Your Storytelling Goals Will Direct Your Writing

这里有个简单的观点，我觉得每个写作者都该记住。

Here's a simple statement that I think anyone who's writing needs to remember.

你的写作目标、讲故事的目标，会决定你该怎么写。

Your writing goals, your storytelling goals will determine how you write.

随便看看哪种类型的写作，走进任何一位读者的书架，挑一本随手翻翻，都会发现各种各样的写作风格。

If you take a survey of any different type of writing, if you go into generally anyone's bookshelf, if they are a reader of some sort, and you pick up any sort of book, you're gonna find a lot of different styles of writing.

这些书里，有些是非虚构类的，有些则是小说。

And some of those books are gonna be nonfiction, and some of those books are going to be fiction.

小说和非虚构作品风格不同，这很正常。

And it makes sense that there are different styles in writing between fiction and nonfiction.

有时候，我们对那些写作水平一般的非虚构作者会宽容一点。

Now, in some cases, we give a little bit more leeway to those nonfiction writers who aren't very good at writing.

但我不是在全面否定他们。

And I'm not dissing them as a whole.

我觉得出版非虚构类书籍很重要。

I think that it's important to put out non fiction books.

但我经常读非虚构类书籍时，发现它们虽然想传递信息，却写得枯燥乏味。

But it is often the case when I read a non fiction book, that is trying to relay information that the writing is dry.

文字缺乏吸引力。

The writing isn't captivating.

即使内容本身非常有趣，也很难让人读下去。

It doesn't draw you in, even though the content might be very interesting.

所以，写小说和写非虚构作品，确实是两种不同的写法。

So there is a difference between writing fiction, and there is a difference between writing nonfiction.

这两种文体之间存在着明显的区别。

There's a difference between those two different genres.

就连小说内部，不同类型的写法也不一样。

And there's also a difference between different genres within fiction itself.

写爱情小说的方式，跟写科幻小说完全不同。

There's a different you write a romance in a way that is different a sci fi.

写科幻小说的方式，也跟写西部片风格的小说不一样，等等。

You write a sci fi in a way that is different than a western, etcetera.

你可以按自己喜欢的任何类型来划分。

You can break it down into any genre fiction you like.

有些人不喜欢被归为类型小说，他们说自己写的是文学小说。

And then there are some people who don't like to be classified as genre fiction, and they say they are, literary fiction.

他们说：‘我写的是文学风格’，但这种说法其实很难界定，因为并没有一套固定的写法。

And they say, oh, you know, I write in the literary way, which is hard to define because it's not really a set way of writing.

但与此同时，你写的每一种类型，其实也没有固定不变的写法。

But at the same time, each way you write, each genre you're writing in doesn't have a set way of writing either.

每种类型只是给人一种特定的感觉。

It just has specific ways that they feel.

对吧？

Right?

每种类型都有它独特的氛围，你要做对某些事，才能让这种类型呈现出应有的感觉。

Each of these genres feel a specific way, and there are certain things you need to do to make that genre feel that specific way.

但我觉得重要的是要记住，无论哪种写作方式，或者任何写作情境，都是独一无二的。

But I think one thing important to remember is that all different types of writing or all different situations for writing are unique.

对吧？

Right?

所以，如果我写一本书，重新讲一个古老的童话故事。

So if I am writing a book and I am telling I'm retelling an old fairy tale.

对吧？

Right?

如果我重述《白雪公主》，而我的朋友也在重述《白雪公主》，我们俩对这个故事的理解肯定不一样。

If I'm retelling Snow White and I have a friend who is retelling Snow White as well, we are going to have a different take on that story.

我们写的不会是同一本书。

We are not going to have the same book.

故事是同一个，但书不会一样，你明白我的意思吧。

It's going to be the same story, but it is not going to be the same book, if that makes sense.

不会是一模一样的东西。

It's not going to be the same thing.

感觉会完全不同。

It's going to be a different feel.

这会是另一个作者写的。

It's gonna be a different writer.

之所以会这样，是因为我们的叙事目标和写作目标都不一样。

The reason why this happens is because we have different storytelling goals, and we also have different writing goals.

对吧？

Right?

归根结底，我相信你写作的根本目的应该是把意思说清楚。

At the root, I do believe that you the the goal of your writing should be to communicate clearly.

所以我觉得，只有想得清楚，才能说得清楚。

So I think that requires that we think as clearly as possible so we can communicate as clearly as possible.

但说到底，你其实是想把意思表达明白。

But at the root, I think you're trying to communicate clearly.

不过很多人理解错了，因为我讲清楚表达的时候，不只是指思想内容。

And people take that, I think, in the wrong way because when I talk about communicating clearly, I don't just talk about ideas.

对吧？

Right?

我不只是在说逻辑论证之类的东西。

I don't just talk about logical arguments or anything like that.

我还在谈人的经历。

I'm also talking about experiences.

我谈的是人们怎么思考。

I'm talking about the way people think.

我谈的是那种与生俱来的情感。

I'm talking about the the emotion that goes along with naturally emotional.

故事总是和情感紧密相连。

Stories are tied up in emotion.

在我看来，情感是没法从故事里剥离的。

You can't disconnect the emotion, in my opinion, from stories.

但写作的时候，除了力求表达清晰，我觉得你还会有一些别的目标。

But when you write, besides this idea of being as clear as possible in your writing, I think that there's this also this idea of different goals you might have.

你为什么要写这个具体的东西？

Why are you writing this specific thing?

你到底想达到什么目的？

What are you trying to reach?

你设定了什么目标？

What goal are you trying to reach?

对吧？

Right?

这可以在不同层面上体现。

And this can be on different levels.

既可以体现在写作本身，也可以体现在叙事上。

It can be on the writing itself, and it can be on the storytelling as well.

我觉得写书，尤其是写小说的时候，故事本身和内容才是最重要的，所以这些因素往往比其他写作目标更能决定你的写法。

And I would say that when you're writing a book, it's more likely or when you're writing fiction, it's more likely that the story and the content of the story, because that's the most important thing, I would say that these things are going to dictate how you write more than other writing goals.

对吧？

Right?

你可能会有自己的写作方式。

You might have specific ways you write.

你可能有自己的表达方式，因为你已经写了很长时间，这已经成了你自然而然的习惯。

You might have specific ways you communicate because you've been writing a certain amount of time, and that's just your natural way of doing things.

但与此同时，我觉得你的叙事目标会更深刻地影响你的写法。

But at the same time, I think that your storytelling goals are going to dictate how you write more in that way.

它们的影响力会更大。

They're going to be more influential.

你可以把这个弄得非常复杂，但不是让人反感的那种复杂，而是独特又吸引人的那种。

And I think you can get really complex with this, and not in a way that is annoying, but in a way that is unique and interesting.

比如，如果你想在文字中传达一种平静感，就可以用特定的句式、词汇，还有不同的搭配来表现这种平静。

For example, if you wanted to express this idea of calm in your writing, you could write in a specific way and use specific words and use different combinations of words to express this idea of calm.

如果你想写一场社会冲突，或者两个人之间的暗流涌动，让矛盾在表面之下发酵，他们彼此憎恨，却从不提高嗓门，只是平平淡淡地说话。

If you wanted to have a social drama or you wanted to have a drama between two people, and you wanted this drama to be bubbling underneath the surface, and you wanted them to be at each other's throats, but they are never yelling, they're just talking.

对吧？

Right?

所以这两个人明明互相讨厌，却还在那儿有说有笑地聊天。

So you have two people who hate each other, but they are still just talking to one another.

你得用这种平静而含蓄的方式，传达出这两个人彼此交谈时那种深藏的敌意。

And you have to convey in this calm, subtle way how those two people are talking to one another and how they hate each other.

这种处理方式会在故事里制造张力，营造出非常有意思的情境。

And that creates tension within the story, and it be it creates a very interesting situation in the story.

你对任何其他主题都可以这样处理。

And you can do this with any other thing you do.

对吧？

Right?

如果你要写战争，查一查相关资料就会发现，大多数时候人们其实都很无聊，只有少数时刻才会爆发极端的行动。

If you are if you are trying to write a war, well, if you do research on wars, you'll find out that most of the time, people are really bored, and then there's these extreme instances of activity.

对吧？

Right?

那些极端的时刻才让人高度紧张，情绪紧绷。

There's extreme instances of activity, and this is where people are set on edge.

如果你想这么写，当然会很难，尤其是你没亲身经历过。

So if you wanted to and it'd be difficult if you've never gone through it, of course.

但如果你想表达这个想法，其实可以通过你的文字来体现它。

But if you wanted to express that idea, you could actually make your writing reflect that idea.

某种程度上，即使你没刻意去想这些层面，你也会不自觉地这么做。

And to a certain degree, even if you're not trying to think on this level behind everything, you're gonna be doing this anyway.

对吧？

Right?

当你在推动故事走向高潮，想让这个高潮特别吸引人、让读者迫不及待想看到结局时，你写下的每一个词都会自带情绪，自然就会做到这一点。

If you are reaching toward a climax of a story, if you're trying to make that climax really interesting or it's really engaging to the reader, they wanna get to the end, you're going to be doing this in your writing just because you the the words you use have emotions within them.

对吧？

Right?

我们说话写字的时候，本来就会不自觉地带上情绪。

And we naturally bring emotions into our words.

写作时我们可能不是最擅长的，但当你朝着故事的高潮前进，情绪层层累积、紧张感不断升级时——如果你讲的就是这种故事，想表达的就是这种氛围，你的文字也会自然而然地朝这个方向走。

When we are writing, we may not be the best at it, but at the same time, when we're pointing ourselves toward a climax of the story where everything's building up emotionally and everything's getting more tense, if that's the type of story you're trying to tell, if that is what you're trying to tell, you're going to be moving in that direction with your words as well.

我只是想提醒你，好好想想你为什么要讲这个故事。

And I'm just encouraging you to realize why you're telling the story.

对吧？

Right?

你的故事目标是什么？

What are your story goals?

你真正想推向的是什么？

What are you trying to push toward?

因为我觉得，写作时明确这一点会对你很有帮助。

Because I think that's going to help you in the moment as you're writing.

这可能不是你马上就能用上的东西，不知道你能不能理解。

And this might not be something that you can apply immediately, if that makes sense.

也许你现在的写作水平还不够，这很正常，学习本来就是个过程。

It might be the case that you're just not a good enough writer, and that's just part of life, and that's just part of learning.

你可能需要多花点时间学习，才能在写作时同时考虑到多个层面。

It might be the case that you need to take a a bit more time and learn before you can actually think on multiple different levels as you're writing.

就像我说的，这真的需要时间来积累。

And and and like I said, that just takes time to write.

这全靠多练，反复练，我相信你最终一定能达到那个水平。

That just takes practice, practice, practice, and and I believe you'll get to that point.

不过我觉得，当你真正动笔或者做规划的时候，也许在规划阶段就该考虑清楚。

But I think that when you do write or when you maybe when you plan, maybe it's better when you're doing your planning.

你的故事目标是什么？

What are your story goals?

你该怎么在写作的不同层面融入这些目标呢？

How can you integrate that into the writing itself, right, on different levels?

实现这一点的方法有很多。

And there's a lot of different ways to do this.

如果你去看看顶尖作家的作品，就能发现他们都在这么做。

And if you look at really high level writers, you see this happening in their books.

好了。

Alright.

今天就先说这些吧。

So that's all I've got for you to say today.

明天见。

I will see you tomorrow.

如果你喜欢这个播客，想支持我，其实有个很简单的方法。

If you enjoyed this podcast and you want to support me, there's really one simple thing you can do.

你可以去 daniel poppie dot com forward slash newsletter，订阅我的通讯。

You can go to daniel poppie dot com forward slash newsletter and sign up for my newsletter.

订阅之后，你就能获得我的出版路线图。

And when you sign up, you'll actually be able to get access to my publication road map.

这份路线图涵盖了我未来十年所有项目的规划。

So that's everything I have planned for pretty much every project I have into the next decade.

再次提醒，网址是 daniel poppie dot com forward slash newsletter。

Again, that is daniel poppie dot com forward slash newsletter.

你也可以在下方找到这个链接。

You can also find the link below.