When I got into the education program at college, the first class I had to take was Philosophy of Education. I think that was first in the program because philosophy is important. It’s the wellspring of everything we do. And there are all kinds of different ones.
As a teacher, my philosophy dictated the way I treated my students, my interaction with parents, how I managed the class, the way I went about planning lessons, what I did with the curriculum. All those practices could be traced to my underlying philosophy of education.
So the other day, when I came across my Philosophy of Education paper, it got me thinking…..
If I were to take a course titled Philosophy of Being an Author, what would my paper say?
Whether we know it or not, we all have a philosophy. And this philosophy influences the way we go about being authors. It influences the kinds of stories we write, how we interact on social media, what we’re willing to sacrifice to reach our goals, and the list goes on.
So why not actively consider our philosophy? Why not pin it down so we can better understand why we’re doing what we’re doing?
It seems like a good idea.
Which is why I came up with a list of questions. Questions I’ve been considering as I think about my own philosophy. Questions I hope will get you thinking about yours.
Questions to Consider:
– What is a successful author?
– How much control does an author have over his/her success?
– What is the point of story?
– What’s the role of an author?
– What’s the ideal reader/author relationship?
– Is writing a career, a hobby, or a ministry?
You know what’s crazy? If we gathered a hundred different authors together and asked them these questions, their answers would all look different.
Some authors base success off of book sales, while some look at reviews. Some authors believe success is outside of their control and some think the ball’s completely in their court. We have authors who think the point of story is to entertain, but we have others who think the point of story is to change lives.
I think the reason this industry is riddled with so much conflicting advice is because there are so many different philosophies. And maybe, figuring out our own, will help us better choose which pills to swallow.
Let’s Talk: I’m dying to hear your philosophy. Pick any or all of the questions above and answer. Or, if you think there’s an important question I left off the list, please add. I’m not at all a moral relativist, but here’s a situation where there’s definitely no right or wrong answers.
Like most people, I wouldn't mind getting rich from writing, but when I really think about what I believe a successful author to be, I see it as someone who is able to communicate with his target audience. Evidence of change on the part of the audience is not required, but the successful author will have communicated to them the change he believes they need to make and will have brought them to the point that they will either make the change or reject it. With that definition of success, much of it is dependent upon the author.
The point of story is to cause people to consider things that are difficult for them to accept or understand through any other form of communication. Story allows us to move past the emotional wall people errect and cause them to consider how they would and should react in a given situation.
The role of an author is similar to that of a teacher. The novelist is to guide the reader to understanding by causing the reader to consider questions that the reader must answer. The novelist isn't to provide the reader with the answer, but to help the reader discover the answer for himself.
Writing can be a career, a hobby, and a ministry. My thought is that if the author's primary living comes from writing then it is a career. But if writing isn't the day job and even if the author is making money, writing is a hobby
I think writing can be a ministry, but I think many people have misused the term. Strictly speaking, for an activity to be a ministry, it must be done as an agent of an organization (either government or religious). For this discussion, I'm sure we mean a religious organization. But I've seen people talk about their writing being a ministry when no church, no association or denomination, nor any other religious body has final authority in what they write. To give an example. Some church associations have a publications departments that produce Sunday school literature. When a person is writing for one of those departments, that is ministry. If that same person were to write a similar book, but instead took it to a publisher like Thomas Nelson for publication, that would not be not be ministry. The only real difference there is that in one he is an agent of a religous body and in the other he is independent.
Thought-provoking questions…I think every writer should take a few minutes to answer them. Now, to pull out my pen (or Evernote) and jot them down. 🙂
P.W. – your answers made my head spin! And definitely brought me back to my first-ever philosophy class I took in high school. Deep stuff.
The true analysis would be to understand what an author actually is. Is an author restricted to the written word? Can an individual be a visual author? Auditory? The concept of the author is widely regarded as a writer that has become published but then we need to address the concepts of a writer and publishing. It is a complex task to establish any of these concepts on a philosophical level.
On a basic level an author is a writer who has become published. Published for our conversation is to have a written work widely distributed across non-transient mediums (not net or blog). The Story concept is an immaterial idea placed into words on the medium to convey the idea to an audience, the reader. The reader concept is an individual that reads the written work that can provide feedback to the author.
Ha… a bit of philosophy class still lives on in me. 😉 Thanks for the very thought provoking post!
Great post! Thanks so much for mentioning it on my blog about Publishing Kool-Aid. You're absolutely right that knowing our philosophy will help us discern what advice will work for us. Off to tweet this! 🙂
I love the diversity of answers here.
Sally – I love that motto. First, do no harm. Stories/words are powerful and if used wrongly, can lead many people to stumble.
Hi Katie –
I don't think I've seen this topic addressed anywhere else or in such detail. Thanks for putting it together.
Although it isn't written, I'm clear in my own heart about the purpose of my writing. It's all about ministry/changing lives. Fiction is all about showing and not telling, raising questions in the reader's mind, and revealing truth.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
one question i'd put in the bunch is "what makes an author an author?" my philosophy sees an author as someone who has published something…but not just anything…a BOOK. until then, i see myself as a writer. maybe that's weird?
really appreciated your post on the loop today. made me smile, thinking about my crit partner in a workshop with a beam of light descending down on you from above as you are enlightened. i appreciated you sharing that.
love you!
jeannie
the character therapist
Maybe, for me, writing takes on the rhythm of a prayer.
There's probably a lot to unpack in that metaphor, but I'm not sure I want to do it. A writer needs room for faith.
What immediately jumped into my head was, "First, do no harm."
There are books I read as a kid that are still vivid in my mind–and that isn't necessarily a good thing. It's also why I write Christian fiction; I want really strong, entertaining stories that don't glorify the world's filth. The books that I read that did that DID cause me harm. So I keep that in mind when I write.
Great idea to have a philosophy of writing. I'll have to think this through more.
I'll pick two to answer. 🙂
1. I think the point of reading and writing stories is to walk in someone else's shoes. When I spend time in a story with characters I've come to love—flaws and all—it teaches me humility. I'm less likely to judge what's on the outside, because after "living" in their world (seeing life through their eyes), I grow to know their hearts. I understand better why people make the choices they do, aware that if I were in their exact shoes, I'd probably make the same mistakes. Like I said, it keeps me humble.
2. For me, writing started as a hobby, but I'd love to make it a career, and whether or not it is defined as a ministry is up to God.
When I finish a good book, a really good book, I generally can't do anything but stare at the ceiling for a long time. I ask myself, is it possible to write something that beautiful and resonant? Surely not, I tell myself. I'm still trying, though. I want to create poetry. Books that are purely entertaining don't stick with me–they aren't the kind of books that resonate. Oh, and forget teaching or edifying–I don't want to be taught something in a book. I want to understand the world. So that's my philosophy as a writer, too. I write and read to understand.
Those are some hard questions!! Success I suppose really does depend on the person defining it – to me, I feel I have succeeded in getting published – but am I a successful author in terms of sales or readers? Probably not, yet!! I do see my writing as a ministry because I write for the Christian market, and my ideal reader – haha, one that loves my books!! LOL!
Great thoughts today, Katie!
Katie,
GREAT questions! I need to sit down and answer those!
I remember taking a philosophy of education course as well! It was painful to come up with one, but it truly was a helpful exercise. 🙂
Blessings,
Mel
So many teachers around here! Mary C, you are SO right! In fact, a common grumbling in my cohort was, "Why are they making us write this paper when we haven't even been in the classroom yet?" After we finished all our practicums and our student teaching, we had to write another one. And mine were most definitely different!
I write because I love words. I write for me most of the time. As I always say, if you do not like my writing, it's alright. It is not for you.
I love that you posted this the first Monday of October. It always feels like a new professional year to me. 🙂
I'm going to think about these questions. I do know the answers to a few, but I'm not clear on a few of the others.
Katie, what I remember most about those philosophy of education papers is being asked to define (and refine) our philosophy before we had any real experience or education in the field. If you asked me to rewrite my philosophy of education now, after my many years in the classroom, I think you'd get a much different paper. I'd still have the same idealism, but it would be tempered by, and adjusted to, the reality of the classroom.
I think the same holds for my writing – my philosophy has evolved over time and is likely to go on changing as my own life changes and as I learn the realities of different parts of the business. My idealistic beginnings will endure, I hope, but will likely be tempered by publishing business realities.
Great topic for pondering.
I want to inspire people when I write. I want them to feel encouraged when they finish reading something I've written with plenty of laughs along the way.And for me it doesn't matter if it is one person or 1,000. I write because I love too, and if I happen to make a great career out of it all the better:)
Great questions, Katie.
I consider my writing my ministry. I hope to touch lives with my stories, of course, but what's more important to me is uplifting and encouraging the many wonderful people I meet as a result of my writing.
You know I'm eating up these questions…they are questions for Pete's sake! Questions! I aced all my philosophy classes.
But some of those make my head spin.
Role of author…to communicate story. Invite reader into story world and make him/her want to stay there.
~ Wendy
Love these answers this morning, gals! And Jessica – your answer makes perfect sense!
Oh boy- what a topic for a Monday morning! LOL
I hated my phil. of edu. class in school! But, you are right in that it does guide us in our classrooms–and it changes throughout the years. What mine was when I first started teaching was different from what it was when I stopped. As for my phil. as an author–good qustion. I think I'm still figuring it out!
Yikes, I remember History and Philosophy of Education. 🙂
My take on the question of What is the purpose of story?…
To entertain and edify.
Deep questions today! I think writing is a ministry (depending on the author and what you write). As any ministry, you bathe it in prayer. Every step you take, you ask God for direction and He gives the increase, leading you at every turn– from blogging to book launches. So first and foremost–ministry and a career buds from it. If I only see it as a career, I (me personally) might venture off the track, try everything in my own power, maybe even do a bunch of unnecessary things and fail.
Does that make any sense? It did in my head! 🙂
I often think about why I write, and I wish I had a clearer answer. My prayer is that I won't do it out of selfish ambition, but because I truly believe whatever I've writing is where God wants me spending my time.
One thing I remember about philosophy: If you couldn't write a paper as good as the teacher's, you earned a lousy grade.
Ugh.
What I love about writing mentors is they cheer you on, despite the fact you aren't as good a writer as they are. (Yet.)
;o)
I think writing often starts as a hobby … but if you want to be published you have to become deadly serious and think of it as a career even if you want your words to minister to others and reveal truth.
Oh, I remember those philosophy of education papers well. 🙂 You make a great point that the same could be applied to our writing. Definitely food for thought. Not sure I can come up with it in a comment, but you may have inspired a future blog post! 🙂
Oh boy, philosophy was one of my LEAST favorite classes in college, LOL. But the questions you've raised are oh-so-important, if for no other reason than to make us understand our goals in starting this crazy gig. My overarching definition of success is to follow God wherever He leads me every step of the way. How's that for philosophical? 🙂
Eeek! I'm not sure what mine is. lol I think authors have a lot to do with their name getting out, but less to do with success ('cause we can't make people talk about our books, or even like them) Writing is definitely a wonderful career for me. I wouldn't go through rejections or even the pain of writing a book (I'd write scenes I loved, lol) if I didn't want to get pubbed and have a career with it. I want, want my books to be entertaining, but also to have Truth in them that will touch people and maybe change how they view God or life. Whew.
Deep thinking for a Monday morning. lol