Many of you will know that I dabble in writing fiction, I've only mentioned it one or two...hundred times to most people I know! When I first started taking it seriously, I was chatting to one of the most influential editors in the Australian speculative scene and, when asked for some piece of advice, a pearl of wisdom, she simply looked at me.
He said, "What is the thing that only you can say? What is the story that only you can tell? If you don't have anything unique to offer, then find something else to do with your time—and with mine". Or words to that effect—it was a long time ago!
She went on to talk about how there are plenty of serviceable writers writing serviceable stories, stories that tick all the boxes of plot and characterisation and narrative. But, too many of these stories lack meaning, when you put them down there is nothing left, they don't make you think or feel. They could have been written by any one, or even by a computer programmed with the right information.
When they are put down, they just drift away on the wind, never to cross your mind again. They don't change the way you look at the world, and they don't change you.
Mental Popcorn
Now, this is not necessarily a problem in of itself. Sometimes we don't want to be confronted, or changed, we just want to be entertained, or distracted from a long day. This is just as true with other media, such as movies. A lot of the time, I don't go to the cinema to watch movies that are going to require a lot of thought, or will depress me.
I go and see the ones that have lots of sword fights, or killer robots, or massive explosions, or dinosaurs—in one memorable instance a giant robot riding a Tyrannosaur while wielding a sword and causing massive explosions. It certainly was not a masterpiece, but I definitely felt like I got my money's worth! It's popcorn for the brain, and fills a hole.
White Noise
But, the thing is—when you start talking about the best meals you've ever had, popcorn isn't going to even register. It's the same with the stories and movies that don't really challenge or engage us. They just blend into one another.
For writers, this is a big problem. It's never been easier to get published, anyone can upload their book to Amazon and make it available to the whole world, or you can get books printed yourself. The real hurdle now is getting noticed and standing out from the millions of other writers out there. When there is so much white noise, how do you make sure your voice is heard?
That's not a value judgement on self publishing, there's plenty of talented writers going that way, and it's becoming just as big an issue for those going with traditional publishing routes. You would not believe how many new books are released every day—it's in the thousands!
So, while you can find a way to get your stories out there, getting people to read them is the battle. It can be a slog, and it's getting harder. So, if you are going to go to all that effort, shouldn't you be making sure you have something to say? And, that when people read your work it stays with them?
More than just theoretical
Many of you who aren't writers may be reading this and thinking; "What does this have to do with me?"
Well, all this applies to the whole world, not just the corner that is concerned with publishing. We are bombarded every day with a thousand different messages, often contradictory, all competing for our increasingly limited time and attentions. Newspapers, the internet, advertising—they all want a piece of us. We are surrounded by this white noise, and it is so hard to know what we should take on board—and what we should ignore.
And, for each of us, it is constant battle to be heard. For those of us in the church, we believe we have something the world needs to hear but getting them to listen is becoming harder every day. But, we are still better off than so many people who go through life not knowing what it is that they want to say.
Finding our Voice
Whether we write, or preach, or whether we are simply want to change the world around us, the challenge for each of us is to find something worth saying. We are going to have to fight to be heard, so we need to make it worth it! In a world of shallow messages and white noise, we have to discover the thing it is that only we can say, the thing that will cut through the chatter—and the thing that people will remember hearing for the rest of their lives.
After all, anyone can be popcorn—but wouldn't you rather be a gourmet meal?
David Goodwin is the former Editor of The Salvation Army's magazine, On Fire. He is a freelance writer, and an unapologetic geek.
David Goodwin's archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-goodwin.html