Hum-de-hum
Aug 24, 2003 Writing
Down at the bottom of my blogroll I added some of my favorite writer-quotes. I’m feeling very writer-ly despite not having much time to write; I think it’s working on my book proposal.
I get a lot of review books for my job, which I absolutely love. But in the same way that working on a magazine has changed my view of magazines, getting review books changes my view of books. I know this isn’t exactly news to anybody but it turns out that the people writing books are just people. They’re not even necessarily the smartest people or the people who write the most beautifully. No, they’re just people with the impetus to get a book published who have a publisher willing to bet that the book will be riding some popular wave.
Many of the books are very bad. Some are so slick that you can see the marketing wheels turning. Some are so sincere that reading them just breaks your heart; you know no one is going to read it.
You have to have chutzpah to write books. It takes a kind of willfully ignorant confidence and cynicism. Even the people writing the feel good, empowerment books are marketing machines. Even the ones telling you to buy less, listen to your heart, etc. really don’t want you to do that until you’ve bought their book, attended their seminars and listened to them.
I guess I knew all that but now I’m really knowing it.
What’s worse is knowing that I want to write a book anyway, which makes me feel very cynical and snide. Besides it’s a little embarrassing to have my need made so public (look at me! look at me!) but then what did I think I was doing with this blog???
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Pretty girls
Aug 22, 2003 Feminism/Politics
How to have great self-esteem (from a chubby girl who knows whereof she speaks):
1. Don’t read fashion magazines. Seriously. One flip through Elle can ruin your whole day. And if you must, then check out this for a reality check. Still don’t buy it? Look here, too. (And it’s not just girls.)
2. Decide you’re A-OK. Just decide it. C’mon what choice do you have? It’s either that or buying into the bullshit and feeling miserable for the rest of your life. Who needs it? So decide you’re one hot mama ‘cuz you are.
3. Hang out with feminists. Sure, feminists can have eating disorders and low self-esteem but as a group, they want you to feel great about yourself. At the very least, they’ll help you remember that it’s the patriarchy, girl, and not the size of your thighs keeping you down.
4. Hang out with pagans or pagan-friendly womyn. They love your goddess-self and they never, ever say, “Those jeans make your ass look huge.”
5. Think of the little girls in your life who need you to walk your talk. Smile when you look in the mirror just in case they’re watching. Say, “I look good!” just in case they’re listening. Believe it because nobody can spot a lie like a kid.
6. Commit to a radical point of view that celebrates every body including your own. Respect yourself for standing tall despite the media messages. Do it just to piss off the establishment.
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Tags: feminist
This is just killing me
Aug 22, 2003 Writing
I’m working on the chapter outline for my book proposal and getting frustrated. Argh. Argh argh argh.
Argh.
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Looking back
Aug 22, 2003 Parenting
When Noah was a wee little baby, about Milo-sized, I was so enamored with the little miracle that he was that I would look at every other child and think, “Poor woman, doesn’t she know that my child is the shining star in this room?” Although previously a great admirer of children of all ages and sizes, my perfect little boy was so endlessly fascinating that other kids were wallpaper paste in my eyes.
I couldn’t stop looking at him even when I wanted to. I couldn’t stop admiring the curve of his ears and his sweet little hands even when I desperately wanted to run off and do something else. I felt bound to him, captured by him. I couldn’t stand to be away from him but at the same time I felt trapped.
You can’t tell a pregnant mom that this is how it’s going to be. You can tell her that she’ll be busy and tired but it’s impossible to explain that you will also be devoured by love, a love that’s so intense that it can drive you more than a little mad. They tell you their plans — the novel they’ll finish, how they don’t believe in co-sleeping, when they’ll return to work — and you can only nod because they won’t believe you when you tell them that it’s all going to be so much harder than that. Motherhood shakes the very foundations of your life that you’ve worked so hard to build. Read the rest of this entry »
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I was rooting for Alan Cumming
Aug 21, 2003 Read/heard/seen
But I guess Johnny Depp would work well, too.
Currently sailing the seas as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’s Captain Jack Sparrow, the thespian may be foregoing the rum for some everlasting gobstoppers–he’s the frontrunner to play Willy Wonka in director Tim Burton’s update of Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, sources confirmed Wednesday.
I actually didn’t like Pirates but I think Johnny was at least interesting to watch. I don’t really understand why they need to do a remake of an already perfect movie but when I heard they were and my beloved Alan was up for it, I resigned myself to the inevitable.
However, I am boycotting The Cat in the Hat because I think Dr. Seuss himself would have hated it.
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Tags: Alan Cumming