Blog Post #3

I enjoyed reading Lorrie Moore’s “How To Become A Writer,” because it was fairly different from your average essay.  I would say Moore used a humorous tone throughout the article, which I liked because it kept me interested.  Although her humorous and creative tone was refreshing and enjoyable, since it is not like many other essays, I sometimes had a hard time following along with her thoughts.  I felt like Moore jumped from one subject to the next throughout the article, which somewhat confused me.  I guess this is where she lacked the formation of a plot, which I am normally used to reading and following along with.  I found myself re-reading a few paragraphs in attempt to keep up and follow her writing.  Her writing seemed to be very off the wall and imaginative, and I had a more difficult time fully relating to and understanding her essay.  I guess my inability to completely comprehend and follow her wild thoughts and ideas would encourage me to believe that many writers are somewhat “insane.”  But I’m sure this is just a result of my own personal lack of imagination.  Although I enjoy free writing and allowing my imagination to run wild, I do not exactly consider myself the most creative type.  So, I would say that my conception of an “insane writer” is somewhat cliché due to my lack of understanding of a writer’s imagination.  Personally, I believe many stereotypes are formed by lack of information and lack of knowledge.  Being a cheerleader in high school, I remember a particular girl, who is now one of my best friends, mocking me and making fun of me in class for being dumb all throughout our freshman year.  Yes, cheerleaders will almost always have that initial stereotype of being stupid, clumsy “air heads,” but there are so many of us out there that do not acquire any of these qualities.  For instance, my friend, who once used to classify me under the stereotypical cheerleader, did not know that I made good grades, took difficult courses and spent much of my time in high school studying for my classes.  But once she took the step to look beyond this stereotype and actually get to know me on a personal level, she realized how much I didn’t fulfill this stereotypical image of a dumb cheerleader.  I have found throughout my own experience that these stereotypes that we so often subconsciously form in our minds are simply due to the lack of information regarding people or groups of people we do not fully know or understand based on differences between others and ourselves.