The idea that writers are magical human beings with knowledge that no one else can attain has been popularized through media like films, tv shows, and books for the longest time. These popular myths are what is discussed in the short essay, “Writers are Mythical, Magical and Damaged”, by Teri Holbrook and Melanie Hundley, from the book, Bad Ideas About Writing. The authors say that the media’s depiction of writers as damaged recluses who abuse alcohol and view themselves as better than everyone else is one of the many bad ideas people have about writing. This is a bad idea because it dismisses the time and effort writers put into their work, by making writing look like an easy one-step process. The authors believe this can discourage young writers and devalue the product of writing, “The view that writing is effortless and done on the side by extraordinary people dismisses the real effort writers put into their work, which has multiple ramifications. For starters, it makes the hard work of writing invisible, discouraging young writers who might dismiss their labored efforts as evidence that they just don’t have what it takes.” (Holbrook and Hundley 56). The authors’ solution to this problem is to stop viewing writers as magical people and instead think of them as people just doing their job. Both the essay, “Writers are Mythical, Magical and Damaged”, and the short film “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Lessmore” counteract the idea that writing is an easy process done by magical people.
The short film, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Lessmore”, is about a writer who was working on a book until a tornado came and ruined all his progress. Because he lost all of his work Mr. Lessmore was portrayed as a sad man by being colored grey in the film for the first couple of minutes. Shortly after the tornado, he found a house full of flying books where he spent the better part of his life rewriting the book he was working on before the tornado. Mr. Lessmore was portrayed as a young man when he first found the house and started working on his book and an older man when he finished signifying that it took him a long time to finish writing his book. This reiterates the idea that the authors of the short essay, “Writers are Mythical, Magical and Damaged” were making which is writing is not an easy process and it takes a longer time to complete than is portrayed in the media. The short essay also raises attention to the myth that writers are recluses and scary people. This myth is once again another way writers are portrayed in the media. Not only are writers perceived as scary because of the way they are displayed in the media but also because there is a whole genre of horror that writers take up. The author says, “The associations between authors and horror also extend to the depiction of fictional readers;”, and “In these representations of authors (and readers), writers inhabit frightening worlds where they are either threatened or pose threats to those around them.” (Holbrook and Hundley 55,56). The short film, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Lessmore”, counteracts this idea as well. Although Mr. Lessmore spends the majority of his life in a small house with flying books he is not depicted as a recluse. He is also not depicted as a scary or threatening man. He turns the house into a library so he can share the joy of reading with others and has a smile on his face throughout the movie.
It’s easy to continue to view writers as these magical beings especially since our whole world revolves around media and that is how writers are depicted in the majority of the media we consume. But, knowing that continuing to believe that writers are magical people and writing is easy dismisses writers’ hard work should be enough to get anyone to stop perceiving them that way. A lot of people think it’s hard to write or that writing is not for them because it’s been portrayed as a certain talent that people are born with, so it comes easier and more natural to them. While it’s true that some people are naturally good writers it doesn’t take away from the insane amount of effort, they put into making their writing good. Once this myth is erased from media people will realize that anyone can be a good writer it just takes more time and effort than we are used to seeing.
Holbrook, Teri, and Hundley, Melanie. “Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged,” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M.
https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/
Joyce, William. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Lessmore, 21 Mar. 2012,