Profound Writing
An important writing project has come up, and the task of crafting the words isn't mine. In having the task of giving feedback and helping the creative process, I have been reflecting on profound writing. The author has to be an artist, and what do I mean by that?
Profound things are always things of the heart. An experience is profound if it moves the whole person in some way. The bigger the change, the bigger the growth, the more profound an experience is. As a part of this, the size of the thing causing the change is also important. If something is bigger than one's self, than it can be the subject of profound writing.
The author must first be deeply moved, and have that experience. Anything that is written reflects the depth with which the author was moved prior to writing it. Two examples; A physics text book and the Gospel of John. A person who writes a physics text book has been intellectually formed by what they have learned and experienced, and a physics text book contains a great deal of truth, but it is hardly profound writing. John's Gospel was written by someone whose heart was powerfully transformed by the message contained therein.
Now, no matter what the subject material is, there are two basic strokes that a writer has at their disposal. They are facts and reflections. Facts are the framework of a story, and the reflections are what fits in with the framework. By analogy (which helps in the artistry), factual information are the lines on a coloring page, and the reflections are what make it vivid. Both are necessary, and both must be tailored to each other.
Just like artwork is only as beautiful as the subject, a piece of writing can only be as profound as the story it tells. Writing must be fundamentally humble, realizing that it is at the service of revealing the story, both in what happens and reflecting on what happened to let the story impact the reader.
Lastly and most importantly, leave dots for the reader to connect. Present the facts of the story, and reflect on them only as much as it takes to get the reader to start reflecting on them themselves. Remember that something is profound in as much as it moves someone. Writing is only profound in as much it moves the reader.
Profound things are always things of the heart. An experience is profound if it moves the whole person in some way. The bigger the change, the bigger the growth, the more profound an experience is. As a part of this, the size of the thing causing the change is also important. If something is bigger than one's self, than it can be the subject of profound writing.
The author must first be deeply moved, and have that experience. Anything that is written reflects the depth with which the author was moved prior to writing it. Two examples; A physics text book and the Gospel of John. A person who writes a physics text book has been intellectually formed by what they have learned and experienced, and a physics text book contains a great deal of truth, but it is hardly profound writing. John's Gospel was written by someone whose heart was powerfully transformed by the message contained therein.
Now, no matter what the subject material is, there are two basic strokes that a writer has at their disposal. They are facts and reflections. Facts are the framework of a story, and the reflections are what fits in with the framework. By analogy (which helps in the artistry), factual information are the lines on a coloring page, and the reflections are what make it vivid. Both are necessary, and both must be tailored to each other.
Just like artwork is only as beautiful as the subject, a piece of writing can only be as profound as the story it tells. Writing must be fundamentally humble, realizing that it is at the service of revealing the story, both in what happens and reflecting on what happened to let the story impact the reader.
Lastly and most importantly, leave dots for the reader to connect. Present the facts of the story, and reflect on them only as much as it takes to get the reader to start reflecting on them themselves. Remember that something is profound in as much as it moves someone. Writing is only profound in as much it moves the reader.