Seems like an obvious answer, no? I certainly thought so. Of course we should be inspired by the masters, even copy them initially. At least, until we find our own voice, which is a long process that can take years of work.
Well, I was surprised to find out that not everyone seems to find this obvious. Take this article from Writers Unboxed, for example. The writer mentions that her daughter once gave her a copy of a Picasso painting that she did as a child:
(Honestly, I can’t even tell the difference between this and the original, but I digress…)
The writer of the article then proceeds to hand-wring about whether or not she had squelched her daughter’s creativity by allowing her to copy Picasso. More than that, she questions the worth of something she calls “mentor texts”–taking actual passages from published books and rewriting them with minor changes to learn the grammar and syntax of the greats.
This used to be taken for granted, by the way. All artists or artisans were first apprentices, which means they literally copied their master’s technique. In Japanese pottery, the apprenticeship is even more intense–for the first two years you do nothing but clean up after the master. If you clean well, only then are you allowed to touch the clay.
This completely modern hand-wringing is rooted in an idea (that I frequently ridicule) that “greatness is within you, and all you need is to unleash it”. Most people won’t take it to the ridiculous lengths of ignoring the masters completely. However, lots of people are afraid of squelching that “inner genius,” which is just begging to be let out.
Nonsense. When you think and act that way, what you get is The Last Jedi. By which I mean “a revisionist subversion of Star Wars tropes masquerading as an actual story.” Subversion, I will admit, is a perfectly valid artistic choice. However, you’d better not stop at the subversion, but also provide a good story. Or you’re just revealing that you’re a hack masquerading as a storyteller.
Yes, I have strong opinions about this.
And I share them in greater detail, along with a review of a series that I wish Star Wars was more like. This is the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. Check out my review video here, but make sure to start at 9:00.
Speaking of the old masters, I get a lot of ideas for my own writing from Russian fairy tales. Today, I have a special invitation for you — I want to offer you a free copy of my essay, “Passport to Russian Fairy Land”!