't change -, but it has never been written about from your perspective, out of your experience and in your words. And your point of view is valuable, and missing. So please write.
Good advice here. Read everything and anything you can. Try to figure out what sort of writer you want to become.When I was 20, I wanted to be Kerouac because he was the first writer to really 'talk' to me. As you can imagine, my reading experience had only just begun. Dozens of writers have since spoken to me (in a non-ghost/telepathic way of course) in much clearer and more interesting ways. I now worship at the alter of Joyce and Beckett.
Most of what I learned, from a practical point of view, came long after my formal education.
Get that first rough draft down without editing as you get the story into words
that just hit me hard as hell
Excellent.
Writers scratch all over the places, when they speak.
I've never read any of his books but he sounds fairly sensible. I believe that if you are writing for a particular purpose, trade magazine, genre magazine, etc. you will need to now how to present your work properly and for it to be relevant otherwise the publisher will send it back and not use you again. Writer's courses can help you with this.
Having tried two different well-known courses I found both of them orientated towards jobbing writers. Neither was very helpful for fiction and none of the tutors they linked me to were interested in science fiction. Only one could have been said to be a successful writer. I hadn't heard of the others. For one I was told to analyse a section from a book I didn't like. I did this only to be told "we do not consider this type of work suitable for our course" (It was not porn but it was unpleasant). They moved me from one tutor (I had never heard of) to another whose work I had read and respected. Needless to say I found no reason to continue the course.
My own advice? Stop wasting your time on "how to" books and videos, most of which are from people who have had little or no success as writers. Most of the "how to" books I have read were by people who have only that single publication to their credit. I have had several exchanges with snowflakes on TH-cam (young women/girls) who don't like negative comments and haven't actually been published. One of them says her friends and family know her as a novelist because she has completed... one novel which took 7 years to write. I don't consider that being a novelist, that is a dilettante, the kind of person who has a fighting dog as a fashion statement, not because they particular like dogs.
Here are 2 tips which have served me well, both stolen:
1. Write what excites you (what you know is probably of no interest to me or anyone else).
2. Finish your first draft BEFORE you start reworking/editing/otherwise altering it, otherwise you will never finish it. How many people do you know who have started a novel and constantly "improve" the work instead of getting it completed? An unfinished book is an unfinished book.
There is a third, don;t write to a market, it is probably already saturated. Are you really going to write the next Harry Potter or Twilight series? Doubtful, they've already been done.
Write.
+Bill Fox You give better writing advice than classes... Thank you for this, I'll definitely be saving this for motivation and reminders.
Fly me to the Moon
Thanks fro that very kind complement, More often I get trolled by people who probably don't even write seriously. I'm passionate about writing. I don't see other writers as competition but as companions on a journey.
I wish you every success in what you do. Remember that success comes in all shapes and sizes. It could be in just getting that next chapter completed, it could be in learning something new from another writer. When it doesn't happen is when you do nothing to deserve it.
Some people on TH-cam give useful guidance. I teach sefl defence, one thing I impress upon my students is that I am not the fount of all knowledge, if you find something that works, no matter the source, use it. If you find it doesn't work for you, move on. That doesn't mean it won't work for others, I apply the same philosophy to my writing.
I'm not pushing my work on a fellow traveler, but I have 3 books in print and a fourth in proofreading. I have found a lot of people who give advice do nothing else.
Federico Insa
HI there, I'm glad I could help. By following that advice myself I have recently completed my fourth novel in a series, and published three of them on Amazon. They must be liked as I have actually developed a fan base, who keep asking me for the next book. Even my proofreaders of the fourth are asking me for the fifth.
I wish you every success. Luck comes to those who go out there and work damned hard to court it, not to those who do nothing, then moan that they aren't lucky.
Bill Fox "Luck comes to those who go out there and work damn hard to court it".
Now *that* is amazing advice to act on. Reminds me of the simplest nugget of wisdom I was ever given in my early days as a writer. I was advised to "Just write".
Like building muscle where one lifts, eats, rests and repeats so too do writers improve by being consistent and just writing.
I didn't question the advice and instead acted upon it. I resolved to write at least one page per day, even on the days where it felt forced. I finished my first book, which I called my 'bad book' and then began my second. Writing the first one taught me the important lesson that I could indeed finish a piece of work and gave me the drive to write the second.
So all I'll say is, I second your advice and also say to anyone else who may stumble upon this;
*JUST WRITE*
One of the disheartening things about starting to read again is that ideas I thought were mine and new, turn out to have been done many many times before. Everything has already been written.
People often praise McEwan, Amis, Rushdie, Hitchens, etc., for erudition; I wonder if that isn't just a product of the sort of education on offer when they were in school. Of course the people on the screen tend to have been to elite schools-particularly in the UK where Oxford and Cambridge loom so large-but I still wonder if the standards haven't changed, and if we simply are more impressed now by someone who, in his or her time, would have been thought simply educated, rather than some kind of genius. What he's talking about is certainly a real problem; there's no doubt about that.
Well I don't think McEwan went to Oxbridge. Hitchens was definitely a great speaker. I don't think we call these people geniuses, they aren't Shakespeare, Mozart or Da Vinci. It is interesting that they had a little clique of creativity though. Might well be that all sort of pushed each other to go further than they would have done so without such friends.
McEwan didn't go to either Oxford or Cambridge.
Try again, please.
+kelman727 Undergraduate studying English Literature at the University of Sussex (which currently has 3 Nobel Prize Winners among its faculty), and a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.
No, not Oxford, but he's certainly a very educated man and thus the OP's point still stands.
I think education has changed over time. I know what my education was. I didn't live in an area with, what I consider, an adequate educational system. I'm speaking here of the start of our education, kindergarten through high school. I look at my grandchildren and nephew, who is in the same school district where I was schooled. The differences are enormous! There is no sense of the importance of humanities or art. There is no music program, no Christmas vacation reading list or challenge. The kids aren't even taken to the school library once a week. No one learns cursive anymore.
What I thought was an inadequate education was quite good considering what there is now. I don't believe a good education is just of the left side of the brain. Education must have heart and at least the suggestion that emotion and creativity have magic. They are worthwhile pursuits to complement what is cold and absolute. How can a university education start from that inadequate place? There is too far to go to reach a place where an undergraduate has enough imagined experiences to succeed as a writer. Certainly, like in all things, there are exceptions.
Hear, hear!
he knows what he is talking about...we writers are talented people with gifts .. you are born with it! my 6 years old niece just wrote a short story on her own the other day! i was amazed! but she is GIFTED that is already know.. but to produce a creative piece of work on her own was wow...i she she has the writer's gift also and i will encourage this no doubt...
This is truly beautiful. I also believe that the ability to write is a gift. It sits within us - latent, waiting - from our very earliest days of childhood… and comes forward as soon as we have acquired enough words and can pick up a pen. Even though you wrote this comment 11 years ago, I would dearly love to know what became of your granddaughter. Did she continue to write (for the sheer love of doing so or for a career)? x
Yes look how many times Julius Caesar has been written about . But there's still room for more , a story as good as the life of Caesar will never die or stop . Just keep writing .
Fronz
I agree that you need to read to be a writer, but I don't think it's too early to start in undergraduate years. I've had work published even before that and have been flourishing since (improving as the years go on as well).
One aspect that he may not have touched on in this video might be that with every description there might be a relational sketch or account of meaning in words of the description that is different.
This is interesting. Something I did not know about J. Buckley; Though similar methods are heard of. Creative and formal writing are more impersonal than we wish to believe. However there are ways to tap into an originality unique enough to each.
The rules have changed since McEwan was at university. He got paid to study. Today, kids have to pay extortionate rates for a course they could get for free online. They should do a computer degree, get a decently-paying job and write in the evenings and at weekends. True, we won't get many great writers, but can anyone name one great British writer working now?
Don't get me wrong. I'll read any old shite. I prostitute my literacy, to paraphrase Adrian Mole's English teacher. But when you read widely (as I'm sure you do) you know that Stephen King does not compare well with, say, John Updike or Philip Roth. Better genre writers than Stephen King include Clive Barker, Peter F. Hamilton and Lee Child - all British and all good, though not (I'm sure they would agree) great. Neither is there any recent British literary novel I've read that could be called "great", though there are plenty of good ones by writers such as: Graham Swift; Sarah Waters; Sarah Hall; Adam Thorpe; and many others, whose names escape me. Later this month I shall be reading something by American author Jonathan Franzen. I hear that he is a great writer. In the meantime, I've got to get back to "Extinction" by Ray Hammond. It's a "dazzling vision of global chaos that explodes off the page"!
I could name fifty. I read at least thirty of them. The real question is why you can't name any?
John Layman
That's your opinion, but I guarantee I'm at least as well-read as you, and probably more so. Seriously, go back to school. You not only get nothing at all right in your post, your comments about British writers and novels are, frankly, stupid. Moronically so.
+James Ritchie What is wrong about my post? Has university education become free again since I wrote it? Has one great British writer come along? Oh, you can name fifty? Go on. Name them. Without making me laugh.
Ali Smith
English professors with a little bohemian edge. That alone was worth the listen ;-)
Nice!!!!!
In my CW program we have to take a ton of Lit classes at the undergrad level, we do more reading than writing.
I feel inspired. Now which story do I start on. Supernatural Action Romance or the alternate history Time travel story.
yes, crazy stuff. it wasn't the head chef though it was the guy in charge of bringing the food. like the chief caterer guy
if you want to write just get on with it! period and stop watching and listening to other people, that being said Ian McEwan's manner is very calming and non patronizing unlike some others on here who are so self assured and just come across like arrogant ass-holes. Just write even if it turns out shit, just frigin write, no one is in charge but you.
exitcheese Thank you. This gives me some motivation.
Onesimo Serna Jr. no problem, I just think too many cooks spoil the broth... one must simply get on and just write!✌
exitcheese Everyone has a different method of doing things. That is why I usually hear different types of advice.
Jeff Buckley was one on his own, and he adhered to no strict writing schedule, instead penning lyrics in tune with the atmosphere of whatever story he was reading at the time. Such a principle can work for anyone.
A quicker way to get published is to sleep with someone well up in a publishing house. It sure beats doing a CW degree just to get connected, as does going to the right parties, and that's more fun too. The list of fabulously gifted, universally read writers who DIDN'T go on any course to write encompasses the WHOLE Project Gutenberg list. I taught for years at UEA, albeit not that goddamned course, which is lauded 'cos it raises a lot of dosh and profile. Writers can draw on knowledge and experience, and many do. The techniques and structures of writing are in every 'how to' book. Writers can get precious and arrogant if they're fêted everywhere. Like actors, their gifts are easily overrated. They haven't discovered relativity or quantum theory. They just build piles of words for sale. Who does not?
no problem, i was a bit blunt initially!
extremely supercilious
What ways methods for tapping into originality do you speak of? The last line of your first comment, 'There's no pride in this..' reminded me of 'There's no relief in this', the final line of Morning Theft by JB.
I am at a crossroads myself with the Open University, and have the choice between a Creative Writing and an English Lit/Lang module. At such a formative stage in my life, which, in your experience, is least likely to depersonalise my individualism?
Greatest of thanks.
The best way to become a good writer is practice, practice and more practice....
Please, put voice on the two channels!
I love that, that undergraduate study should be focused on reading, graduate for writing.
Yes, but, there is always something different about them, no?...this is the exact thing that keeps me from finishing my writing. :) I'm sure you'll figure it out! I hope the best for you.
read-read-read - pick up a novel - take it apart - put it back together - and then pick up another novel.
I agree, undergraduate writing programs are premature. Good writing needs life experience that most undergraduates don't have yet. And reading. Read everything. If we don't read, we don't know what writing is-- what makes it persuasive and beautiful. Most high school students haven't read enough to focus solely on writing.
That said, those who have a passion for writing should do it alongside whatever they're doing-- including an undergraduate degree.
at the adelaide writers festival 2008 the visiting writers' dinner was late and this guy made the head chef get down on his knees to appologize, and after the chef did, mcewan said "That's not good enough, do it again." I was there.
I wonder if his bookcase always has his own books featured so prominently with the covers facing outwards, or if he just did it for this interview.
"IF you write Myrh or Science Fiction. I suppose you really don't need to know much about life in general, but also IF you ever did really know what you're talking about Then you were there!! Ninety percent is True, only the Characters names really change, and not the Meal!"
What the hell McEwan? I completely defy your logic about needing to read before writing. I've read so much and I'm still in my undergrad. I've read more than anyone I know, except perhaps my professors.
The point is to be inspired by what you read. If reading makes you "disheartened" about ANYTHING, you're obviously doing something wrong.
I personally believe if you read someone for particular thing then somewhere you lose your original thought.
I don't think Mary Shelley went to college... But I agree, writing talent tends to be there whether an author goes to college or not. MFA programs help with connections to the publishing world, though.
Writing stories is an art form...& there are NO RULES to true art.
An idea is like a seed...indeed it will need proper elements to succeed in its growth for it to reach its peak for harvesting. But that does not mean that a poor farmer who has to sweat and bleed to plant, grow and harvest vegetables that he chooses not to eat, to feed his family will not succeed in doing so. Why do the rich mislead only to discourage the less fortunate? answer: Only to get rid of any competition.
Jane Austen wrote some of her most famous novels at undergraduate age. I'm an undergrad, and I'm about to start a creative writing unit next semester... soz Ian
Hmm, it's interesting that he says that undergraduate creative writing courses aren't good, but he himself was one of the first graduates of UEA's creative writing course...
Good point.
TheCrazyviolinist123
1) The undergraduate CW courses at UEA are parts of much larger degrees, which like McEwan said, is okay (of course I'd agree with that, I'm on one at UEA!).
2) He was one of the first people to do the Creative Writing Masters, not undergrad. He'd already got a degree from Sussex before going to my university.
I'm doing CW in Sheffield, I did an access course in CW in Norwich last year! :)
Edd Stewart That's so weird, I live just outside Sheffield. Small world!
FreekinEkin2 You're commuting to UEA from up here?!
I only come home every three weeks. :(
I can't stand to be away any longer.
Ahh that's fair enough. I was only down in Norwich 2 days a week. Beautiful city!
i wasn't in the mood for being depressed that day. Usually i don't mind.
A chapter in a writer's handbook that I have, "First you are a sponge"
I have to say, I found this advice fairly surprising (I watched this video some time ago)...I mean...not that writers have to read, but that people are supposed to be influenced by writers they haven't read...how can they be?...
That's how he knows. From the inside.
Personally, I graduated from the, ' Universality Of Hard Knocks,'. And reading, allot of reading ; transcended
me out my, ' Badlands.'
Now I got so much stories, so much stuff in me, that's just, 'bursting to get out!'
And set the World ablaze ! ! (excuse my grammar, I wrote this in a haste )
So read, read ; then go out, embellish your real-life experiences, and write.
The submergence of other Writers styles into your subconscious, well help you write more easily.
Then you get to pick and choose ; pound out and shape whatever comes out ; into your own unique style, and voice.
I think what he means is the value of a creative writing course is infinitely less if you haven't studied English literature itself first. What 'studying' actually means is up for debate and I don't think you need a university for that, but you will have to engage with critical debates and concepts. You can do that at the library. But simply being someone who feels like writing without any context, and signing up for a course is very close to useless.
Imagine being in the middle of a writing undergrad degree and watching this lol
After atonement i wanted to end it all. Hey i find beauty in many things. But one day i may read something by him and change my view. He's obviously an interesting intelligent guy.
how was this advice for Aspiring writers. he was mostly talking about programs. This has nothing to do with Ian, ITS the TITLE OF THIS THAT WAS DECEIVING???? great respect for his work
To be honest, I find this rather vague and uninspiring advice from Ian on this occasion. It seems to be a rather snobbish, traditional mindset. I've read too many published books which have very tidy prose but weak ideas - where the author has perhaps studied a bit too much in their life and has neglected the raw creativity needed to truly excite a reader.
I've read some self-published books that had some ropey prose but were immeasurably better books than some of the published ones I've read from established authors.
Basically: Don't read too much into advice from established authors. Carve your own path.
no head chef i've met would do that.. did that really happen!?
I doubt that was his bookcase, and I doubt this interview was conducted in his home. As it's by his publisher, I'm guessing this is at one of their offices, and that they and the director arranged the books in that way.
He's really talking about knowledge and foundation, not literally education. People who go into undergraduate programs really haven't read that much. And surely you know that Mary Shelley was very well educated, even if not formally. People valued learning then and did more read constantly to learn. She was familiar with current and ancient literature in a way almost nobody is now. If only you had watched this for the message, not just in a mind to nit pick.
I'm writing a young adult novel called the Anti-creationist Chronicle. its a blend of twilight and the His dark materials series, but oriented towards exposing how insipid new-earth creationism is.
I agree with you, but still, undergraduates should be encouraged to write. if good writing comes along with experience, ( experiencing bein a writer,) then the more they write and the earlier they start is better,. they will build certain skills that would be useful, later on, if after some years of life- experience they decide they want to deepen their involvement in writing fiction or non-fiction. I am saying this a woman who loves reading and someone who has just started on the road to writing. and English isn't even my native language, so I regret not having adequate courses in writing . but again, may be it's a good thing that I didn't something I would have to unlearn to be the type of writer that I truly want to be! I am still deep in doubt about my ability to achieve this objective though. for now I just know that sometimes I've got ideas that demand to be made into words and be laid in paper or a digital word processor. I am trusting the process. and I find a excellent example in the writer: Ian McEwan, because, finally someone admits that writers don't always find writing and creating new worlds and original plots easy all the time. this actually, encourages me to go down this road if I had more realistic expectations. so thank you Mr McEwan and those who. posted this video. thanks😊
..Criteria..
"This guy has said nothing till near the end of that piece. Novelists are writer's, but very few writers can be Novelists, simply because they get bored with writing about the same charaters, finish up with a short story instead."
Is he at home, or in a library or bookstore?
Academic snob 2:56
I searched up 'spongebob writers give advice' and this came up... I didn't even realize he wasn't a spongebob writer, I was just confused on why he wasn't talking about how to write comedy (writers from seasons 1-3 btw) lol, I am an idiot
no. creeped me out about his work ever since
HELLO
How many of the greatest writers in history were "undergraduates?"
And since when "to be a novelist" is to do only what "intelectuals" enjoy?
That chick that wrote 50 Shades of Crap IS a writer, we like it or not, right?
I wonder how many PhD's she's got...
i thought this was gonna be gandalf when i clicked it :P :(
You have to intrgue your reader's, captivate the audience....
This is most likely the agent/publisher's office, look at the window, looks like an office...
how can i be reading if i am supposed to be writing? there's no time for reading and barely enough time for writing!
+RoathRipper Perhaps you just aren't a writer?
***** Perhaps McEwan is giving lame advice? He's alright rolling in $ in his ivory tower, plenty of time to spin a yarn.
RoathRipper
I sympathise with your position but I manage to read a little every day depending upon what I'm doing. As a published writer, and knowing how useless most advice is, there are only really two things I tell aspiring writers:
1. Write what excites you.
2. Complete your first draft before making changes. I know so many people who are halfway through a constantly revised manuscript with no end in sight.
I wish you success in your writing, just make sure you write.
***** I appreciate those supportive words, Bill, especially the importance of finishing things. It's so tempting to abandon a an idea when the going gets tough and enthusiasm wanes. Cheers.
RoathRipper
You can do it mate. If I can, I believe anyone can.