Should Writing Be Art or Entertainment? (Or: Why This Discussion Goes Nowhere)

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Let me begin by answering the question with an unclear “both”. That said, the question is one that yields an interesting discussion and is worth writing a quick article for. Ultimately, however, I feel the discussion is flawed and a further symptom of the human need for compartmentalization of every facet of life, no matter how abstract.

The tension in the writer’s mind between creating a work for entertainment (read: “fun”) and art (read: “intellectual”) is a tension I’ve wrestled with my entire writing career.

Issues with the Distinction

I think before I continue I need to define what an “entertaining” work is over an “artistic” work. It’s much easier to define a work that pursues entertainment than the latter. To be honest, I read both, but I prefer entertaining work. That is, work you don’t have to read intently to enjoy.

I offer up this definition, then: “An artistic story is one that pursues intellectual enjoyment over direct entertainment.” This has with it two clear issues: enjoyment and entertainment might as well be synonyms, so the distinction is specifically the “intellectual” piece. But what does that mean? And how is that different than “normal” entertainment?

The distinction will be hard to nail down, so I offer this caveat: This is purely my opinion on the subject.

Caveat lector, I suppose.

The Artistic Book

Ultimately, we all know what’s meant by “artistic”. The image of snooty museum fundraiser parties, all of whom wear high class outfits and sip wine while discussing a particularly artistic novel comes to mind, but that’s an unfair characterization.

So let’s dissect what I mean by artistic with one of my favorite artistic books.

I loved The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, and I feel it firmly falls into the artistic category. I didn’t read it for dumb entertainment value, but instead for intellectual stimulation.

There weren’t many action scenes, mostly plot and emotion. But it did have mysteries and twists and interesting ideas. Ultimately exploring the craft of writing is what made it interesting, and I think what made that book particularly artistic.

Jemisin clearly plays with tenses and perspective, since a particular section of the story occurs in bizarre circumstances, shifting the story perspective and playing with the way the story is told. She also uses a unique magic system based around geology to give the story a little something extra.

The Entertaining Book

Gust Front is the first book by John Ringo I ever reviewed

Books that seem to fall firmly on the “entertainment” side tend to be characterized as “popcorn books”, reminiscent of “popcorn movies” where you “shut your brain off” to enjoy. Again, I think that’s an unfair characterization, but a common one.

I love some John Ringo books, but no one would claim his work is high art. Not even Mr. Ringo himself. To be fair.

A Hymn Before Battle (not the book shown) contains a nuclear explosion, countless battles, a constant stream of enemies, and tons and tons of combat. It’s pulse-pounding (once it gets started) and a roller coaster ride throughout the book.

I think from this we can glean an answer to what makes a book “entertainment” verses “art”: action. Maybe not much in the craft, but it rewards you with space battles, explosions, and gun fights.

Also, this doesn’t just apply to science fiction battles, but action could mean romantic encounters (not like that you sicko) for the romance genre and constant new revelations in a crime or detective novel. It’s all about movement.

The Hybrid Book

There are novels that dance between the two, especially in science fiction and fantasy. Several Gene Wolfe books have been both entertaining and artistic and Neil Gaiman is the de facto current master of it. I thoroughly enjoyed Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright, and feel that it meshed well between the intellectual/artistic and the entertainment.

In Count to a Trillion, there are duels, gunfights, swords, and battles. However, there’s discussion of transhumanism, the debate over human freedom despite a united purpose, ancient alien relics, and betrayal. For every space princess and gun fight, there’s a great idea with brilliant storytelling.

You can see this in Neil Gaiman’s work as well. Brilliant storytelling baked with creative plays on typical archetypes and concepts all topped with the frosting of fighting and danger. It’s very good.

Conclusion

Honestly, as mentioned in the title, this discussion usually goes nowhere. I feel like I got some good ideas hashed out, but otherwise it was generally just incomplete thoughts.

These discussions go nowhere because there’s value in both. The duo called James S. A. Corey is allowed to make giant space battles at the same time that Jo Walton creates a creative look into a woman’s memories.

You can enjoy what you enjoy, and maybe my own perspective on this question is simply propagating the very demarcation I excoriated at the beginning of this. It’s hard to tell.

I’ll just be reading both litRPG overpowered protagonist stories and beautiful poetic tales told in unique perspectives with creative ideas.

There’s room for both.

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My poetry has been gaining some attention online:

Poetry: Can you Fix It?

Poetry: The House I Used to Live In

You may like some of my other posts about writing:

Don’t Force a Pantser to Be a Plotter

Revising Your First Draft Novel

Worldbuilding: Religion and Philosophy

Also check out my book reviews:

Book Review: Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock