Write what you believe – a debatable topic. Should one write what you believe in or write what you know?
Cameron Crowe said “Take it from your own life, write what you believe in.”
So isn’t what you believe the same as what you know? Because, you believe what you know.
When I was in University I had an assignment on Auteur Theory where I had to argue a case of an Auteur.
A quick simplification of Auteur theory
Auteur theory has three parts to it;
- The technical competence of a director
- The personality of the director
- The internal meaning
Back to the Assignment
This assignment was for my Visual Cultures class. Despite our instructions of choosing a film auteur, I decided to do something a little different. I decided to choose a visual Auteur of a different sort. I chose to do my assignment on Martha Graham, the founder of the Graham technique and modern dance as we know it.
In my assignment, I wrote what I believed. I wrote that Martha Graham is an Auteur and I went on to explain why.
This wasn’t what was asked for
I got a distinction for this assignment, even though it was not was not what was asked for at all. In fact, we were given a list of film auteurs to choose from. I not only didn’t choose an auteur from the list, I didn’t choose a film auteur either. This was for a film class too, by the way.
My lecturer couldn’t discredit my theory. And so, it was concluded that Martha Graham is an Auteur like any other.
The moral of my story
I wrote what I believed in and I backed it up.
“We write to find out what you believe” – Adam Phillips
Through the act of writing alone, we can work through our beliefs and discover them deeply.
Henry Miller said something so true, something that I believe in 100%
“Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.”
I have learnt so much about myself through writing. I have learnt so much about my beliefs through writing. And, I continue to learn so much every single day, through writing.
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