tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post6769215010161281204..comments2023-11-05T05:01:58.563-05:00Comments on Ward Six: In Which I Contradict MyselfUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-15948839450229009202007-11-27T10:19:00.000-05:002007-11-27T10:19:00.000-05:00True, to an extent. But what if you have only a li...True, to an extent. But what if you have only a limited view -- the same type of people doing the same things? <BR/>Many turn of the century authors got their training as reporters. They would cover a political fracas, a tenement fire, a shooting, a meeting of the Garden Society. <BR/>Or if you worked in a hardware store, an insurance agency, and on a drilling rig, you would get to know different types of people, and you could make them authentic characters in your work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-15288256990097582402007-11-25T12:13:00.000-05:002007-11-25T12:13:00.000-05:00I'll step in and defend those people, though--you ...I'll step in and defend those people, though--you don't need to have interesting life experiences to be a good writer. In some ways, adventure is an impediment. You just need to notice things...it isn't what a writer sees that makes her great, it's <I>how</I> she sees.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-31249366112301898052007-11-25T09:32:00.000-05:002007-11-25T09:32:00.000-05:00Many writers today know their growing up years and...Many writers today know their growing up years and classrooms (6 years of college to get a MFA, and then a lifetime teaching creative writing). They don't have varied life experiences to draw on. Also, they associate mainly with others of their ilk (whose work they read -- and promote, if it's by a friend). So where to turn for fresh material? To the library.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-45830454671730989232007-11-24T13:34:00.000-05:002007-11-24T13:34:00.000-05:00I'm not fond of that genre myself, nor of blatantl...I'm not fond of that genre myself, nor of blatantly autobiographical fiction, for reasons similar to yours - seems like a real fiction writer ought to be able to conjure up fictional worlds without relying heavily on real-life characters. I will admit, however, to long being intrigued by Brian Hall's book (your recommendation might finally tilt me toward reading it), as well as Michael Winter's The Big Why, which is based on the life of the artist Rockwell Kent. I've been waiting for Winter's book to come out in paperback before snapping it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com