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Hi friends,
I wanted to do an informal survey. How many of you want to impact the culture with your writing?
I’ve got a follow-up question, but I’ll wait till you answer this one. 😉
@dragon-snapper @seekjustice @catwing @dekreel @sam-kowal @that_writer_girl_99 @clairec @rochellaine @jenwriter17 @kaya-young🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
*raises hand*
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@daeus I’d like to, but I can’t see myself getting as popular and impactful as Twilight or the Hunger Games.
@princessfoo As far as cultural impact goes, I’m not sure Twilight or the Hunger Games series had much to give. They were popular, but empty. More for entertainment purposes than to present food for thought.
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@daeus I do.
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
@that_writer_girl_99 Ah, I see your point. I was thinking how Harry Potter, (though this wasn’t my original example) has reached hundreds of people who are obsessed with what house they are in and what wand they have. The books, though even I love them, subtly tell us things like lying is okay, and even helpful sometimes. The Twilight series started an obsession with vampires, and unrealistic expectations of men. Maybe we were thinking of slightly different kinds of cultural impact.
You’re right. When I think culture, I think of it on a grander scale, and with an emphasis on the mental/spiritual ways books challenge us to think and act. On that note, you’re right–the Twilight and Hunger Games books present a number of smaller issues that were only escalated due to their popularity. @princessfoo
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@Daeus me.
@daeus For me, that’s why I write.
To be completely honest, I haven’t been writing for very long at all, but I love to read. Sometimes I’ve found myself disgusted by the lack of depth and “fluff” of magazine articles, and the stuff that’s in our local newspaper. So I’ve set a goal for myself to try and submit 10 articles to stuff like KP, focus on the family’s Brio, Practical Homeschooling and our Newspaper.
If I can change the way people look at something, inspire them to “take the higher step”, lead them closer to Jesus, or just give people something to think about, then hopefully I’ve impacted the culture.
The biggest thing for me with writing is trying to find my voice to speak up about some of the stuff that plagues our culture, and doesn’t seem like it will go away. For example, I recently read an article about gen z, a.k.a. My generation. here’s the article if you want to read it:
Reading that article was really discouraging, but I’ve been reading the Bible and it has given me perspective. There is still hope, and this generation is no worse than those before it. I can either go into the corner and sulk, moan, cry and tear my hair out, or I can try to write, pray and say things that will make a difference.
So there you go. That most likely wasn’t what you wanted for your question but I needed to remind myself why I need to get over my writer’s block. 😉
The Kingdom has been torn asunder...
http://www.encircledbygrace.com/@daeus Definitely.
@that_writer_girl_99 @princessfoo Actually that’s not entirely true. I can’t speak for Twilight since I read only one book and hated it, but Harry Potter has very strong messages about love and self sacrifice. The movies almost completely erase these messages, but in the books they’re still there, and I think underneath the fuss about houses and wands and patronuses, those messages stick. Also, it’s good to note that people love taking online quizzes and finding things out about themselves, so having things that can apply to quizzes and whatnot can help books gain sticking power. But that’s another conversation for another time… 🙂Silence! Silence everyone, for the king's speech!
@mnvalentine I completely agree with you! I love the Harry Potter series, and I think it has a lot of positive themes. I’ve no problems with the HP books, and simply mentioned them because @princessfoo had. Really great thoughts there!
The Twilight books, however, are completely empty of any positive themes. I mentioned that they’re for entertainment purposes, but even on that note, they’re bland, the definition of a waste of time. Unless, of course, you’re reading them to write an article on the subject. I’m lookin’ at you, @aratrea 😉
Hunger Games is the same way–or at least, the last two books follow that path. The first book started off strong, and had the potential to be independent–unique in its own right–from the stereotypes apparent in its genre, but it eventually fell back into a strange love-triangle, with a cliche plot that kinda made me fall asleep while I was reading. The movies are better…
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@daeus I definitely would! I dream of having a well known book, not for my own glory, but one that has a Christian message but is well written so more readers are interested.
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@that_writer_girl_99 I totally agree. I really loved the first Hunger Games book but the other two felt really forced. I’ve only seen the first movie and thought it was pretty good. Although even the second two books were more convincing than Twilight…
Silence! Silence everyone, for the king's speech!
@daeus I do – but in a minor way. Partially because writing isn’t the most important thing for me anymore. As I have grown older there are other things I find I want to do with my life, and writing is more of a side career for me than my main focus. However, I do wish to write well enough to impact the culture on a small scale.
"Sylvester - Sylvester!"
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