And we all have them in our lives. Those non-writers who, while they may not understand exactly what we are trying to do, are very enthusiastic about it.
For example, I have a lovely lady who rides the bus with me. She knows that I want to write. She knows nothing about my genre (fantasy/urban fantasy), but she's very excited to bring me any and every scrap of anything from the newspaper even remotely related to writing.
So far, she's brought me info on a screenplay writing contest, a nursery rhyme writing contest, and a contest to write the last sentence of the new Harry Potter novel, using certain words.
I appreciate her support. But when I tell her "I don't write screenplays", I really mean that I DON'T write screenplays. It is not a time to respond "Oh, you can do anything you put your mind to." Yes, I probably could, but I don't want to.
Still, she means well, and it's nice to know I have a fan. I guess.
The trials and tribulations of an author in progress
About Me
- K.A. Stewart
- Wife, mother, author. My mission: To survive the writing, the querying, and hopefully, the publishing.
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How many people love me? (and one person with no sense of humor who doesn't)
5 comments:
Well, I guess she's trying to encourage you in her own special way. Better than those responses like..."you know, I've always wanted to write. Maybe when I'm retired...", as if it's something easy to do.
You said "She knows I WANT to write." By the looks of your blog, and the progress on your writing projects it seems you are writing, and quite a bit actually. I'm going to use a cliche here (don't hurt me), but don't fail to see the forest for the trees. Every word that finds the page counts as writing.
By the way, I found a writing contest you may be interested in...(kidding).
Yup these folks are only slightly less annoying that the folks who say, "And what exactly do you do all day" or make jokes about soaps (which I hate). What worse is when people hear you write and start off by saying..."Hey I have this great idea for a..." Usually it's a book (I write non-fiction and blogs) and usually they assume the idea is good. 97% of the time it's not.
It's hard to write and get people to 'get' it.
Everyone needs a champion, whether their attention is misdirected or not. Sounds like you have one right there. :)
I have certain family members who act this way toward me (even though they should know better by now). As I read your post, though, I couldn't help but picture some little old lady on the bus, rooting through her purse for a newspaper clipping... and it just seemed too cute to be annoying. :)
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