A list of things about me:
1.
My best friend’s best friend isn’t me
2.
I write too much
3.
I don’t write enough
4.
When someone uses someone else’s work as an
example, it paralyzes me
5.
Sad songs are my favorite
6.
I’m happiest when my writing is going well, I’m
most apathetic and depressed when my writing is going poorly, and when I’m not
writing I’m incomplete
7.
Candles are relaxing to me
8.
I hate clothes shopping, but I love book
shopping
9.
When I am having trouble with something, I often
quote a phrase from ‘Ender’s Game’ to myself; “Do it again, this time without
self-pity.”
10.
Boromir is the saddest character in The Lord of
the Rings, and his death scene was the first thing I read in a book that made
me cry
11.
Jesus Christ is my father, savior, and closest
companion
12.
I easily take charge, and it is equally a
blessing and a curse to me
13.
I’m cynical
14.
I’m idealistic
15.
I inspired/convinced five people to write a
novel this month
16.
Spring is my favorite, and I’m better at
gardening flowers
17.
I rarely could be described as “living in the
moment”
18.
One of my biggest pet peeves is leaving closet
doors open
19.
Sometimes I accidentally leave my closet door
open
20.
I’ve owned two dogs, I’ve lost them both
21.
I often project my strengths onto other people
22. One of my favorite literary devices is personification - especially when about nature
22. One of my favorite literary devices is personification - especially when about nature
My favorites here: 1, 4 (where would I be without student examples?), 15, 18/19.
ReplyDeleteA writer friend sent me this quote today it reminded me of my number 4...
ReplyDelete“I think I succeeded as a writer because I did not come out of an English department. I used to write in the chemistry department. And I wrote some good stuff. If I had been in the English department, the prof would have looked at my short stories, congratulated me on my talent, and then showed me how Joyce or Hemingway handled the same elements of the short story. The prof would have placed me in competition with the greatest writers of all time, and that would have ended my writing career.” - Vonnegut
I like that sentiment. Of course, the examples I offer are rarely from the greatest writers of all time. Teaching writing is what I wanted to do--teaching literature seems a great waste of time and spirit to me. People need to approach books on their own terms and on the book's own terms, not according to the professor's notions.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this wasn't meant to describe you! In fact, the original sentiment about being compared to others wasn't written about you at all. But lots of people hear that I like to write and then urge me to get a degree in Literature. The above quote makes me feel better about my dislike of that idea.
ReplyDeleteA BFA or, better, an MFA will give you a teaching credential, something a lot of writers need to put bread on the table. And plenty of good writing comes out of MFA programs like the University of Iowa's or Boston University's. But, of course, no writer needs that sort of training, and it might be argued that the programs tend to turn out writers who are good but somehow all alike in their goodness.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, I knew it wasn't meant to describe me.
A degree in English is increasingly useless in the job market. So many English degrees, so few jobs. Something a little more practical unless your life plan is to be independently wealthy and to jet from continent to continent to follow the sun.
ReplyDelete