Daddy Rocks! Mommy Writes!
Well, well, well. It appears the old Dad around here has a few tricks up his sleeves. I was gone two nights and returned today to find the kids well-fed, clean and dress appropriately for the weather. The house was also clean. The dishes were done and the laundry that had been in the washer when I left somehow made it to the drier. Of course, I couldn't be happier that things went smoothly while I was gone. I want everyone to do well without me, because that means I may get to do this sometime again.
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My conference was good. Of course, I am one of those people who likes to yack, listen and learn about writing. There were two tracks at the conference: A track for people who just want to write and a track for people who are actively trying to sell something they've written. Since I don't have any fiction worthy of being sold, I was on the mechanics track. The workshops were all taught by writers and more writers spoke at every meal. After two solid days of talking about writing, I'm tired and my mind is just spinning. It seems so easy to write, and it is: You just sit in front of a key board and start. Yet, some how, these people filled two days of workshops on that process and now I'm not sure where to start. Funny, how over-complicated the simplest things can become.
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I uncovered a serious problem with my education while at this writing conference: Somehow I successfully avoided reading many, many classics. It's embarrassing! Here I am in Steinbeck country and the only Steinbeck I ever attempted to read was Grapes of Wrath. And that was as an adult. I don't think I ever finished it. I also never finished the Great Gatsby, anything by Joyce, Melville or Twain. I started many of the books, but ended up with the cliff notes and a gift for b.s.'ing my way through the tests.
Now, many, many years after my formal education has ended, I go to a writer's conference and it's just assumed I've read these masterpieces. Past sins come back to haunt me yet again! Before you think I'm the most poorly read writer ever, I have read a number of books by Hemingway, Salinger, Emerson, Bronson, Austen and Plath...all as an adult. So, I left the writing conference not only with a desire to get some serious writing done, but with a really long reading list that probably should have been completed years ago. Any one else out there care to confess a few literary sins? I'm picking up East of Eden tomorrow...and you?
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My conference was good. Of course, I am one of those people who likes to yack, listen and learn about writing. There were two tracks at the conference: A track for people who just want to write and a track for people who are actively trying to sell something they've written. Since I don't have any fiction worthy of being sold, I was on the mechanics track. The workshops were all taught by writers and more writers spoke at every meal. After two solid days of talking about writing, I'm tired and my mind is just spinning. It seems so easy to write, and it is: You just sit in front of a key board and start. Yet, some how, these people filled two days of workshops on that process and now I'm not sure where to start. Funny, how over-complicated the simplest things can become.
*************************************************************************************
I uncovered a serious problem with my education while at this writing conference: Somehow I successfully avoided reading many, many classics. It's embarrassing! Here I am in Steinbeck country and the only Steinbeck I ever attempted to read was Grapes of Wrath. And that was as an adult. I don't think I ever finished it. I also never finished the Great Gatsby, anything by Joyce, Melville or Twain. I started many of the books, but ended up with the cliff notes and a gift for b.s.'ing my way through the tests.
Now, many, many years after my formal education has ended, I go to a writer's conference and it's just assumed I've read these masterpieces. Past sins come back to haunt me yet again! Before you think I'm the most poorly read writer ever, I have read a number of books by Hemingway, Salinger, Emerson, Bronson, Austen and Plath...all as an adult. So, I left the writing conference not only with a desire to get some serious writing done, but with a really long reading list that probably should have been completed years ago. Any one else out there care to confess a few literary sins? I'm picking up East of Eden tomorrow...and you?
posted by One Lucky Mom @ 9:51 PM
3 Comments:
At 6:12 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Eeeh, Steinbeck, a bit "dry". Don't let the snobs bully you.
At 12:52 AM ,
Unknown said...
Forgive me for I have sinned:
I hated The Great Gatsby. I despised the Red Badge of Courage. I liked 1984 way better than Animal Farm. I thought Catcher in the Rye was boring. I never finished War and Peace. I liked Tom Sawyer much better than Huck Finn. I used Cliff's Notes for Frankenstein. A Tale of Two Cities was definately the worst of times.
As penance I offer the following:
I am devastated that most schools no longer teach Farenheight 451. I own The Scarlet Letter in hardback- and it's dogeared with love. In addition to those, I also refuse to part with my copies of Brave New World, The Canterbury Tales and To Kill a Mockingbird. I love Shakespeare so much that I took 3 classes on it in college.
...I'm also very fond of Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey, Jude Deveraux, Betina Krahn and Jennifer Crusie to name a few.
Bottom Line: read what you love, write what you would want to read. All the "experts" in the world won't make Steinbeck more interesting.
At 3:15 PM ,
One Lucky Mom said...
I loved "Catcher in the Rye", "the Scarlett Letter" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". Dickens and I have a very strained relationship since Oliver Twist's orphanage haunted me for years.
I, too, love current reads. Best ones I've read of late: Ayelet Waldman, Joshua Braff, Julia Glass.
I agree. Read what you love. However, it's helpful to know the classics.
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