Readers

2003-11-14 - 8:42 a.m.

One of the threads in the nanowrimo forum is asking the age-old, all-important question: Are writers hot?

So of course this question will plague me all day. Would I date a writer? Would that be good or bad? Should I start advertising myself as a writer to make myself seem more hot? Or am I hot enough already?

I think that if/when I ever date again, I want to date a reader more than another writer. It's a little self-centred, I guess, but Pookie rarely read my fiction, unless I made it clear that I would like him to (he said he was afraid he wouldn't enjoy it and then he would hurt my feelings) and that's something I've kind of missed in our relationship.

I get excited about my stories, and I like to talk about what's going on in them, the characters, future plot twists...I want someone that I can describe these things to while we're curled up in bed, I want someone that I can share my worlds with in an intimate way.

Right now, I have a good friend who has read a bunch of my stuff since high school, and she even asks for it sometimes (the masochist), and now that I'm getting back into this writing thing for another year, I'm really appreciating having her in my life, even if she lives far away and we're both poor so we only really talk through email. Blind Merv, I salute you!

I think the best time I ever had, on a consistent basis, as writer was when I was working on my first novel in high school. I would finish a chapter or two and then hand it off to two or three friends (one of whom was Merv), and they'd read it and come back to ask me questions, or to make observations or criticisms. They helped me to feel the cooperative part of writing, to see in real physical form that writing is essentially about communication, they showed me when I was doing a good job, when I was being a good communicator. I really believe they helped to mold (mould? damn homonyms. Homonyms? Gah.) me as a writer, and that whatever good stuff (the little of it that there is) is in part because of their participating with me.

I think that if I ever do this writing thing as a career, I'll need to surround myself with such rare and wonderful people again. I think that even if writing never becomes a paying job for me, I could do a lot worse for myself by surrounding myself with those people anyway.

To all the really great readers out there: keep up the good work. The world needs you.

Cheers,

The Magus

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