“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet…”

By   D.M. Gutierrez

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison

Recently, I had a conversation with a fellow writer who worried that his book might not appeal to readers. Perhaps the genre was too narrow, maybe his style was too singular, and maybe, this writer agonized, maybe he wasn’t meant to be writing in this genre at all.

Toni Morrison (from Wikipedia)

But, I wanted to know, if he weren’t writing that book in that genre, in that style, in those words, would this story ever come to life? I doubt it would.  Each of us has a perspective peculiar to our field of experience, a touch as light or heavy as our individual sensibilities, a style as spare or ornate as our particular personalities. So of course I passed along Toni Morrison’s excellent advice. I hope he continues writing his novel, because I want to be the first to download it from Audible.

I wonder about these questions too from time to time.  Will anyone else ever care about Sylvellin and Frisal and where they go and what they do?  Some readers seem to, others don’t.  It’s such a matter of taste.  But, wow, I have learned a lot of things about myself by working through this WIP, things about my past, present, and future I doubt would have come to light otherwise. And I am truly interested in reading the book that I’m writing, even after it’s been in my head for years and years.

So, to me, what I write—and what that questioning author  writes—is worth writing, if only for the insight we gain from the writing itself. And if others want to read it, all the better!  But first and foremost, ‘we must all write the book we want to read.’

What do you think about Toni Morrison’s advice?  Is it such a no-brainer that it goes without saying?