Friedrich Nietzsche on Writing
Nietzsche’s writing advice is scattered through his own writings as golden gems for any writer.
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As a philosopher myself, I am well aware of the fact that most philosophers are not good writers. Philosophers like Hegel, Derrida, and Heidegger are the pinnacle of esoteric obscurantism. Indeed, professors have told me on multiple occasions that the writing of philosophers will be the last place you will find good examples of how one ought to write. Which is to say, philosophers often struggle to convey their ideas in a clear and compelling way. There are very few philosophers that I would go to for advice on writing. Indeed, even contemporary philosophers have the problem of giving too much away too early in their writing; prose is not at all essential to doing philosophy — though, if you ask me, it ought to be included much more.
Friedrich Nietzsche's works are, on the whole, quite difficult to read. Despite this, throughout many of his works, a lesser-known quality of his philosophy were his observations and advice on writing. What is distinctive about this advice is that it isn’t so much advice on how to write well; rather, it is advice on how to be a good writer. The distinction here is that the former is a professional piece of advice and the latter is a piece of advice on how one is as a person in the world. The ontological distinction between the two couldn’t be more salient: there is a depth to being a writer that one cannot attain by simply working as a writer.
In any case, Nietzsche’s insights on being a writer have profound significance; it would be prudent for any writer to treat them with reverence and do their diligence to understand and implement such insights in their own life and work. His insights are as deep and as wise as the rest of his philosophy. Hence, the amplification of such insights here for writers to read and absorb might very well change the way many writers think about and approach their writing.
Use Examples
“The reader and the author often fail to understand one another because the author knows his theme too well and almost finds it boring, so that he dispenses with the examples and illustrations of which he knows hundreds; the reader, however, is unfamiliar with the subject and can easily find it ill-established if examples and illustrations are withheld from him.” (Human, All Too Human: Section 202)
My professors of philosophy taught their pupils through the lens of a profoundly wise insight: we tend to write in a similar manner to that which we are reading. My professors were well aware that their pupils were reading philosophy, and hence, were reading the writings of authors who knew their themes all too well and, with such knowledge, failed to provide illustrations, examples, or clear writing. Hence, my professors drilled the lesson of providing examples and vivid illustrations in our writing into their pupil’s heads. And rightfully so: not doing so will simply serve to alienate your reader. You cannot presume that your reader is familiar with the subject matter you are writing about the way in which an expert in the subject matter is. Picture reading an article about, say, hair products and the article immediately goes into talking about the ingredient list, which is full of unexplained jargon: you’ll have no idea what is going on, and you even might feel a little bit stupid. Instilling confusion and insecurity in your reader is a profound failure as a writer, which you would be wise to avoid by providing illustrations and examples in your writing.
Consult and Converse with Friends
“A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.” (Human, All Too Human: Section 180)
How many of your works have been sparked by conversations between you and a friend? How often do you have ideas for works through your interactions with friends which you allow to pass you by? There is a spiritual depth to friendship that necessarily brings forth ideas that are profound — of these ideas, too many of them simply slip into the endless void which we call our minds. To translate these ideas onto paper is to spiritualize your writing — though, this isn’t the only way to do such spiritualizing. Friends — when they are true friends — keep us grounded, honest, and can even constructively criticize our work. These principles should be retained in our writing, even when our friends are not explicitly around to constructively criticize our work. Ground yourself and stay honest in your writing, and it will be far better than conforming to whatever expectations others may hold you to. The only expectations you should adhere to are the ones you make for yourself and friends are simply there as a reinforcing force.
Learn How to Be Read
“One has to know, not only how to play well, but also how to get oneself heard well. The violin in the hands of the greatest master will emit only a chirp if the room is too big; and then the master sounds no better than any bungler.” (Human, All Too Human: Section 177)
While Nietzsche is referring to musicians in this particular quotation, it is equally as applicable to writers. If you do not know how to get your work read, there is something quite vain about writing. The writer wishes more than anything to be read and good writing alone will not suffice in achieving this goal. An understanding of how to market yourself and how to navigate the world of writing as a profession is crucial if you are to achieve this goal. Reading The Writing Cooperative is a good start to this, so if you’re reading this article, you’re already making a good attempt to follow Nietzsche’s advice on this front. Learning things like social media marketing, how to navigate Medium, and to learn how to use SEO to your advantage will increase the likelihood that your voice will be heard. Not all of the skill of a writer needs to be in writing.
There are plenty of these sorts of golden tidbits of advice from Nietzsche. In fact, there is a whole section in his book entitled Human, All Too Human called From the Souls of Artists and Writers where Nietzsche gets into great detail similarly making observations about writing and doing art. The abovementioned ones alone, nonetheless, are profoundly valuable and will be bound to improve your results as a writer if implemented.
