The writer’s struggle for the right word is the most painful struggle. This is Charles Kiefer’s statement, Brazilian literature professor and author who shares his thoughts on the most common challenges writers face. Finding the right word, or le mot juste that Flaubert himself struggled with, is obviously one of the obstacles in the writing process. In Flaubert’s case, this struggle turned into obsession (it took him 5 years to write Madame Bovary).

Kiefer advises young writers to focus on reading the classics. Reading is essential because it develops our minds and improves our vocabulary.

However, reading the classics is not enough. Read everything, even schundliteratur (German term in literary theory for “trash literature”), even Paulo Coelho (oh, the irony…)
The author doesn’t seem to like Coelho as he criticizes him throughout the book.

What do you think of Coelho? Let me know in the comments!

Kiefer shares some tips on how to recognize the so called “trash literature”. It’s simple:

1. The characters are poorly built and stereotyped; types that produce prejudice, without any psychological depth.
2. Absence of action or slow and disconnected action.
3. Artificial and useless dialogues.
4. Unnecessary descriptions and without articulation with the narration.
5. Absence of subtlety.

“However much the world becomes even more mediocre than it already is, rudeness will never reach the status of aesthetic positivity“

“Art does not imitate life… art produces another life.”

The author emphasizes the need to imitate. “One is not born, but rather becomes, a writer”, he says, and sometimes, by imitating other authors…” (as he himself “got inspired” by Simone de Beauvoir to write this quote). 😉

Finally, Charles Kiefer links the writing process to the four worlds of Kabbalah:

1. Atziluth (Emanation) — the writer has a general, undefined idea.
2. Beri’ah (Creation) — the writer has a defined idea. This is where determination is needed.
3. Yetzirah (Formation) — the writer creates a plan.
4. Asiyah ( Action) — this is the moment of action: let the words flow!