Part of me wants to spend the next ten complaining about everything that is sub par in my life. Part of me wants to talk about relationships and the realization that I am a bad partner and likely love saboteur. I don’t want to bring folks down tonight, so I will skip the Jibber Jabber. What I will do instead is talk briefly about being a writer and how I try to channel experience into fiction.
That’s the whole game, btw.
We writers take the things we see and experience and scratch them down on a page in order to allow others to share experiences and perhaps learn a little about themselves by how they feel about characters and how they feel about what they themselves would do in those situations. As such the best of us are the ones who’ve been through a little bit and are willing to put that down on paper. This is a very hard thing to do. I’ve been through a few dark moments–suicidal ideations, divorce, destroying relationships, critical injuries, etc. These are the wood I put in the firepit to build a fiery story.
I also add people. I base my characters in part off of me or people close to me. The key dynamic is them but I change reactions or how they choose to present themselves or manipulate history and project what would or could be as a result of the situations their past presented them. This is useful in making sure the characters are not the same or have similar reactions, etc.
I do it because it is an exorcism. I do it to get the thoughts free of me and deal with issues and emotions in a way that makes me feel like I have choice and control whereas real life often offers me neither. It makes me a kind of nihilist at times, but it keeps me standing upright and moving. Also, I like the feeling I get when I’m in the groove of a story.
Some Thoughts:
- The Sam Darnold love has to stop. The man was picked ahead of every QB but Mayfield and it feels like the media pundits will try to go to their grave defending him. He was picked ahead of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson! He’s a bust. He’s not nearly as good as them. Why was it so easy to dismiss Josh Rosen and not this guy? Is it the USC thing? USC Qb’s have not been that great overall. Stop. Just stop. He’s not worth it. Dude has a lower QBR than Mason Rudolph. S-T-O-P.