the true and the untrue (3)

The thing / trouble with literary writing is, the Real Thing can only really come from a writing self that is speaking its truth. Maybe not the truth, but at least, its own truth. You can tell -- the kind of writing that is done as an intellectual exercise, because somehow it doesn't ring true. (And some people are very intelligent, so they generally pull off a pretty impressive job -- but you can still tell, this writing comes from the head and not from the heart. Something about it just feels false, somehow.)
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And even with writing that comes from the heart -- i think it actually makes a difference what kind of heart it's coming from. Some hearts are better than others. Fact of life; deal with it. And it shows, in the writing. A writer's worldview and values do have an effect on the writing. i guess, the kind of writing one is drawn to, says a lot about what values one resonates with. For me, personally, there are some writers whose work i know i will never take to, and whom i suspect i will not like if i ever were to meet them in person. (Of course, sometimes you fall in love with someone's writing, and then you meet them in real life and they turn out to be absolute jerks. But that's a slightly different problem.)
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i guess this means that there are actually not that many writers whose work i can say i unequivocally love and admire. Oh well.
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