a time such as this
june 4 | weekly warm-up
Reflect on the writing themes and topics that consistently stay on your mind and show up in your writing. How does the generation/society/timeline that you’re living in impact the themes that you write about?
For example, one of the themes that I write about is mental health and I’m part of a generation that is normalizing mental health storytelling and awareness. Had I been part of my parents’ generation, or any other generation, my journey would look quite different. Had I not had accessible examples in a society that was beginning to open up to ending the stigma, how might that have affected my expression?
Journal about how your generation and the current state of society influences your writing and how your writing reflects the times you’re living in.
You were born for such a time as this. — Esther 4:14
This is one of my favorite scriptures from the Bible. It reminds me that there is a bigger purpose to my life and my soul is on earth at this time and place in this exact way for a reason. This is a theme that I explore quite a bit in my private and public writing.
When you think about the themes that show up in your writing, how much does your writing reflect what you see in society? Likewise, how do you want society to be impacted by your creative expression?
I didn’t start writing about mental health or even seeking a deeper understanding of it until I began to see other everyday people writing about it. I remember coming across a blog where the writer was describing what depression felt like. I was nauseous with mixed feelings. I was jealous of her vulnerability and courage, but also hopeful that maybe writing could help me, too. I was just getting into blogs, and I had a growing list of beauty, hair, and fashion blogs to follow, but this one was different. All of this writer’s posts were deep personal reflections about her mental health and the complicated relationships in her life. This is one of many chance discoveries that guided my steps.
Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Can both things be true at the same time? To reflect on these questions, below I’ll be replacing the word life with society to consider how the influence works both ways. This is our final week looking at self-identity and society, and we’re going to get philosophical about it. The purpose is always to discover more layers to our voices and stories.
Let’s look at some different perspectives:
Our art imitates society. Art and literature play a significant role in reflecting current events, public opinion, and social discourse. This suggests that art may be imitating life by highlighting the wide-ranging social, cultural, and political trends. As writers, we use our capacity for empathy and perspective-taking to amplify aspects of society and the human experience. Greek philosopher Plato said that art imitates the objects and events of ordinary life. According to Plato’s theory, since art imitates tangible things, then art is always a copy of a copy and leads us further from the truth and toward illusion.
The society we live in imitates art. Art and literature play a significant role in shaping current events, public opinion and social discourse, too. This suggests that life is imitating art because of the wide-ranging creative devices that we as humans use to express our intimate life experiences. Playwright Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying “Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.” Wilde felt that “things are because we see them, and what we see, and how we see it, depends on the arts that have influenced us.” His ideas revolved around the premise that art changes our perception of life. I would add that art adds meaning to life.
This week’s exercise asks you to reflect on how living in a time such as this influences your writing, and how you want your writing to reflect the times.