Because I Never Took Creative Writing in College
My mom sent me a book for my birthday--I know I know, that was like a month ago. Every page was some new profundity about some aspect of life, the universe, or everything and then at the bottom, a writing prompt about that particular insight into the human condition.
Every day I brought the book into work, sat with it on my desk, and then wrote emails or read my book or...studied Japanese...and never did anything with it. But today`s the day, man, today`s the day. I`m going to turn myself into a bonafide writer.
So here`s my idea. I`ll write out the prompt at the beginning (today, I`ll include the sappy profundity too, but that might get a little tedious), and then I`ll answer it. Anyone who wants to can answer it too. Or maybe this is a new direction for storiesunited to go, Jen and Lisa? Either way, I thought it would be a way to write about something other than the usual, boring 'So A Funny Thing Happened The Other Day...' post, or the ever popular, Here`s a Cool Link post.
Cheesy? Fuck you. Here`s the first one.
Sooner or later an artist makes self-portraits. The self is a perfect subject because we know ourselves better than anyone else does; yet we have huge blind spots about our behavior that surprise and fascinate us.
The self is also many-faceted. When you write about yourself you can do it thirty times and not come up with the same portrait twice.
It is said that artists are always, in some way, re-creating themselves in their work. There is truth to this statement; the act of creating demands intimacy with various aspects of our humanity. Powerful writing makes the reader feel that same intimacy with the human condition and less alone in the face of it.
Today describe yourself: Fill a whole page with you. Notice which aspects you concentrate on: physical appearance, emotional state, spiritual condition. Write some notes on how this aspect speaks to something all of us feel. Or, write three single-paragraph self-portraits that are completely accurate and totally different. Title them "Me," "Myself," and "I." Or, describe an aspect of yourself that mystifies you.
Me
I am the life of the party. I am everyone`s new best friend. I will sit down with a stranger and have the deepest, most penetrating conversation. I am the master of the immediate connection. I am at my social peak when I am in a room full of strangers, I come alive. I am witty and entertaining and clever. I say all the right things at all the right times. I am the girl that everyone watches out of the corner of their eye to see what she`ll do next.
Myself
I disappear into myself. I hide myself away until people leave me alone. I am deeply private. I hold back everything that matters, but know exactly how much I can give people to make them think I`m not. I have no patience for people who annoy me. I will shut out someone I`m afraid will drag me down so fast it makes their heads spin. I`m still afraid of being revealed as the unpopular one. So I hold people at a distance so I won`t have to be.
I
I am insightful and intuitive. I am deeply thoughtful. I have an endless thirst to know what makes people tick, what makes me tick, what makes a culture tick. I am good at it. I understand people quickly, and--more often than not--accurately and I see more about them than they think they`re letting on. There is nothing I enjoy more than expressing a thought I`ve had, about me, about a book, about a philosophy, and being understood by another human being.
Every day I brought the book into work, sat with it on my desk, and then wrote emails or read my book or...studied Japanese...and never did anything with it. But today`s the day, man, today`s the day. I`m going to turn myself into a bonafide writer.
So here`s my idea. I`ll write out the prompt at the beginning (today, I`ll include the sappy profundity too, but that might get a little tedious), and then I`ll answer it. Anyone who wants to can answer it too. Or maybe this is a new direction for storiesunited to go, Jen and Lisa? Either way, I thought it would be a way to write about something other than the usual, boring 'So A Funny Thing Happened The Other Day...' post, or the ever popular, Here`s a Cool Link post.
Cheesy? Fuck you. Here`s the first one.
Sooner or later an artist makes self-portraits. The self is a perfect subject because we know ourselves better than anyone else does; yet we have huge blind spots about our behavior that surprise and fascinate us.
The self is also many-faceted. When you write about yourself you can do it thirty times and not come up with the same portrait twice.
It is said that artists are always, in some way, re-creating themselves in their work. There is truth to this statement; the act of creating demands intimacy with various aspects of our humanity. Powerful writing makes the reader feel that same intimacy with the human condition and less alone in the face of it.
Today describe yourself: Fill a whole page with you. Notice which aspects you concentrate on: physical appearance, emotional state, spiritual condition. Write some notes on how this aspect speaks to something all of us feel. Or, write three single-paragraph self-portraits that are completely accurate and totally different. Title them "Me," "Myself," and "I." Or, describe an aspect of yourself that mystifies you.
Me
I am the life of the party. I am everyone`s new best friend. I will sit down with a stranger and have the deepest, most penetrating conversation. I am the master of the immediate connection. I am at my social peak when I am in a room full of strangers, I come alive. I am witty and entertaining and clever. I say all the right things at all the right times. I am the girl that everyone watches out of the corner of their eye to see what she`ll do next.
Myself
I disappear into myself. I hide myself away until people leave me alone. I am deeply private. I hold back everything that matters, but know exactly how much I can give people to make them think I`m not. I have no patience for people who annoy me. I will shut out someone I`m afraid will drag me down so fast it makes their heads spin. I`m still afraid of being revealed as the unpopular one. So I hold people at a distance so I won`t have to be.
I
I am insightful and intuitive. I am deeply thoughtful. I have an endless thirst to know what makes people tick, what makes me tick, what makes a culture tick. I am good at it. I understand people quickly, and--more often than not--accurately and I see more about them than they think they`re letting on. There is nothing I enjoy more than expressing a thought I`ve had, about me, about a book, about a philosophy, and being understood by another human being.