Comments on: Everyperson Blues http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/01/07/everyperson-blues/ Where Words and Imagination Meet Sun, 13 May 2012 01:21:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Alma Alexander http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/01/07/everyperson-blues/comment-page-1/#comment-847 Alma Alexander Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:48:58 +0000 http://24.3006#comment-847 As far as reading about characters not-like-me are concerned, amen to that. I grew up in Eastern Europe, reading books like "Pippi Longstocking", and the kid's books by Henryk Sienkiewicz (the protagonists were an English girl and a Polish boy adrift in the wilds of Africa, where (at that point) I had never been...), and "Little WOmen", and the collected works of Pearl Buck. Norse tales, and tales set in exotic Africa with two protagonists foreign to me, and a bunch of crinoline-wearing girls in Civil War era America, and peasant women and concubines of China. I think my horizons were only broadened by this. I don't want to find "me" in a book. I don't look for "me". I am already me, in the real life that I am living, and that's plenty enough. Now I want to learn about other people, and how they think, and what they feel, and how they make their choices in their own lives and justify them according to their own ideals and cultures (which could be vastly different from my own). No, I don't read books to be preached to - but I do learn from them. Sometimes I honestly think that I learned more about my planet and its history and sociology by reading fiction than I ever did by sitting in a classroom at school. As far as reading about characters not-like-me are concerned, amen to that. I grew up in Eastern Europe, reading books like “Pippi Longstocking”, and the kid’s books by Henryk Sienkiewicz (the protagonists were an English girl and a Polish boy adrift in the wilds of Africa, where (at that point) I had never been…), and “Little WOmen”, and the collected works of Pearl Buck. Norse tales, and tales set in exotic Africa with two protagonists foreign to me, and a bunch of crinoline-wearing girls in Civil War era America, and peasant women and concubines of China.

I think my horizons were only broadened by this.

I don’t want to find “me” in a book. I don’t look for “me”. I am already me, in the real life that I am living, and that’s plenty enough. Now I want to learn about other people, and how they think, and what they feel, and how they make their choices in their own lives and justify them according to their own ideals and cultures (which could be vastly different from my own). No, I don’t read books to be preached to – but I do learn from them. Sometimes I honestly think that I learned more about my planet and its history and sociology by reading fiction than I ever did by sitting in a classroom at school.

]]> By: Brian Hodge http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/01/07/everyperson-blues/comment-page-1/#comment-845 Brian Hodge Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:05:27 +0000 http://24.3006#comment-845 These are all wonderfully wrought distinctions. It all puts me in mind of most of the work of David Schow, who's always managed to come up with some of the least identifiable-with-self protagonists imaginable. But they're unfailingly compelling. I'm paraphrasing, maybe paraphrasing grossly, but Dave said something to the effect that the only unforgivable sin in a character is being uninteresting. Godspeed on that slogsprint to the end. These are all wonderfully wrought distinctions. It all puts me in mind of most of the work of David Schow, who’s always managed to come up with some of the least identifiable-with-self protagonists imaginable. But they’re unfailingly compelling. I’m paraphrasing, maybe paraphrasing grossly, but Dave said something to the effect that the only unforgivable sin in a character is being uninteresting.

Godspeed on that slogsprint to the end.

]]> By: S. Kess http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/01/07/everyperson-blues/comment-page-1/#comment-839 S. Kess Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:22:59 +0000 http://24.3006#comment-839 And this was why I originally began following Storytellers Unplugged--not that I haven't found some nuggets of great advice, even inspiration in other posts. But this... This is exactly what I need right now. Currently, I am struggling with rewrites and nastiness and characters-who-won't-do-as-they're-told, and with all that, I sit, staring at my screen, thinking, Are these people anyone would ever actually care enough to read about? So, in usual style, I find SU pushing me to just write, damn it. And I find, once again, that writing is what's important, here. Not writing for some "hypothetical reader", but just writing for the sake of the story. Thanks! And this was why I originally began following Storytellers Unplugged–not that I haven’t found some nuggets of great advice, even inspiration in other posts. But this… This is exactly what I need right now.
Currently, I am struggling with rewrites and nastiness and characters-who-won’t-do-as-they’re-told, and with all that, I sit, staring at my screen, thinking, Are these people anyone would ever actually care enough to read about?
So, in usual style, I find SU pushing me to just write, damn it. And I find, once again, that writing is what’s important, here. Not writing for some “hypothetical reader”, but just writing for the sake of the story.
Thanks!

]]> By: Bob Jones http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/01/07/everyperson-blues/comment-page-1/#comment-828 Bob Jones Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:17:50 +0000 http://24.3006#comment-828 Thank you, Sarah, for the savory and useful advice. Good luck on whizzing through your "novella" in time. Bob Thank you, Sarah, for the savory and useful advice.
Good luck on whizzing through your “novella” in time.
Bob

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