Imperfections

[jelazakazone]

I am taking the day off, trying to do a little organizing kind of stuff, but mostly sitting around and attempting to wrangle my email into submission.  To that end, I want to create more messages in my inbox (not really).

I would love to talk to people about perceived imperfections and how they can enhance a work (or a person, or whatever).

For one

Comments

[nympha_alba]

It's the ears (the "imperfection") that make Colin perfect.

[jelazakazone]

Heh. A true Colin fan:D Indeed, it is often the things we feel that make us stick out in some way that enhance our looks to others.

[archaeologist_d]

I think the ears make him even more perfect. I find actual perfection rather boring, myself.

I made a quilt once and I had all these little pieces sown together and when I turned it over, I really liked the fuzzy color of it. I would have kept it on the fuzzy side and sewn it up that way but I needed it for a wedding quilt so I let it go. But it was quite pretty.

[jelazakazone]

Exactly! Perfection is boring to me as well!

Oh, very interesting. I love it when beauty happens unintentionally. Did you happen to take a picture of it?

[archaeologist_d]

Yes,

[jelazakazone]

Oooh, I see what you mean. It is very pretty.

Regarding thread play, excellent suggestion by Libby Lehman. I will have to remember that. I have her book and have had it for ages. I assume you heard she had a stroke recently? I haven't heard how she's doing though.

[teprometo]

I think there's a line between imperfection and sloppiness, and I try to figure out where that boundary is. I think my scratchy-voice podfic falls on the side of imperfection because the performance is thoughtful. But if I had a ton of punctuation errors in a fic, that would be sloppy instead. Do you have any idea what might be considered acceptable imperfection in writing? That seems like the medium where you have a lot of control and more time and thought tends to mean a better product. I'm having trouble thinking of something that falls on the side of character rather than sloppiness. Hmm.

[alby_mangroves]

Run-on sentences, especially in present tense. They're imperfect in terms of grammar, BUT I LOVE THEM so much, love reading them, love writing them, love everything about then and the way reading them makes me feel like it's THE MOMENT and I'm right in it with the character, :)

[jelazakazone]

Oooh, what a fun example!

[teprometo]

I'd argue that run-on sentences are always bad, because that means they're poorly punctuated. Easy enough to add a semicolon even if you're averse to adding a conjunction. But I get your point. Incomplete sentences and multi-conjuncted sentences are useful tools, especially when conveying a frantic emotional state. I lurve them.

[dunderklumpen]

But people are lying to themselves about their imperfections all the time. That's how humans work. It makes living with yourself easier. I don't think it's intentional or that you deny your imperfections in general, you just shut your eyes sometimes and see what you wanna see. Perfect example are weight issues. You never see yourself as "fat" or as "ugly" when you look in the mirror as when you see yourself on a picture or on camera. That doesn't mean you don't know you have these imperfections. It just means you're able to kid yourself into thinking it's not "as bad" - consciously or not. You know what I mean?

[jelazakazone]

Hm, I think we are blind to some things about ourselves, and that's ok, but I think we have a lot of imperfections cause us angst and *that* to me is a problem. Does that make sense? I think we should celebrate these "imperfections". I haven't totally clarified my thinking on this topic.

[k_nightfox]

For the record, I HATE perfection. Soooo boring. Especially when it comes to people. I love people who OWN their flaws and embrace what makes them unique

[altocello]

All of what you just said. Just. All of it! *hugs*

[k_nightfox]

*hugs you and beams*

[jelazakazone]

Word. I miss Bradley's "crooked" teeth.

I guess it's not about striving to include the imperfect, but rather about celebrating it.

Thanks for adding your two cents.