If you're a fan of Marc Maron, you'll recognize his ability to zero in on the troubled soul of his subject, in this case writer and mentor and inspiration Steve Almond. Almond almost sounds like he is disappointed with himself. I guess even rock stars are human. Steve, you didn't disappoint us. We are here. We are reading. We are grateful for your stories.
Listen here.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Lynda Barry Has the Cure for Rejection Blues, I Think
In a world where there are a lot of people saying "no," it's nice to hear someone say simply "good." Not "the best." Not "better than his but worse than hers." Just "good." Without any specifics or actual judgments. That part is up to you, the writer.
Because are we really doing this for approval? Really? There are much easier ways to get approval, I think.
The big irony is, maybe 80% of my published work came out of working with Barry's method. Some of it even came out of the class itself. Barry's focus is on imagery and working in series. She steers away from publication, fame, all that claptrap. Regarding fame, she says, "It's a cookbook," which only the gray haired people and science fiction geeks understand, but then she is kind enough to explain. I won't here. Wikipedia does a good job.
This article on Barry's class in the NY times is worth a read.
Because are we really doing this for approval? Really? There are much easier ways to get approval, I think.
The big irony is, maybe 80% of my published work came out of working with Barry's method. Some of it even came out of the class itself. Barry's focus is on imagery and working in series. She steers away from publication, fame, all that claptrap. Regarding fame, she says, "It's a cookbook," which only the gray haired people and science fiction geeks understand, but then she is kind enough to explain. I won't here. Wikipedia does a good job.
This article on Barry's class in the NY times is worth a read.
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