Thread: Is one’s soul a necessary element in writing? Does it even exist?

I’ve heard it said one must write from the heart. But is this always correct? And in any event is it possible that concepts like soul or heart are as individual-specific as is the concept of love? Could for example there exist a writer with a heart as cold as ice, so to speak, one who writes only for gain? And how about the writer who writes only to show the world they can? Where does soul or heart figure in that equation?

I'd write from the heart but coagulated blood fades and degenerates far too quickly. Apart from that you can be arrested for using someone else's and it's impossible to use your own without dire consequences.

I'm not sure about the heart or soul (seems a little over-dramatic to me) but I do think someone who writes only for money or to 'show the world' is going to have a lesser book. Oh, it might end up a best-seller - but it won't be the kind of book that a person would pick to read over and over. More like, "Yeah, that was good. What's next?" type of thing. The reason I believe this is because without that 'heart/soul', there will always be something lacking - the characters won't be quite so unique or memorable, or the story won't quite grab, or the plot will be a little contrived... one way or another, it won't be quite as good as it would have been if the author had really been invested in the story emotionally.

JMO, of course.

That is interesting. I have always had a hard materialist scientific mind. But since I started taking writing seriously I have become intrigued by spiritual thinking and looked into various ideas about the soul and spiritual idealism. I think it helps because who wants to read a novel that has no kind of idealism in there? There has to be lots of emotion, and also something to connect with the reader and play on their whims and ideals. So I am trying to come up with spiritual implications in the events of my stories.

Some novels are harsh and material, like crime etc. But look at 2001, supposedly a SF book. It goes way off the idealism deep end.

Can't use the write buttons now.

Let's reboot this discussion to where it begins: does the metaphysical exist? Once you've determined whether or not this "soul" you speak of is real, only then can you become certain of its role or non-role in art (or whatever the heck it is we do).

Originally Posted by Vertigo

Let's reboot this discussion to where it begins: does the metaphysical exist?

Yes, let's get ourselves lost in that muddy question.