Ursula K. Le Guin is a successful American author of novels, children’s books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. An interviewer once asked her advice for writers, and she replied with one of my favorite Ursula Le Guin quotes:
“I am going to be rather hard-nosed and say that if you have to find devices to coax yourself to stay focused on writing, perhaps you should not be writing what you’re writing. And if this lack of motivation is a constant problem, perhaps writing is not your forte. I mean, what is the problem? If writing bores you, that is pretty fatal. If that is not the case, but you find that it is hard going and it just doesn’t flow, well, what did you expect? It is work; art is work.”
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Luckily, I am rarely bored with writing and my mortgage payment is the only motivation I need to keep working on my art. Do you think Ursula Le Guin’s advice is a little too “hard-nosed” or do you agree with what she has to say? As always, I’d love to hear from you.
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The Secret Sense of Wildflower
“…astute observations and wonderfully turned phrases, with nary a cliche to be found. She could be an adolescent Scout Finch…A quietly powerful story, at times harrowing but ultimately a joy to read.“
– Kirkus Reviews (starred review) To read the entire Kirkus review go here.
Gosh, that’s a hard one. I have an editor interested in a novel rewrite, but I’m having a hard time getting going. Perhaps if the editor said she was going to buy the book for certain, I’d feel more inspired. I bet Ursula would not think my attitude is so great. That said, if I go too long without writing something, I get that life is blah feeling, so I suppose that means it’s in my soul. I enjoyed reading her thoughts!
Hi Barbara,
Maybe Ursula is getting a bit crusty in her old age in talking about art being work. But I also think that we live in such a busy and complicated world, it’s hard to listen to what the soul wants. I know it is for me. I said in the post that my motivation was all about my mortgage, but it’s really about feeling a strong sense of purpose, too. I feel I have something to say that is uniquely mine to say.
My guess is that your book will put something good out into the world, so I’m hoping you do get inspired to carry on!
From one of our lovely email subscribers:
“Writing is not for the faint of heart. Le Guin’s assessment of writer’s lack of motivation, involvement and etc. is spot on. If you lack the emotional pull to keep you writing, take a break, and reacess if writing is your passion. Without passion, your art will not survive…for long.
Mary”
And then there’s this… https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iL6ojaWc__G8ETSHNpVy39uLhb_Q?docId=251becd530b346de96cfd337065a6d4a
Hi John,
Yes, the article you attached begs the question: Is 50 Shades of Gray art? I guess we individually get to decide.
Meanwhile, I got another email from a subscriber:
“Hi Susan !
Sorry to take so long to answer. I enjoyed your interview, by the way. Le Guin is one of my personal favourites and i do agree with what she says about art being work. Two weeks ago I began a new chapter in my life’s journey here in sunny Denpasar Bali. I can actually live on my pension here and in just nine short days I found a lovely two room apartment adjoining the Restaurant/Bar where I can work and play music in exchange for it. That was the universe telling me that I had indeed made the right move. Now, perhaps I can actually start concentrating on my Arts again. Wishing you well always.
Peace and Love,
T.”
Always great to hear from readers!
Hi Susan: Everyone has an opinion on why they write or why they don’t or why they can’t. I always want to write, that’s not a problem. Life does sometimes get in the way of the wordsmith. If that happens, I put on my headphones and take a literature class or I read poetry…searching for word rhythms. Go through my little pocket notebooks. But some stories demand a rest period. I let them rest and rework something else. My biggest culprit is age and time. I fear I won’t have enough of either to do what I want to do. I never think I shouldn’t be a writer…never. What I do think is that I should be younger!!:)
Nancy