Over at The Kill Zone, James Scott Bell has an essay up called "Shake Rattle and Write" where he compares writing originality to the 50's Elvis. http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2009/08/shake-rattle-and-write.html
While I agree with Mr. Bell on the originality angle of his essay, I don't particularly agree with the Colonel Parker selling angle. All of Elvis' originality seemed to fly out the window when he became the product. It was no longer about the song but about Elvis.
It's the same with those big time writers like King, Patterson, and a half dozen others. It's "Have you read the latest King/Patterson/Whoever book?" Not, "Wow, you have to read this book!". Slap a famous name on the cover and you can sell all the words, good or bad, that pour out of their keyboards. When you focus on the artist, you're focusing on personalities not stories. Sales, not wonderful words.
I think writers have to choose whether they want to be the star or if they want their words to be the stars. It's like making the choice between being a major movie star or a character actor. As the character actor, no one will remember your name but they will remember what you brought to the story.
And yes, it's a hard choice because the world kneels down to worship fame and fortune and it wouldn't be human not to want a piece of that. But I wonder, do you think Elvis would have been happier without all the fame and fortune? Those early songs, so full of originality, will never be forgotten, while the later ones are already a fleeting memory.
What do you want from your writing? Do you want the fame and fortune of a King or do you want a story that will endure forever on its own merit, with your name a vague afterthought?
6 comments:
Well, I can't think of too many stories that I don't associate with a writer but I get the drift. I guess I want to be able to write-it is too late for me to care about fame. I'm not sure what my take would be if I were 35.
Maybe being older does put a different slant on it. But I've read books and short stories that have stuck with me over the years, but I couldn't tell you who wrote them.
I think that sometimes the persona gets in the way of story, the same way that a major movie star can't really step into a roll without being, for example, "Julia Roberts". You see the person instead of the story.
Most definitely the latter.
I want my stories to be remember long after I've become an asterisk or a postscript.
Shoot, I'll settle for being remembered as a blogger who left a big footprint and touched a lot of people.
I guess we'd all like to leave a little bit of us behind when we're gone, G. And I'd really love to have just one story that people would remember, even if they didn't remember who wrote the darn thing. I'd really feel like I'd accomplished something then.
I also looked at the Elvis tragedy recently - http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/2009/08/rock-n-roll-movies-elviss-adventures-in.html
Interesting post, Gary. I always felt sorry for Elvis in a way because he wasn't allowed the freedom to do the work he really wanted to do. With his talent, it would have been an amazing body of work.
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