Poll
Okay, writers are ghouls. On a listserve I'm on a discussion has come up that started with Graham Greene's statement that every writer must have a sliver of ice in his heart (or something to that effect; I no longer have the original post) and gone on to people recounting experiences--from robbery to brain surgery--during which they have found themselves taking notes on the experience for later use. I have a bunch of these myself, from childbirth to having my wallet lifted (I got to go to One Police Plaza; I got deposed by an ADA; I felt like an extra in Law and Order!). Aside from the technical benefits of amassing information about a traumatic situation, I've always thought that the "someday I'll use this" experience is a way of getting a handle on an un-handleable event.
So my question is: when something big happens, do you find yourself taking notes? Are you a writer, or are we kidding ourselves in thinking that this is a behavior specific to writers, film-makers, etc.?
So my question is: when something big happens, do you find yourself taking notes? Are you a writer, or are we kidding ourselves in thinking that this is a behavior specific to writers, film-makers, etc.?
posted by Madeleine Robins at 12:06 PM
6 Comments:
A conversation you would have or did have?
It's not about being a big serious professional writer. Everyone who writes even a little bit does this. So, when something really bad happens, we go "oh well, at least I'll get a fanzine article out of it." These days, "oh well, at least I'll get a blog post out of it."
Yup, I do it. Sometimes I'll even journal it as soon as I can, to have the raw material later.
---L.
I don't think you have to be a serious professional writer--or even a frivolous professional writer. Some people collect anecdotes and recount them at parties; other people blog about them; my father can hold forth on the fascinating and juicy cases he encountered when he was an EMT. But I do know some people don't take notes, and consider me damned weird because I do.
A lot of the parties I go to are filled with other writers. It gets ugly: a scrum of writers all trying to tell the best story and bask in the momentary approval of their peers.
I'm also the kind of shy that goes with being a good public speaker but easily overwhelmed at parties. It's why I like to be the person throwing the party--I can hide behind replenishing the chips when it all gets to be too much. I crave attention, but don't know what to do with it unless I'm on stage.
During the crisis it gives me a reason to stay sane, because screaming just isn't "done".
And it somehow gives me hope of rewriting the scene someday to give it a better outcome.
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