I had a surprisingly good weekend. Why surprising? Well, I've been extra bonus depressed most of 2007 and this was a whole lot of continuous good stuff, which hasn't happened much before this weekend.
I always figured my friends praised me because that's what friends do. Well, silly, why do you think we all want to be your friends in the first place? I think you seriously understimate our incredible good taste.
Glad you had an awesome and ego-affirming weekend!
I was thinking a rambling thing before I read muffyjo's comment that put it more succinctly. One thing that was rattling around the bean is that I think part of what makes people friends is the likelihood that we'll think what each other does/says/thinks is fabulous. So, yeah, we come with a compliment-discount, because of course we think your stuff is cool. But it's not so much that we think so because we're friends, but that we're friends because we value what you have--and are likely to develop--that's cool. And now that I've written it down, it makes it sound as if one has to do cool stuff in order to be worthy of friendsip, but it's not that, either--it's just that you're so damn nifty :)
Congrats on the reading! I really, really wanted to be there but I'm still on house arrest for a few more hours. I'm glad it went well.
Doing readings was a revelation. We're surrounded by witty, fast-thinking people all the time, and everyone writes pretty well, and so it often feels like you're just another face in a vast ocean of writers all churning their feet. Why bother? Anyone can write, right?
Standing in front of an audience reminds you that none of those other folks are relevant; your work is yours, it's unique, and you get instant feedback that, at least for the 15 minutes you have the stage, it matters a little. And that's huge.
Enjoy the rush, you deserve it. I'm looking forward to seeing the book!
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Well, silly, why do you think we all want to be your friends in the first place? I think you seriously understimate our incredible good taste.
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Um...
Okay.
You've done an excellent job of creating a compliment that I cannot deflect without insulting all of my friends.
So, um, thank you!
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-E
Reply
I was thinking a rambling thing before I read muffyjo's comment that put it more succinctly. One thing that was rattling around the bean is that I think part of what makes people friends is the likelihood that we'll think what each other does/says/thinks is fabulous. So, yeah, we come with a compliment-discount, because of course we think your stuff is cool. But it's not so much that we think so because we're friends, but that we're friends because we value what you have--and are likely to develop--that's cool. And now that I've written it down, it makes it sound as if one has to do cool stuff in order to be worthy of friendsip, but it's not that, either--it's just that you're so damn nifty :)
Reply
Doing readings was a revelation. We're surrounded by witty, fast-thinking people all the time, and everyone writes pretty well, and so it often feels like you're just another face in a vast ocean of writers all churning their feet. Why bother? Anyone can write, right?
Standing in front of an audience reminds you that none of those other folks are relevant; your work is yours, it's unique, and you get instant feedback that, at least for the 15 minutes you have the stage, it matters a little. And that's huge.
Enjoy the rush, you deserve it. I'm looking forward to seeing the book!
Reply
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