Do you have to lead an exciting life to be a good writer?

Question

Take Hemingway - he's had a life full of adventure, was a journalist, drove an ambulance in WWII. Things of the like. And now take Jack London, who spent most of his time in libraries. And yet, I'd pick Jack London over Hemingway any day - simply because his novels are so full of the before mentioned sense of adventure. Do you really have to experience a lot of things first-hand to be a good writer? What do you think?

Thanks for the replies so far. Lots of interesting info. And you guys are right about Jack London, my bad.

Answer 1

You clearly don't have to have an exciting life to be a good writer; look at Marcel Proust, for example. He produced the greatest novel -- indeed, the greatest sustained narrative of any form -- of the last century, but spent most of his life in a small, cork-lined room, intermittently beset with various illnesses. Yet it seems hasty if not peremptory to discount the idea of experience altogether as a source of greatness.

Perhaps the key to this particular puzzle is the way that great writers experience the world, rather than the actual substance of their experience. This is something difficult to generalize about, but I believe that it would be accurate to say that great writers become great in part because their observations have an underlying truth. Whether they are "liberating Paris" in WWII (Hemingway) or living a confined, private life in Massachusetts (Dickenson), great writers have a depth of insight about their circumstances that they are able to convey on the printed page. Their fiction retains something of that essential truth. Even if the sum of his life experience was reading books, a person could potentially still write a great book -- provided that he had a depth of insight about his sources and a fertile imagination.

Answer 2

NEVER!

The Lord of the Rings was written by a tweedy ol' professor (no disrespect intended).

PS Jack London lived a life of excitement enviable by any ordinary person. Where'd you get the idea that he spent a lot of time in libraries? He went prospecting for gold, and, failing to find wealth that way, turned his hand to other trades in the great North. That's why his writing is so sensually potent - London LIVED the stories he wrote. Of course, actual experience is not a requirement for exciting writing. Where was J.K. Rowling in terms of life experience when she wrote her bestsellers? Certainly not exciting in the sense of skydiving and sailing around on schooners.

Bottom line is, everyone has a story to tell. We are ALL interesting and complicated personalities. It all depends on whether or not you've got the courage - and the imagination - to set that pen onto paper and start WRITING. Experience doesn't hurt, but you know what? Stephen Crane never joined the army, but his book The Red Badge of Courage is up there among the great war novels that ought to be read by every English speaker on Earth. Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan books, had a little military experience under his belt, but was pretty much a drifter who wandered from job-to-job up the point where he settled down and started writing.

The lesson here? If your heart's in it, if you've got the goods and the guts, then GO FOR IT! We'll be cheering you from the sidelines. (I'm ssuming that you're asking this because you're a budding writer. If not, then I hope I was informative)

Cheers!

Answer 3

No, Emily Dickinson never left her town and became a famous poet.

If you're only talking about fiction, I still say no. You do not have to have the adventures yourself to be a good writer. Read about events and use your imagination. Some of the greatest adventure stories never happened at all.

Where did you get the idea Jack London only spent his time in libraries?? He was a real adventurer. At 14 he was an oyster pirate, he was a hobo and arrested in Erie because to it; he sailed on a whaling ship to Japan in his teens, went to the Klondike during the Gold Rush and outfitted and sailed a ship which sank in the Pacific. Unfortunately, he died at age 40 from his strenuous lifestyle.

Answer 4

Actually I tend to wonder how Hemingway had all that time to have an exciting life. I know he had a manservant who was instructed to lock him in his writing shed for a certain many hours a day, often with a three legged cat. My life isnt very exciting at all. Im a caregiver for an elderly mother and a 20 yr old ADD kid. He doesnt drive and Im the family chauffeur. My writing time is between 1 and 5 in the morning. I go to bed at around 11 and wake up at 1 and write. At 5 I go back to sleep until its time to take the kid to school. I read a book a day. The exciting part of my life is that I have a shih tzu puppy who is the cutest thing on earth and loves to lay in my bed and watch me write. I dont have a three legged cat. Oh yes, and I spend a bit of time on e bay adding things to my collection of Victorian tea objects. One day I intend to open a combination bookstore and tea house. Not real exciting I know, but I get a ton of writing done and its quality work. Hemingway may have led a life of adventure, but he was also a very troubled man with a very terrible illness - depression. I wouldnt mind having a few of his adventures, but I wouldnt want to end up like he did. Pax - C

Answer 5

Franz Kafka was, in my opinion, the greatest writer who ever lived. He had anything but an exciting life. He was a German Jew living in Prague with a family that completely disowned him. He rarely left home. He spent most of his time studying and writing.

The ultimate proof that experience does not lead to genius is Kafka's masterpiece Amerika. He never actually traveled to the United States of America, and yet ambitiously set out to write an entire novel about the country.
There were obvious fallacies: He describes the Statue of Liberty as having a sword, and even the country towns of New York have subway systems. However, the novel itself is an amazing look at the way cultures interact with each other.

Kafka often talked about how worthless people can be. But he never even lived to see his own people reduced to nothingness during the Holocaust. He experienced very little in his short life (he died at 40 from tuberculosis), but his genius allowed him to be the most powerful writer of our time.

Read Amerika. You'll like it. And it will definitely settle your thoughts about whether you need experience to be a great writer.

Answer 6

Where did you get the impression that Jack London spent most of his life in libraries? He was an oyster pirate by the time he was ten, a bellhop, a cabin boy, and had several other adventures.

No, you don't need to have an exciting life to write exciting stories. However, you do need to have a hell of an imagination and you have to be willing to research and you have to be well read.

Answer 7

I think, to be a good writer, you have to be able to translate details to the page and capture the emotional content of scenes. The more range of experience or the deeper the experience that you narrowly choose to write about, the more likely the writer will produce great works. I had the astonishing experience of being in the room when Beth Henley's first play was read in a class she was taking and this tiny, young, hopefully inexperienced (compared to the content) girl drew us into the experience of the people she portrayed so deeply that we were astonished (and for me dismayed at my inability) at her creation and exposure - she had to be willing to let go of her inhibitions and get inside characters and expose the details in a way that many people don't and can't. She went on to do a number of national prize winning plays.

Answer 8

a million. Are there any violent/bloody scenes on your e book? Violent definite, bloody, no longer fairly 2. Any romantic scenes? really no longer. 3. Your well known scene: Any of what I evaluate my suspenseful scenes. that's a lengthy e book, i won't be able to go with only one scene. 4. Is your major personality a nasty individual? What makes someone a nasty individual? i think in some concepts and infrequently, definite he's. yet he's solid to. i could say he's a good blend. 5. Does he/she be apologetic about something they have finished: definite. He desires he had checked less than his daughters mattress even as she informed him a monster replaced into less than it. yet he did not, and now she's lengthy gone. 6. Your well known personality? the major personality. it truly is oftentimes the way it fairly works. properly really it really is continuously the MC or the villain, and that i don't love the villain in this tale that a lot. 7. Is your e book going to be more advantageous than one? Um per chance one sequel. i'm no longer certain. I desire in simple terms writing one and shifting on to a clean idea.

Answer 9

Exprience of lot of things is good as it adds flavour. but you can make up for it at leats upto a certain extent if u research for it.

u dont need to have an extremely exciting life, but i think u must feel good about life to write welll. feel good at heart.

Kiran Desai, 2006 Booker Prize Winner, said that she spent most of the time writing the book alone. and very lonely. her freinds couldnt understand her. in her own words this was an extremely lonely journey.

Best ol Luck!!!

TW K

Answer 10

No I just think you need to have a vivid imagination. Also, you must know your topic be it through first hand experience of research. Also, I think sometimes, everyday life is pretty exciting. If you read Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. His life was eventful but I wouldn't say exciting. It was pretty sad, but man that's an amazing book. He took everyday experiences and made them exciting.