by Joshua Peacock

Created on: June 15, 2009

In the end, it is equal parts effort as well as insight that makes good writers, well, good. Which does the writer rely on more? In some ways it's really a matter of opinion. But, the fact still remains that, without insight, the effort these authors make will be in vain: ergo, their work is considered bad, as well as their skill as a writer. In other words: one compliments the other.

With the question of which a good writer relies on more, it all comes down to that age only question: which came first, the chicken or the egg? Many people believe many things. Besides that, though, the fact remains that effort, without insight, leads to nothing of quality. The same thing can go if we switch those virtues around. You can scrape from your muse for years, giving all the effort your body can give, but without effort, it will amount to nothing. Your story will be nothing but fluff; every sentence is a struggle for words or ideas, hanging on every word, like a snail trying to traverse a hurricane.

Without insight, your work becomes meaningless. Its all dead: no theme, moral, philosophy or any other sort of message. Your characters will be one dimensional, like paper boxes, because without insight into humans you cannot portray them accurately-no matter how hard you try. Or you will be of no help on the subject you are speaking on; showing you have no experience or understanding, which will do nothing but aggravate or hinder the people you are speaking to. Everything is effected, and your readers will view your story or book as superficial. The only way to give a lasting impression on a reader's mind is to make the story or book memorable, full of a good something that changes them or makes them think. Something that gives them a sense of excitement and/or appreciation.

Insight, as you probably understand by now, is the very inspiration that fuels good writers on to do what they do. A story or non-fiction book is often born of the will to convey or offer personal insight on a subject. Authors like C.S. Lewis crafted many of theirstories around a rebuttal or answer to moral issues. Again, you cannot address such issues, or add your thoughts to them, without first gaining insight into them; which in turn allows you to determine how to write about them.

Effort is definitely something a writer needs to be good. But good writers rely more on insight, as it allows all that effort to amount to something. With insight, a story or book has substance.

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