So instead of babbling on about myself today (though I do that nicely, n'est pas?), I'm going to ask my readers (or is that reader) a question. Why do YOU write?
Please, please, please leave a comment.
Did that sound desperate? Oh no...maybe I've just made ANOTHER mistake...
14 comments:
Wow! so honest. I guess i have to consider myself lucky, because we met later in life (life after HS.) otherwise you wouldn't of let me have joying your lunch table. I was to weird...You go get them girl!
Middle school is different from HS. I did that one mean thing in 8th grade, but I was totally nice (most of the time) in 9th-12th.
Its 3am in the UK - a great time for Blogging! Sure you must have done your best writing at this time - I find it great when my family are asleep - no one asking if I have finished yet and can I set up the Barbeque?! Congratulations on the book. And the blog!!
Mike Duff
Lauren, how did you keep going for nine years, spending large amounts of time writing without the direct gratification of being published? I mean, I know that's nothing in the world of fiction-- but still! I write because I think too much and talk too much. I estimate that for every hour I sacrifice my family's need for constant attention in order to write (sporadically and sometimes not at all) poems, short stories, historical fiction, essays, letters, I save my friends (and family) from three hours of didactic hell, freeing up more time actually to listen to them. It turns out that they are not as interested in the detailed geography of my thought processes as I am (shocking!). Also, I save my family from being peppered with the little bursts of annoyance that inevitably happen when I don't get my fix of this strangely addictive activity (writing). OK, I write for myself. But I also write FOR THEIR OWN GOOD. Sick, really.
I write because my brain gets too full, and I can't find anyone to perform trephination.
Joseph Young
If I don't write I get mean. Also, the stories start going round and round in my head and making me crazy. I probably have about ten good ideas a month, and I act on less than one percent of them, but I spend two-thirds of my time thinking about how stories fit together and what works and what doesn't, so if I didn't do something with that, I would be nothing but a meal machine for my kids.
That said, I really want to share these stories with the world. I don't really want to just write them to get them out of my system. These stories are meant for someone to read them.
PS. I disagree with that 200 word thing. If you look closely, you'll see that's people who are not literary talking. That's for blogs that are news-oriented. You're not. Go ahead and be creative.
I like the idea that we write because so much is going on in our heads...and those stories should be read! Thanks for all the cool comments. And I'll go over 200 words occasionally, because Heather said I could and she's an experienced blogger.
Lauren, I have never blogged, so I read your comments a few days ago, and I've been thinking about it. Why do I write? The obvious answer is that I get paid. And my writing, writing grants, is kind of like shit work for writing. All the direction following really is shit work. But still, grants are full of stories. And still its creative process. And in it, I still evolve. And I've coming back to this a lot recently--evolution. I am evolving in my process as a thinker right now--understanding the stories that I write about Taos. And then I've been thinking about how living in a small town we how we see peoples' lives evolve.
The stories that make it in my grants are the 13 yr old girl who is pregnant who can't get prenatal care in town. But the stories of my friends who like me get divorced, have affairs, get re-married, have children, change jobs, travel oversees, write books, all our stories. How we grow older and change. Its something I appreciate about living in a small town, and its what I appreciate about longevity in writing. Looking back, and forward at the evolution of my selves, mistakes, blah, blahs blahs of me.
Thanks Lauren for your courage to go for it. I always appreciate knowing your stories. Kelley
I have (hah) all of these incredibly fantastic, creative ideas that IF I could get them into print and completion, they would be read by millions and change the lives (in positive ways, of course) of...oh, lets go ahead and be bold and say "thousands"! (hah hah). But, except for re-writing Romeo and Juliet (very satisfying!) for my ESOL students, I don't write. Why don't people write who want to write? I know it's not just a time/focus thing. Anti-egotism?
I really admire how you not only DID it but stuck with it for all those years.
Karen
Greetings Lauren from Susan: My teenage years in the South were wonderful, but that was way back in the 50's and 6o's and times change. Now that I look back on those years I think there were some girls and boys in my class that were struggling and I feel badly that I wasn't more aware of that and could have helped in some way. I did know that I wanted to escape the Southern way of life, left in the 60's and have ended up across the street from you and your family in N.M. I admire you so and am constantly amazed at your ability to manage time as a writer,capable homemaker, and loving friend to so many.
GO GIRL-SS
I understand that this is the first time some of you have commented on a blog. Congratulations, and thank you for taking the plunge!
Wow - how neat to find your blog, and you! I remember you fondly from just these years that you are writing about, how very cool!
(Kimberly Bobrow Jennery - the girl who walked around holding Roots for weeks in Jr. High, as the true dorkette she was)
Hi Kimberly,
I totally remember that!!! In fact, when I close my eyes, I see you perfectly with the head gear and the enormous book open in your lap. I'm a great admirer of dorkiness (even back then, I thought you were way cool), so I'm glad we are reconnecting. Do you Facebook or Myspace? If so, look for me there, so we can catch up by email.
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