Creatively Thinking: When You’re Okay Not Writing Deep and Praiseworthy books

/ Lisa R. Howeler

I was so excited a couple of weeks ago when Robin W. Pearson won a Christy Award for her book A Long Time Comin’.

It was such a well-deserved award for a book I loved.

She worked on this book for years and years – I believe she said 20-years in one interview.

Amanda Dykes, another Christy Award winner also worked on her book, Whose Waves These Are for about eight years.

After listening to an interview with these women, I started to think, “Should I be working on my books for years and years and years, polishing them and using beautiful, detailed descriptions and literary writing like these ladies did? Maybe I’d be a more accomplished writer and person if I did. “

Maybe, I thought.

Probably, I thought.

My books would probably be better, I thought.

But then I thought: There is a place for every type of book. Readers love deep, thoughtful, densely written books, but they also enjoy lighter reads that aren’t as deep. Or at least I do. There are seasons in my life when I need something lighter. There are seasons in my life when I can handle something deeper. Ebs and flows. So there needs to be writers who can offer light and there needs to be authors who can offer deep.

Of course, there are those authors who offer a mix of both, which I feel Robin does very well.

Will my books change anyone’s life?

Maybe, but probably not. Will they offer a distraction when they need it the most?

Yeah, I hope so.

Sometimes something light that takes our mind off of things is just as welcome as something that leaves an imprint on our soul.

12 thoughts on “Creatively Thinking: When You’re Okay Not Writing Deep and Praiseworthy books”

  1. Pingback: Sunday Bookends: Death Comes to Pemberly, Books finished and Snowy Days – Boondock Ramblings

  2. This is so true…”There is a place for every type of book.” And I think maybe we need to stick with the type of book that we are best at writing. I have finally settled (I believe) on writing stories that are “sweet” and “wonderful” even though those are not the kind of stories that get huge amounts of recognition. It is okay for that space to be just a small space with a hopefully big impact. 🙂

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  3. They say that not every book is for every reader and every writer writes the books they want to read and, well, there are a lot of sayings out there that essentially boil down to just write and whoever is interested in your book will read it and either love it or hate it. I strongly believe there’s a reader for every book, it just takes time for them to find it. There are authors who spend years and decades working on one book and others who spend one year writing a dozen. I’ve been perplexed enough over the years to just decide that every writer goes at their own pace, and sometimes the author might just not be mature (in age and experience) yet for a story they want to write. Sometimes it’s just confusing to be a writer.

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  4. I love lighter reads. You are absolutely right. They have a purpose too. I’ve been going through a pretty bad depression and reading a lot of light and fluffy cozy novels. They aren’t deep and thought-provoking, but they are exactly what I need right now and that makes them important to me.

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  5. I was surprised when my first book, “Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II,” touched so many people–both men and women. One woman told me that Leora’s life changed her summer, and that she took an important trip she hadn’t planned to. Leora was my grandmother. It’s written as narrative nonfiction.

    The next one is her Depression Era stories. It’s with an editor right now, so my head and heart are working on her early years, which are loosely mapped out at this poing.

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    • I have been looking at your book to pick up next. It is very interesting to me so I’m glad you commented today and reminded me that I was going to go look for a copy today. Thanks for stopping by Joy. I can’t wait to check out your next one too. That also sounds interesting! I wish I had interviewed my grandmother and written a book about her life. I bet it would have been fascinating.

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