Tue 11 Apr 2006
This past weekend, Mr. W had restored my old computer at his house, so I printed out a short story I’d written in college for him to read. It’s the first piece of fiction he’s read of mine, and he called me just now to discuss it.
I realized I have very little memory of the story and wasn’t able to discuss it very effectively. It’s kinda embarrassing when someone else can shoot you down regarding some detail or impression of a story that you’d written yourself. But it makes me happy that he has opinions and thoughts on it at all. I think a greater compliment to a writer by far is someone closing your book and saying, “Hmm…”, as opposed to closing your book and saying, “That was nice. I enjoyed it.”
I just looked at the first page of the short story. Yoga is mentioned by one of the characters. I had never taken yoga at the point in my life when I’d written this story. Interesting. I wonder what other elements in the story I now relate to (short of the fact that the Chinese character is married to a Caucasian man, and I’m now dating one, too).
Are you writing stories still?
No. I should be, tho. That is the dream.
I’d buy it.
buy what? a novel if I ever turned out one?
I just read the story. I realize I dislike the female character/narrator, but I also know I didn’t write her to be a brilliant person and I wrote her to be rather ignorant and self-righteous. A lot of elements in this story now strike a bad chord with me. =P Bleah.
A novel you pop out… short story, whatever.
You make it sound like giving birth. “Pop out.”
Actually, other writers have likened creating their works to giving birth. Another writer (John Milton, maybe?) had expressed the difficulties of editing his work. “Cut these lines, and they bleed.” I so concur.