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| Effort | 39% | 676 votes | Total: 1742 votes | |
| Insight | 61% | 1066 votes |
Effort
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Add to FavoritesInsight and effort: these are two complimentary items that, once combined, are far more than the sum of their parts. But of the two, effort is the determinant factor.
When I first started freelance writing for various game companies, my first editor and I were conversing over my assignment. When we were done going over the details, I told him I had a lot of ideas for things he and his company could explore. His response is something I will never forget. He said "I can get great ideas at a dime a dozen, and even at that price I would get getting ripped off. Great ideas are, for the most part, worthless. It is the ability to take an idea and forge something solid from it that makes even a mediocre idea valuable."
I have worked with a dozen or so game companies since; and they all share this outlook. This basic premise extends far beyond the game writing market as well. Consider the words of Michael Crichton: "Good books are not written; they are rewritten." Or perhaps Harry Shaw (author of _Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them_, ISBN: 0064610446) who said: "There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting." Obviously, the experts agree: good work is hard work.
But lets look at another area of creativity. Thomas Edison once said "Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration." And he knew what he was talking about! After over 200 unsuccessful attempts at creating the incandescent light bulb, he is said to have remarked that he had not failed, but instead had discovered over 200 ways to not make an incandescent light bulb - but he only needed one way to work for it all to be worth while.
In the end, sure: some insight is needed. But if you have the ultimate insight and apply mediocre effort, you are going to get, at best, mediocre results. But if you have mediocre insight and apply ultimate effort, you can create greatness. Not the first draft, mind you. But with each draft, with each reapplication of effort, you can improve upon that insight until you have polished it up and given it some real shine.
Learn more about this author, K. David Ladage.
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Insight
The prominent writers that have left their mark on the world have done so with insight in the form of a novel idea. The flash of insight is the sustenance from which great literature thrives. Although effort is most often required to create great literary works, some famous writers relied less on mechanics and research than on that most desirable of artistic gifts; inspiration.
Effort is a relative term with the advent of word processing, spell check, and thesaurus programs which are readily available. Contemporary writers face challenges in this regard that pale in comparison to those of their predecessors, who struggled in insufficient light and were required to inscribe their thoughts with various methods that make the complaints of today seem specious at best.
Sometimes insight, in the form of inspiration, is exhibited by voicing a thought which is shared by many, but which had remained insufficiently articulated. Examples of this type of writing usually elicit remarks about how the author's words conveyed what the reader wasn't able to express. To make an impression in this type of writing the author must search for the precise words to say what has been alluded to in the past.
Far more precious is that rare kernel of originality that springs from pure insight. The ability to view a subject in a different light is what has always differentiated the great from the mundane. Anyone of passing intelligence can learn the mechanics through competent instruction and repetition. The genius of the imaginative mind however, cannot be quantified.
The decision to embark on a journey into originality takes courage at times. Whether it's in the form of academic publication or literature that in some way challenges society's path, the effective writer faces his or her qualms over rejection with audacity and conviction. No great writer was ever guilty of equivocation.
The dilemma therefore, becomes the question of how to become a great writer though fostering one's own insight. If it were that easy to acquire insight, the shelves would be overflowing with masterworks, and we would spend all our time absorbing what others had written. To simply produce in volume without inspiration is a useless endeavor, and tantamount to manufacturing sleeping pills rather than compelling prose.
The answer for the writer is to become involved in what impassions him or her. Insight will follow if the innate talent is there. Merely putting in the effort is not enough. The spark of originality is what draws the reader like a moth to the flame.
Dante, Dickens, Hugo, Poe, Asimov, and Bradbury; the list is long and distinguished. We applaud the insight and inspiration of the renowned authors who have given us a new perspective, and urged us to use our minds through their words. We thank them for their effort as well.
Learn more about this author, David Elder.
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