J.D. Salinger's Advice to Writers in "Seymour: An Introduction"

There are many great things to be said about writing. Writing is a skill, art form, and a way of life that can be both rewarding and challenging. Today, I would like to inspire you with some words from one of my favorite authors, J.D. Salinger. In his book "Seymour: An Introduction", he discusses the very things that make good writers. It is this advice given to Buddy Glass in the story that is something I believe every aspiring writer needs to hear at least once in their lives:

“Do you know what I was smiling at? You wrote down that you were a writer by profession. It sounded to me like the loveliest euphemism I had ever heard. When was writing ever your profession? It's never been anything but your religion. Never.” -Salinger, "Seymour: An Introduction"

Being a huge fan of Salinger, I often love the way his writing talks ABOUT writing, how the conversations that the characters have in his stories have this special way of getting at the root of everything we feel as writers; every struggle, every success, every lovely euphemism, every contradiction. As writers, we think we need to try so hard; we don't. We just need to keep going. At the end of this quote, we hear the famous line: "When was writing ever your profession? It's never been anything but your religion. Never."

That's how I feel about writing, and I think there are a few different ways of looking at this one. To me, he's saying that writing is at the heart of everything; it's not a profession at all, it's a way of life, the life of a writer. It's a passion that you develop inside of you, not just a job. Writers have this deep yearning to tell their stories, and tell them courageously, brilliantly, and with more dedication and passion than a lot of people. If you have the courage to write, then writing is your "religion" too.

He then further goes on to explain this concept of writing being a "religion" rather than a profession:

"Since it is your religion, do you know what you will be asked when you die? But let me tell you first what you won’t be asked. You won’t be asked if you were working on a wonderful, moving piece of writing when you died. You won’t be asked if it was long or short, sad or funny, published or unpublished. You won’t be asked if you were in good or bad form while you were working on it. You won’t even be asked if it was the one piece of writing you would have been working on if you had known your time would be up when it was finished…"

Here especially, what's important to remember is that as a writer, it's not about specifically what you did. People will not remember all the details, but they will remember how it made them FEEL when they read it; how your words influenced or inspired them. That feeling, that is at the core of our reasons for writing; the central purpose of it all is to help inspire others, but also to help ourselves. Once you understand this, you can begin to create beautiful and meaningful writing for YOU. Remember, you are not doing any of this but for yourself, and that is absolutely all you need to be a great writer.

Salinger then goes on to point out how we have always been readers first, writers second:

"I’m so sure you’ll get asked only two questions. Were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out? If only you knew how easy it would be for you to say yes to both questions. If only you’d remember before ever you sit down to write that you’ve been a reader long before you were ever a writer."- Salinger, "Seymour: An Introduction"

So, what does Salinger mean here when he says "were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out?". People always want to know the inspiration behind a writer's work. They will ask them questions like, "did you always know you were going to be a writer?" or in this case, the question is---"were your stars out?"---meaning, do you believe it was destined to come alive, this thing you have written? The second question people ask is about how much? Were you writing your heart out? Were you truly putting all of your hard work to good use? And finally, can you remember that you were a "READER long before were ever a writer?". Remember that. We are all readers first, and we learn from WHAT we read, it helps shape who we are as writers.

The last "step" or piece of advice given to Buddy Glass in the story, simply goes like this:

"The next step is terrible, but so simple I can hardly believe it as I write it...you just sit down shamelessly and write the thing yourself. I won’t even underline that. It’s too important to be underlined. Oh, dare to do it, Buddy! Trust your heart."- Salinger, "Seymour: An Introduction"

Here, Buddy is being told to write without thinking too much into it, just to write. You have to find that story, and when you do, just as Salinger tells us, we must: "sit down shamelessly and write the thing yourself."

YOU have to have the courage to shamelessly write this beautiful story that is within you. It's kind of like saying "be the change you wish to see in the world", but for writers. If you want to make something great, something real, and something meaningful, you must do the thing! Above all, you must "trust your heart". Let your heart guide you. Don't just write for the sake of writing. Write from your heart, your soul, your EXPERIENCES. I think overall, that's what Salinger was getting at here in "Seymour: An Introduction": Truly great writers always speak from their hearts, and that's the most valuable piece of writing advice someone could ever give you.