No More Writers as Protagonists

8 months ago 67

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The lad of a librarian, Chris M. Arnone's emotion of books was arsenic inevitable arsenic gravity. He holds an MFA successful Creative Writing from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. His novel, The Hermes Protocol, was published by Castle Bridge Media successful 2023 and the adjacent publication successful that bid is owed retired successful wintertime 2024. His enactment tin besides beryllium recovered successful Adelaide Literary Magazine and FEED Lit Mag. You tin find him penning much books, poetry, and acting successful Kansas City. You tin besides travel him connected societal media (Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, website).

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There’s an aged credo told to galore writers: Write what you know. I person galore issues with this, however. First off, we would person virtually nary phantasy oregon subject fabrication books if writers lone wrote what they knew. More importantly, the lives of astir writers are reasonably mundane. The full assemblage consists of sitting unsocial for hours successful beforehand of a machine oregon typewriter oregon notepad and moving done the tremendous puzzle that is simply a story.

And yet, determination seems to beryllium an unending proviso of stories that diagnostic a writer arsenic a protagonist. One of the biggest novels connected the satellite close present is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, which is astir a writer who steals her dormant friend’s manuscript and passes it disconnected arsenic her own. I adore the book, and it’s arguably 1 of the champion to diagnostic a writer arsenic a protagonist, but it’s the latest successful an unending concatenation of writer-protagonist novels.

The Lives of Most Writers

The immense bulk of writers are not Stephen King oregon R.F. Kuang. They don’t get seven-figure publishing deals, planetary publication tours, oregon immoderate modicum of fame. I know. I’m a writer. Many of america present connected Book Riot are writers. Several of america similar myself person published novels. I’ve yet to marque capable to screen 1 owe payment, but I constitute due to the fact that I emotion it.

The beingness of a writer isn’t glamorous, but romanticist drama aft romanticist drama aft Stephen King communicative would archer you otherwise. I blasted Sex and the City, adjacent though the trope predates adjacent that. Carrie lives successful a bully Manhattan flat with an tremendous closet, each paid for by the regular file that she writes. You can’t wage for a workplace flat successful Kansas City from 1 file nary substance however fashionable it is.

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Writers are besides often antisocial creatures. The assemblage lends itself to the introvert. Grab your java oregon tea, your notebook, and commencement putting 1 connection successful beforehand of the next. Keep it going until you person a novel. Then edit it ceaselessly. MAYBE you speech with idiosyncratic other astir what you’re moving on. Though we writers thin to beryllium truthful overmuch successful our ain heads and our imposter syndromes, we’re beauteous quiescent connected the taxable unless you truly commencement asking.

And you privation THOSE radical to beryllium the protagonist of your novel?

King is acold from the lone one. Ian McEwan has done it. Dorothy Sayers. Rainbow Rowell. Louisa May Alcott. Scott Westerfield. Stephen Bly. Kage Baker. Robert Heinlein. The database goes connected and connected and on. Walk into immoderate undergraduate oregon adjacent graduate-level penning workshop, and you’ll apt find astatine slightest 1 communicative starring a writer. And a barista, but that’s a antithetic issue.

Why This Keeps Happening

In galore ways, the writer arsenic the protagonist is an casual out. Falling backmost connected penning what you cognize tin beryllium easy, and a bestselling writer (even if you don’t unrecorded the bestselling writer life) has the state to unrecorded anywhere, enactment anywhere, and usage writer’s artifact arsenic an excuse to sojourn immoderate distant location.

When penning a story, however, the casual prime is often the slightest compelling to read. For instance, a quality who is ever bully and predictable is VERY casual to write. That quality is besides boring to read. Painting a quality into a dire country is simply a situation to write. Getting them retired of that deep, acheronian country is adjacent harder to write. And those moments are the astir compelling for readers, too.

In fact, there’s an aged penning workout that challenges young writers to make a Thanksgiving meal scene. Why? It forces respective characters that don’t get on each of the clip to beryllium down for a prolonged play and conscionable talk. No escape. The longer this speech goes on, the harder it is to write. And the much intriguing it becomes erstwhile each of the skeletons travel retired of the closet.

So, what’s the solution here? Let’s look person astatine R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface. This caller isn’t conscionable astir a writer, but astir racism and the publishing industry, and the powerfulness of societal media connected the anxiety-riddled mind. In fact, the lone quality that COULD beryllium the protagonist of Yellowface is a writer. And that’s the key. Too galore stories autumn backmost connected the writer arsenic the protagonist due to the fact that it’s easy, not due to the fact that it’s the close oregon champion oregon lone option.

That’s wherefore I say, “no much writers arsenic protagonists,” unless a writer is the lone oregon implicit champion protagonist for your story. But that’s seldom the case.

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