Response to Bird by Bird 3

I loved the first section in this week's Bird by Bird reading.  Looking Around is not only good direction for writing but also living life in general.  Being able to become enamored, or at least observe, things we all too often ignore as inane is crucial to, I think, living life!  Without, for example, acknowledging the beauty of the small things around us or at the very least feeling something about anything, what is the point?  I don't think you can write about a world you aren't a part of, and to be a part of the world, you must pay attention to it.
I also really liked the section Broccoli.  I often find myself giving my girlfriend's unsolicited relationship advice along the lines of "follow your intuition".  We all stifle and ignore ourselves far too often because of society or how we were raised or any other reason from a pile of millions, typically (in my case) resulting in some silly situation that wouldn't have risen had I listened to my gut reaction.  This can definitely be applied to writing and I like Lamott's encouragement to listen to your intuition.
Finally, I liked the section Index Cards.  It reminded me of a psychology project from high school where we had to keep a journal next to our beds and record what dreams or fragments remained as soon as we woke up.  Keeping index cards or anything to jot ideas down on your person or around your house is a good way to ensure that ideas aren't lost.  There have been so many instances in which I have though of something great and been too lazy to make note of it, thus losing it forever when it was inevitably forgotten minutes later.  To then catalogue those cards for days when your mind is blank is a good tip on preventing writer's block and encouraging the process every day.

Response to Wreckage of Reason 2

I enjoy reading Wreckage of Reason because it is diverse and each story is short enough that if I don't like it much, its over soon.  :)  Out of this week's selections, I most liked You A Love WAR Story, part I.  I like the style of writing, it reminds me of a journal entry where someone is just writing whatever pops into their head.  The rest of the sections are different; letters between numerous people, notes, etc.  The whole story to me is just that of an unhappy relationship.  I found myself wondering why she didn't leave him if she no longer loved him.  Although the story has scattered parts, they do seem chronological.  Did she stay out guilt?  He is depressed and maybe she couldn't go.  Maybe they are married and divorce is too complicated.  I like this story but it actually made me really sad to read and I found my eyes watering, everyone just seems so complacent... at best.
I found Intuition to be an interesting, although disturbing, story.  Reading it, I found that I really wanted to know what was going to happen, but when I came across her recall of "the incident", I know I made a strange face at my book.  It bothers me how un-remorseful the speaker sounds as she recalls what she did.  It also offers no answers, her only explanation was that she was 17 and dealing with a death in the family.      I did like the style of writing though- again it seemed very personal and realistic.

Response to Bird by Bird 2 (for 3/15)

I really enjoy reading Lamott's Bird by Bird.  I think her approach to writing about writing is straightforward and amusing.  From this week's reading, I found her section on dialogue to be the mos helpful.  I rarely write stories and when I do, I always struggle with maintaining the character's character through dialogue.  She says to remember that you should be able to identify a character through their dialogue, and I found that helpful.  I makes me think that a lot of good writers could be good actors- you need to become a character when you write, a little bit, in order to know what their feelings, responses, speech, and actions should be.
Although there was a somewhat heated debate about plot vs. character in class last Thursday, I would have to say I agree more so with Lamott's viewpoint.  I think characters generate plot, or that the two are cyclical.  As in real life, we are shaped by experiences and other things arise as result of our doings.  You can't really separate plot from character just as you can not separate a personality from life experience.  These two things will always go hand in hand.

Responses to Wreckage of Reason

Of the several works in Wreckage of Reason we read this week, A Whirlwind Romance was my favorite.  Lillis divides her story into two sections, the first lists things someone had said to her prior to their meeting and the second lists things he said to her after they met while spending time together.  In section I he is supportive, interested, and full of flattery.  In section II, however, he shifts to critical, dismissive, and contradictory.  My favorite line is towards the end; "That's the funny thing about the English language- one word can have any number of meanings."  I think the entire story shows how we as people often are not ourselves with others at first.  We want people to like us, we want acceptance, this story also illustrates, I think, how our desire for sex affects how we interact with others.
The other story I was drawn to was N.  It was interesting to me that it was written using words from a page of the newspaper, much like our assignments of reconstructing others' poems into our own works by using their words.  It was written that one word was added and I find myself wondering which word it is. The last portion of the work, titled Gospel Incompletely, the boy of the story is dead.  I was really drawn to this section and I felt like the author was saying if the parents were able to look at their dead child, they would see all these things he represented or imagined to be.  I felt like the things listed were an abstract representation of the child's life.
So far, I am enjoying the stories we have been reading but I don't always understand the author's intent.  Much of this writing is, to me, largely symbolic and non-direct and I feel like I need to reread it several times to begin to grasp the concepts.