"Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think." Dhammapada as translated by Eknath Easwaran.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"How to Become a Writer" by Lorrie Moore
This story is a midsemester ha-ha. Then again, maybe Francie is serious. Whatever, it is a timely reading in the face of the most recent Burroway assignment.
I strongly suggest reading Loore's other two stories in 3x33, "You're Ugly Too" and "People Like That Are the Only People Here," originally subtitled "Canonical Babblings in Peed Onc."
Her sense of confusion is what the the story is about, its like everyones first semester in college where they think they want ot be one thing and they end up being another. In this case its her wanting to be a child psychology major and turns to a creative writing class.
Its also about where the student begins to realize her inspirations to write come from. Things from your room mate or something from around campus or the children she baby sat at the center. The most interesting thing about the story i found was the part when she talks about the other people telling her to find her stroy because i have the same experience with me being a new creative writing major.
Yeah, this story was really relavant and it spoke to me at times. The questions asked at the writing seminars are just like the ones asked in our class. I can understand the enjoyment she gets out of writing, sometimes in the middle of the night. Although, I wouldn't go as far to say that it's the only thing I get enjoyment out of. I can also relate to her unsureness of a college major or a life goal.
This story is hilarious at times. I laughed out loud after it seemed like all of her stories dealt with people getting blown up. But, I felt like this had more to do with other people's confusion by her than it had to do with her confusion. People are always asking her questions like, "You're a writer? What do you write about?" No one really understands her. And it ends with the words "all, always, in the same direction." I thought that had to do with her going in a different direction than everyone else.
After reading this story, the first thing that came to mind was that the style greatly reminded me of that of the guest reader who made Luke a character in a story. That aside, I found this to be the most blatantly humorous story we've read thus far. I also found that many of the stereotypes about writers and writer related things rang pretty true.
This story, while fictional, was definitely based on personal experience. One of my favorite examples of writer stereotypes was related to Rory's comment. Much like how all of Francie's characters exploded, many writers seem to have some kind of plot device that they always stick to. The end was also great, as it dealt with how many writers tend to give up writing after college.
This story was awesome. It featured something that was very near and dear to my heart: humor writing. Moore's writing is concise yet creative, and infuses wit into every pore. She hits all the cliches that writers seem to fall in to, but makes them new and fresh through her use of humor.
I also loved how she narrates. She often provides information from between when the story has taken place, and when she is narrating, which is something that I like to do with my story telling (my first story, not the shitty second story). I think for her, it works very well, and adds to the depth of the unnamed character.
Moore does some interesting things with time in this story. She uses a great deal of summary to instill this sense of speed, a frantic pace. We burn through nearly her entire life in five pages, which is quite an accomplishment while still managing to convey a good bit of meaning along with it. I could certainly relate to a lot of the points the story made, but I suppose that’s to be expected. I felt that this pace helped convey the helplessness of the narrator of the story. She’s pulled along by what she sees as her “calling” and the story’s pace seems to oscillate based on whether she’s in love with the romanticism of being a writer or disillusioned to it.
The motif of characters in her stories exploding intrigued me as well. It seemed like an apt metaphor for her character, that she was barreling towards some sort of landmine. Her character reminded me of the leitmotif Hans Zimmer composed for the Joker in the Dark Knight (weird, I know, but stay with me on this). It’s a single cello note, sustained over an impossibly long period of time. It seems like the string tightens and tightens and tightens, like it’s always just on the precipice, frozen in that moment before it snaps. It’s an apt metaphor for this story; she always seems to be on the brink of genius or a breakdown.
I really agree with Rory’s interpretation of the story. This story is incredibly relatable and captures the awkwardness of most of the writers in the writing major. It gives a certain individuality to the main character that others seem to reject around her. She gets this pure satisfaction from writing and I think a lot of us really understand this concept. Her fault is her lack of plot, but many other people have these kinds of faults or lack of practice in certain areas that get pointed out during the story.
I think there are some really important messages throughout the story. She speaks to the college experience and describes the people in her dorm life as people who don’t really understand her. This story speaks to us as writers, with questions that writers in our classes sit around and contemplate and then involves the outside world that can’t even begin to understand writing as a major. No one really understands her because she is so different from the rest of the people, but its because she is so different that her passion works to her benefit. I found myself almost feeling jelous of the way she keeps going with the major. She seems incredibly happy just writing and it’s a quality that in the end I think a lot of writers are afraid of.
As many people have already stated, I too found this story hilarious and easy to relate to. So much of the voice I could almost seem myself connecting to at times, because of its honesty and the humor that came from it. I was surprised at the extensive humor throughout, but then I realized that you need to be a little silly in order to survive in the world of creative writing...if you find yourself taking such a lifestyle so seriously, you're clearly never going to enjoy yourself and let the work kill you.
I too loved the exploding characters bit, it just added to the extremes our imagination and minds sometimes take us to at times. It's true that it takes a certain kind of person to be a successful creative writer, I mean everyone can write, so long as they pick-up a pen and get to it..but I guess the difference is what exactly is written down and why.
I think it’s really funny that we read this story about a writer who can’t write anything with a solid plot and we just read the Burroway about having plot. (I think that’s what we read the other day…) Not to sound, I don’t know, cheesy or lame, but I thought I really could identify with this story. I know I’ve been asked on numerous occasions, even by other writing majors, about what I’m going to do with my “degree.” I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
I really liked how she how it feels to be a writer on the page where it’s assessable to others who aren’t. Maybe now people will understand that if there’s a writer, usually there’s a passion. And the narrator, Francie, sure does have a lot of that. As for the motif of all of her characters exploding, I thought that really said something about her. It’s almost like she’s exploding along with her characters. She’s trying to get them out on the page, her passion, and what follows is just it all bursting out, the explosion of the passion. (Which I realize after re-reading it, sounds completely wrong, but I assure you, I didn’t mean it that way at all.)
Moore really captures that special feeling of alienation and self-doubt writers have. I know I've had plenty of moments where I've doubted myself, my writing ability, and my choice to become a writer. You just have to be confident, even when it seems like nobody else is. It's one of the hardest things to do, but it's worth it.
I loved the sporadic, all-over-the-place nature of the story because it conveys what writers go through to get better. It's not like becoming an executive, where you take the courses in order and slowly become more qualified the more experience you have. Getting better at writing is a process that involves everything that surrounds you, and Moore's story really shows that.
I found this story highly amusing, because I actually made a similar switch in my...career goals? Oddly enough, I'm considering switching back to psychology, but whichever. I think the funniest part of this story, to me, was the questions asked in the seminars. The whole story is written in a very satirical manner, and when you look at those questions like that, it makes them seem highly absurd.
I found it interesting that she started the story with saying about the "necessary suffering" (or however it was phrased) of being a writer. She brings this back up later with the guys she's dating, how they're anything but romantic. I think this is almost true, in a way, that some writers might obligate themselves to situations like that, because it makes for "good writing." And I also believe her stereotype that most people start thier "love of writing" with suffering and poems...it's kind of amusing to think of the world's greatest writers all starting out as little socially awkward emos.
I really like Lorrie Moore's style of writing. The idea of interjecting humor into a serious story that draws parallels onto her own life is very interesting to me. I cracked up at the constant repetition of the main character writing stories about old people who find unrealistic ways to blow each other up. I like the way she touches on how stories develop - holding fragments of things in your head until you find a way to connect them into something larger. Most of all, this story is effective for everybody in the class I'm guessing, because it takes place within a character who is very similar to all of us. I'm sure a lot of us are torn between multiple majors and career options which is a large part of the conflict in the story. I thought that this story was very similar to the story Jon Harahan read in class to us. Told in the second person trying to get the reader to picture the struggle of a writer who is constantly discouraged.
Her sense of confusion is what the the story is about, its like everyones first semester in college where they think they want ot be one thing and they end up being another. In this case its her wanting to be a child psychology major and turns to a creative writing class.
ReplyDeleteIts also about where the student begins to realize her inspirations to write come from. Things from your room mate or something from around campus or the children she baby sat at the center. The most interesting thing about the story i found was the part when she talks about the other people telling her to find her stroy because i have the same experience with me being a new creative writing major.
Yeah, this story was really relavant and it spoke to me at times. The questions asked at the writing seminars are just like the ones asked in our class. I can understand the enjoyment she gets out of writing, sometimes in the middle of the night. Although, I wouldn't go as far to say that it's the only thing I get enjoyment out of. I can also relate to her unsureness of a college major or a life goal.
ReplyDeleteThis story is hilarious at times. I laughed out loud after it seemed like all of her stories dealt with people getting blown up. But, I felt like this had more to do with other people's confusion by her than it had to do with her confusion. People are always asking her questions like, "You're a writer? What do you write about?" No one really understands her. And it ends with the words "all, always, in the same direction." I thought that had to do with her going in a different direction than everyone else.
After reading this story, the first thing that came to mind was that the style greatly reminded me of that of the guest reader who made Luke a character in a story. That aside, I found this to be the most blatantly humorous story we've read thus far. I also found that many of the stereotypes about writers and writer related things rang pretty true.
ReplyDeleteThis story, while fictional, was definitely based on personal experience. One of my favorite examples of writer stereotypes was related to Rory's comment. Much like how all of Francie's characters exploded, many writers seem to have some kind of plot device that they always stick to. The end was also great, as it dealt with how many writers tend to give up writing after college.
This story was awesome. It featured something that was very near and dear to my heart: humor writing. Moore's writing is concise yet creative, and infuses wit into every pore. She hits all the cliches that writers seem to fall in to, but makes them new and fresh through her use of humor.
ReplyDeleteI also loved how she narrates. She often provides information from between when the story has taken place, and when she is narrating, which is something that I like to do with my story telling (my first story, not the shitty second story). I think for her, it works very well, and adds to the depth of the unnamed character.
Moore does some interesting things with time in this story. She uses a great deal of summary to instill this sense of speed, a frantic pace. We burn through nearly her entire life in five pages, which is quite an accomplishment while still managing to convey a good bit of meaning along with it. I could certainly relate to a lot of the points the story made, but I suppose that’s to be expected. I felt that this pace helped convey the helplessness of the narrator of the story. She’s pulled along by what she sees as her “calling” and the story’s pace seems to oscillate based on whether she’s in love with the romanticism of being a writer or disillusioned to it.
ReplyDeleteThe motif of characters in her stories exploding intrigued me as well. It seemed like an apt metaphor for her character, that she was barreling towards some sort of landmine. Her character reminded me of the leitmotif Hans Zimmer composed for the Joker in the Dark Knight (weird, I know, but stay with me on this). It’s a single cello note, sustained over an impossibly long period of time. It seems like the string tightens and tightens and tightens, like it’s always just on the precipice, frozen in that moment before it snaps. It’s an apt metaphor for this story; she always seems to be on the brink of genius or a breakdown.
I really agree with Rory’s interpretation of the story. This story is incredibly relatable and captures the awkwardness of most of the writers in the writing major. It gives a certain individuality to the main character that others seem to reject around her. She gets this pure satisfaction from writing and I think a lot of us really understand this concept. Her fault is her lack of plot, but many other people have these kinds of faults or lack of practice in certain areas that get pointed out during the story.
ReplyDeleteI think there are some really important messages throughout the story. She speaks to the college experience and describes the people in her dorm life as people who don’t really understand her. This story speaks to us as writers, with questions that writers in our classes sit around and contemplate and then involves the outside world that can’t even begin to understand writing as a major. No one really understands her because she is so different from the rest of the people, but its because she is so different that her passion works to her benefit. I found myself almost feeling jelous of the way she keeps going with the major. She seems incredibly happy just writing and it’s a quality that in the end I think a lot of writers are afraid of.
As many people have already stated, I too found this story hilarious and easy to relate to. So much of the voice I could almost seem myself connecting to at times, because of its honesty and the humor that came from it. I was surprised at the extensive humor throughout, but then I realized that you need to be a little silly in order to survive in the world of creative writing...if you find yourself taking such a lifestyle so seriously, you're clearly never going to enjoy yourself and let the work kill you.
ReplyDeleteI too loved the exploding characters bit, it just added to the extremes our imagination and minds sometimes take us to at times. It's true that it takes a certain kind of person to be a successful creative writer, I mean everyone can write, so long as they pick-up a pen and get to it..but I guess the difference is what exactly is written down and why.
I think it’s really funny that we read this story about a writer who can’t write anything with a solid plot and we just read the Burroway about having plot. (I think that’s what we read the other day…) Not to sound, I don’t know, cheesy or lame, but I thought I really could identify with this story. I know I’ve been asked on numerous occasions, even by other writing majors, about what I’m going to do with my “degree.” I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how she how it feels to be a writer on the page where it’s assessable to others who aren’t. Maybe now people will understand that if there’s a writer, usually there’s a passion. And the narrator, Francie, sure does have a lot of that. As for the motif of all of her characters exploding, I thought that really said something about her. It’s almost like she’s exploding along with her characters. She’s trying to get them out on the page, her passion, and what follows is just it all bursting out, the explosion of the passion. (Which I realize after re-reading it, sounds completely wrong, but I assure you, I didn’t mean it that way at all.)
Moore really captures that special feeling of alienation and self-doubt writers have. I know I've had plenty of moments where I've doubted myself, my writing ability, and my choice to become a writer. You just have to be confident, even when it seems like nobody else is. It's one of the hardest things to do, but it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the sporadic, all-over-the-place nature of the story because it conveys what writers go through to get better. It's not like becoming an executive, where you take the courses in order and slowly become more qualified the more experience you have. Getting better at writing is a process that involves everything that surrounds you, and Moore's story really shows that.
I found this story highly amusing, because I actually made a similar switch in my...career goals? Oddly enough, I'm considering switching back to psychology, but whichever. I think the funniest part of this story, to me, was the questions asked in the seminars. The whole story is written in a very satirical manner, and when you look at those questions like that, it makes them seem highly absurd.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that she started the story with saying about the "necessary suffering" (or however it was phrased) of being a writer. She brings this back up later with the guys she's dating, how they're anything but romantic. I think this is almost true, in a way, that some writers might obligate themselves to situations like that, because it makes for "good writing." And I also believe her stereotype that most people start thier "love of writing" with suffering and poems...it's kind of amusing to think of the world's greatest writers all starting out as little socially awkward emos.
I really like Lorrie Moore's style of writing. The idea of interjecting humor into a serious story that draws parallels onto her own life is very interesting to me. I cracked up at the constant repetition of the main character writing stories about old people who find unrealistic ways to blow each other up. I like the way she touches on how stories develop - holding fragments of things in your head until you find a way to connect them into something larger.
ReplyDeleteMost of all, this story is effective for everybody in the class I'm guessing, because it takes place within a character who is very similar to all of us. I'm sure a lot of us are torn between multiple majors and career options which is a large part of the conflict in the story.
I thought that this story was very similar to the story Jon Harahan read in class to us. Told in the second person trying to get the reader to picture the struggle of a writer who is constantly discouraged.