Student Speaker – George Line

Hello everyone, my name’s George. Today I’m gonna talk to you about creative writing. Now, just right off the bat, I don’t want you all to think that this is some sort of lecture where I’m in a position of superiority and I’m here to teach you. No – I’ve come here simply to share some of my thoughts and beliefs about the art of creative writing, and you can either take it or leave it.

Firstly, I don’t believe that creative writing is a skill like driving a car or speaking a language, but I also think that it’s different from subjects like physics or mathematics. See, in STEM subjects, once you learn certain necessary techniques and how to solve problems, you’ve basically got the craft down. Granted, a great physicist or chemist or biologist is also extremely creative, since he/she is not only good at solving problems that have already been solved, but also at making new discoveries and solving newer problems. The main difference between the humanities domain and the scientific domain, however, is that the latter is characterized by an objective and rigorous method, and unless we’re talking about innovative developments like Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity or Einstein’s theory of relativity, both of which completely changed the landscape of physics, there is generally a consensus among scientists and even lay people about what the right science is – i.e the science that best describes reality. But creative writing isn’t like that – there is no right or wrong binary, and its purpose isn’t to come to a greater understanding of the world we live in, it’s to come to a greater understanding of the people​ (or other living creatures) that live in the world. Of course, you all know that art is subjective and science is objective, you don’t need me to rehash it. But I think it’s important to reiterate just how different science and art are in order to understand the practical implications.

Going on from this, I don’t think creative writing is something that can be taught easily. This is because writing, like every other art, is an expression of the author’s feelings and perceptions, and it has a fundamentally aesthetic​ ​core that defies rational explanation. Of course, anyone who’s studied English knows that there are many essential components to a good story – characterization, plot, rich dialogue, setting, conflict, tone, etc. And while every great story can be dissected into those components, they are not enough to be able to write well. What is necessary is passion​ ​for the craft of writing, and I would argue that this passion is much more valuable than simply knowing a bunch of writing/literary techniques. Now, this is not to say that knowing the technical aspects of literature through and through is futile – on the contrary, skills of textual analysis are invaluable and help readers understand the author’s intention and context behind a certain work of literature. It is merely that the aesthetic​ ​core of literature and creative writing cannot be taught, it can only be experienced. I know many people that shun this kind of experience because they don’t get it, they don’t get how you can watch a film made in the 40s and enjoy it as much as a recent blockbuster. The answer is passion. And not just passion for certain types of books or films, but passion for all kinds of works of art. This kind of passion is crucial for creative writing – and I would go so far as to say that the more works of literature one has read (variety is important here, one should aim to read as many different kinds of fiction as possible) the more refined and sophisticated one’s writing becomes as a result. Like I said before, however, this passion for literature is something that can’t be taught, it comes from somewhere deep inside one’s soul, and sadly not everyone has it.

Another thought I’ve had is this: while most people would agree that art is intrinsically subjective, and that we each may have our favourite books or authors, there will always exist certain works of art that transcend all others. Is it because they are better written, or that they trigger our aesthetic feelings more acutely, or that they are more pleasurable to the senses? Perhaps, although once again I would argue that the beauty of a certain passage or writing style is contingent entirely upon the viewer/reader. No – great works of literature are great because of how well​ they portray human beings. Like I said before, while the main purpose of science is to come to a greater understanding of the world we live in, the purpose of literature is to probe deeply into what makes us human, what makes us feel the way we do, what connects us and what separates us as a species. For this reason, I am not afraid to say that the works of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Austen, Hemingway, de Cervantes, Kafka, just to name a few, could all be considered “great” because of how timeless their commentary on the human condition is. Despite the fact that the language in these so-called “great” works of literature might be outdated, the ideas and the characters are not, and the emotion that went into making that work of art (whether it be simply passion for the craft, as I said before, or some other, heartfelt and profound emotion) most certainly is ubiquitous.

That’s all I have to say, thank you for listening!