I'm sitting here thinking of 1984. I can smell it: hairspray (Gen X was solely responsible for the hole in the ozone layer, I contend), Marlboro cigarettes and other things that have a grassy, smoky aroma, Jordache perfume, diesel fuel. It is my own warrant to speak of this time, and let me tell you, I do and often. After reading "Tesla Matters (Dude)" all I can think of is this: what are our warrants? How do we utilize them in our writing? Do they put folks off? Draw them in? When, and in what kind of writing, do we use them?
I would contend nonfiction deems them critical to the power of our message. Let me prove this: how often have you been reading along, innocently accepting the message (or maybe trepidatiously) when BAM. There it is. A cultural misstep. That is NOT what Reagan said, or Clinton, or Bush--the timeline is totally off--no one would have worn those shoes then . . .
(Yep, I totally just used all of the devices we talked about today.)
A professor I had once upon a time (her name was mentioned in class this afternoon) taught me something like this once. It went something like: never break the suspension of disbelief with your audience. You lose them. Badly.
You know the moment. You read the book. And then? There it is, the popcorn halfway up to your mouth, your feet jauntily hooked onto the chair in front of you, and there it is. Bastards. Sophie (The Da Vinci Code) has a brother? What the? That was not in the book. You look around, expecting riotous indignation from your fellow moviegoers. Nothing. Yet you have psychically left the building. Over and out. Suspension? Nope. Disbelief? Yep. The rest is just, well, garbage. I am personally still bitter about every single Stephen-King-book-turned-movie I have ever seen. (One of the only screenplays he has written is Maximum Overdrive. The others were Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Stellar.)
No warrant. You can't come in. That is our right as readers, though, I believe. To refuse entry when we call qualitative bullshit.
And yes. I have cursed more than once in this blog. Why? Because I am about to use a warrant, and there is no way you would buy me if I came off as a pretentious, ivy-league prof.
It was 1984 and the Cradle Will Rock tour hit hard, right on the heels of the Back in Black tour (AC/DC, folks). I had no intention of ever working for "the man" and had even less intention of staying chemically lucid for more than, well, five or ten minutes. The t-shirt was black and had SEX DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across the front, and it was about two years before most of us had even heard the word "aids." And I was ruuunnning. (Little Forest Gump for you there.) Smart kid, lost, angry, scared, with a serious Peter Pan complex and no vision of my thirties. Kids like yourselves made no sense to me. How did they study and mind and cut their hair and eat their Wheaties? No way, man. Sunlight hurt my eyes and Walt Disney was blasphemy to my soul. Purposefully, vehemently, I threw away my childhood when I threw up my lighter to David Lee Rothe in crimson spandex. Part of me is still back there, waiting for the lights to come up and force me out into the street. Strangely, all the songs and all the bands and all the beer-soaked nights add up to this one moment in my teenage wasteland:
And when some local kid gets down
They try an' drum him outta town
They say, "Ya coulda least faked it, boy"
Fake it, boy (Ooh, stranger, boy)
At an early age he hits the street
Winds up tied with who he meets
An' he's unemployed--his folks are overjoyed.
They try an' drum him outta town
They say, "Ya coulda least faked it, boy"
Fake it, boy (Ooh, stranger, boy)
At an early age he hits the street
Winds up tied with who he meets
An' he's unemployed--his folks are overjoyed.
But here I am, Dr. PD, thirty years later, talking about warrants. I suppose I could have just "faked it," but I think I learned the regret of that decades ago.
And so. I begin sentences with and. And do a lot of ---- stuff like that. Proper English? Um, no. But it's in line with the signature on my warrant. I wonder, do we ever know the voice in our heads without examining the paperwork . . .
On the first day of class, Dr. P asked the class, “why do we need warrants to search a house, and where do we get warrants from? You just can’t barge into someone house without permission or the Segway cops will arrest you. I remember remarking, innocently, how you can receive a warrant from “a big person.” The warrants we have as writers give us permission to write from our own cultural voice. I like how Dr. P said it isn’t just a color thing because our minds are so quick to think of culture =ing (equally) just race/ethnic background. But it is more than that. Our cultural voice includes but not limited to: where we grew up, our upbringing, beliefs, education, and the type of family structure we grew up in (single-parent, two-parents, Big Mama or Me-maw raising ya). Almond has the permission to look at Judaism because he is Jewish. He also has the permission to talk about sports because he was sports writer, and He was immersed around Red Sox fans he wanted to SHUT UP. Our cultural voice influences the warrants we claim. I remember hearing that writers write about what they know. I feel that there is some truth to this statement, but sometimes writers have to write about something that they do not have a clue about and have to use other people’s warrants. When you write a scholarly- essay aka ten page beast, you have to consult warrants from experts in order to create a new warrant. This new warrant is usually a thesis phrased in a question form or a two sentences thesis statement for a shorter paper.
ReplyDeleteA warrant I mainly write from is the Southern Boy Warrant. I grew up in Georgia, and I currently go to school in Auburn, Alabama. I feel like that gives me permission to make fun of Paula D who is going to kill a million of American due to her infamous, cholesterol-packed, sticks of butter. I like to write about my family back home. My family has help shape me not only as a person but as a writer. I have constantly thought about moving away from the South but I know that I will always have “Georgia on My Mind” and so desperately want to take a trip “On That Midnight Train to Georgia.”
We all know people that fail to ‘practice what they preach.’ You know, people who claim to have certain values or who encourage others to live a certain way while their own lives fail to reflect any hint of a moral compass or an understanding of the wisdom they spew forth. In the real world – well, the world that doesn’t take place on paper, though maybe not any more real – we call these people hypocrites (among other things.) But, in writing, we label this as writing without a warrant – writing as though you are someone that you aren’t, as though you posses greater knowledge than you actually do, as though you’ve had an experience that no one would ever believe you had.
ReplyDeleteLike we talked about on the first day of class, writing without a warrant is essentially faking your identity. What’s wrong with this? Well, for one, most people are horrible at it. There is something called voice, and it is extremely hard to suppress, and it will sell you out every time. But, the real problem that I have with fake authors is this – a warrant gives credibility, and why would I want to waste time reading speculated fiction tales (maybe even attempting to pass as nonfiction) from unreliable sources?
I was thinking about all of this when I had an epiphany: I am, in the majority of topics that one could write about in this world, an unreliable source.
Well, darn it. I may have chosen the wrong major.
But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had missed the point of this whole warrant thing. A warrant is not necessarily a boundary – it’s not a gatekeeper that says “you cannot write about this subject until you have had sufficient training to be considered a scholar in this area.”
No, warrants are about perspective.
Warrants aren’t just about what you know – they’re just as much about what you don’t know. Your warrants don’t determine what you can write about; they shape the perspective from which you write. It’s okay to write about time periods in which you did not live or bands that you have never heard as long as your write from the perspective of what you are – an outsider looking in. As writers, we must confess our shortcomings to our readers so that our believability is not compromised. Whether we have gained out warrant by experience or mere interest, the existence of our warrants should be clear to our audience.
We need warrants in all kinds of writing – they draw readers in. Readers will write off a piece of writing (punny, maybe?) the moment it’s authenticity is called in to question. We, as writers, NEED warrants – situation determines which warrant we need.
I love what Zeke said about Paula D - it reminded me of what Dr. P said about Almond having the right to say whatever he wanted about Jews because he is one! I'm from Maryland, but I live in Alabama now, so I have a warrant to write from a Southern or Northern perspective, but I have to be honest about my limited time in the South and I have to present my knowledge of the South as observations and not a lifestyle that I have fully adopted.
Ok, since I wasn't in class today, I am totally winging my take on warrants. First of all, from 6th grade to present day I have been a sucker for writing. Whether it be in a diary depicting a daily routine, or a term paper for a professor at AU. It's just what I do. When writing I find myself using more than one voice which leads me to believe that warrants are needed throughout my writing so that every part of me can be shown.
ReplyDeleteI have a vivid imagine and sometimes I write for the creativity, while other times I write to show my "smarty pants" English Major skills. Ha right!? With warrents, readers want to see both of these aspects of writing come to life.
Warrents seem to me as a way to let other people in when it comes to writing. Without warrents, we aren't truly being ourselves. Or at least that's how I see it. If we limit ourselves to what we feel like others want to hear, we are cheating as writers. Who wants to read something with overdramatic or over the top words when really all you need to do is show the emotion your feeling. Warrants bring these emotions to life.
Kristen and Zeke-- I feel that both of you have valid points when it comes to warrants. Zeke, I love how you relate warrants to class discussion, and Kristen, well you're pretty much just a genius when it comes to writing. Your perspective on warrants gave me incite on what they truly are and by reading your comment, I was able to go back through Almond's chapter and put your perspective into reading. Great job :)
Obviously, a warrant gives you the necessary permission to do something. While in regards to writing you don’t technically need one of these it can give a writer the boost they need to grab an appreciative audience. They don’t want to go pissing all the republicans off because of some snarky comment they (a democrat) made about George Bush. Now if it were a Republican making a snarky comment about George Bush that would be just fine and dandy because as a Republican speaking to a Republican everyone must understand one another right? Following me yet? Me for instance- I can say whatever the hell I want about Mozart and Beethoven and no one would question me because of my music degree. I must know what I’m talking about if I’ve got a degree right?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don’t think warrants mean a thing. When is a person such an expert on a subject that people start to trust them? Just because I watch a certain television show doesn’t mean my word is holy. Yes, warrants are helpful, but they’re not always meaningful.
I also like what Zeke said about being southern and the privileges that gives us. We as southern folk have a warrant to talk about such touchy southern issues (and sometimes stereotypes) like slavery, racism, and of course that ever-popular southern pastime, incest. We can do it in a way that isn’t really offensive and could possibly be downright hilarious. While some might stare at this kind of talk with their mouths gaping open, Southerners would get it, which makes it kind of fun-shocking people. The fun of warrants. They don’t mean anything yet they bring so much joy in allowing us to be openly absurd.
I am blogging from my hotel room in Destin, FL where I am spending the long weekend with the Fronk clan. This either means that I am a dedicated student who is willing to discuss the nuances of writing at any and all hours of the day, or that I am a complete loser. I am hoping that you will all think that it is the former rather than the latter.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, this is warrants round two for me and I hope that I can offer better insight on them this time around.
Interestingly, I was thinking about warrants earlier when I was at the gym (outside of class and everything…aren’t you proud Dr. P?). I have recently started getting into yoga and I invited my roommate to join me for a class. She said afterwards that she was surprised at how the yoga instructor looked. She had expected someone tall and slender; what she got was someone short and slightly stocky. I asked her if it took away from her class experience and she admitted that it did a little bit. If someone is going to be teaching her yoga, she expects that person to look the part. It is almost not as believable if the instructor is not at their fittest. Now to be completely fair, Miss Kathy is fantastic at yoga. I think that that is beside the point when it comes to warrants. An athletic instructor is supposed to be fit; that is their warrant. Otherwise…why should I listen to you? Clearly, whatever you are teaching doesn’t work for you.
I understand that this is kind of a superficial example, but I think that it really helps when trying to understand what a warrant is and why they are important. A writer’s warrants can be more complex, or they can be just as simple.
What’s my warrant? I think I am still figuring that out. On the tip of the iceberg I am a college student, a daughter, a sister, a mother (to a sweet baby kitten!), and a friend. But what lies in the 90% not seen? I like to think that even after 22 years of good hard livin’ that is still a mystery to even me. Whatever part of me a write from (known or unknown) will be honest and real. Maybe that is my warrant. I write and speak from the heart. I can never be anything but honest. I am not one of those writers who writes one thing but it means 20 different things. If I was moved by something, you will know it. You can take from it what you want…but it wasn’t necessarily the intended message. I think that’s the beauty in writing. When I write, I write for myself. Even if it is going to be read by someone else. I think by doing that, the anxiety of writing to impress is lessened. You just sort of go with the flow. Then by not forcing anything to happen, your warrant is more believable. When you try to be something you are not for the sake of impressing your audience you just sort of fall short.
Kristin Michelle- The structure of your blog is cool. I like how you had those really short sentences. I think I am going to try and play with structure and style more in my next blogs.
ReplyDeleteMeredith Szabo-I like how you talked about your music background. I remember in class we talked about about school with good music programs and how you play piano. You also brought up the notion of being a sketpical reader. Even though writers are constantly trying to sell us something means we always have to buy.
When I think of warrants, I think of the show Dog the Bounty Hunter. Dog has a warrant to search a person’s residence in order to capture the criminal. I think that we as writers have a warrant to write about what we know; in other words, we have the right to do so. Our warrant is only good if we know what we are writing about; making up bs about a topic is not a warrant. Writers have that warrant to write freely, but this warrant cannot be abused just like Dog can’t abuse his right to search for criminals. I believe we also have a warrant to talk, but to talk about what we know. Making up a bunch of ideas will not make you sound smart; you’ll sound FAKE. People who listen to you or read what you’ve written can pick out what is fact and what is fiction. A guy I know from high school tries (and fails) to impress other people buy making him sound all high and mighty. Everyone can see straight through this guy. He does not have a warrant to talk about what just spewed from his Marlboro mouth because this guy has never experienced any of it…ugh!!
ReplyDeleteAs an Auburn football fan, I have the right to tell others about the tradition of rolling Toomer’s Corner since it is something that I have experienced. An Alabama fan does not know the rush of excitement when rolling a magnificently old oak tree. There is simply nothing like throwing perfectly good Charmin into a bunch of green leaves (don’t use Scott; the ancient tree deserves better than that one-ply stuff). If I’m to talk about or write about something, I will make sure I actually know what it is about because I do not want to sound stupid. For instance, I’ve come to like basketball since I have been at Auburn, but I will not go up to a basketball player and tell him how to shoot a free throw—I do not have the warrant to that. I have not experienced what all goes into making that shot; therefore, I do not have the right to tell him how to shoot.
I loved Zeke’s comment about Paula Deen. She is my favorite person on the Food Network channel. Paula Deen has the right to talk about the South, its history of fried foods, and how much butter should be put into a dish. She has been cooking for many years in the South, so she has the warrant to talk about such subjects.
I feel that Zeke’s point hit the nail on the head. I too feel how you feel about warrants; I also feel that the warrants an author uses supply key characteristics that makes someone’s writing voice unique. We also have the ability to use some of the same warrants as one another. Deep down inside we know what warrants we can safely use in society; we also know which ones we don’t have a right to use.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel that being a Christian, I don’t have the right to bash Judaism. Why? Because it comes off hate writing. We know our limits of what we can write without offending someone, it’s like some inherent ability we have to know when a subject fades from funny to offensive.
I also feel that some people purposely ignore warrants and go to the extreme of being offensive in order to demand attention. We can see this in the television show South Park or in the comedy of Carlos Mencia. I believe that the way we choose to use or ignore warrants in our writing helps to shape our individual writing personas.
If I’m thinking about warrants in the right way, then they can come from various perspectives. I can write as the baby sister who aimlessly followed her three older brothers wherever they went, as long as they would let me. I can write as the always-getting-into-something, secretly swearing, awful liar that I was growing up in a suburb outside of Atlanta; the loud, bible-thumping, chubby girl in middle school that would become a late bloomer and “heartbreaker,” or better put by my dad - “they’re just practice.” The girl that fell in love at seventeen with the boy she swore the loathe for all eternity…it sounds like a friggin eighties movie (mainly because of all the singing and dancing…show choir is amazing and no I don’t mean Glee show choir because Glee isn’t realistic in the slightest) Anyway…
ReplyDeleteThere’s all of these voices and more inside of me like Dr. P talked about in class, and they’re all warrants as long as I’m true to that voice. I can’t write as a five year old and pretend to know what was actually happening at that moment if it was complex, something for reflection now. Because there’s all of these voices and warrants, it makes writing so much more complex and interesting. The fact that I can write from so many different angles, that conflicting ideas can reside in one human mind is astounding to me. I confuse the hell out of myself a lot when the different parts of me try to rationalize a situation. And I don’t mean for that to sound schitzo. It’s beautiful how complex we are as people, but I tend to forget that in all the confusion.
I like Zeke’s comment about the wanting to travel back home to Georgia. I haven’t lived there in fifteen years, but I wonder if going back would resurface any forgotten memories, if I’d remember much more than I do now. Some people try to run from their pasts, but whether or not you write about it, it’s always there, a part of you. Even the created personas house the former. I’m going off on a strange tangent, but the past is always there, and I look forward to digging through it to understand who I am and why.
Before discussing warrants in this class, I had never given entire concept of warrants much thought. I love writing about my family, my friends, and the place that I call home. Prior to this class, I never thought anything about it. Then I realized that it is my warrant to write about these people and these places because no one knows them better than I do. No one understands my family values and the relationships I have with my friends like me. Most people do not understand the significance of growing up on a small farm in north Alabama, but I do. I know better than anyone the importance of my friends and family, and the place that I call home. The people in my life, as well as where I am from, has shaped me into the person that I am today. My close connection with these aspects in my life is what gives me the warrant to write about them. I have no warrant to write about the Eighties due to the fact that I am not connected to that time period in any way (and I have not watched enough VH1 to pretend that I am). I feel that we are only warranted to write about subjects in which we are practically experts. If we make a habit of writing about topics that we are not educated in, then eventually we will lose all of our credibility because our readers will be able to tell that we have no idea what we are talking about. I feel that if you have knowledge on a certain subject or set of topics then do not hold back, use it! But if you are basically clueless about topic, just refrain from writing about it, which is in the best interest of everyone, I promise.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Kristin Michelle about the fact that I am considered an unreliable source when it comes to most subjects on the planet. When thought about it in that perspective, why in the world would I write a book on the 1980s when I did not experience them first hand? Yes, it is true that I could do enough research that I could get the facts to write the book, but my book would not be near as engaging as would be a book written by a person that actually lived through the 1980s and experienced that decade first hand. In my opinion, we can write about any topic we choose, rather we do enough research about the topic or have experience that warrants us to write on that topic. However, I do think that having experience that warrants one to write on a topic often times makes for a much more interesting and engaging read.
Just as Kristen said, warrants to me, are a way to capture and engage an audience.
ReplyDeleteWithout this sort of justification of first hand experiences, the words are simply just words. They have no deeper meaning because there isn't a memory or reflection behind them. I feel like we can gain insight from words written, because the author invites us to this scene in his or her life. It assures us as an audience that this person has the authority to speak or write on the topic.
I can write as a 22 year old girl who has found herself lost in the state of Alabama, all the way down from Maryland. Lost, not in the sense that I'm hundreds of miles away from home, but lost in that I'm trying to find my future. In a few short months I will be graduating and I hope to continue writing in order to find myself. I hope to use this as a way of figuring out who I am and what I'm supposed to do out there in this crazy world. Maybe it will inspire someone else out there and help to guide them through the trials and tribulations of growing older, but not up. A handbook of sorts.
Like Aly, this is my round 2 for this blog topic, so I like to go back and read what I wrote in the fall and see if I can top it. Although, this time, I don't think I want to change my post at all. I was real and raw in this particular blog and I think it would be appropriate to share with this class, as well.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you need some background information for this post to make any sense. Last fall, when we were discussing warrants, a girl brought up the scenario of a " white sorority girl who puts on her pearls and prim and proper behavior during the day, but by night, she is a drunken mess who blasts her rap music and becomes no better than the rest of us." I realized immediately, that this was a perfect description of myself.
Here is my response from last time...
Even though I was out partying too late Thursday night to get my butt out of bed early to read Telsa Matters before Friday's class, I must say it was a class for the record books. I can't remember who said it but when we were discussing the little white sorority girl blaring her rap music and doing "bad things" at the bar then waking up the next morning and putting on her pearls and innocence, it was like a description of my life was being read aloud to the class...Don't worry I was not offended at all. Honestly, I found it humorous...because yes, I do go out and get drunk and make a fool of myself but hey, at least it makes for an interesting story and a good memory ( or non memory depending on where I am in my state of inebriation). But more importantly, it made me think about my writing in a whole new light too... I put on my pearls and innocence when I write, as well. It seems that lately I am too concerned with the formalities of writing that I never let my creativity flow and say what I really mean...
I guess going into English Education will do that to a person. Because let's be real, we all know if one of my students wrote about sex, drugs, rock n roll, or any other "non appropriate" thing in my classroom I would have to follow protocol and report the student. But have we, as educators/future educators, ever asked ourselves why we won't let students express themselves in such a free manner? All of those "hush hush" topics are just part of reality and isn't that what school is for?... to prepare kids for real life.
And yes, I do use ... about as frequently as I breathe, but it makes my writing flow.
As the girl in pearls and consumed by her innocence, I can't sit here and tell you I am a creative writer especially from a fictional stand point. But as the drunk ass who parties like a champion, I can tell you some pretty outrageous stuff...the best part being that's its totally real...or most of it is. Sometimes I like to make up random details that I'm not 100% sure if they really happened or not...it makes for a better story.
In response to my previous blog...
My point being that we all have images to maintain but at some point or another the real us is bound to come out. As I have gotten older, I realize that my warrant to maintain an image does nothing but make for boring writing.But when I let the drunken, hot mess of a girl write, it does push the boundaries but it will never leave you less than satisfied.
After reading everyone else's posts I began to think of warrants in relation to genres. Who we are (i.e. our background, culture, interests, talents, flaws etc.) is reflected in what we write, how we write, and what we are interested in reading. Consequently, similarities emerge. Specifically, I was thinking of the genre "Southern Literature" and how an entire classification system has developed from a few writers who had similar warrants. Sure, you can toss Flannery O'Conner and Faulkner in the same "southern lit" boat... but should you? The genre system diminishes the impact of individual warrants though broad generalizations. You miss the individualistic qualities of each writer when you throw them all together. In the same way, each person on this blog has a different warrant. We're all writing about different things and coming from different places (take that however you want) and you can't just clump us all together and call it "the writing hard genre". Or I guess you could... but should you? No- No. No. No. Generalized similarities kills the warrants that each of us has. Each individual experience is trampled underfoot when you throw us all in the young adult angst period and leave it at that. It cuts off the why? the how? the entire structure that makes this very blog so interesting. THE EXPERIENCE. Wiped out. So when thinking about warrants, I realized that genres are bad. In fact they are sort of like the anti-warrant. The generalization of individual experience. And that's just not right. So I guess I went about it kind of backwards, and untangled the opposite of warrants, to get to the heart of why they are so astoundingly, amazingly, critically important. Without your warrants, you're just a shell of a writer, and a contributor to the thoughtless, generalized genre of the un-passionate.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading this blog, I’m forced to think about every aspect of warrants, the warrant of the law and the warrant of the writer. What is exactly is a warrant? Why do we need to have one? What exactly is a writer’s warrant? Why do I need one?
ReplyDeleteMuch like police officials need a warrant from a judge to enter a suspect’s residence, writers need a warrant for their topics so that readers will allow the words into their homes and to reach their heart homes. As Dr. Privett previously mentioned, we wouldn’t believe or invest in a description of 80’s rock culture from some upper-echelon, doctorate-holding, politically correct English professor. And similarly, I wouldn’t connect to, or allow my mind and soul to feel intertwined with, a piece about the hardships of marriage written by a 19 year old, single college student.
And so, all of this thinking leads me to more thinking, as it so often (always) does. And all of this thinking leads me to wonder – What is my warrant? What is my voice that people find believable, relatable, and honest because of my warrant to write in such a way? I would say that my warrant is to write about the confusing times of early adulthood, about having no direction, about trying to land myself smack in the middle of God’s will for my life. About looking for clarity in the most unclear of times. When I write, I usually write about searching, about questions, about pure desire for knowledge far beyond my capabilities. My life as a 21 year old college student on the fast track to a Professional Writing degree and the slow track to figuring out what to do with it gives me a warrant in itself. One of the only warrants that I have at this stage of life – to write about confusion.
Morgan Birdsong - I agree with what you are saying about grouping writer's into huge genres, about how it steals from the potential reader a more in depth and accurate description of the writer's work. But....because everyone's warrant is different and complictaed in its own fashion, I'm not sure how one would go about fixing this problem. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much warrant people really need. Hubert Selby Jr. wrote Requiem for a Dream with very little knowledge of drug use, in fact with an overt bias towards drug use in any form. I don't think he was right in this instance, but was he wrong to write from a perspective he may (I don't know Selby's actual experience factor with drugs) or may not have had. But even if he did not have the proper experience he still managed to make the most influential drug movie of my generation.
ReplyDeleteOn another note I do know my own personal experience with drugs, and it does run a lot like Requiem for a Dream, as cliche as it may seem. It begins fun, you run into some problems, and then it runs deep, deeper than you can really ever see. Then one day you realize you haven't spoken to a person that hasn't been selling you drugs in a week, you have no money, and you've flunked out of school. I don't know if drugs have ever spoken to Selby like they've spoken to me, but I do know Selby spoke to me in a way that drugs wouldn't let me be spoken to...does that make sense?
The point being that I may have the warrant to speak as a drug addict, but why can I not speak as a governor or a sailor with the same warrant, in a non-fiction sense. I may not understand an addiction to power, or a constant search for solace in the vast embrace of the Earth, but I do understand addiction as a need and the search for solace in an ever expanding world. So where does my warrant fall?
I’m going to be honest, I’ve always been more of a reader than a writer. I enjoy delving into a book more then facing the scary challenge of creative writing. I enjoy wrapping myself up in somebody else’s created world as opposed to struggling to create my own. So in a discussion on warrants I believe I’ve found one of my greatest problems with writing. Proving to your audience that you know what you’re talking about. As you said, one little slip up and… BAM… you’ve lost them. So you might say to me, “Well dummy, just write what you know,” but who can ever really be sure what they know is right? Who is ever a true expert on a subject or idea or belief? There is always going to be someone that is, well, MORE of an expert than you. And what if they are that one person that reads your writing and slaps your warrant in its face? Then what? So then begins that vicious cycle of doubt. Do you really you what you think you know? Are you really worthy of writing about this? And on, and on, and on, until you just put that black piece of paper away (or close that computer screen for the technologically advanced) so that they emptiness of your attempt at this thing called “writing what you know” quits staring you in the face.
ReplyDeleteYeah, writing scares me. Really bad.
And then I got to wondering. How do authors write about things that they don’t have first hand experience with? I mean, in the blog prompt it mentions specifically nonfiction, but what about fiction? It’s writing too! Many fiction authors, including historical, fantasy, and science fictions all require that the author write about something they couldn’t possibly know and yet we read it. We read it and accept that the author has an expertise… and yet they’re making it up. So what about these writer’s warrants make us so eager to accept their style, their voice, and their supposed “expertise”?
For example J.K. Rowling, has she ever experience a Firebolt, a Norwegian Ridgeback or an evil guy who tried to kill you and is now back from the brink of death looking like a snake-man? I think not, yet her writing is effective and very popular. Or another example, Danielle Steel – yes I know she’s a romance writer, but bear with me, she’s listed as a best selling fiction author – Do you think she had personally had sex with a man in all the situations that she writes about with her characters? (Side note: Ms. Steel, if by chance you read this I don’t judge sexual escapades. Actually, I would be quite impressed….) Neither of these authors could be said to have warrant to write about what they write about but they do.
Can we honestly say that these writers are writing what they know? Or are they just having the gonads to step up and write about what they WANT to write about? On a more personal note, how do these authors create that sense of confidence in what they are writing about that make is easy for a reader to accept what they are saying? Cause I would honestly die to know that little trick.
I agree with Rachel, “What is my warrant?” In a time where everything is changing how can I be confident enough in myself, and what I know, to write about it and expect people to accept it?
First of all, I had never even heard about warrants (the literary kind) until this class. I was a little confused about them at first, but I think I get it now. I get what everyone is saying about how warrants are granted when you know so much about a subject, but I also see the point about how no one truly knows everything about the subject they are writing on. I think warrants give you a good start, but at the same time I don't think they matter much. It's good to know what you are talking about so that you don't sound like a blubbering idiot, but at the same time I think you can write about something with very little knowledge. (I think someone said this in class too).
ReplyDeleteAs long as it is stated upfront what knowledge you possess of the subject, then it is easier to trust what you say. So, if you don't know much, say it. Opinions are great, and if that is what you're offering, awesome! Or if you know tons... that's great too! I think the point is to just be honest when you write and not try to make people believe you know more than you actually do. Right? Am I close?
As far as my warrants go, I'd like to think I know a little something about a few things. For instance, theatre is something I have always loved and studied, so I have a decent amount of knowledge on that subject. The same with life stuff like Aly was saying. I know a thing or two about the experience of being a daughter, sister, friend, and also a mother to a kitten. Then there are things like Zeke was saying.... I also grew up in the south, so I do feel comfortable hitting the sensitive issues and voicing my southern opinion.
Something I find interesting though is that in college, or any school really, we learn a little bit about a lot of different things in hopes that one of those things will help us get a job, where we will dig deeper into a specific craft. So really at this point I don't feel like an expert on anything. I feel like I have bits of knowledge about several different areas of study, but not a ton of knowledge on one specific one. It's weird. You would think after nearly 17 and a half years of school one would feel like an expert on SOMETHING, but no. But yea, warrants are good... or not. I think honesty is more important.
Do we as authors need to use warrants when writing? I think it's better when authors have experienced something for themselves before they start to write about it. However, they have every right to continue to give their voice about a certain subject as long as they come across as "real" or from their own perspective. It really irks me when authors try to use big or technical terms in their writing just for show. Just stick to the real you and write from the heart. When I write essays for my classes, no matter what the subject, I always try to write with my true warrant. I don't always know how to describe my warrant in words, but I know it when I read my papers, whether or I'm speaking from the heart and not just BSing it to get by. To me a warrant is almost like a fingerprint. No one in the world has the same fingerprints as you--just as no one in the world has the same warrant as you.
ReplyDeleteWarrants:
ReplyDeleteMy favorite writers are the ones that can sell me on the story/thesis/essay within the first couple of sentences. I find that most of these writers, write what they know. "The Old Man and the Sea" is a decent example, Hemingway was an avid fisherman during his time in Key West. He gets license over the reader by using technical terms and peculiar termonoligies. This has a grounding effect that provides immediate believeablility to the piece.
Expanding upon that idea, our own personal backgrounds seep into our subconciousness and dictate the voice. That isn't to say we aren't fully cognizant of the voice we are trying to get across. This subconcious/voice is dynamic because it is unique. It is how we (the writers) see the world like politics, music, sport, girls, videogames. Our own personal histories dictate a lot in our writing.
I'm really excited I figured out how to comment on this thing too.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, I think my 'warrant' is to write mostly about music. I'm in a band (shameless plug) and we've been together for about 2 years so I think I have gathered a lot of technical terms and I've experienced a lot of other great bands. But also I'm southern and I like to think I have a decent sense of humor. But who knows. I think there is a line between what we like and what we actually write about. But also I think that line blurs and I think it is important in writing to just be natural and just write.
I’m going to be honest. When the word warrant came up in an English class, I had to think I twice as to whether or not my intelligence level would reach outside of the box far enough to keep up. Of course, I had heard of a warrant; everyone has heard the phrase “having a warrant out for your arrest,” but I’m assuming there’s a little more than a handful of people out there that only know the word as an inner constituent of the chunked phrase meaning someone’s going to jail. But as I started to consider what having a warrant meant outside of legal terms, I discovered a few things.
ReplyDeleteCulture is a familiar term. It’s familiar in its form, as well as, its significance. It’s just one of those inescapable things in life, and something you learn often through storytelling from the time you are old enough to understand the world. But telling a story requires a warrant on the basis of experience, and having a culture to belong to provide that warrant in many cases.
You’ll notice that writers often pour their souls in to their writing in one way or another, sometimes stylistically, sometimes more blatantly. Others try to mask their personal lives by elaborate fictional stories, but there are still interlacing intricacies that expose from within. My point here is that we write about what we know, what we imagine, and what we feel, and we are warranted to write these things because we know them. People get so caught up in “ the truth” and “the right things to say,” but I think our hearts might be the only truth we have, or need for that matter. And those were just given to us. So there. Do we need to earn our warrants by knowledge and experience, or can we just speak from our hearts and say that’s warrant enough?
So I’ve probably come very close to bursting more than one blood vessel in my head while contemplating the idea of using a warrant in writing. I am naturally inclined to doubt any word that moves from my mind onto a sheet of paper; so in trying to think about the warrants I possess as a writer, I can’t help but feel extremely daunted. How can I ever be sure that I am writing from a believable point of view…how can I be sure that my audience, assuming I have one, will not look at what I’ve written and laugh at my ignorance? I think it’s probably impossible to know definitely whether or not I come off as a pretentious asshole in my writing. But I think this uncertainty can bring a beautiful vulnerability to a piece of writing. It brings a freedom to doubt one’s written word. In the certainty of uncertainty, as a writer I can find comfort in knowing that what I write is most likely not even nearly perfect, and that at least a few people out there will find nothing but fault in the text I create. There is something about the guarantee of less than perfect that slackens the restricting leash of self-consciousness. Rather than be afraid of the stupidity I may unveil in my words, I can revel in the shamelessness of presenting my personal voice in all of its imperfection.
ReplyDeleteIn this sense, I see warrant as more of a tool for expressing one’s perspective than an entitlement to visit certain topics in writing while avoiding the unfamiliar ones. I will never be able to authentically write from the point of view of a child raised on the streets of Victorian London, but with enough second-hand observation, I could certainly obtain a legitimate warrant to write about such a time, so long as I can acknowledge the fact that I am an outsider looking in. It would be next to impossible to gain enough insight into a situation I’ve never experienced in real life to pass for a, for lack of a better word, native of such a situation. And that is alright. Writing with warrant is about recognizing one’s place in a particular topic and being true to that voice. As a master of the art of writer’s block, this is something that I often forget to remember. But when I get right down to it, uncertainty in writing in a particular voice is not always a sign that I should find something that feels more comfortable to write about. Instead, I’d like to see these cases as instances in which I am growing into the warrants I will someday own as a writer. And who knows--maybe with enough discomfort, I’ll come upon some writing warrant I’ve been a master of all along and just never known about.
Being open to the possibility of encountering new points of view from which to write enables all sorts of warrants to make their way into a personal writing repertoire. So with this in mind, I set out to experience as much as I possibly can in life. For literary purposes, of course. Sure, I’ve come up with an academically sound justification for walking on the wild side--but I’d also like to think that being open to new experiences will actually bring enrichment to my perspective as a middle-class suburban raised kid who’s never had to really worry about obtaining basic survival needs. Another thing that has caught my attention in the world of warrants does not necessarily involve the consumption of new warrants. It is becoming comfortable with the experiences that have already impacted the writing life. I know that I personally have experienced some things that I’m not quite comfortable to candidly write or talk about as of yet. But still, these experiences shape my voice as a writer whether I am explicitly talking about them or not. These kinds of experiences probably contain some of the richest potential writing influences I will ever come across. And until I have the nerve to take such warrants as my own, I will be a little girl in the process of growing into a pair of extra long overalls. But that’s ok with me. Using warrants in writing is a dynamic process, not a static one. And so on that note, I give myself (and all of you, my fellow classmates, for what it’s worth) permission to be a little uncomfortable in asserting my voice as a writer. And I will write about whatever I desire, just being sure that I’m not trying to fool myself or anyone else into thinking I have insight into areas about which I am clueless.
ReplyDeleteWriters need to mean what they’re saying. They can’t mean what they say without knowing what they say.
ReplyDeleteWarrants can be derrived from personal experiences in a field or with a city or situation- but- they can also be drawn from research. That’s probably amongst the most important parts of an author’s job, in my opinion. Research prevents lying and keeps fiction believable. In non-fiction, research is still an effective supplement to the act of writing.
Warrants can be given or earned. If you find yourself with the need to write about the peculiar circumstances on satellite in space then you better be able to explain to me how that satellite works. If you’re writing a story about a submarine with a nuclear reactor then you better be able to explain to me how the fuel is extracted from those radioactive cells. As a reader- I expect the writer to know his or her shit. As a writer- I better know my shit.
No one wants to read a scientific essay lacking research. No one wants to read a story about farm life by someone who has never lived on a farm or done any investigating to uncover the intricacies of the life.
Almond’s writing has been pretty confident on the subject matters he’s walked about; he believes what he’s saying so we should too (generally). The author’s confidence in the factuality of their words is a powerful force behind their writing. Almond finds truth in speaking from experience; I imagine he did extensive research and double checked his facts for the essay about hating the Red Sox’s/ loving the A’s. This is not to be frowned upon, but instead thanked.
“To me a warrant is almost like a fingerprint. No one in the world has the same fingerprints as you--just as no one in the world has the same warrant as you.”
Grafft said this, a few comments up, and I agree with how it sums up the mass of circumstances and situations that groove into our person giving warrants here and there so that we may write about what we specifically feel entitled the right to.
Well, I've never heard of warrants before this class…except the kind on CSI and Law and Order. After reading plenty of posts, I still do have a clear idea of what exactly a warrant is. But maybe that is what a warrant is? Is it a vague explanation of how one writes? Anyway, if it is, than my warrant is carefree. I go to class, look forward to Wenesday Night Drink Specials, do my homework, watch Hulu, and have wine nights almost every night. Every 6-8 weeks or so I get homesick and fly back to see my family in Sunny South Florida. I cannot say that I have found my purpose, I am confident that one day I will but at this point in my life im just living. For this reason, I am not sure what I have to write about that others would want to read. Maybe one day when I'm aaaallll growed up and get a job and a little family of my own I'll be able to write pretty love songs and how my life is filled with children's laughter….things of that sort. Until then…I write on my friends' walls, tweet and retweet, mobile upload and fire out about 100 texts a day..the most common text being "Daddy, my account is low and I have to close my bar tab" to which I get a response of "This isn't going to last forever, Lauren". Is that my warrant? I'm not quite sure...
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about my warrants I am immediately taken back to ninth grade. I am the new kid. You know, the lonely one. The one who prays that she won’t have to sit by herself at the lunch table and blushes when the most popular guy in school walks by. So, I am this lonely, awkward girl trying to figure out where I belong (at this point I was still concerned with rather or not I should buy into the Hollister fad) and then, out of nowhere came my answers. I started hanging out with this group of social pioneers… a group of kids who did not really seem to fit into any one clique in school, but instead kind of hung out and got along with everyone (this doesn’t mean that they still didn’t occasionally poke fun at the overly popular mainstream kids). So anyway, I started hanging out with these people and one day they invited me to church. I had never been much of a church go-er before this, but I thought I would give it a try (it didn’t hurt that the guy I was kind of crushing on was going to be there).
ReplyDeleteSo, I went. And when I look back on my life, these are the people I feel like really made me who I am today. I went to that church for three years. Not only did my relationship with God grow (a natural side effect of going to church twice a week for three years), but I had found a group of friends who really made me feel like by best self.
We wore converses and black t-shirts and listened to all kinds of music really loud. Our lunch table was officially deemed the First Baptist Emo Kids table…. Apparently we were emo. Who knew? But these experiences with my church friends really influenced my life. Today, I still feel the freedom to dress and look like whatever I want without worrying if other people will think I am weird. Let them think that, who really wants to fit in anyway. Even though I don’t care about what people think I look like, I still want them to know that I am a Christian and I hope this comes through in my actions. I feel like I can be whoever I want to be without worrying about the standards and norms of the world. I know now that I don’t always have to appear to be perfect.
So could I write about experiences like Dr. P. wrote about and get away with it? No way. But I wouldn’t try to either. I think that when you write something you are always influenced by your own experiences.
I like what Kristin Michelle said… she said that warrants are just as much about what you know as what you don’t know. She explained that as long as you are writing with your perspective in mind it shouldn’t matter what you are writing about. Write about whatever makes you happy… just make sure you believe in what you are writing so that other people will too.
Im a pretty big asshole. Im not entirely sure if that gives me a warrant to tell other people how to be an asshole. You'd have to create your own brand of tomfoolery, my sage advice wouldnt help someone in their quest to get on my level. Its a natural talent, either youve got it or you dont. Do as I do, not as I say. Experience isnt everything when it comes to writing, or being a douche bag. I'm not sure if having a warrant to write about something is a concrete thing. As a few different people have mentioned above, there are tons of fiction writers who draw on no life experience to write their novels. It happens in music even more than it happens in the book world. Do I believe that Katy Perry had a crazy party last Friday night? Absolutely. Did she actually have that party? I honestly dont care. If you can tell your story in a believable way, no matter how ridiculous it is, people create those warrants for you.
ReplyDeleteI apologize in regards to the tardiness of my response to this post. I have been on a journey ( a soul searching quest of epic proportions) in regards to just what WARRANTS actually are,how they function, and how they pertain to each of us, not simply in this class but as writers in general.
ReplyDelete1. Warrants are our "literary street creed" if you will. They are what guide and propel us as writers, BUT-- they do not necessarily restrain or limit us.
I feel that things such as our gender, and our past (not just grand events, but our heritage and the simple day to day events that have shaped the way we interact and the way we think or process information). Also I feel that things like religion as well as the regions we grew up in and the distinct culture each region possesses provide us with our "warrants".
If we, as writers, are true to ourselves then our warrants will reflect an undeniable element of honesty and authenticity that will captivate our readers and force them to ingest our words without the slightest hint of skepticism.
2. THAT BEING SAID:
i BELIEVE there is another function or purpose that warrants provide to us as writers. In addition to street cred they can also function as challenges or hurdles that will push us to go beyond what we believe we are capable of as writers.
FOR EXAMPLE.
Lets say I try to write a novel in first person. Further, lets say, in this novel I make the main character a 40 something black woman hoping to revive her once illustrious career as an r&b singer. Chances are__ 1. the story might possibly be shit 2. I might get some pretty odd looks at the book signing down at the local barnes & noble when I reveal my identity.
Ahh, but there is a bright side, of course, there must be, right?
Sure, I may have just shamed my both myself and my family, but I pushed myself beyond what i considered to be my boundary to a whole new world even. As I attempted to to enter the mind of a character, who, in a likelyhood, i share neither similar common ground nor warrants.
SO WHAT?
So use your warrants, those those things that make you, you.. Be honest. But, if you must (and as writers intent on improving ourselves) we must, go outside of our warrants and push ourselves. Because, if for no other reason, it will make us more aware of our true literarty voice, our warrants, what makes us-us and what gives us the right to write what we do. And as a result leave the sweet taste of honesty and authenticity on our readers' pallets.
PS.
ReplyDeleteDoctor P,
I haven't ever heard of the band warrant. I apologize if I have inadvertently dated you or made myself sound like a prick.
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