Hello, internet friends! Might I just notice what lovely weather we're having? Seriously, it feels like Spring out there. And yes, I realize not that I've said this, it's gonna start snowing any minute now and we won't be able to tell that there are bodies under the 12 layers of pants and coats we'll have to wear for the next four months. But the fantastic smells of fall and cool breeze that's just right has inspired me to blog.
That, and the fact that my entire life is spent here anyway. But it sounds more poetic to let the weather be your writing muse.
My friend Maria and I are in the same English class, and while we have similar writing styles, and the same joy out of devouring a good book, our views of what makes a good read are drastically different. I mean, poor writing is easy to spot, and we can easily agree when Stephanie Myer says, well, anything, it's just wrong. But in terms of content, I could spend an entire reading about ordinary people and their lives, (which is what our most recently assigned book entailed) and Maria is enticed by action, pirates, and history. How is it that our eyes can glaze over the same work the other found enthralling? Is one of our views more justifiable than the other? It's not to say that plot is better than character development, or vice versa; when one falls flat, the whole book falls apart. But when I read about normal people having normal lives and emotions, I'm able to overlook a few boring plot points. And since I know a majority of people (or at least a majority of my friends) prefer action-y novels, I thought I'd clear up why I'm not bored out of my skull when I read about people and their lives:
1) You can better understand people in your own life.
The characters I read about are often distinctly similar to my own friends and family. And while I'm constantly trying to figure out the motivations that are behind these people's actions, it can clear so much up when you read a book that directly states someone's emotions and point of view, rather than dancing around those motivations. Even those cheesy teen books about "the popular girl" gave me so many "aha!" moments when I realized they had pin-straight hair, perfect bodies and perfect clothes, often because other aspects of their lives were far from perfect. I may not have known a whole lot in middle school, but at least books gave me the enlightening realization that even the scary robotic groups are insecure too.
2) You can borrow character traits for your own works.
Okay, so we had a very prolonged discussion about what constitutes inspiration versus stealing in class today, but my argument is that character traits are more universal. Plot points are easier to pick out as "stealing," whereas you can have multiple characters who hate science class, or wear pink on Wednesdays (in that sense it would be alluding another work), or who are afraid of change. I mean, think about it: in real life, finding two people who are left-handed and shy is not all that coincidental. But the stars have to align in order to find two people who ate a protein bar for breakfast, got an 84% on a test and got yelled at by their parents because the university payment system was less than ideal.
3) Escape is nice, but so is finding out you're not alone.
A lot of people read to escape their own lives, and I see the advantages in that, but when I'm feeling down about something, what comforts me most is to find out there's someone, somewhere, thinking the same thing. The whole teenage girl, "no one understand me" mindset is a common one, but it can be easy to overlook that it's universal until you read a few (million) books that say the same thing. It's nice to discover some characters that I could be friends with and relate to. Perhaps its my own solipsism that's talking, but sometimes you just gotta be reminded by the authors of the world that you're not a freak of nature. Or if you are, so is more than half of the rest of the world.
Psh - pirates are cool.
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