How would you like to be remembered as a writer? Inventor of a new genre? Character king? Master of mystery?
I'm still finding out what I do best, as far as genre. I'm better at dialogue than anything else in writing. (It's not easy to write a story with dialogue only, but I have done it.) I hope, though, to be remembered as a writer who enlightened while she entertained.
[This message has been edited by Void (edited June 21, 2005).]
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
I want to be remembered as a writer who made you think. I think this one of the key differences between a good book and a great book. I want to write great books.
Posted by Gingivere (Member # 1936) on :
As someone who wrote some really good (and hopefully memorable) stories/books.
Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :
I want to be remembered as a Storyteller. When I say that, I mean that I want to reach a point where when a person picks up my story, it feels like I'm talking to them rather than just reading my words. I've read all my life (learned at age two, no joke) and come across many great authors, but I've only had the feeling like I'm actually listening to them a handful of times. If I can do that, I'll die happy.
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
...was inordinately, nay exceptionally, rich?
I'd like to be remembered as someone whose prose conveyed a real sense of place, someone whose milieux were absorbing, as real as the everyday world in which we spend our days. And who still managed to write exciting stories, that touched on serious points of politics, religion, philosophy and morality without being heavy, or preachy, or tedious.
I have a suspicion this may be a touch over-optimistic.
Posted by shadowynd (Member # 2077) on :
memorable twists and endings
Posted by pixydust (Member # 2311) on :
A writer that makes her characters, the world they inhabit, and the emotions of the tale linger in the mind of the reader. I want to haunt people. Like I was, and still am at times, haunted by my favorite writers.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 1619) on :
I want every single reader of my writing to never forget the story, to have it permanently change their perception forever.
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
I just want my stuff to be engaging. I wouldn't mind if my readers remembered nothing about my stories other than that they enjoyed them.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
I want to be in print after I die. I want people to read my books, and say of things they read in them, I want *that* in my life. I want to lead people to question themselves. And I want people to let down their barriers against Christ, because of something I said, and let Him in.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
Will, I'd be very interested in hearing more about how you see the intersection between fiction and faith, if you'd like to talk about that further.
Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :
Me? I'd like to be remembered as having a sense of humour.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited June 22, 2005).]
Posted by Blue_Rabbit (Member # 2634) on :
I want to be in print. Dot.
Posted by RaymondJohn34 (Member # 2595) on :
....Just a writer that makes the reader say: "...wow.." Breathe a little. Says "...wow," again.. Smiles to themselves. Says "...wow," again... Says: "That was coolest story..."
Posted by JOHN (Member # 1343) on :
I want to be slightly overshadowed by my loved and realistic characters.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
Sure, Beth. I don't think I have anything really deep to say, but here it is: people have barriers to things they don't want to think about. If we encounter people who violate these barriers -- say, someone who belongs to a group we dislike but doesn't have the awful attributes we like to attribute to them -- we may not notice, if we don't get to know them well, or if we block off that part of them -- something like, "Yes, I like him, but we don't talk about ____."
A liberal friend of mine (I'm libertarian), well, we can't talk politics, because he tells me I ask him questions to make him look stupid. We don't talk religion, because he's got this defense that everything depends on interpretation, so it's all too slippery to talk about. OTOH, his beliefs about Bush are not subject to interpretation, they're just right. Obviously I'm showing my own biases here --!
Fiction, however, is in one way a more intimate experience. It's less intimate because the characters aren't real and anyway are just on a page, but it's more because you can really get into the thoughts of the other. I want to show my readers that being Christian is not synonymous with being despicable, idiotic, eager to re-enact the Inquisition, etc. I also write about people in other religions or groups, and I also want to show that _their_ POV's are not (usually) despicable, idiotic, etc. If these barriers come down and minds are open, I believe that the truth will often out -- and since I believe in Christ, I think that means people will come face to face with Him, and make a decision rather than avoiding one. May the best belief win!
Obviously this is not the main thing I think about when I'm writing; I think about what would be fun, or exciting, or scary, and what characters would be likeable or interesting. My WIP has 1 Christian among 6 major characters, and she doesn't think about God much when she's on-screen. Maybe I'm being a coward. But in this case I was trying for openness not toward Christians but toward American Indians -- people don't hate them much, I think, but they think of their beliefs as quaint and outdated and not worth considering -- and you can't do everything at once.
I do note that I haven't said a thing about presenting God himself in fiction. I think showing God can be too much for a nonbeliever, and anyway, it's hard to write for someone who already knows the ending. I put a smiley, but it's a real difficulty. I've put him in 1 story, and God had to be coy to keep from spoiling it.
[This message has been edited by wbriggs (edited June 22, 2005).]
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
I want to be remembered as the man who changed the entire face of the english language by inventing 63 more letters.
Posted by Whitney (Member # 2176) on :
I would like to be remembered as a writer who wrote stories that people enjoyed reading and couldn't wait for the next one to read.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
You know...this is a really hard question for me.
I'm not sure that I want to be remembered as a writer. I mean, I want to be a writer now, of course. And I don't want to be remembered as anything else. I guess the problem is that I would prefer to not be remembered. It always...I always feel uncomfortable when people remember me.
Posted by Thieftess (Member # 1683) on :
I want people to constantly wonder what I'm going to do next. (Neil Gaiman is my hero...)
~Alethea
Posted by Void (Member # 2567) on :
Survivor--would it make a difference if the question was rephrased as: What would you like to be known for as a writer?
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
I wish to be known as a writer who was published and sold lots of books so she could retire comfortably on the income they brought in... Posted by goatboy (Member # 2062) on :
I've always said that I don't want to be the guy that wrote Carrie. I want to be the guy that wrote Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers or Don Quixote. I want to be remembered for the work that I've left behind.
Posted by Mike C (Member # 2363) on :
I'd rather be paid now than remembered later.
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :
You know those books you had to read in high school? And do you remember having to analyze the living daylights out of them just to figure out what the theme was? Well, those are the types of books I want to write and be remembered for--but not just that. I want to write books that will be a part of the high school curriculum (in the very far and distant future) but also will be entertaining to read, unlike the countless books we had to read that were just exceedingly dull. That's not to say they were all boring. By no means! But we can't keep analyzing the same classics forever, you know. Change is good!
If not that, I wish to be remembered for writing stories that made people thing after they read them.
Posted by Isaiah13 (Member # 2283) on :
Well, to put it simply: I'd like to write the kind of stories that made me want to become a writer in the first place. I don't care if people remember my name, just the impact that my words had on their imagination.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I think that's more along what I'd have to say. I rather like the idea of being the secret identity of an otherwise famous person. Or better yet, the secret identity of a person already known only to a select group, mainly selected by their common bond to my other--also secret--identity.
You know, like a super villian. Only not one that gets defeated by the hero because of some stupid egomania thing. The one that the hero never finds out about, ever, even after he loses everything and gets run over by a milk truck on his way home from the local whorehouse. Never.
No specific hero was killed in the ignominious manner described above. At least, not by me
I put a smiley, but it's a real difficulty. I've put him in 1 story, and God had to be coy to keep from spoiling it.
