They Came at Us With Spears I was talking to a writer friend of mine about a problem I’m having. He told me that every writer has an idea about what the market wants. I laughed and asked him what about the people who keep putting books on the bestseller list. He told me he didn’t have a clue. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been so long since the last time someone talked to me about readers, I can’t even remember the last time I heard someone mention them.” On Saturday I drove through a rural area in upstate New York. There were no cars ahead of me so I was able to put on an audiobook. I first came to understand the importance of having a story’s emotional arc mapped out through character because I heard JK Rowling tell the same story in her books. What did you learn about writing by JK Rowling? I got an interesting perspective on writing by her. She told me that in any book where the reader doesn’t know exactly what’s going to happen next, you have to be careful how you end it. This is because you may have a perfectly set up climax, but the reader will be wondering, “So what happens next?” Not allowing the reader to think about what comes next is a mistake. You have to close the door on the door of possibility. I listened to Rowling’s speech by reading it out loud on my Ipad. I wanted to write down exactly what she was saying. If I did, she would think I understood what she meant. And I want to get her point of view right. Writing is hard. It’s an effort to bring into existence something new and fresh. If it’s not worth writing, it’s not worth doing. Your effort, time, and emotions aren’t put out unless you put something worthwhile in. I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings. I don’t know what I had been driving past for a long time. I was mesmerized by Rowling’s perspective on writing, her message about emotions, and her willingness to help with what she knows. I pulled into a parking lot, parked, took my backpack off, pulled out my laptop, opened the lid, and started writing. When I was done, I got back in the car, drove home, and put the laptop back into my bag. I drove through the country and the city; I passed the buildings and stores, people walking down the street, and other people sitting in traffic, waiting. The world continued on without me. And then I woke up. About Robert Lee Brewer Robert Lee Brewer is the author of The God Virus and Other Stories (Pocket Stars) and the co-author of The God Gene (Dutton). The former director of communications for the National Alliance, the country’s largest white civil rights organization, he is also a former member of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Human Continuity and served on the Board of Directors for Project 21. He can be reached through his website at RobertLBrewer.com. 11 thoughts on “I Was Talking to a Writer About Writing” I believe your story is the reason I took up writing. You see I’m a writer but my writing was not good enough to garner me a literary agent. But I have read some of your writing. And it is good. You’re a good writer. I think the reason that I didn’t enjoy my work was because I was only concerned about myself, my needs, my desires. Nothing else really mattered because it was all about me and what was in it for me. And then when I read Robert Lee’s post I realize that is what it is all about. Writing that doesn’t only fulfill my needs and wants but everyone else’s. When I let myself feel what I need to do and want to do it will be good. Because everyone wants the same thing. They want you to write the truth. You are an answer to a prayer. Hi, I was about to leave a comment when I noticed your comment above, I agree 100% and as the saying goes “God speed”. One of the reasons I write is because I was so moved by a book that I felt I had to write my own version of it in my head. So at least I get a start for myself. So that’s one of the reasons I wrote. Another thing I realized is why do I write in the first place? Is it a sense of calling? Or is it that something inside me wants to communicate in a way that can only be done through writing? I’m not sure. “I think it’s important to think about what’s good, what’s truthful, what’s right, because these things, as the saying goes, are sacred.” Thanks, Robert. One thing that you talk about in your new book is that if we can’t even be honest with ourselves, how in the world do we have any hope of being honest with others? This is a great question. I guess the way I see it is that we start off writing for ourselves so that we can then get others to see what we see. The truth will speak for itself when there’s enough out there to support that truth. Thanks again for your insightful thoughts! The funny thing was, when I left the comment earlier and was saying “I must have been on my way to see something that looked good” my husband asked, “Is that a good thing?” LOL! Well, thank you for this opportunity to go back over my own writing process and have a peek into the mind of the writer behind the words on the page. On re-reading my comments, I realized I had misunderstood what was meant by “truth”. I mistakenly interpreted it to mean that truth was that which would make us free. For myself, that’s not so much it. I was speaking of that which is good, right, true, honest, etc. Thanks for the reminder, Robert, that true writing is something you have to fight for. I’m in a similar position as you: it is in many ways easier to think and write about what I don’t want in the future. And I think the hardest thing to do as a writer is to have faith that what’s right is actually good and beautiful. That is the kind of thing that is worth fighting for, because only when it is seen as good and beautiful can we make real change happen. Great comments, Bill. It’s only natural for a writer to start by writing what you don’t want to happen and thinking about how you want the world to be, instead of worrying about what you want to do. My husband’s first marriage was to a woman who did nothing but write about what she didn’t want and the world she didn’t want. If only she’d actually read and understood The Power of Now, I’m sure she might have been able to understand the true purpose of love. It takes a lot of “faith” to keep the belief that what we think will make a difference. Your book The Truth about Love will be published in a few months. Do you think, in your heart, that people will listen to you, will really want to hear it and change their hearts? Thanks for this post, Robert. Sometimes we think we are supposed to be writing something that will make a difference. But then, in some ways, isn’t writing more about the writer than it is about what it’s supposed to change? In this new post, that’s exactly what you’re doing. Hi Robert, I don’t know if you remember the advice I gave you awhile ago on email. But do you think the fact that we’ve not had a lot of traffic on this blog is because most people who read it already have the knowledge you’re giving them in the book, so there is no use for you to write something to be read by people like us? I have learned so much about writing and I am using it to help me improve and become a better person. I have to say that the way that we choose to spend our time is so important. And the way we choose to express ourselves, especially through writing, is so important. Your book has definitely helped me in my work and I can see where I need to change my approach. I think you know what you have to offer and why, Robert. People will continue to choose what’s good, right and true and write about that. I’ve had many thoughts about what Robert Lee Brewer has to say about writing and the world, and I wonder how I can write well in what I’ve written. I had a moment yesterday when I decided to turn on CNN. It’s not that I’m bored with their news. I’m not. It’s just that I found what they were talking about so boring. So I turned to sports. Then I turned to some YouTube videos. I came back to the CNN for the evening news, but I turned off the volume on the news and turned it up on music so I could listen to the music and not the news. That’s okay. I still feel that it’s good to know about what’s going on, but I’m not into talking about it as much as about enjoying the moments and living in my own life, right now.