Writing, writing, writing...

Writing, writing, writing...
Rabid Ink:
It's difficult to name a blog. I arrived at the title "Rabid Ink" after carefully considering the influence that writing and the written word have in and on my life. I am a writer, reader, student, and teacher. I worked for several years as a freelance writer before returning to college and I am currently working toward earning my Ph.D. in English literature. Some dictionaries define the word 'rabid' as "extremely zealous or enthusiastic," or "unrestrained enthusiasm." A few describe 'rabidity' as "raging, uncontrollable, madness." Of course, rabidity is also associated with contagion and invasiveness.

My relationship with the written word might be characterized by any of these descriptions. My readings or writings can become all-consuming. They can devour my time, infect me with myriad emotions, and rage with what might seem to the uninitiated as an uncontrollable madness. This blog is inspired by the rabid essence of the text, of the ink on the page, of my experiences reading, writing, and pursuing scholarship.

In the "archive" column, I have included some material from a previous blog that delt primarily with writing. While these archived posts are older, I dusted off those I found most interesting or worth recalling and placed them here. If you read them, please forgive any redundancies or blemishes. My writing has evolved since the time of these musings, along with some of my interests.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

Integrity

Whatever happened to the simple premise of holding oneself to a standard of personal and professional integrity? In the recent past this question has arisen ad nauseam. We've all been inundated with news stories and commentary that highlight the decline of seemingly any standard - even low standards - for personal, governmental, and corporate conduct. The Enron debacle, Martha Stewart insider trading, Prisoner abuse in Iraq, The New York Times reporting inaccurate and even utterly false stories! You KNOW there is a downward spiral of integrity when even the exalted New York Times can't be trusted.



The abuses seem to be running rampant, that is, if we are to believe the media who are ever-ready to gleefully saturate the evening news and morning paper with such reports. No one seems to be immune to the lure of dishonesty. Why pay when you can steal it? Why be honest when lies are so much juicier than the truth? Heck, even our nations Presidents bend the truth or outright lie to suit their needs, lest we forget the lurid Clinton/Lewinsky scandal or the notorious yet still missing weapons of mass destruction.



Lack of moral code spills over into everyday life, well... everyday. I have a client who owes me a substantial amount of money. It's been months. Think she cares? Then there's the mechanic who tried to convince me I needed an $1100.00 repair, when all I really needed was a shot of Freon in my air conditioner. Thankfully one of the gentlemen he works with "Figured out the problem" when I let them know there was no way I could afford such a repair at this time. Amazing.



All of this has caused me to examine how writers approach integrity in creative writing. It's so subjective. Characters, plots, motivations all drive the creative work, but how do we define creative? Hasn't everything been done before? Realistically, we all give our characters different names but hasn't every personality - every divisive flaw been already written? Our plots and stories may not be as fresh and unique as we'd like to think they are. Chances are examples can be found throughout literature of similar works that precede even what's currently on the fiction best seller list.



Is it okay to borrow so long as you are not actually stealing? I struggled with this question, and finally came to the conclusion that in the world of creative writing - you bet it is.



As long as there have been stories there have been new slants. Redirection of plots, reinventing character "types" and expanding or narrowing motivations all bring the writer as close as possible to originality. It is not a lack of integrity to borrow from what has come before so long as in the process the writer creates something that can stand on it's own as an original work.



Each of us must define for ourselves our creative standard of integrity. New stories simply could not be written with out it. Perhaps creativity is the last bastion yet to be corrupted by dishonesty. Curious that in a world dominated by the lie, what creative writers find most engaging is the truth.













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2 comments:

  1. Professor BattyJuly 16, 2004 at 5:20 PM

    It may be true that all the plots have been written, all the characters limned, but things do change, some things come into existence that were not before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. WritegirlJuly 16, 2004 at 6:42 PM

    Thanks professor, and I agree. Things do change if writers employ creative integrity; thereby creating the unique and original :)

    ReplyDelete

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