I try to refrain from taking writing advice from people who fit into any of the following categories:
-Those that possess no experience pertaining to the topic in question
-Those who write so poorly that the reader is left just nodding his/her head, pretending that he/she knows exactly what the author is talking about, when in reality, this is NOT the case.
-And authors who write themselves in circles for five pages, get nowhere at all, teach the reader nothing except how to waste ten minutes of his/her life that he/she can never get back, and then get the monstrosity of a work published in On Writing: A Process Reader.
Unfortunately, Lorrie Moore fits into all of those groups. That work of… was it fiction? Was it a biography? Whatever. That work of whatever it was came off as kind of cute and silly in the beginning. It was so lighthearted, in fact, that it brought me a slight inkling of joy when I first skimmed over it. Then it hit me about three seconds into reading. This author is going nowhere. Honestly, she rambles on and on about the most pointless things. This author hovers for paragraphs on anecdotes that have nothing to do with becoming a writer and more to do with reading pornography while watching someone else’s kids. The last time I checked, the title of the article was “How To Become A Writer”, not “How To Get Charged With Child Neglect”. This was only one case that moderately repulsed me. The other argument that I’d bring up was that I read the whole article and could not pick out a single fact that I could use, or maybe even a bit of wisdom. If anything, this article totally turned me off to writing. God forbid I was seriously considering being a creative writing professor or an author, and I read this atrocity. Lorrie Moore would have singlehandedly killed my occupational goals and dreams.
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2 comments:
Response to Marissa"s Blog post#3: I totally and completely agree with you. this lady doesn't seem to know what she is talking about and rambles on and on about nothing! It was so annoying and actaully made me a little angry that i sat down and read this article when i could be doing better things with my life. Moore didnt help me and apparently Marissa either with our writing. She actually lost me, left me confused and a little angry. I dont know why this "On Writing" book would publish something this outrageously stupid and pointless! I'm really interested to see what everyone else thinks of this messed up writer and her article. Sorry Moore, but i think you're crazy.
Upon reading your response i did some research. Lorri Moore is now a professor, she's written many short stories winning various awards, one of her stories was a New York Times best seller and she has contributed to The Paris Review. I can't agree that she has no experience or wisdom to share. i don't really think she goes in circles either. If you don't like her style of writing (and it's obvious you dont, which is fine) then you might not get much from it. I don't feel all writing has to have some huge impact on your life. Not everything has to be significant. Her writing style is unique and interesting. I feel this was written as a warning for future writers, a disclaimer, she was saying, "this is what you're getting into." she did it in a humorous and lighthearted fashion, but that doesn't make it any less useful.
In my humble opinion.
Obviously, I think you're points make sense for you and I'm not saying that you have no grounds for them or no right to say them.
I just wanted to respond to a blog i didn't agree with because i haven't before now.
I'm sorry if this came off as harsh. I don't like confrontation.
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