Levels of Writing: Philosophy

The final level of writing is philosophy. In the past, I have called this plot. I still like 'plot', but I want to emphasize the idea of thinking. Although we can write for pure, mindless entertainment, I believe we should always strive for more. For one thing, it gives our work a timelessness. For another, it adds interest to our writing.

Watchmen was a great story. It had intrigue, excitement, suspense, action, and even some comedy to it. But more importantly, it had philosophy. It asked tough questions. What is good and evil? Do the ends justify the means? Is the truth more important than peace?

When I finished reading Watchmen, I did not stop thinking about it. It took over most of my thoughts for weeks and I have talked about its philosophies as recently as tonight at dinner. That is what lasts longer than any other aspect of the story. That is why it is so important to have in your writing.

However, I think it is usually a bad idea to write a story based on a philosophy. When you do that, you end up trying too hard to shove the ideas in people's faces and it becomes less interesting. Heavy-handed writing is never a good idea.

Philosophy is laced in your very mind. Whatever you write will naturally have your own philosophy in it. So you don't have to try. The best thing you can do is ask yourself, "what would be interesting to write about?" You can come up with general thoughts like 'slavery' or specific thoughts like 'bombardier beetles'. If you can come up with an interesting story, the philosophy will naturally come from it.

However, not everyone works the same way. Some people have a thought that they just have to share. That isn't a problem. After all, sometimes writing is expressive. Take your idea and apply it to a story. Think of it as a parable. Trust in your readers to understand the message you are trying to convey. If you can do that, you will be sure to avoid heavy-handedness.

I think it is ironic that philosophy is the most discussed aspect of writing, but it is the most passive level of writing. But there is one important fact to remember. It is not until all of the lower levels of writing are fantastic that we pay attention to the philosophy. When you read lousy writing, all you can pay attention to is how bad the sentences, words, and phrases all are. But when everything is technically right, that is when we have the luxury of pondering the philosophy.

Remember that as you write: When people are talking about the message of your story, that is when you know that everything else is right with it.