Why Do Writers Write About Writers?
It must be one of the most maligned literary tropes going: writing about a writer. "Boring!" audiences declare. "Author avatar!" But is it always an exercise in navel gazing?
Writing about writers has a long and varied history. After his famous friend buys his practice, Dr Watson makes his living from writing up their cases. Conan Doyle evidently liked this conceit: Ned Malone from The Lost World represents the press during the sojourn in Maple White Land. And of what of Tintin, who must have had the most tolerant editor in literature? The writers of yesteryear were adventurous souls, going where the story took them.
Something you can't help but notice: the overwhelming majority of these characters are men. Female authors are few and far between - the only ones to be encountered in classic children's fiction are Jo March and Anne of Green Gables. While Anne's dreams are a girlish fancy, soon outgrown, Jo enjoys a small degree of success. It doesn't matter that she's her author's self portrait - most writers would identify with her absorption in her work and self deprecation. And who can condemn her fury when Amy burns her manuscript?
Considering the time of publication, Jo's arc is surprisingly progressive. Her successors tend to have their ambitions squelched by men, whether chauvinistic employers, relatives or partners. Frost in May's Nanda / Clara has her first attempt at a novel denounced as "vulgar and disgusting filth" by her father; then, when she tries to write copy after her marriage, her slimy editor advises her to stick to homemaking. Sometimes they fail through sheer bad luck. When The Bell Jar's Esther Greenwood misses out on a place on a creative writing course, she has a nervous breakdown. Before this is dismissed as hyperbole, it's explicitly identified as the trigger: 'She thinks she will never write again.'
Over time intrepid journos and dogged female wannabes gave way to the writer as laughing stock. It's unclear whether these authors were poking fun at themselves or their rivals, but there was a decided trend for depicting writers as permanently blocked (Mortmain in I Capture the Castle), impossible egomaniacs (Mr Bagthorpe in The Bagthorpe Saga) or shameless self plagiarists (Mary Fisher in The Life and Loves of a She Devil). All these characters share an invincible belief in their own genius and use it to excuse appalling behaviour, be it terrorising their spouses or pinching other people's. Nor is this angle dead. Little Britain's Dame Sally Markham churns out any old tosh - song lyrics, the Bible - knowing her fans will lap it up. It's no accident she resembles Barbara Cartland, one of the most derided romance authors of recent times.
The richest source of comedy has to be the terrible unpublished writer. Adrian Mole is probably the best known modern example. Whether composing odes to his muse Pandora or updating his work in progress Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, his writing is unbelievably, hilariously bad. This isn't restricted to so called novelists; Mr G, the inane, preening drama teacher in Summer Heights High, writes plays of astonishing crassness and banality.
Nowadays a fictional writer's profession is incidental. It may give them a special insight into a rash of murders (Jessica Fletcher)* or allow them to engage in rampant casual sex (Carrie Bradshaw), but it's rarely shown as a worthy career path. It seems to be the middle class male (!) equivalent of moving to the big city to become an actress. Considering your typical author only makes £11,000 per annum, perhaps this is the most realistic view.
It's too easy to dismiss these characters as lazy guest cameos or wish fulfilment fantasies. You might ask why non writers would be interested in such a niche subject. How does writing compare against "real" fields like medicine or law? Isn't a book a frivolous way to pass the time?
I'd argue we need these characters to prove writing is more than a cushy hobby. It takes ingenuity, grit and perseverance. People only cry cliche at the stock figure of the posh white guy typing up his mid life crisis in his shed. We need diverse fictional writers - why not create working class, ethnic minority or LGBT characters? What about jobbing authors who aren't contemptible hacks? This could demolish the myth that writing is a cosy gentlemen's club and let ordinary folk see there's a place in it for them. And it'd stop writers from kvetching, which can only be a good thing.
* Either that or she's television's most prolific serial killer. The jury is out.
Writing about writers has a long and varied history. After his famous friend buys his practice, Dr Watson makes his living from writing up their cases. Conan Doyle evidently liked this conceit: Ned Malone from The Lost World represents the press during the sojourn in Maple White Land. And of what of Tintin, who must have had the most tolerant editor in literature? The writers of yesteryear were adventurous souls, going where the story took them.
Something you can't help but notice: the overwhelming majority of these characters are men. Female authors are few and far between - the only ones to be encountered in classic children's fiction are Jo March and Anne of Green Gables. While Anne's dreams are a girlish fancy, soon outgrown, Jo enjoys a small degree of success. It doesn't matter that she's her author's self portrait - most writers would identify with her absorption in her work and self deprecation. And who can condemn her fury when Amy burns her manuscript?
Considering the time of publication, Jo's arc is surprisingly progressive. Her successors tend to have their ambitions squelched by men, whether chauvinistic employers, relatives or partners. Frost in May's Nanda / Clara has her first attempt at a novel denounced as "vulgar and disgusting filth" by her father; then, when she tries to write copy after her marriage, her slimy editor advises her to stick to homemaking. Sometimes they fail through sheer bad luck. When The Bell Jar's Esther Greenwood misses out on a place on a creative writing course, she has a nervous breakdown. Before this is dismissed as hyperbole, it's explicitly identified as the trigger: 'She thinks she will never write again.'
Over time intrepid journos and dogged female wannabes gave way to the writer as laughing stock. It's unclear whether these authors were poking fun at themselves or their rivals, but there was a decided trend for depicting writers as permanently blocked (Mortmain in I Capture the Castle), impossible egomaniacs (Mr Bagthorpe in The Bagthorpe Saga) or shameless self plagiarists (Mary Fisher in The Life and Loves of a She Devil). All these characters share an invincible belief in their own genius and use it to excuse appalling behaviour, be it terrorising their spouses or pinching other people's. Nor is this angle dead. Little Britain's Dame Sally Markham churns out any old tosh - song lyrics, the Bible - knowing her fans will lap it up. It's no accident she resembles Barbara Cartland, one of the most derided romance authors of recent times.
The richest source of comedy has to be the terrible unpublished writer. Adrian Mole is probably the best known modern example. Whether composing odes to his muse Pandora or updating his work in progress Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, his writing is unbelievably, hilariously bad. This isn't restricted to so called novelists; Mr G, the inane, preening drama teacher in Summer Heights High, writes plays of astonishing crassness and banality.
Nowadays a fictional writer's profession is incidental. It may give them a special insight into a rash of murders (Jessica Fletcher)* or allow them to engage in rampant casual sex (Carrie Bradshaw), but it's rarely shown as a worthy career path. It seems to be the middle class male (!) equivalent of moving to the big city to become an actress. Considering your typical author only makes £11,000 per annum, perhaps this is the most realistic view.
It's too easy to dismiss these characters as lazy guest cameos or wish fulfilment fantasies. You might ask why non writers would be interested in such a niche subject. How does writing compare against "real" fields like medicine or law? Isn't a book a frivolous way to pass the time?
I'd argue we need these characters to prove writing is more than a cushy hobby. It takes ingenuity, grit and perseverance. People only cry cliche at the stock figure of the posh white guy typing up his mid life crisis in his shed. We need diverse fictional writers - why not create working class, ethnic minority or LGBT characters? What about jobbing authors who aren't contemptible hacks? This could demolish the myth that writing is a cosy gentlemen's club and let ordinary folk see there's a place in it for them. And it'd stop writers from kvetching, which can only be a good thing.
* Either that or she's television's most prolific serial killer. The jury is out.
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