I have very complicated feelings about writing. I love it and hate it, but it’s something I care for deeply with my life and it’s something I’ll never let go of or take for granted. That’s why when I read the advice from Haruki Murakami about writing I felt like received the warmest hug in the world. Other than with George Dila, I felt seen and deeply connected to what Haruki said about writing. Granted, there was some advice I didn’t fully agree with, but I still took it into consideration.
One piece of advice I favor is to read as many books as possible to understand the different structures and styles authors use in their writing. Another is to have confidence in your work, which I’m still working on, but when you’re confident in your writing, your story thrives. If you’re not, your writing will struggle to stay alive. Murakami also advises being careful not to hurt others with your writing, which I find very important for every writer to know. While I love angst and sad stories, I never want to deeply hurt or offend someone with my work. Finally, his advice about taking your reader on a journey to which I agree with that 1000%. When I write, I always make sure the plot captures the reader’s attention, keeping them hooked. I want them to get that feeling where they can’t put the story down because they need to find out what’s going to happen next.
However, there are two pieces of advice from Murakami that I don’t agree with. The first being that as a writer, you shouldn’t know how your story ends. He believes knowing the ending ruins the story, but I disagree. When I write, I first map out my characters and figure out who’s who. Then I need to have the ending planned because it’s essential for me—it helps shape the beginning and middle of the story. The ending acts as a blueprint. When I think of a story, I always picture the ending first, which leads me to ask questions: How did we get here? Why did this happen? Who made it happen? Answering these questions allows me to structure the rest of the story.
The second piece of advice I don’t fully agree with is his belief that a writer is born with talent. While he acknowledges that even those not born with natural talent can work hard to become great writers, it’s still a 50/50 to me. I do believe some writers are naturally gifted and create extraordinary and beautiful work, but even gifted writers work hard to improve their skills. They know there’s always room for growth. Not everyone is lucky enough to be born with talent, yet those who aren’t naturally gifted can still work hard and practice their writing skills and they still create equally amazing stories. Whether someone is naturally talented or not, all writers push themselves to improve and come up with new, creative ideas.
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