Ursula Le Guin on Writing
I'm reading Ursula Le Guin's last book before she died, No Time to Spare. I'll be writing a review later.
This morning I read her essay, "Reader's Questions." She doesn't try to answer questions that so many readers ask like "where do you get your ideas from?" or "what is the message of your book?" She does try to answer "why do you write?" which she says is often asked by young readers. Her answer, "Because I like to." She recognizes that a lot of readers and reviews are look for Meaning and want her to explain the Meaning in her books. She figures that the reader's responsibility - to figure out the Meaning.
This is my view, too. I think the same about art. The viewer of an abstract painting gets to respond and say what the painting is about, or put another way, the Meaning.
Like Le Guin, I write and paint because I like to. It's more fun than anything I do.
This morning I read her essay, "Reader's Questions." She doesn't try to answer questions that so many readers ask like "where do you get your ideas from?" or "what is the message of your book?" She does try to answer "why do you write?" which she says is often asked by young readers. Her answer, "Because I like to." She recognizes that a lot of readers and reviews are look for Meaning and want her to explain the Meaning in her books. She figures that the reader's responsibility - to figure out the Meaning.
This is my view, too. I think the same about art. The viewer of an abstract painting gets to respond and say what the painting is about, or put another way, the Meaning.
Like Le Guin, I write and paint because I like to. It's more fun than anything I do.
No comments have been added yet.
My Two Hats: Art and Writing
I'm a visual artist and a writer of mystery and suspense. Blame my first-grade teacher. She told me to write a poem and illustrate it. So I've been painting and writing since age six. I don't know whi
...more
- C.J. Shane's profile
- 64 followers
