I really enjoyed reading Lorrie Moore’s “How to Become a Writer”. It is such a fast paced, humorous article about the life of the stereotypical writer. I loved the way she wrote in short, precise sentences which got straight to the point. She did not include any unnecessary material. She captured my attention right from the beginning as she explored the journey an aspiring writer takes from choosing the profession to undergoing the processes in order to succeed. I think most people can relate to the fact that they had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up, I know I certainly felt like that. Moore suggests the idea that writers are “insane”. I can understand where this cliché comes from, however I do not believe that all writers, or any group of people for that matter, should be stereotyped depending on their looks, actions or friends etc. Many writers could probably be classed as insane, some stories I have read are far from normal and I often wonder what state of mind they must be in to think of the storylines they do! As a golfer, I was often stereotyped as boring! Golf was never a popular sport for younger people when I was growing up, let alone girls, and we were stereotyped because of it.
When starting out writing essays I was always taught to write them in a 5 paragraph format, with an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Now I would rather read an essay that was more free flowing, where paragraphs began and ended where appropriate and there was no strict order that needed to be followed. I did not feel that you necessarily need a plot in an essay, but sometimes it helps to portray a meaning. In all I thought Moore’s essay was entertaining and humorous. It was an easy read, however it made me think about the way in which people are portrayed according to their actions.
1 comment:
Hannah, I can totally agree with you in the aspect that Moore’s writing caught my attention immediately at the start of her article. I also liked how she avoided using unnecessary information in her writing. I wanted to continue reading throughout the entire essay, but I had some trouble completely comprehending where she was exactly going with her writing. I guess this has to do with her issue of formulating her own plot in her writing, which I am used to in a lot of the reading we do today and my own writing. It is refreshing to read an article like this though, because so much of the reading we do is so formulated and outlined. I like how you mentioned relating to Moore’s struggle in searching for a career path. As a college student now, I can definitely understand where she is coming from, since we have already had to pick our majors and consider possible future careers. Sometimes it can be very confusing and misleading when you might have many different types of interests!
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