Art
Writing creative fiction, commentary and poetry is not a craft. It is an art. Technical writing and editing are crafts as is proofreading to a lesser extent.
This art, as in the arts of sculpture, painting, music and all the other classic forms, requires the envisioning of a goal and aiming to achieve it beautifully. It requires a deep knowledge of language and the reading of language and the speaking of language. It requires the wresting of difficult forms and ideas into clear and meaningful stories.
A craft is learned by rote. Knotting a rug to a numbered pattern is a craft of sorts. The glass workers a Greenfield Village may be artists on their own time, but they are crafters at the Village, blowing out identical flowers, one after another. The writer of innumerable limericks may be clever, but he’s no artist. The writer of the compiled listings in Writer’s Market may have a finished, perfect novel on his desk at home, but at work he’s a mechanic. And that’s not to say that mechanics, literary and otherwise don’t have value. They are wonderfully needful in our world. But they are not artists.
We, as writers of fiction and poetry, are artists, some better, some not so good, but writers and artists none the less.
posted by Jon @ 6:57 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Dammit Jon...today is National Semantic Day and no one told me????
Craft, according to one dictionary: Skill in doing or making something, as in the arts; proficiency.
and furthermore...
"Craft is more acceptable when applied to literary works than to other sorts of writing, and more acceptable as a participle than as a verb. Seventy-three percent of the Usage Panel accepts the phrase beautifully crafted prose. "
Now I know there will be a rush of little feet to your defense..some of them still insisting that the post script to Bill is a good thing, which it isn't, even if Michelle said it was, which was expected,and even if this is the worst sentence ever written, which it is.....but...allow me to call what I will a craft and I will allow you to live next Thursday meeting.
Your's Truly,
Mr. Crabby Pants.
I am a pretty good artist. I draw people very well and have done portraits of most of my family.
This kind of art is a craft.
I was always drawing as a kid. You never saw me without my sketch-book. And you know what? The more I drew the better I got. The more art classes I took the better I got. The more techniques I learned the better I got.
I think writing is much the same. It takes a certain amount of artistry to create a story, but it demands a great deal of craftmanship to craft something anyone will want to read.
Much as a carpenter can bring a certian amount of artistry to their work, they must still incorporate a high level of craftmanship to create a usable product. I believe this is the same for art in all forms, including writing.
First of all, I wear a size 9 shoe, Jon....and can't imagine what little feet he's talking about.
You guys are so Oscar and Felix and are both right.
It is an art. And it is crafted to be better. I think that is what you mean, Jon, when you say some are better than others.
Also, I think there are writers that are not artists. They are brilliant mathematicians and know the formulas for writing but do it without feeling/expression. There is a market for this obviously.
Interesting to note that your link on my blog is called the Art of Fiction.
She waves as the little feet patter away.
You are weird - we all know it, Jon, and I say that lovingly . . . but just HOW weird, we are waiting to find out!
Ok, so I came back and read your post instead of just coming to bug you.
I guess one could debate this for hours, years . . . forever. (Like the Creation vs Evolution controversy . . . it's ALL creation know matter where you think it started. But that's for another post!)
So, you are saying art is unique - it is not the ninety-ninth blown glass flower. But are they all identical to the "creator?" Are we all identical to our Creator?
I have to agree with Stewart on this one - semantics, semantics, SEMANTICS.
I know what you are saying, however I feel that everything can fall into the art category, just as everything can fall into the craft category. Is it not the INTENT behind the action - the 'HOW' of it rather than the 'WHAT' of it . . . and what about the motivating factor - the "heart and soul" factor. If a mechanic builds an engine for his custom car, and he puts a lot of heart and soul into it (along with blood, sweat and knowledge) is his engine building considered a skillful craft or an art to him? I think he looks at that engine like a "work of art." Yes, it took work, knowledge, experience, and left-brain activity to build it. But he may also have a love of mechanics, a passion for cars, an real enjoyment of the process.
Bottom line for me - It isn't what you do, it's HOW you do it, and with what intent.
PS And isn't an antagonist also a muse?
Pythia
I think I get what you're saying. I think that there are authors who write with a formula. I also think it's very cynical to just plug different characters into the same formula over and over just to sell books. I think Danielle Steel is a very skilled pratitioner of this craft.
I do admire authors who incorporate more originality into their stories and truly try to bring an artfulness to it. But I still think there has to be an element of craftsmanship to make it work.
To me the words art and craft are very much different things. But I think both are needed to produce much of anything of any quality.
You know, I would write nursery rhymes and call it art if someone paid me. I'm a whore. I'm a talented whore, but a whore.
And Felix and Oscar? Yeah, Jon is rather like Felix.
I agree with you Jon. It's an art. The word craft is all right, but it always strikes me as someone making a macaroni collage or something. As for me saying something "expected," I wouldn't count on it, Mr. Stewart Sternberg, whoever you are!
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