Another Reason I Love Fanficton Writers So Much

[aisalynn]

So, tonight me and crushingpretty  went to our college's first "Writer's Community" meeting. I was looking forward to it, expecting it to sort of be how it is here, on livejournal. You know, taking enjoyment in other's writing, and in exchanging ideas and prompts and challenges and giving each other advice...and I've always found the writing community here on lj to be fairly warm and welcoming, and I was hoping it would be the same for this "Community."

Well, it wasn't, not really.

I just found many people there to be... I don't know, pretentious. I mean, the way they spoke and acted, it was like, because we are writers we are supposed to feel emotions different than other people, to find special meaning in things like dead leaves and road kill (one guy really did read a poem for like, twenty minutes, that was about his fixation on a dead squirrel that lasted for nine months). Not to say, that one can't find meaning in these things, but it was like, writers find them beause "normal" people can't. Like we are somehow deeper, because we like the written word.

And, I don't know, I've just never believed that. That artists, writers, musicians are somehow more deep, or more spiritual than everyone else by rule. Nor do I feel that if a poem or story is so complicated that it you can't understand it, it automatically makes it good, that if you pile on so many metaphors and images and seemingly random thoughts, that it will be striking, and meaningful. Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought that a good writer takes common, but complex emotions and ideas that many people unknowingly share, and clarifies them somehow, making people go, "Oh! That is exactly right! That is exactly how I feel, and yet I never thought of it that way!" I've always thought a good writer creates a connection with other people, rather than searching for something that is "deep" or "different" and throwing lots of crap on it to make it seem complicated and out of reach, just so you can feel superior to everyone else.

Am I being silly? Should I feel as dissapointed as I do?

In any case, it made appreciate a lot of the writers here on the net. 'Cause I think its great that we just post stuff up here for people to read because we know they share the same love for writing/reading/shows/characters that we do. That we can share ideas and criticisms, and do little games like drabble tag and rpgs and fanfic memes, and just really enjoy writing without all the serious I-am-a-writer-therefore-if-you-read-my-stuff-you-are-looking-into-my-soul stuff.


So, coming back I was a little miffed, and somehow I ended up writing some poetry for the first time in like, years. It was written pretty fast, and is probably really crappy, but it's sort of my response to the meeting, in a sort of mocking way, I suppose... I don't know. It's probably crap. My poetry always was. But hey, at least I did something original! Haven't done that in a while.

Listen to us,

they whisper, listen to us.

Fall into the rhythm of the beat

the steady cadence of

words pictures colors sounds

twisting and writhing like a living thing

like a drug, creeping into your mind

blurring sight and dulling sound

We are the creators of words,

We are the bringers of change

Let them bring you closer to the truth

in the pattern of the fallen leaves

the mysteries of the clouds

miniscule water droplets swirling

and dipping and floating and sparkling

to create meaning and shapes you’ve never seen

until they’ve shown them to you

Listen, listen,

they say, listen

Be lost in the words they string for you

metaphors painted on metaphors

rippling through the air like heat

sweat and tears curling through matter

dripping from their voices as they

spin a spell around you

We feel what you feel

Know what you know

Are what you are, listen

reach for that single point of clarity

lost in the layers of images

swathed like flimsy folds of colored gauze

enveloping you in sensation

hear touch sense smell taste

Listen,

We are the voice of your soul

Trust us, know us, listen to us.

We are the writers.

 


---
I hope that made some kind of sense. *shruggs*
 

Comments

[tiptoe39.livejournal.com]

Don't forget that all important word next to writers... "college." Which means people are trying to find their voice. And along the way they do a lot of crap. A lot of these folks are still in adolescence. So you can get a lot of pretentious bullcrap out of them. Doesn't mean that's who you need to be.

Writing is many things, I think. Mostly, it's an expression of who and what you are. Which means it's gonna be different for EVERYONE. Hold onto your individuality and your sense of what writing is and don't let anyone else tell you it should be something different. And don't get discouraged.

Many hugs and much agreement for what you had to say here.

[aisalynn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there seems to be the impression that because they're in college everything they write has to be deeply intellectual and world changing. And most of its not.

Heh, the most pretentious poem read there (I think anyway) was actually by a member of the faculty that was there. About a dead squirrel, and I don't know, just by the way he presented it, it seemed like he wanted us to be amazed and awed by it, like that was what poetry was supposed to be. It kind of annoyed me.

Not to say the whole night was bad, there was this one guy who wrote this amazing short story that sort of ended where it began. And it gave me shivers. He was also the one that actually had a question for everyone that turned the meeting into an actual discussion rather than a bunch of writers trying one-up eachother.

Anyway, thank you for you comment! It's nice to know that I wasn't being completely silly, and to be reminded that I won't forever be bombarded with pretentious crap. ;)

[crushingpretty.livejournal.com]

Remarkably, I still want to go. I think that if someone would actually kind of lead a discussion a bit more on things that are read, it would be A LOT better.

I kind of feel like there's not much point of reading or writing without some kind of response. That's, largely, for me, what the meeting lacked. Blackwell was ranting on this subject today. I feel closer to his ideas every class. In a good way. With my own twist.

I thought your poem was very representative of the emotions and thoughts we shared after the meeting. With an APPROPRIATE facade of pretty language. Not the quadruple-ply version some of the people at the meeting were going for...

If you don't want to go anymore, we should at least carry on our own version somehow. It would likely include more shows and in-depth character analysis. And okay, we'd probably gush a lot too.

[aisalynn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'll still go back, at least for a few meetings. I'm hoping that it will get better when it's no longer new to everybody, you know? Besides, there were some good parts of meeting as well, like Cole's story ("I am skin and ribcage. Muscle and throb" or something like that) and the discussion at the very end. That was nice...if a little awkward at times.

And yeah, I know what you mean about Blackwell, I loved his class, it really made you think.

As for our meetings--yeah a lot of gush. *grins*

[sinstralpride.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I know that feeeelliinngg... >< I axed my first creative writing class in college because the professor was a pretentious bitch. I feel sort of immature for thinking that, and for dropping the class for what seems like a stupid reason, but I can't work in that environment. I'm pretty effing resistant to criticism, but there is only so much that I can take. I actually got this comment back on my second paper:

"Your writing style is childish and underdeveloped, and this paper seems hastily written and even more rushed in the editing process. Correct sentence structure and other conventions of the English language appear to have little effect on your work. Any content of value has been lost in the morass of split prepositions, misconceptions and stilted prose. Please put forth the proper effort from now on."

No lie. [I actually dug the paper out and copied it to the comment box... I save it for some mystifying reason. i should burn the damn thing.] >< I don't care how shitty the paper is, you just don't say that. Seriously. Wow. And I doubt it was that effing bad. I'm not much for the ego-having, but I was taking a 200 level class as a freshman. ><

Sorry, I'm ranting about me again. ><

Anyway, I totally understand why you love the writer's here on lj. I feel the exact same way. What's the point of writing if not to share a common experience, evoke emotion, and express yourself? I've never understood the need to endlessly self-promote.

And I know what you mean about the professors that are so stuck on themselves. Other "in charge" types too. I had a judge at a writing contest who spent 20 mins going on about a squirrel [at least this one was alive] and this prose/poetry he'd written about it... go figure. Was the guy you met called "Antler" by any chance?

Bah. I think I'll just stick with the lovely people here. ^^ So, I wanted to say "ditto" to everything you said, and also "amazing poem!" It really drew me in and poked at all those feelings I have stored away about the written word and my love affair with it... then I hit the last line and for some reason it made me "baahahahaha" better than anything else in the past month. Thanks for sharing!

<3 Sin