When Bad Art Inspires You

I did not enjoy Abdi Nazemian’s The Chandler Legacies.

I wanted to. Truly, I did. Unfortunately, I found that in trying to tackle multiple serious topics, Nazemian was unable to give those topics the care and attention that they truly deserved, and I felt that the book would have benefited if Nazemian had chosen just one or two hot-button issues to focus on.

However, I did find some value in the book. The book revolves around five protagonists who are accepted into an elite writing group known as The Circle. When they have their first meeting with their teacher, Professor Douglas, she tells them they may only write in pen. Self editing, she says, is the enemy of progress. There will be plenty of time for editing later, but for now, they must simply write.

This struck a chord with me. I’m a frustratingly slow writer; I often get bogged down by attempts to go back and perfect what I’ve already written. When I read this, I realized exactly what my mistake had been. I made a commitment to start writing and worry about editing later.

After two months, the first draft of my novel was finished. Don’t get me wrong; it’s terrible. I still need to write another four or five drafts before it’ll ever see the light of day. But I’m one step closer to that final perfect draft and, strangely enough, I have The Chandler Legacies to thank for that.

Reading a bad book can often be frustrating. When one commits their energy to something, it feels like a tremendous waste of time when that thing doesn’t measure up to one’s expectations. “Why,” you wonder, “did I waste my brain power on that when I could have been reading something good?” However, my experience with The Chandler Legacies has taught me that sometimes, value can be found in a work even if that work isn’t necessarily a masterpiece.

Written by: Grace Black