The Classics

[MrJ]

Hello!
A year ago I found out that I have Lupus Nephritis and it did some serious damage to my leg. For the past year I have been stuck at home with my parents (of whom I am very grateful for) with very little to do around the house until my leg heals and I can start working again. I am 19 years old and one of my hobbies is writing. I'm not amazing but I'm not exactly terrible either. So my question is:

Would I be wasting my time if I spent it TRYING to write a "classic?"

Do you think its possible for a writer to write a classic with "writing a classic" being the beginning goal... or do you think I should just write a book and then see what happens? I've started writing and I have 5 chapters completed but I really don't want to keep going if its a waste of time, because I am a really slow writer and I'm also picky so I have to reread and reread it over and over again to make corrections.

Should I finish it when my hope is to produce a "classic?"

[Clopin]

Young people can't write good books, or at least it's extremely rare.

[Red Terror]

Hello!
A year ago I found out that I have Lupus Nephritis and it did some serious damage to my leg. For the past year I have been stuck at home with my parents (of whom I am very grateful for) with very little to do around the house until my leg heals and I can start working again. I am 19 years old and one of my hobbies is writing. I'm not amazing but I'm not exactly terrible either. So my question is:

Would I be wasting my time if I spent it TRYING to write a "classic?"

Do you think its possible for a writer to write a classic with "writing a classic" being the beginning goal... or do you think I should just write a book and then see what happens? I've started writing and I have 5 chapters completed but I really don't want to keep going if its a waste of time, because I am a really slow writer and I'm also picky so I have to reread and reread it over and over again to make corrections.

Should I finish it when my hope is to produce a "classic?"


Sir, these are delicate matters; we all desire

To be told that we've the true poetic fire.

But once, to one whose name I shall not mention,

I said, regarding some verse of his invention,

That gentlemen should rigorously control

That itch to write which often afflicts the soul;

That one should curb the heady inclination

To publicize one's little avocation;

And that in showing off one's works of art

One often plays a very clownish part.

...

You're under no necessity to compose;

Why you should wish to publish, heaven knows.

There's no excuse for printing tedious rot

Unless one writes for bread, as you do not.

Resist temptation, then, I beg of you;

Conceal your pastimes from the public view;


Moliere, The Misanthrope

In my view, you're too young. Read more, experience life more and also practice your writing craft a lot more. Sure, there are exceptions like Rimbaud and a few others but like I said I think you're too young. A degree in the liberal arts like Literature can help you in your goal. Also read Shakespeare. Wishing you all the best. Warm regards ... Vale ...

[MrJ]

Thank you. I appreciate your honesty. But to be fair, I also do need to figure out a courier choice that I will be able to tackle should my leg never fully recover. I do need an income until I have figured things out with regards to my health and my limitations. Would it be doable for me to finish my book if it were for small financial support? (though that isn't why I originally wanted to write it. Its a religious novel.)

[Red Terror]

Career not "courier" and It's (It is) not "Its". Try earning a degree. In my opinion, a double major in a liberal arts and a narrow vocational degree like engineering or education or perhaps nursing. You can not expect to earn a suitable income from writing alone; it's extremely rare. You have potential as a writer (or anything else for that matter). It's that you're just too young. Right now concentrate on your education. If you have an ambition to be a writer, you have to be real fanatical about it. Practice, Practice, Practice, and Read, Read, Read and Observe, Observe, Observe, and Experience, Experience, Experience.

[MrJ]

Haha! Well I apologize for my errors.
The thing is though, I have time right now, and I most likely won't have it later. BUT I also don't have the ability to do school right now because I've been put on some heavy medications to deal with my type of Lupus. It still allows me to write, but things like math or science is far beyond me even off the medications, so attending school now would be a huge waste of money and time (though I do plan to go eventually). Does this make sense? The situation is depressingly cramped and so really my best bet, I feel, is to try it while I have time--even though it may not seam ideal.
But do you still think I'd be wasting my time if I tried for it now while I do have the time?

[Red Terror]

It will probably be a waste of time. Your best bet is to read good works of literature. Read The Metamorphoses by Ovid. The stories of Ovid are the foundation of Western literature. Then read The Illiad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, The King James version of the Bible (New Testament and Old).

[MrJ]

Alright, well I've read all of those accept for The Aeneid... which, if it's anything like the Iliad or the Odyssey, it won't be worth my time. Maybe I just don't have the brain to pull anything spectacular of something that boring, but I just didn't have a very fulfilling experience with those two works. I'll read The Aeneid though.
Thanks so much for your time and opinions!! I really appreciate it!

[Aylinn]

From your posts alone I think you have a lot to learn, before you write anything worthy to be called classic.

Why do you think people are still reading writers like, for example, Jane Austen or Shakespeare? What it means to write an excellent book in other words a classic? I think you should start from reading and thinking about that.

And since you have so much time, you can watch free online courses from top universities here: http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses#Literature Courses

[MrJ]

Also, The Metamorphoses was so comically fictitious that I only got about 3/4 of the way through it and decided it couldn't possibly anything other than a bad example of classic literature. Of course, since you suggested it though, I'm sure you disagree. Sorry haha! Really, I do appreciate you taking the time to make the suggestion for my sake.
Thanks again.

[MrJ]

Well thank you Aylinn! I will look into that!

Side note though:
Jane Austen and Shakespeare, though they were very gifted in their writing as far as wording goes, their work was not made classic due to that. Their work was made classic because of their plots and characters. (Actually, lol, this is absolutely my opinion and I really hope that you don't think I'm trying to bite your head off or anything) I do believe though that without their gift for wording they would not be classic writers but I do believe that it requires both.

Thanks Aylinn for participating in the conversation!

[Pompey Bum]

I recommend you continue writing as a hobby but pursue something more lucrative as a career. The road to publication is changing greatly at the moment. It is not at all clear that a literature degree will especially help you. Here is a blog entry about self publishing as a preferable way to make money from writing.

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2013/07/how-to-self-publish-bestseller/

As far as the classics go, that is a status conferred by experts and society at large. In other words, it has to be given to you by others. For now just write your own work in your own voice. Read modern literature and old classics. Spend half your time reading and the other half writing. Eventually your voice will grow to where you want it to be.

I'm sorry to hear about your leg problems, by the way. I've never had lupus or nephritis, but I am a 30-year cancer survivor and remain (just slightly) damaged by the experience. You sound like a gutsy guy. Welcome to the site. :)

[MrJ]

Thank you for your welcoming attitude. I too am very sorry to hear that you have had to deal with cancer. like you to my lupus, I have never experienced it--nor would I ever trade it for my Lupus--I do respect you for your courage and obvious fighting spirit. Thanks for your example!
I will look into self-publication.
Thanks!

[Aylinn]

Well thank you Aylinn! I will look into that!

Side note though:
Jane Austen and Shakespeare, though they were very gifted in their writing as far as wording goes, their work was not made classic due to that. Their work was made classic because of their plots and characters. (Actually, lol, this is absolutely my opinion and I really hope that you don't think I'm trying to bite your head off or anything) I do believe though that without their gift for wording they would not be classic writers but I do believe that it requires both.

Thanks Aylinn for participating in the conversation!

I am not angry and I agree with you that there is an interplay between the style and the storytelling. I just think that your answer is very general, for example with Austen one can be more specific. She is mostly well-known for her romance stories and as far as I remember Pride and Prejudice she is remembered for a good reason. What it means that someone wants to read a romance? When I hear it, I understand that someone wants to see two people who are close or are getting close to each other interact. And interactions between the main characters in Pride and Prejudice are certainly memorable and well-done. Then one can go on and explain why the main characters’ interactions are well-done and so on.

So don’t forget to think about what you have read between reading, writing and watching. After all, how many books could have someone like Ovid read? There are probably many people in our times that read more extensively than him and yet they didn’t write anything as good as Ovid, which makes me believe that reading and writing alone will not get you anywhere.

[MrJ]

I am not angry and I agree with you that there is an interplay between the style and the storytelling. I just think that your answer is very general, for example with Austen one can be more specific. She is mostly well-known for her romance stories and as far as I remember Pride and Prejudice she is remembered for a good reason. What it means that someone wants to read a romance? When I hear it, I understand that someone wants to see two people who are close or are getting close to each other interact. And interactions between the main characters in Pride and Prejudice are certainly memorable and well-done. Then one can go on and explain why the main characters’ interactions are well-done and so on.

So don’t forget to think about what you have read between reading, writing and watching. After all, how many books could have someone like Ovid read? There are probably many people in our times that read more extensively than him and yet they didn’t write anything as good as Ovid, which makes me believe that reading and writing alone will not get you anywhere.

Wow.. That is a very good point. I should have thought of that before but I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't haha! Suddenly all those old classic writers seem a whole lot more impressive (even though the majority of them were already impressive before). Thank you for that new insight!

[JCamilo]

Well thank you Aylinn! I will look into that!

Side note though:
Jane Austen and Shakespeare, though they were very gifted in their writing as far as wording goes, their work was not made classic due to that. Their work was made classic because of their plots and characters. (Actually, lol, this is absolutely my opinion and I really hope that you don't think I'm trying to bite your head off or anything) I do believe though that without their gift for wording they would not be classic writers but I do believe that it requires both.

Thanks Aylinn for participating in the conversation!

Shakespeare plots are often awfully silly, so his work became classics despite of plot. It is not like Jane had great plots as well. Plot is the last relevant aspect of a great work.

And you should give up. Write just watever.

[Whifflingpin]

MrJ, write and keep on writing. You're not too young to write, and if you want to offer stuff for publication do so as soon as you feel ready. Don't get upset about rejections, just keep writing. Traditionally, poetry & short stories and articles for magazines were seen as the best way to start getting published, with the unfinished novel in the background (and probably published posthumously.) But regardless of how you do it, just keep writing and offering your work to the public.

[prendrelemick]

Keep reading too.

[MrJ]

yep, will do!

[Danik 2016]

I think reading good literature is very important to forming one´s taste. One has to have references.
As for writing try to observe persons and things around you, and notice their peculiarities. Good literature can be made by registering the common and the excepcional in a new way.
Also try to become familiar with language as much as you can. The Brazilian poet Manoel de Barros, referred to the words as playthings. And playing with words he created his unusual methaphors.

[Big Dante]

It's basically been said already, but if your goal is to write a classic, rephrase that in your head to start with. What is a classic? Typically it is either something that was an exceptional creation from a genre, or a unique innovation. Think about what you know, and think of a story to express this knowledge through. You don't need to write the next Brothers Karamazov showing a vast knowledge ot everything. You can write a simple story exploring one or two things and just present this in a fresh, intriguing manner. And don't be fearful of failing and restarting. If things feel slow, or you've gone years without reaching your goal, as long as you are trying the whole time you will have improved and will find yourself more capable of achieving this goal. Good luck!

[JCamilo]

Not exactly, groundbreaking inovative works are not always classic, in fact, the idea of Classic is more a conservative model of exelence. Take the Eneid, The Classic (in every aspect), not exactly ground breaking or filled with inovation. It was just executed with near perfection and have things (theme, characters, etc) that easily memorable.

But simple as put, nobody writes a classic. He can try, he will fail.

[Danik 2016]

And some works that later are aclaimed as classics get a bad or a suspicious reception from their initial public.

[Pompey Bum]

Not exactly, groundbreaking inovative works are not always classic, in fact, the idea of Classic is more a conservative model of exelence. Take the Eneid, The Classic (in every aspect), not exactly ground breaking or filled with inovation. It was just executed with near perfection and have things (theme, characters, etc) that easily memorable.

But simple as put, nobody writes a classic. He can try, he will fail.

The Aeneid is a virtuosic poem. That is Virgil's doing. It is also a classic. That's not his doing but a judgement of posterity. Any writer can aspire to virtuosity (whether he or she achieves it is another matter), but classic status can only be received. But note that not all Classics are virtuosic. Woody Guthrie songs like This Land is Your Land or compendiums of folk humor/wisdom like Huckleberry Finn are not technically virtuosic but they are still considered classics

[Pompey Bum]

And some works that later are aclaimed as classics get a bad or a suspicious reception from their initial public.

True, Danik, and even posterity's judgment waxes and wanes. Charlotte Bronte was once considered a better writer than her sister Emily. That assessment was reversed for much of the 20th century; but here in the 21st, Charlotte seems to be gaining again. Authors can't know the contexts that their books will encounter through history. Ask Kipling!

[JCamilo]

Kipling still great.

Anyways, that is what i meant. What made Aeneid classic is not that it was inovative or original, but how Virgil perfect an existing model and represented well his theme. And the word classic, was first and foremost a reference to the artistic production from Virgil's time (or a vague and rather big period of time) and Aeneid was the prime model of classic. Often, to be imitated.

[Pompey Bum]

Anyways, that is what i meant. What made Aeneid classic is not that it was inovative or original, but how Virgil perfect an existing model and represented well his theme.

No, that's what made it virtuosic. What made it classic was that a consensus of critics later agreed that it was. But I understand we are getting at the same thing.


And the word classic, was first and foremost a reference to the artistic production from Virgil's time (or a vague and rather big period of time) and Aeneid was the prime model of classic. Often, to be imitated.

First, perhaps, though I don't think that's the way the OP was using the word. And it would have been an external judgment in any case (although admittedly Virgil was consciously imitating the style of Homer; and obviously he was imitated by Dante and others).

[JCamilo]

Oh. I am well aware of that. Virgil example was a reply to a definition of classic as something inovative or the creation of a genre by Big Dante.

[spikepipsqueak]

I suggest stop worrying whether your work will be praised through the ages.

Say "I have a theme to discuss or something I want to communicate to the world, and I want to do it well."

I think English isn't your first language? That will help your style seem fresh to English speakers, but your first audience will likely be in your own country.

You won't write a classic thinking that you might be wasting your time. Either you want to tell the story in your head, or you don't. Only time will tell if your story resonates with others to make it universally valued.

I love that you are using your enforced downtime to do something constructive. You say that you are comfortable with continual self editing, so I assume you understand that the finished product won't roll off your pen intact. The book you start now may not be complete to your satisfaction for decades. It may not be the one you are remembered for, but it is starting to write. Good on you.

[mortalterror]

Do the best you can every time.

[ajvenigalla]

I do think one could write a "classic" if sufficient time and passion and work is put into it. Grand ambitions have been behind some great classics - Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, and a large corpus of epic poetry.

[MrJ]

Thanks!