neodoering
Minstrel
So. I read an article online that offered 25 tips to beginning writers. One of the tips was that writers are craftsmen, and should treat their writing as a "profession." I looked up craftsman, which was defined as someone who follows the methods and best practices of their industry to produce functional objects. In today's publishing industry, this means mass-produced fiction, where ideas, characters, scenes, plot arcs, etc. are viewed as snap-in, snap-out, interchangeable widgets. Got a black man as main character, and market research says the white majority won't buy him? Change him to a white guy, and adjust his background a little bit. Snap-in, snap-out. The story has no integrity; it's just cheap, mass-produced elements.
The artist, in contrast to the craftsman, will use whatever tools and methods it takes to convey an aesthetically pleasing story with a powerful message of some sort, either personal, artistic, or social. The artist's story isn't made of snap-in parts. Change pieces of it, and it falls apart and loses its power.
Before you say, "Society values artists over craftsmen," I'd really think about that if I were you. Craftsmen are accepted in the publishing industry as the industry standard; most everyone aspires to be a craftsman. If they make it to professional levels, they will be quite well-paid, famous, and successful. Contrast this to artists, who are seen as inflexible, weird, possibly mentally ill, and hard to work with. Very few writers as artists make it in the publishing industry. Their work tends to be challenging in a trade that prizes works that are simple and mindless entertainment, and that goes against the industry ethos. Those who go against the grain are generally not rewarded. Ask yourself this: how many modern, fantasy epic poems in the vein of Beowulf or Inferno have been published in America in the last ten years? How many full-color, illuminated fantasies in the style of the Middle East, or even Medieval England, or China, have you seen? The publishing industry does not encourage artists. Publishing professionals do not like taking risks on something as subjective as art. They want to manage risk, by publishing mass-produced, low-cost, low-value craft items that are not a big loss if the market rejects them.
As to me, you have only to go here: http://www.rdoering.com/temples.html, to see which I am. I am currently looking into what it would take to bring out a paper version of this book. I look forward to being rejected by the publishing industry.
Which are you, craftsman or artist?
The artist, in contrast to the craftsman, will use whatever tools and methods it takes to convey an aesthetically pleasing story with a powerful message of some sort, either personal, artistic, or social. The artist's story isn't made of snap-in parts. Change pieces of it, and it falls apart and loses its power.
Before you say, "Society values artists over craftsmen," I'd really think about that if I were you. Craftsmen are accepted in the publishing industry as the industry standard; most everyone aspires to be a craftsman. If they make it to professional levels, they will be quite well-paid, famous, and successful. Contrast this to artists, who are seen as inflexible, weird, possibly mentally ill, and hard to work with. Very few writers as artists make it in the publishing industry. Their work tends to be challenging in a trade that prizes works that are simple and mindless entertainment, and that goes against the industry ethos. Those who go against the grain are generally not rewarded. Ask yourself this: how many modern, fantasy epic poems in the vein of Beowulf or Inferno have been published in America in the last ten years? How many full-color, illuminated fantasies in the style of the Middle East, or even Medieval England, or China, have you seen? The publishing industry does not encourage artists. Publishing professionals do not like taking risks on something as subjective as art. They want to manage risk, by publishing mass-produced, low-cost, low-value craft items that are not a big loss if the market rejects them.
As to me, you have only to go here: http://www.rdoering.com/temples.html, to see which I am. I am currently looking into what it would take to bring out a paper version of this book. I look forward to being rejected by the publishing industry.
Which are you, craftsman or artist?
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