Wednesday, steeling myself to face my Ideal Reader

[cleolinda]

You know, I was thinking about something: in On Writing, Stephen King says that we're each writing for an Ideal Reader. His is his wife, and at certain points in a draft, he'll think to himself, "Oh, she's really going to like this." I can't believe I didn't stop and ask myself this before, given that this isn't even the first time I'd read the book, but who, exactly, is my ideal reader? And upon asking myself this, I stopped cold and realized that I don't have one. Don't I? It didn't make sense, because I knew exactly what he was talking about, and yet I couldn't think of any one person I thought of while writing. I wonder what my mother will think sometimes--in a good way--but not often enough for her to really be the ideal reader.

"Do you think your writing is too intellectual?" she asked me today at lunch, while we were discussing the Ideal Reader. "Actually, no," I replied--very quickly, in fact. "Because I go out of my way to make sure it's not. I mean, it can be when I want it to, but when I workshopped Black Ribbon at school, everyone was like, 'Holy shit, things actually happen in this!' It was actually less intellectual than a lot of the things people brought, because I was more concerned about making it entertaining for the reader." And by "less intellectual," I guess I meant "less likely to fall into navel-gazing, or to be obscure for its own sake." I do think you can be intellectual and entertaining, and I hope I am, but I think the definition of "too intellectual" involves a lot of masturbatory erudition. The key may be to assuming that your reader wants to be entertained but is also just as smart as you. If your writing is Too Intellectual, you may be more concerned with impressing people with how smart you are.

Anyway, what I was telling her during this discussion is that I think I've figured out who my Ideal Reader is, and... it's me. And that's kind of horrible, because how self-centered is that? I mean, you're supposed to write for yourself first and foremost (because why else are you doing it? It's not like the dental plan is very good), but you're not supposed to write for yourself second, third and fourth, are you? But I think I may be writing for an imaginary twin me, and the only difference between us is that Imaginary Twin Me didn't write the story. Ideally--and this is where stuffing your manuscript in the drawer for a while helps--she reads the story from an outsider's perspective. And here's the thing: Imaginary Twin Me is extremely critical. I mean, at least I have that going for me. But you know what? I think three years of writing movie parodies has actually made me a better writer, because Imaginary Twin Me is now extremely sensitive to stupidness of all kinds. I'm kind of scared of her, actually. If a line of dialogue is flat-footed or overwrought, she's going to notice. If something seems rushed, implausible, half-baked, childish--she's going to be over there snickering. It's to the point where I think Imaginary Twin Me may be one of the reasons I'm a little scared of the blank page these days--she may actually be the reason why I never finish anything. I may need to orient myself towards an Ideal Reader who's a little more gentle and a little less... me.


Fired Wal-Mart pharmacist awarded $2M in sexism case.

Texas crowd kills man after car hits kid. "The man who was killed had been trying to stop the group from attacking the vehicle's driver when the crowd turned on him, authorities said. The child was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries."

Migrants stuck on island forever? Not what it sounds like, sadly.

New age town in U.S. embraces dollar alternative.

Japan changes name of Iwo Jima "to its original name of Iwo To after residents there were prodded into action by two recent Clint Eastwood movies."

'Dubailand' aims to be Middle East Orlando.

The committee that recommended Salman Rushdie for a knighthood didn't bother to ask whether it would piss anyone off. You know, like THE MIDDLE EAST. Oops.

As Mayor Of Munchkin City In The County Of The Land Of Oz: Mike Bloomberg, Independent. I just enjoyed the headline.

Sci-fi convention wank. From the '30s. Absolutely charming, and includes evidence that the terms "fandom" and "BNF" (Big Name Fan) were already in use lo these many years ago. Also: the first convention cosplayer. Of course it was Forrest J. Ackerman.

Mystery Movie Director Seeking Date on Craig's List.

Author defends J.T. Leroy autobiography. You know, the one where she herself was actually "J.T. Leroy."

John Travolta joins Cruise in berating psychiatric medication. I don't know, can you actually see me flipping the double deuce across the internet? FUCK YOUUUUUUU.

Kate Winslet to be perfume spokeswoman... on the condition that she not be airbrushed in the ads.

The BEST CAR AD EVER: "Me So Hyundai."

xkcd: Pickup Lines.

wonders if i has evil twin??; I is being stalked.

Beatles? Nirvana? Overrated! "Every band you worship is overrated. Even U2, even Sonic Youth. They all blow and here's why." WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?

"Did Grey's Anatomy steal my spec script?" John August: "Being a good spec script writer, you followed their style and picked a song title. You chose a Sheryl Crow song. So did they. What are the odds? Huge. So absurdly huge that you’re going to feel foolish in about three paragraphs."

Top 50 Best Movie Endings. Batman Begins? Please. I love that movie, but it doesn't even have the best ending of a Batman movie (although maybe I just feel this way because it doesn't end with a sweeping Danny Elfman cue). And any list that does not include Amadeus ("I absolve you!") is made of fail.

The other thing that depressed me was all the posters in the comments squawking that they hadn't seen most of the movies. Generally I try to conceal the holes in my film education, thanks. I just hate when people say things like that, I guess, because to me the undertone is, "Why didn't you pick entries from the small pool of recent movies I'VE seen?"

The 25 greatest action movies of all time! Wow, people are just in a listmaking frenzy right now.

Michael Moore calls shenanigans on the leaking of the Sicko digital master.

Scorsese's 'Frankie Machine' Moving Forward, Source Says.

New Simpsons Movie Poster.

All Hail The Rat King: Turturro Preps For ‘Nutcracker’ Musical.

LonelyGirl15 Now Has Marketing Deal!

Pedro Almodovar Trash Talks Tarantino. FIGHT! FIGHT!

Heroes adds six new cast members.

Info on the proposed POTC4 plot? I don't want to encourage them, but... it actually sounds kind of good.

Mixed reviews for 'Lord of the Rings' musical.

Broadbent Confirms Indiana Jones 4 Role.

Miller and Owen Causing Trouble. "Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment have set Frank Miller to adapt the Raymond Chandler novella Trouble Is My Business as a star vehicle for Clive Owen, reports Variety." You know, I feel so guilty about enjoying the Sin City comics, because, let's face it, Frank "Whores!" Miller has some issues with women. I mean, they're not R-Rated Horror levels of Issues with Women, but they're still issues ("Frank Miller Respects Wimmins!"). But one of the reasons I love Sin City--the movie--is that Clive Owen gets to deliver all that ponderous, ridiculous, deadpan, neo-noir narration. And a Chandler movie would basically be two hours solid of that. Whee!

New Trailer for Julie Delpy's '2 Days in Paris'; Trailer For 'He Was A Quiet Man'--with a drastically altered Christian Slater--Hits the Web.

Tyler Perry on making hits outside Hollywood.

Neil Gaiman discusses Stardust with IGN. I really hope that this whole trend of involving the original author with movie productions continues, because if nothing else, the fact that they even care what the writer thinks tells you that they're not going to just go off and butcher the thing without a care. It might not turn out great, but it won't be Earthsea (top user comment: "I join the ranks of the dismayed").

Comments

[koritsimou.livejournal.com]

Ok, I lol'd for the first time in a very long time at the evil twin cats. Thanks for that.

[gabsy.livejournal.com]

I felt the same RE: the 50 movie endings (http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/13227926.html?thread=1529902742#t1529902742)

I think that having an Imaginary Twin You can be very useful as a writer, and I am very interested by the new kind of perspective it can give you on your work.

(I've never mentioned it before, but every time you write of what you are going through as a writer, of how you view your method and everything, I find it fascinating.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, at least someone finds it fascinating. : )

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

The movie with the best ending is, of course, _La Dolce Vita_.

[marginaliana]

Oh my god, 1930s fandom wank! There is nothing new under the sun! Holy crap, that is awesome.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

There's a collection of early Holmesiana called The Standard Doyle Company that has some amazing, albeit largely between the lines, Sherlockian wank and fanboy frenzy.

[fiveforsilver]

Some of the comments on that '50 best endings' post (the 'why isn't ___ on the list?) made me go "you have got to be kidding!" ...except evidently they weren't.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Hm. So is it bad when your Ideal Reader is your best friend who thinks so much like you that it's kinda eerie sometimes? ;-)

And now I have to go grumble a little bit, because I'm unfortunately sure that our theater will not be getting in He Was a Quiet Man. Darnit.

[edda.livejournal.com]

I think I've figured out who my Ideal Reader is, and... it's me.

Not to be all twinsies about it, but me too. Including the critical stuff. Especially the critical stuff. Oy.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Seriously, I am terrified to pull up the existing drafts of the story because I basically AM Imaginary Twin Me at the moment, having not looked at them in a year or two, and I'm so scared of what they're going to look like to me now.

[apey1013.livejournal.com]

You know, whenever I hear about vintage or historic fandom, whether it's wanky as in this case or not, it just...warms my everlovin' li'l fangirl heart. XD Same as it ever was; same as it ever was.

[poinsley.livejournal.com]

A classmate of mine in a class on charisma in film did a presentation on the fandom scene of the 20s around silent film stars. It was pretty fascinating, and I guess a bit of a relief that people were always like that.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

If Pirates 4 doesn't have Willy, I ain't watching. I want to know what's up with the kid. I mean, there's no way he's satying out of trouble, not with his parents *eyeroll*
Lonelygirl15 will "thwart an evil org known as The Order." LIBBA BRAY ALREADY DID THAT.

[marciamarcia.livejournal.com]

The committee that recommended Salman Rushdie for a knighthood didn't bother to ask whether it would piss anyone off. You know, like THE MIDDLE EAST. Oops.

I think it's ridiculous (bordering on unbelievable) that they hadn't considered this reaction. And yet, I still think they were right to knight him.

We're talking about a writer who did what writers are supposed to do: He used his culture/personal experiences/native mythology as a jumping off point for an excellent bit of fiction. Along the way, he happened to piss off some theocratic facists and ended up having to do the spend the rest of his (also largely quite good) writing career in hiding, fearing for his life. That's incredibly brave and absolutely worthy of a knighthood.

The extremists responsible for Rushdie having to live in fear shouldn't have a say in what awards he receives and shouldn't be able to intimidate people into not honoring his achievements.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think they were right to do it. I just think it was irresponsible and/or idiotic to do it without at least considering the consequences.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Cleo, the NYTimes article (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/nyregion/20cnd-writer.html?ex=1340078400&en=ce67f8124d704c44&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink) did a much better job illustrating the WTF involved in the Leroy story.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

All writers have their characters in their heads to some degree, but what she's got sounds more like borderline personality disorder, which Wikipedia says is common among survivors of childhood trauma.

[sarafinapekkala.livejournal.com]

For the Miller, I think/fear that this Shortpacked (http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20070319.html) might be even more apropos XD

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

Thing is, I've had a pretty good film education and I still haven't seen half of those films. A good portion of the ones on the list were from the 70s/80s (as often film lists often are, which I think really shows a list-maker's age), when I can think of better endings. Cabinet of Dr Caligari, for one.

I'm still cranky because the Wizard of Oz and Rushmore endings were really unsatisfying. And I think the Batman Begins ending was excellent. One of the few I agreed with, along with Dr Strangelove.

[poinsley.livejournal.com]

Cabinet of Dr Caligari

Yeah, that was definitely an out-of-nowhere ending. I read somewhere that the producers made them put this ending on, whereas the original was more fitting with the rest of the film.

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Fuck Lonelygirl15. There are better people on Youtube.

I suppose you haven't heard of the History of Psychology museum? It makes Cruise and Travolta look mild.

[entropy-and-me.livejournal.com]

There's a History of Psychology museum? Wow, that would be awesome...*says the nerdy grad student in psychology* I'm off to google....thanks for the heads up!

[ter369.livejournal.com]

I really hope that this whole trend of involving the original author with movie productions continues, because if nothing else, the fact that they even care what the writer thinks tells you that they're not going to just go off and butcher the thing without a care.

Maybe if the film of Amadeus had stuck to the Act II of the play, the movie might've retained its wit and the compassion where Salieri forgives Mozart for being more talented. There is no absolution for Salieri, because he finally accepts his guilt. I found the film silly and irritating, while the play left me with the ambiguity of conflicting reactions, much like the playwright's Equus and The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

I should read the play. I enjoyed the movie (pretty sights and sounds) and in general the story probably for the same reason you dislike it but I'd be open to seeing an alternate version.

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

You know, I don't necessarily think it's bad that you are your own Ideal Reader. The concept of writing for yourself never really struck me as selfish; I don't know how private or public you are with who you share your writing with, but I think any talent should bring pleasure to the person themselves despite whether it brings pleasure to others. After all, it's your talent.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Yay for David Anders being on Heroes. I love that kid.

[entropy-and-me.livejournal.com]

Fresh off my MindHacks.com RSS: This article entitled "Narcissistic Blog Disorder and Other Conditions of Online Kookery"?

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/2007/06/alttext_0620

[promise19.livejournal.com]

lolz... That was great! He left out one though. "Munchausen's by Proxy Server." Here, the afflicted individual creates a sock puppet or even uses him/herself to suffer through a painful illness or malady gaining sympathy and attention from others.

[dramedy.livejournal.com]

I have an utter loathing for Frank Miller(I just...can't stand the man), but to be quite honest, the mistreatment of women in comics is just...mind-boggling. I mean. Seriously. AMAZING.

Still, Frank Miller in particular ticks me off.

[flamingtoilet.livejournal.com]

Wow, people are just in a listmaking frenzy right now.

Lists are lazy writing, easy content for a blog/magazine/whatever. Just pick a topic, throw a bunch of stuff out there that's subjective, and just wait for the feedback.

[everstar3.livejournal.com]

This is horribly lame of me, but... why is an ancient Japanese warrior going to be played by a white guy? I hope they explain that, otherwise it's going to bug me for the whole season.

That car ad is hysterical and I love Kate Winslet. That is all.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

I don't think that it is a lame question at all. It's done way too often.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

Kate Winslet is the classiest lady ever.

I have two suggestions for linkspam - one of which I imagine you'll see much of in the near future:

http://bookshop.livejournal.com/834653.html

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=247561

Movie endings link

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Do you know, I have never ceased ranting about how The Empire Strikes Back has an unforgivable ending, for leaving everything unresolved (and Han frozen in carbonite). People I've said this to have tried to excuse it with, "But you knew there was going to be another movie by that point, didn't you." But full-length films did not DO that, leave an ending cliff-hangered in the way Empire did. Not even those that became a part of trilogies. These were not the twenty-minute weekly serials of the earlier 1900s! A full-length film's duty was to give you an complete story that could stand on its own. But I find it interesting that someone has said in that list that Empire's ending is good, is gutsy, that they liked how everything was unresolved. While I still don't agree, I'd rather hear someone say that they liked that ending the way it was as opposed to excusing it as part of a trilogy.

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

on the Imaginary Reader thing:
I think it makes perfect sense to use yourself. It makes even less sense to use someone else; you can't always judge what other peoples' opinions will be, and if you're just writing to please, you may not write content. I remember that in Virginia Woolf's Orlando the main character has a long relationship with his/her personal manuscript. Not until she/he stops worrying about making a splash with everyone else and writes what she thinks is good and worth having, is she happy, and do other people even start to like the book.

linkspam: Couple barred from naming child "4real" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_fe_st/odd_new_zealand_baby_name)