Question: "A boring person in an interesting place"

[Claire G]

I listened to a podcast yesterday and the author being interviewed was very interesting. One of his comments stuck with me. He said that when he was younger he wanted to be a writer but didn't have anything to write about, so he decided to go travelling. But while he was away, he realised that he was "a boring person in an interesting place". He still had no ideas.

I was thinking about this for a while afterwards. 'An interesting place' doesn't have to be a geographical. It can be a mental place. When I was young, I wanted to be a writer too. But I had nothing to say because I was so inexperienced in life. Eventually, in my late twenties, I had a go at a children's fantasy, which sparked my confidence when I actually managed to complete it. But realistic fiction for adults eluded me until after life beat me over the head with a traumatic experience which changed my life. For a long time, I thought that this experience was all negative. Now I realise that such experiences can open doors in your mind and give you the ability to see yourself and the world differently. I think I write more deeply because of it.

Do you have similar thoughts or a totally different angle on this subject? I'd be interested to hear your answers.

Claire xx

 

[Mel L]

I listened to a podcast yesterday and the author being interviewed was very interesting. One of his comments stuck with me. He said that when he was younger he wanted to be a writer but didn't have anything to write about, so he decided to go travelling. But while he was away, he realised that he was "a boring person in an interesting place". He still had no ideas.

I was thinking about this for a while afterwards. 'An interesting place' doesn't have to be a geographical. It can be a mental place. When I was young, I wanted to be a writer too. But I had nothing to say because I was so inexperienced in life. Eventually, in my late twenties, I had a go at a children's fantasy, which sparked my confidence when I actually managed to complete it. But realistic fiction for adults eluded me until after life beat me over the head with a traumatic experience which changed my life. For a long time, I thought that this experience was all negative. Now I realise that such experiences can open doors in your mind and give you the ability to see yourself and the world differently. I think I write more deeply because of it.

Do you have similar thoughts or a totally different angle on this subject? I'd be interested to hear your answers.

Claire xx

I can relate! There was a time when I wanted to write but had nothing to say. Then life happened.
Now it's late in the day and I need to hurry up. Part of me wants to push the world away and go write on a desert island. But life keeps getting in the way. (Which is a gift, so how can you not want to go and live it?) And the other part of me knows that I would probably find a way to procrastinate on that desert island, trying to build a raft to get home.
This writing thing is definitely a process. Sometimes it feels Sisyphean. But aren't we fortunate to have the chance?

 

[Vagabond Heart]

It’s a great phrase, isn’t it. I think some of my favourite books feature a boring person in an interesting place. Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker books immediately springs to mind. It’s that mismatch, between place and person, where the tension sits, right?

 

[Nikky Lee]

I listened to a podcast yesterday and the author being interviewed was very interesting. One of his comments stuck with me. He said that when he was younger he wanted to be a writer but didn't have anything to write about, so he decided to go travelling. But while he was away, he realised that he was "a boring person in an interesting place". He still had no ideas.

I was thinking about this for a while afterwards. 'An interesting place' doesn't have to be a geographical. It can be a mental place. When I was young, I wanted to be a writer too. But I had nothing to say because I was so inexperienced in life. Eventually, in my late twenties, I had a go at a children's fantasy, which sparked my confidence when I actually managed to complete it. But realistic fiction for adults eluded me until after life beat me over the head with a traumatic experience which changed my life. For a long time, I thought that this experience was all negative. Now I realise that such experiences can open doors in your mind and give you the ability to see yourself and the world differently. I think I write more deeply because of it.

Do you have similar thoughts or a totally different angle on this subject? I'd be interested to hear your answers.

Claire xx

I put a manscript back in the drawer for years because I felt I didn't have the life experience to do the story justice. This is what I often think people mean when they say "write what you know". It's not literally writing what you know, but having enough experiences to lean on to convincingly convey the emotions of the story.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Claire I had the same thoughts when I was a teenager, but I had written poetry since before I started Kindergarten. Poetry meaning just pretty images and words. Not til High School did it dawn on me poetry meant crystallised meaning. I think that everyone with the urge/need to write was born with the gene. Which is why it's important to call ourselves writers even when we're notpublished authors. It is our clan.
What I'd say now to the younger me is, "Write about being young and stupid. It's as valid an experience as being wizened with wisdom. Just dont be boring. It's that pursuit that ends up making you interesting."

But people who've never known the catharsis of pain? They just aren't as worth knowing as those who've been through the crucible. You can't trust them. They've never been tested. Therefore they are not as interesting to read.

 

[Hannah F]

Claire I had the same thoughts when I was a teenager, but I had written poetry since before I started Kindergarten. Poetry meaning just pretty images and words. Not til High School did it dawn on me poetry meant crystallised meaning. I think that everyone with the urge/need to write was born with the gene. Which is why it's important to call ourselves writers even when we're notpublished authors. It is our clan.
What I'd say now to the younger me is, "Write about being young and stupid. It's as valid an experience as being wizened with wisdom. Just dont be boring. It's that pursuit that ends up making you interesting."

But people who've never known the catharsis of pain? They just aren't as worth knowing as those who've been through the crucible. You can't trust them. They've never been tested. Therefore they are not as interesting to read.

I would say there is no one in this world who has never known pain. Most therefore know an ensuing catharsis. Those who don't experience catharsis aren't boring, they're depressed, suicidal. A story can provide a means of catharsis. They are definitely not devoid of emotion and definitely not boring.

 

[Hannah F]

I think we all, at any age, have a lot of life experience and emotions but not necessarily the cognitive ability to turn them into meaningful prose or the confidence to realise it's not stupid stuff no one else will care to read. (I thought that for a long time.)

Reading a lot helps because you see that other people write stories that chime with your "stupid stuff" that isn't stupid at all.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I would say there is no one in this world who has never known pain. Most therefore know an ensuing catharsis. Those who don't experience catharsis aren't boring, they're depressed, suicidal. A story can provide a means of catharsis. They are definitely not devoid of emotion and definitely not boring.

There is pain and there is pain. No. Catharsis is not a given. Just as enlightenment is not a surety. The word comes from the contests for Greek Drama held at the same time as the athletic contests we know as the Olympics. It means the religious experience of enlightenment. More than having a good cry. The playwright who sent his audience away better people than when they came in won the prize.

You are talking about Goethe's idea that what does not kill me makes me stronger. There is a reason the fascists loved him. What doesnt kill often just weakens you until you break. But those who either don't or heal are transformed. There is a difference between those who've never been tested and those who have.

The Japanese express the concept of Catharsis with Kintsugi.

 

[Hannah F]

There is pain and there is pain. No. Catharsis is not a given. Just as enlightenment is not a surety. The word comes from the contests for Greek Drama held at the same time as the athletic contests we know as the Olympics. It means the religious experience of enlightenment. More than having a good cry. The playwright who sent his audience away better people than when they came in won the prize.

You are talking about Goethe's idea that what does not kill me makes me stronger. There is a reason the fascists loved him. What doesnt kill often just weakens you until you break. But those who either don't or heal are transformed. There is a difference between those who've never been tested and those who have.

The Japanese express the concept of Catharsis with Kintsugi.

I'm not talking Goethe' idea. I never said pain kills or makes stronger. I also said some don't experience catharsis. Just that you don't need catharsis (or indeed pain) to write beautiful prose. You do need emotion.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I'm not talking Goethe' idea. I never said pain kills or makes stronger. I also said some don't experience catharsis. Just that you don't need catharsis (or indeed pain) to write beautiful prose. You do need emotion.

I think the original idea being discussed was that people who have survived adversity are more interesting. My original answer was in response. That is more than anyone's definition of ouch, that hurt. All Pain is not created equal. My own experience is that people who have been tempered by fire are not only more interesting, but good to have by your side when shit hits the fan.