Monday, December 3, 2012

Amazing Minds


I think that Cameron’s vision of creating literary works is inspiring. It calls us to truly listen to ourselves, which can be a rather daring adventure. I know that many times I fear delving into the depths of my own psyche because I simply do not wish to see all the dirt that is longing to gain my attention. I guess in this way I feel like Eileen Myles in her essay on her novel of poetry. She writes, “My dirty secret has always been that it’s of course about me. But I have been educated to believe I’m no one so there’s a different self operating and I’m desperate to unburden my self of my self so I’m coming from nowhere and returning.” When she writes her novel she feels as though she is displaying all of her shameful details in a world that is dominated by an understanding that those details should be avoided. Somehow when you write you can throw your true self out into the world and you do not need to be afraid of judgment. The fact is that your true self is display in great writing, but it is disguised. We are in the open and vulnerable yet we wear a mask. It would call it an invisible mask because I feel like everybody should know that great writing comes from the heart, but that is not always the case.  I feel like I can relate to Myles in her feeling that she is splattering her undignified self upon page after page of her novel.
So back to Cameron.
One quote that I loved from Cameron’s writing on “sketching” was, “writing is a solitary act.” I read this and I said, “YES!” That statement is so true and as I think about my own journey as a writer it is a statement that I wish I understood years ago. When I was younger I longed for someone to give the key to good writing. I felt like I was just missing something when I wrote. Everything I attempted to write seemed robotic and void of feeling. I wanted more from my writing. I feel as though I have grown much since my early days as a writer. I realize now that there is no magic key that unlocks writing like a treasure chest. Writing does not happen in a moment. It is not a finish line. Writing is the race. The fact that writing is a solitary act implies that everyone truly has their own style. I can never hope to write in the same manner as Rowling or Tolkien without sounding like a simple regurgitation of the two. I am not them. I love how Cameron talks about some different styles in her writing. The guy who had to go to the places he wrote about was interesting to me. He needed experience to become inspired. I loved Cameron’s style the most. Faith-based writing is such an awesome way of looking at it. To believe that your mind is intelligent enough to bring a story together without a guide is difficult, but our minds are amazing. That is what they do on a daily basis. For example, if you smell eggs while you are walking down the street you may think of breakfast or a specific breakfast you had with your boyfriend on the day he asked you to marry him. Or you might think back to your chemistry class and realize that eggs provide protein to your body, which get turned into amino acids. We connect all of our own experiences every second of every day. Why should it be so hard to construct a story based on this model? It is our nature.
I really enjoy Cameron as a writer because she is down to earth and she explains her ideas in an understandable and attainable way. She makes writing common. By that I mean that she makes it feel like anyone can write. Cameron doesn’t just say it either. She proves it.

2 comments:

  1. Really well said, thoughtful, and inspirational. Thanks so much Alyssa for the wonderful posts and thinking this semester. Your responses have helped me to think about some of my own writing and thinking. So glad to have had you in class this semester.

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    1. Thanks a lot!! Your class inspired a lot of thoughts!

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