Much like I did with the Enneagram, I think I shall make brief recordings on this blog of my daily obstacles. Right now, I am experiencing the phenomenon of random, discombobulated thoughts spiriling through my head. Things need to be concrete. I will divide this by issue.
Purpose
When I first told Luke about my wish to do this project, he told me, "You can't simply compile your blogposts together for some time and make it into a book. It needs to have meaning." My first thought was "Why?" My second thought was "If you say so, I suppose I'll find something to justify it." I had some hints at a theme, but I did not take his advice too seriously, and I hoped that a meaning would form purely on its own without any effort.
Yesterday though, I finally understood what he meant. I was talking to my friend Tony about my ideas for this book. For those who don't know, when I talk about "The Venezuelans," I'm referring to Tony approximately 80% of the time. He is an aspiring writer, a creative thinker, and an obsessive texter, so we have intense talks about art on a regular basis.
Anyway, I was telling Tony about Luke's advice to me, and he didn't quite understand what I meant. Honestly, I didn't understand much myself. Seeking an example of art without meaning, I looked at my desk and noticed a book called Animals Talking in All Caps.
Finally, I comprehended what Luke meant. While Animals Talking in All Caps seems like an amusing book, it does not appear to have much substance. I do not think I will improve my character as a human being by reading Animals Talking in All Caps.
This leaves a number of questions. First of all, does a book need to have meaning? Clearly meaningless books can be successful, or else Animals Talking in All Caps wouldn't be sitting on my desk. Perhaps the book has somewhat more meaning than I give it credit for, but I'm certain it's mostly stupid.
I don't think I want to have a stupid book though. I want a book that provides the reader with more than just a hollow laugh. This leads to the second question, how can I give my book meaning? I haven't figured that one out yet.
I don't think my book needs to be a newly profound insight into the human condition, but it ought to be more than just silly photo captions.
I've been reading the book Hyperbole and a Half, based off the blog of the same name. I'm wondering if I should use it as inspiration. One thing that I love about the book is how Allie Brosh is so honest about her feelings, even if they are irrational. It makes you think, "I'm not the only one who experiences these ridiculous feelings. That gives me a lot of comfort."
Still, though Brosh writes quite well, I want my book to appear a little bit more sophisticated than a story illustrated with doodles from MS Paint. I do not mean that as an insult. Brosh's drawings are actually craftily made, and her stories about her depression are insightful and touching.
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| Allie I <3 you |
Editing
Today, I went about editing a few of my pieces. I plan to edit many of my pieces during class so I can gather ideas from other people and steal the best ones. When I tried this technique, it was reasonably helpful, and I got some good material, but it wasn't the cure-all I thought it would be.
When I have to write essays in English class, my teachers have taken the courtesy of giving me a prompt, editing my drafts, and teaching me what I did wrong in order to improve.
I didn't realize how much of a luxury this was until now.
Editing these pieces by myself is surprisingly difficult. It feels like I'm navigating a forest without a map. Though I know what I need to improve in certain sections of my work, I cannot judge the efficacy of my pieces as a whole.
Let me give an example. Today, I was working on my piece Admitted Students Event at Great Lake University. There is one section where I wrote,
To start off the presentation, we would like to begin by showing you a rendition of Milkshake by Kelis, played entirely on balalaikas.
To me, it is clear what needs to be fixed. The idea of a pop song being performed entirely on balalaikas is pretty funny. However, the song Milkshake by Kelis is not the best choice. Though Milkshake is a funny song to imagine on Balalaikas (because it has no coherent melody line), a college orientation probably wouldn't play a musical rendition of the piece. I asked people for ideas, and I found a few, such as "Selections from Nickelback" and "Selections from the musical Curtains." These may not be the final idea but they demonstrate progress.
However, evaluating the piece as a whole is more difficult. There may be sections of this piece that should simply be cut out and replaced. I can't gauge that as easily.
I wish someone could go through every single piece with me, telling me what to keep and what to cut. Unfortunately, I don't think most people want to spend their time with me this way. Maybe it would work better if I show certain things to certain people. I need to figure out how to go about getting a basic editing consultation.
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