Is A Room of One’s Own Still Relevant?
What do you need to write good literature in the 2020s?
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf was published in 1929. It’s based on two lectures by Woolf. The core idea of the book is the following:
A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.
A room of one’s own is considered one of the most important works of feminist literary criticism. It is not hard to see why. It is well written. Woolf has a great set of skills in fiction, so she takes advantage of them in this book-length essay.
Even though A room of one’s own was a groundbreaking work, a piece of literature is not proper literature without its critics. Alice Walker wrote that Woolf’s main idea is not correct. Walker and many other female authors could write without having their rooms. I cannot be the judge on whether Woolf was without error or not. Instead, I want to think whether A room of one’s own has stood the test of time.
I have to admit that my perspective on this matter is subjective. I can only understand my point of view, as I live in Western society. I recognize that things are different, for example, in India.
In the modern world, someone would argue that writing is easier than it was about a hundred years ago. The length of a workday should be shorter than it was in 1929. In general, people are healthier and wealthier now. Women and men get paid almost the same amount of money. Of course, there are crises like covid and climate change. But they had a freaking World War I, and then, two decades later, a freaking World War two.
When it comes to being a female author nowadays, women are doing fine in the world of books. According to this article in Guardian, 629 of the 1000 bestselling books are by women. Women also read more than men.
If you want to write fiction these days, your gender is not limiting you. (Some would even argue that tables have turned: White straight males are facing difficulties writing fiction. But that is not the subject to reflect on at this time.)
Even though your gender should not make writing more difficult, writing good literature, in general, is more difficult nowadays. Our minds have a hard time due to all the distractions. If you want to write a novel, you must fight against social media algorithms, the fear of missing out, and the constant feed of bad news. All that did not exist in 1929.
If money and a room are not the requirements for writing good literature, what do you need then?
What must you have to write good literature?
The most important thing to be able to write good literature is the hardest thing for a human being to get. Do you know what it is?
Time
But having time is not enough. Nowadays, virtually everyone can write. Anyone can publish a book on Amazon. Because of the multitude of wannabe writers, it is hard to set apart.
(Heck, you do not even have to know how to write. If you have some money, you can hire someone to ghost-write you a story. Then you could call yourself an author.)
As a writer, you need to be smarter than most people in the writing business. And you need a compelling point of view. Also, you need peace of mind in this hectic world that requires our attention in too many ways every second.
