Novelist as a Vocation - Haruki Murakami

What: Murakami mostly reflects on his writing life so far - more biography and opinion than writing vocation advice

Who: Haruki Murakami is the award-winning author of multiple international bestselling novels, essays, and short stories originally in Japanese and translated to over 50 languges including Norwegian Wood and The Windup Bird Chronicle. He is also a prominent translator and one of Japan's best known literary writers.

Tone: rambling memoir, occasionally sparking insight 

Read When: You're a fan of Murakami’s work and you want insight into his writing practice 

% on Writing - low

Keywords: vocation, flow, exercise, actually a biography 

Vocation (noun)

1a: a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action especially: a divine call to the religious life

1b: an entry into the priesthood or a religious order

2a: the work in which a person is employed

(Merriam Webster 2024)

There is a class of writing books that I'm calling “actually biographies," books that should have been a straightforward biography but somehow go co-opted into being a writing book instead. As if no one would be interested in the life of a writer if they didn’t drop some writing advice along the way. Murakami’s work here could be an exemplar for the form. There’s very little writing advice in this writing book, and what there is is narrowly applicable to newer writers. 

This is, however, an engaging Murakami biography. If you want to hear about how he was inspired during a baseball game to begin writing; his life owning a Jazz club; a lot about how he came to write certain novels, and some good commentary on translation as a practice this is a good book for you. However, these topics make up the majority of the text. 

There are also a good chunk of opinion pieces, mostly on topics not applicable to writers in English, but which may still be of interest, depending on the reader. These cover the state of the Japanese publishing industry, the importance certain literary awards play in making a writer prominent (or not) in Japan, and a whole chapter on Japanese schools and education (in the margins of which I see that I wrote “ok, boomer” several times). 

Of interest to us in terms of actual writing advice, but not of particular use, are Murakami’s sparse notes about his writing practice. We should all be so lucky to have Murakami's writing schedule - he writes only what he wants, when he feels compelled to write, preferably in a foreign country for several months. I found his “I'm just a normal guy, nothing special, I just got lucky” spiel disingenuous and grating after several repetitions in the text, but especially so when it was repeated in this context. 

It doe not help that Murakami is a member of the “I just know what to write, and then sit down to write it for as long as it takes” school and his revision strategy, per this book, is “rewrite it until it's better.” I have a theory that some prominent writers have absorbed story so thoroughly that they are not actually aware of the process anymore, a kind of muscle-memory of the mind. While this is certainly a state to aspire to, these authors are not particularly good lights along the path for those that follow them. If you ask them how they got there their answer is a shrug and “it just happens” or in Murakami's case “I got lucky”. 

There are some nuggets of wisdom hidden in the biographic chaff. Like many other writers Murakami is an avid runner, and his commentary on why running is good for the working writer was enough to get me thinking about exercising more. He has a point, writing is mostly sedentary so exercise is critical for a working writer. Running especially is also a known shortcut to “Flow” states, though certainly not the only one. 

The chapter "What Charactes Should I Include?" breaks down how he creates characters as he writes his stories by building them up as he writes the rough draft and later refining them in revision. He talks about his struggle to add "negative characters" to his works. The chapter also includes a breakdown of why he chose specific points of view for each of his novels.

Murakami also writes passionately about enjoying what you write, and this part of the text also shines. Are you enjoying what you write? If not, why? This section is the only place where he addresses the “vocation” aspect in the title, albeit in a sideways manner. He states:

"Enjoying yourself doesn't necessarily mean you'll produce an outstanding work of art. A process of rigourous self-examination is a crucial element. Also, as a professional, of course you will need a minimum number of readers. But clear that hurdle and I think that your goal should be to satisfy yourself and write works that satsify you. I mean a life spent doing something you don't find that enjoyable can't be much fun, right? I return again to our starting point: What's wrong about feeling good?"

Overall this is a decent Murakami biography, and a good overview of his writing habits. If you are looking for insight into his specific practice and writing, this is a book for you. But if you’re looking for actionable advice about living the writing life you’re better off picking up just about any other writing book.