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- Thread starter Ninjerk
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Two Brains Are Better Than One
Good luck.
If you ever get your hands on a copy of "Writing The Natural Way" by Gabriele Rico, you might go to the head of the class. State of the art on writing, imo"”based on brain research and the role each hemisphere plays in liberating the writing process . . . a genuinely liberating read.
Poptop
Good luck.
If you ever get your hands on a copy of "Writing The Natural Way" by Gabriele Rico, you might go to the head of the class. State of the art on writing, imo"”based on brain research and the role each hemisphere plays in liberating the writing process . . . a genuinely liberating read.
Poptop
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Whattya do with a creative writing degree...? Write? Just wondering. Teach? Poptop's suggestion sounds interesting, but I'm more interested in the fact Crime & Punishment put you to sleep and you might hate your major. Or am I taking you too seriously?
Seems to me that learning to 'write' from a how to book, or learning to 'teach' by getting a degree in education, is a lot like someone 'telling' you how to drive a stick...it all makes perfect sense until you get behind the wheel...and you're lucky to get out of the driveway, and then only after a number of false starts. You're 20, can you drive a stick...it's becoming a lost art you know...no one can tell you how, you 'have' to do it.
Anyway Ninjerk, what I'm saying is, don't try (thanks Buk) - do! If you wanna write then write, write, write. It's your only chance...and become an expert in something...beer drinking, dragon flies, paper lunch bags, it doesn't much matter. Dostoevsky bores the hell out of me too (usually), so does Shakespeare and the Bible - so what - they all have something to offer.
So Good Luck, and don't settle for less. if you want to write I hope you're writing, and if you want to teach I hope you're teaching, if you just don't know...keep reading...become an expert at something.
And if you don't know how to drive a stick...get someone to show you!!
Bobby D
Seems to me that learning to 'write' from a how to book, or learning to 'teach' by getting a degree in education, is a lot like someone 'telling' you how to drive a stick...it all makes perfect sense until you get behind the wheel...and you're lucky to get out of the driveway, and then only after a number of false starts. You're 20, can you drive a stick...it's becoming a lost art you know...no one can tell you how, you 'have' to do it.
Anyway Ninjerk, what I'm saying is, don't try (thanks Buk) - do! If you wanna write then write, write, write. It's your only chance...and become an expert in something...beer drinking, dragon flies, paper lunch bags, it doesn't much matter. Dostoevsky bores the hell out of me too (usually), so does Shakespeare and the Bible - so what - they all have something to offer.
So Good Luck, and don't settle for less. if you want to write I hope you're writing, and if you want to teach I hope you're teaching, if you just don't know...keep reading...become an expert at something.
And if you don't know how to drive a stick...get someone to show you!!
Bobby D
A lot of people think that about me when the meet me or I reveal myself on the internets. The few times I've been vocal in the past on various message boards I've been fairly bold and arrogant, and thus I've preferred to keep quiet and observe.
BobbyD: I tell everyone, "I want to write... creatively." They usually get a kick out of that because it makes them look stupid. I have a feeling I'm going to hate my major because I'm going to have to suffer through 20 or more hours of analysis based classes because the college has to prove to itself (and accreditors) that I was given a "diverse" literary background. I believe I already have a diverse enough background, and I'm afraid that I won't be given any freedom with my prose fiction classes (I've already heard that a general class on Victorian literature, the worst IMO, is run by a feminist who places an inordinate focus on the Bronte sisters, Austen, et al. and hardly anything about the men of the era). My biggest problem with writing is that I'm afraid to fail. More personally than anything, I'm afraid to disappoint myself.
BobbyD: I tell everyone, "I want to write... creatively." They usually get a kick out of that because it makes them look stupid. I have a feeling I'm going to hate my major because I'm going to have to suffer through 20 or more hours of analysis based classes because the college has to prove to itself (and accreditors) that I was given a "diverse" literary background. I believe I already have a diverse enough background, and I'm afraid that I won't be given any freedom with my prose fiction classes (I've already heard that a general class on Victorian literature, the worst IMO, is run by a feminist who places an inordinate focus on the Bronte sisters, Austen, et al. and hardly anything about the men of the era). My biggest problem with writing is that I'm afraid to fail. More personally than anything, I'm afraid to disappoint myself.
Well, Ninjerk, that was a very honest reply. As all us Buk fans know a degree and good writing are not necessarily related. And good ole Samuel Clemens reminds us "don't to let school get in the way of a good education"! :-)
But a diverse literary background, i.e. being well read, is probably one thing that will allow you the freedom you're ultimatley looking for in your writing. Even if it simply reinforces the fact that you hate a given period or style. Now, I'm 30 years older than you and 'time' looks different to me - 4 months (one semester) is nothing...I'd be happy to give anybody 3 hours a week to learn me on any given subject (they may have a point, they may not, only one way to find out). Problem is I've got this wild hair that makes me want to fuck with people...so, to make things interesting for me, I would read up on the Bronte Sisters and Jane Austen et al well before the semester and get into it with the 'feminist' prof, challenge her ideas from a position of knowledge. Make her squirm, make her defend her opinions (because that's all they are opinions) and let her know in no uncertain terms that she's gonna have to deal with you now...oh yeah, that's where it starts to get fun.
You might not get a good grade, but fuck it, you want to learn something or get a grade? By the way, this is not 'advice', I'm telling you what I would do (have done already) to have fun. Not only do you gain that literary diversity, the rest of the class gets involved, they can't wait for the next lecture... your lecture :-)
A bit about 'freedom' ... in my experience, the kind of freedom you're looking for (in writing or anything esle) actually comes out of great discipline, rather than doing whatever you want to do. For example, if you have the discipline to learn the times tables, periodic chart, chemistry, physics, calculus, etc (even though you 'hate' science), you gain the freedom to choose to be a doctor, architect, anthropologist, physicist, baker or even a 'writer'. But if you blow off science because I don't need that shit to write, or whatever reason, you limit yourself, you're not free at all. If writing doesn't work out in the end what are your choices? Maybe you can be a baker (or a postal clerk in downtown LA, or assembly line worker in a light bulb factory)...
You see what I'm saying Ninjerk is, our fear of failing, of disappoitning ourselves, often comes partly from putting all our eggs in one basket...if writing doesn't work out, what then? You say you have a feeling you'll hate your major, so what, you haven't tried it yet...and doing something you hate has it's own rewards, especially for writers! :-) You need a source for that kind of unbridled passion...love and hate and death are 'the' ultimate motivators...
Good luck with all that, ciao
Bobby D
BTW, do you know how to drive a stick or not?@!!!
But a diverse literary background, i.e. being well read, is probably one thing that will allow you the freedom you're ultimatley looking for in your writing. Even if it simply reinforces the fact that you hate a given period or style. Now, I'm 30 years older than you and 'time' looks different to me - 4 months (one semester) is nothing...I'd be happy to give anybody 3 hours a week to learn me on any given subject (they may have a point, they may not, only one way to find out). Problem is I've got this wild hair that makes me want to fuck with people...so, to make things interesting for me, I would read up on the Bronte Sisters and Jane Austen et al well before the semester and get into it with the 'feminist' prof, challenge her ideas from a position of knowledge. Make her squirm, make her defend her opinions (because that's all they are opinions) and let her know in no uncertain terms that she's gonna have to deal with you now...oh yeah, that's where it starts to get fun.
You might not get a good grade, but fuck it, you want to learn something or get a grade? By the way, this is not 'advice', I'm telling you what I would do (have done already) to have fun. Not only do you gain that literary diversity, the rest of the class gets involved, they can't wait for the next lecture... your lecture :-)
A bit about 'freedom' ... in my experience, the kind of freedom you're looking for (in writing or anything esle) actually comes out of great discipline, rather than doing whatever you want to do. For example, if you have the discipline to learn the times tables, periodic chart, chemistry, physics, calculus, etc (even though you 'hate' science), you gain the freedom to choose to be a doctor, architect, anthropologist, physicist, baker or even a 'writer'. But if you blow off science because I don't need that shit to write, or whatever reason, you limit yourself, you're not free at all. If writing doesn't work out in the end what are your choices? Maybe you can be a baker (or a postal clerk in downtown LA, or assembly line worker in a light bulb factory)...
You see what I'm saying Ninjerk is, our fear of failing, of disappoitning ourselves, often comes partly from putting all our eggs in one basket...if writing doesn't work out, what then? You say you have a feeling you'll hate your major, so what, you haven't tried it yet...and doing something you hate has it's own rewards, especially for writers! :-) You need a source for that kind of unbridled passion...love and hate and death are 'the' ultimate motivators...
Good luck with all that, ciao
Bobby D
BTW, do you know how to drive a stick or not?@!!!
ClassIntellectual
Founding member
Hell yeah, that's the way to do it. I had a subtly nasty prof. for my freshman English course, "Study of poetry." Ick! So haughty and unrelenting. What I should have done was immerse myself in the material beforehand and critique her opinions the whole way through. Usually, the only way to make someone think is to do even more thinking yourself.
p.s. I tried driving stick once in my girlfriend's car. Nearly killed us in the parking lot.
R
roadragermovemove
take an acting class or date a chick who's either an actress/psych major/or total case study. Also take the bus (PUBLIC TRANSIT) go to the raw sides of town, drive to the desert...and remember your dreams. Or you can just read all the shit here. That outta supply you with enough fodder for at least a semester.
