So, I have a Homework assignment of sorts for you.
Is there anything making you angry right now? If, so please share. I decided we need a good rant right about now. (please do not rant about me asking you to rant :) )
I'll go first. I am pissed that I have to read too much crap for my legal ethics class by thursday AND get my cracked windshield replaced, AND get an oil change AND put together a presentation by friday for a conference. That's a lot of AND's AND having to write them has angered my blood.
Homework Assignment
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Oh boy. I do freelance work for my uncle's girlfriend's company often, usually stuff I am good at like making search engines, setting up databases, fixing HTML errors, etc. But now she decided that she doesn't like her site, and so she subtly redesigns it herself. But she still wants the weird fucking JavaScript drop-down menus that the designer created to work. Not only does the original code make NO FUCKING SENSE, but her new design code SOMEHOW MAKES EVEN LESS FUCKING SENSE.
Add to this the fact that she is essentially holding the money from my last project with her for ransom until this bullshit is done with, because "Oh, it's all part of the same project, I'll just pay you all at once."
Fucker.
I am pissed about the fiction workshop superiority complex, or what I have formally dubbed "The Stephen King Phenomenon." Why is it that half the people who take these workshops seem possessed by this 'holier than thou' attitude where it is improper to discuss anything but what is deemed "proper high quality literature.' I have seen people mention Stephen King in workshops (no, I'm not talking about myself) and you might as well give yourself a beheading and wear a big T on your chest for TRAITOR to the art (ok, granted I just made a literary reference, but i just got out of class :) Now, I'm not saying Stephen King is the best writer in the world by any means (though I do like some of his stuff --REDRUM) but I do not think discussing this "lower quality" has no value to it--he is afterall, a famous, successful, though formulaic writer. I just think it is a bad idea to begin a workshop by having everyone point out the bad points in a published novel, have people rip it apart, and then supposedly feel comfortable sharing your writing with them for the rest of the semester. It creates a stifling atmosphere, and makes me often feel that if you really, really love something, you should not go to school to pursue it. I feel like there's lots of other things I could rant about right now, but it is too late and I need to go to bed...maybe this rant should be a weekly column... :)
When you take creative writing classes, do they ever deal with what makes successful writers successful? It sounds like they don't, and it seems like they're doing you guys a great disservice. It's all well and good to foster creativity and individuality over assimilation and mass appeal, but I'd think it'd be useful to have students at least in part analyze popular fiction and try to figure out what makes it so popular, i.e. what resonates with the public. I mean, you gotta eat.
Keith,
I could not agree with you more! It's as if mass produced popular fiction should not even be a part of our culture...I've had professors say 'if writing like that is what it takes to be well known and rich i'd rather not do it' well fine--but as you said, you have to eat. I think it would be beneficial to look at BOTH types of writing, and certainly NOT degrade EVERYTHING that appeals to the masses...
It's also easy for a tenured professor to say things like that; his/her family is always going to have food on the table. It's harder for the students, most of whom will not find a place in academia, to be so high-minded.
Well, seeing as I hope to maybe support myself as a college creative writing professor (maybe), lets hope I don't fall into the group with "most students." :) I don't think college professors make all that much anyway, but I understand what you're saying. I think it would be fun to write for TV actually...we'll see what happens. I may end up with a really nice cardboard box on the Boston Common or something... :)
Cue Joe with random "It's warm and safe here in my box" comment.
Ha ha :) I still have that list of "Joe-isms" we made senior year...we should blog it :)
Sorry I missed my cue. I will let you know why in a post above. :)
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