you're welcome! You do an excellent job throughout of describing people from your life and distilling their essences into words, especially in this short of space. It's something I've been thinking about a lot in my life - outside of writing and inside of it. How difficult it can be for me to describe people I've known for years. Is it something you feel like you have always had a knack for? Something you grew into as you wrote more? Do *you* feel like you described the people in this narrative the way you wished you would? I'd love to hear your perspective as I continue to grapple with this feeling with myself.
Interesting questions! I guess I haven't thought of it much before. But looking back, I think it was probably at least partially related to just writing more about people like that and gradually getting better at it.
Do you feel you know or remember details like that about people, but just have a hard time expressing those qualities well in writing or elsewhere? I think that would just require some practice, if so. The little details matter a lot more than I think we assume at first! Although I have always had a good *memory* for this kind of stuff. Learning to write it that way did take some time, though! I do feel like I described them the way I wanted to.
I definitely agree the little details can go a long way, and tell us a lot more about somebody than more general characteristics and adjectives. Actions speak, as they say. I think digging deeper within myself for those core episodic memories, taking slight narrative liberties to make the point I want to, and giving myself time and space to practice in settings where I'm not thinking about publishing or having it fit into a specific piece could all help.
I think maybe one issue for me, per your question, is that I can remember--or feel in memory, I suppose--how people in my life have made me feel. But at times when I dig for a specific episode, especially one that hinges on dialogue, I seem to draw a blank. I know general things that have happened but the granularity at times is lacking. But if I made a practice of writing about those scenes, detached from anything else, I bet I would find a lot of it coming back to me. Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciated discussing this! And of course, keep up the great writing.
Ok I LOVED this story. Childhood is amazing and epic and strange, especially when you're an awkward nerd, huh? There weren't that many girls into TMNT, but my best friend's little sister was, and she'd play with my little brother. He's in his 40s and still has his toys, letting his kids play with them, of course they're all almost too old for them too by now. But my baby girl is heavy into TMNT now in 5th grade, I bought her a copy of the original Eastman and Laird's.
Fun Fact on that note: My mom's cousin rented Eastman and Laird's apartment to them. Like, it was a shitty duplex in New England somewhere, and the cousin owned the building, lived on the top floor, and rented the bottom floor out, to "these two lazy fucks who do nothing but eat pizza and clutter the place up with these stupid turtle ninja drawings everywhere, always late on their rent, wild parties and what not." Funny to hear him bitch about it and now they're famous. I spent the night at his house once when I was like 8, they were probably underneath me before they were huge.
Beautiful story!
Thank you!!
you're welcome! You do an excellent job throughout of describing people from your life and distilling their essences into words, especially in this short of space. It's something I've been thinking about a lot in my life - outside of writing and inside of it. How difficult it can be for me to describe people I've known for years. Is it something you feel like you have always had a knack for? Something you grew into as you wrote more? Do *you* feel like you described the people in this narrative the way you wished you would? I'd love to hear your perspective as I continue to grapple with this feeling with myself.
Interesting questions! I guess I haven't thought of it much before. But looking back, I think it was probably at least partially related to just writing more about people like that and gradually getting better at it.
Do you feel you know or remember details like that about people, but just have a hard time expressing those qualities well in writing or elsewhere? I think that would just require some practice, if so. The little details matter a lot more than I think we assume at first! Although I have always had a good *memory* for this kind of stuff. Learning to write it that way did take some time, though! I do feel like I described them the way I wanted to.
I definitely agree the little details can go a long way, and tell us a lot more about somebody than more general characteristics and adjectives. Actions speak, as they say. I think digging deeper within myself for those core episodic memories, taking slight narrative liberties to make the point I want to, and giving myself time and space to practice in settings where I'm not thinking about publishing or having it fit into a specific piece could all help.
I think maybe one issue for me, per your question, is that I can remember--or feel in memory, I suppose--how people in my life have made me feel. But at times when I dig for a specific episode, especially one that hinges on dialogue, I seem to draw a blank. I know general things that have happened but the granularity at times is lacking. But if I made a practice of writing about those scenes, detached from anything else, I bet I would find a lot of it coming back to me. Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciated discussing this! And of course, keep up the great writing.
Ok I LOVED this story. Childhood is amazing and epic and strange, especially when you're an awkward nerd, huh? There weren't that many girls into TMNT, but my best friend's little sister was, and she'd play with my little brother. He's in his 40s and still has his toys, letting his kids play with them, of course they're all almost too old for them too by now. But my baby girl is heavy into TMNT now in 5th grade, I bought her a copy of the original Eastman and Laird's.
Fun Fact on that note: My mom's cousin rented Eastman and Laird's apartment to them. Like, it was a shitty duplex in New England somewhere, and the cousin owned the building, lived on the top floor, and rented the bottom floor out, to "these two lazy fucks who do nothing but eat pizza and clutter the place up with these stupid turtle ninja drawings everywhere, always late on their rent, wild parties and what not." Funny to hear him bitch about it and now they're famous. I spent the night at his house once when I was like 8, they were probably underneath me before they were huge.
This brought me back