I've been reading a lot lately - I've become one of those people who read ten books at a time - and there's a lot in them about writing, or people who write. Strangely, I never really noticed this before, and when I mentioned it to J, it seemed like such an obvious thing to say. "Why wouldn't there be?" he said. "What the else do writers have to write about?"
Now that I've noticed this, it's just everywhere. I just saw the new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, which was accurately described as "very light comedy." It was more just a bunch of sweetness and loveliness, as opposed to actual comedy; it also had an important but gentle and simple theme. But more to my point, it contained a disillusioned screenwriter, which made me further refine my observations. And I now see that writers don't write about all writers - not about those who are happy and successful. That would be unquestionably boring. No, instead they write about disillusioned writers, or writers who are blocked, or who used to be successful and now are not, or were too immediately successful and now can't produce the next thing, or extremely successful writers who are nonetheless angry and upset that they are hacks and never tried their hand at, you know, real writing: lit-er-a-ture. Which is, they say, a different beast altogether.
I was also reading a Spalding Gray monologue (Monster in a Box) this weekend, which is about how he, Spalding, can't seem to write a book about a character who can't seem to take a vacation, called Impossible Vacation. The book I was reading was a transcript of his long-running theatrical monologue, which also was made into a movie (of the monologue). There's a lot of writing, and a lot of talking about writing, and not writing, and talking about that. He makes a point of saying how awful writing is - how it's like a disease, how he doesn't know why he ever romanticized it. "There's no audience" he whines, and it's true. It's a lonely business.
But the funny thing - well, I think it's funny - is that because the writers are writing the stories, the stories are all about writing, but it's OK. No one seems to mind - or even notice. It's like if plumbers generated all the screenplays and fiction and poetry, we'd all be wondering about it, suspicious over how often the subject matter is plumbing. But we just kind of accept it, all these stories that all happen to be about writing and writers. It's kind of fun; it's fun when we all collectively just go along with something random - as long as it's harmless. I don't when everyone goes along with, say, nuclear weapons or reality TV. There are some things we should be suspect of.
I promise to not blog too much about writing, I just had to get this off my chest a bit. Like the many books I'm reading (some Pema Chodron, some Rumi, the fifth book in the "increasingly misnamed" Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, a book about labyrinths, and the endless New Yorkers - they come so quickly, they sometimes seem to be one long magazine), I'm also working on a few different writings, or whatever you call things you're writing.
I like to close with recent Rob Brezny advice, in this case: "The only way to let your dreams come true is to wake up," he tells me poet Paul Valery said. Or, as Rob paraphrases, stop floating and start grunting. I further paraphrase, stop thinking about and dreaming about what to do and actually do it. In my case, I am grateful that just doing it only involves writing, which one can do on a couch, in a warm room. I mean, thank god just doing it, for me, doesn't mean climbing Half Dome, or getting through the US Open, or splicing genes. Some people have to train a lot, or rise early, or sink their live savings into things. Some people have it really tough; whatever you do, good luck doing it!
Now that I've noticed this, it's just everywhere. I just saw the new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, which was accurately described as "very light comedy." It was more just a bunch of sweetness and loveliness, as opposed to actual comedy; it also had an important but gentle and simple theme. But more to my point, it contained a disillusioned screenwriter, which made me further refine my observations. And I now see that writers don't write about all writers - not about those who are happy and successful. That would be unquestionably boring. No, instead they write about disillusioned writers, or writers who are blocked, or who used to be successful and now are not, or were too immediately successful and now can't produce the next thing, or extremely successful writers who are nonetheless angry and upset that they are hacks and never tried their hand at, you know, real writing: lit-er-a-ture. Which is, they say, a different beast altogether.
I was also reading a Spalding Gray monologue (Monster in a Box) this weekend, which is about how he, Spalding, can't seem to write a book about a character who can't seem to take a vacation, called Impossible Vacation. The book I was reading was a transcript of his long-running theatrical monologue, which also was made into a movie (of the monologue). There's a lot of writing, and a lot of talking about writing, and not writing, and talking about that. He makes a point of saying how awful writing is - how it's like a disease, how he doesn't know why he ever romanticized it. "There's no audience" he whines, and it's true. It's a lonely business.
But the funny thing - well, I think it's funny - is that because the writers are writing the stories, the stories are all about writing, but it's OK. No one seems to mind - or even notice. It's like if plumbers generated all the screenplays and fiction and poetry, we'd all be wondering about it, suspicious over how often the subject matter is plumbing. But we just kind of accept it, all these stories that all happen to be about writing and writers. It's kind of fun; it's fun when we all collectively just go along with something random - as long as it's harmless. I don't when everyone goes along with, say, nuclear weapons or reality TV. There are some things we should be suspect of.
I promise to not blog too much about writing, I just had to get this off my chest a bit. Like the many books I'm reading (some Pema Chodron, some Rumi, the fifth book in the "increasingly misnamed" Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, a book about labyrinths, and the endless New Yorkers - they come so quickly, they sometimes seem to be one long magazine), I'm also working on a few different writings, or whatever you call things you're writing.
I like to close with recent Rob Brezny advice, in this case: "The only way to let your dreams come true is to wake up," he tells me poet Paul Valery said. Or, as Rob paraphrases, stop floating and start grunting. I further paraphrase, stop thinking about and dreaming about what to do and actually do it. In my case, I am grateful that just doing it only involves writing, which one can do on a couch, in a warm room. I mean, thank god just doing it, for me, doesn't mean climbing Half Dome, or getting through the US Open, or splicing genes. Some people have to train a lot, or rise early, or sink their live savings into things. Some people have it really tough; whatever you do, good luck doing it!
I am currently doing a masters program in creative writing and I really appreciated finding your thoughts on something that has been bothering me since the course has started. There are 15 of us and just a few weeks in I have read stories from 1/3 of the class about writing or writers. While I do agree somewhat with your answer: what else do they have to write about? I would rather not accept that writers are so limited. Instead, I have been reminded of when I used to be invited by an old friend who was a dj at a jazz radio station to jazz concerts in Denver`s top jazz club... it didn`t take long to realize I was the only one in the place who wasnt either from this station or a musician. I think writing has become as inbred as jazz in this way. Playing to musicians and writing for writers. It comes down to a consideration of audience perhaps. Makes things easier. Yesterday I asked the same question of this blog post to a friend who had previously done an MFA in creative writing. And also asked if he had had the same experience. He said he definitely had and added that if you look at any literary journals today, half of the stuff is about writing or writers. Ah, I said, that`s because the writers are the only people who read literary journals.
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