As I teach or just talk to people about writing, a concept keeps coming up for me and over. Great writing is that which takes risks. I don't necessarily mean writing on a risky topic, although that could apply in some instances.
It's more the idea that in order to be really great, writing connects the author to the reader. The reader identifies with something or sees himself or his ideals in the piece.
Maybe the writer dug down deep and wrote from the heart (fiction or nonfiction). Perhaps the writer wrote with a strong voice, revealing the person behind the mask, so to speak. Or the writer gave in to passion and wrote what really stirred him.
For example, the best paper I ever wrote in college (and since I was an English major, I wrote a LOT of papers) was one where I really stepped out of my comfort zone and took a risk. I could have written on a number of safe, "easy A" topics (Dr. Foster was kind enough to give us a list of six possible topics, but we always had the freedom to write about anything that occurred to us over the course of our reading and discussions. I didn't write on one of the six topics. Instead, I chose to write on a theme in the novel we were reading (Tracks) that was a little out there.
It was probably the first time I turned something in that I wasn't quite sure of. When I got the paper back, Dr. Foster commented that this was the most powerful writing he'd seen from me ever (and I'd taken several classes with him).
Since then, I've coached my students in my Writing Essentials Program to try something new: a technique, odd sentence structure, a topic... When they do, their writing ends up stronger, more impactful, and, just like my experience, more powerful.
This idea fascinates me, and I have a feeling it will turn into an eventual writing book (after my current novel, the next idea for a fiction series, a writing book on voice...). Right now, this is as far as I've gotten, and to get a little further, I've invited some fellow writers to write about their idea of taking risks in writing. Look for those guest posts soon.
In the meantime, tell me what you think. Do you agree that great writing is that which takes risks? What kinds of risks?
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