I'm taking a fiction writing class at a local community college. The only person besides me who doesn't have a graduate degree is an ex-stuntwoman and recovering addict. No, I am not making this up. She is easily the coolest person in the class. I kind of wanted to go up to her afterwards and say, “Will you be my friend?”
Our first assignment is to write about something in our life that is unresolved. We are supposed to dig deep into our souls and dredge up something really painful, because apparently the best works of literature are about pain and painful things.
It turns out that our teacher does not like funny. Great Literature, apparently, is not funny.
This does not bode well for me. I'm certainly all about pain and suffering. My stories rarely have happy endings and usually someone dies, but I see no reason why there can't still be funny in there somewhere.
The thing is, I don't want to write Great Literature. I just want to write stories that I would enjoy reading. The last fiction book I finished was a Star Trek novel. (It was a guilty pleasure, okay? When was the last time you picked up Tolstoy? Besides, I'm reading Catcher in the Rye now to make up for it.)
I'm sure I will end up enjoying this class. I'm just slightly intimidated by all the people who have way more education than I do. I secretly hope they are all horrible writers and I can say "Ha! Take that, Harvard!" but that is only because deep down, I'm pretty evil.
But that is a blog entry for another day. It's late, and I want to sleep. Good night.
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8 comments:
Here's how to compromise your beliefs with your professor's: DARK COMEDY. Write something funny, but make it so dark that it's painful. Study past "Pearls" strips and you'll get the idea.
Now that I think about it, your prof has a point. I can't think of a single piece of so-called "Great Literature" that is funny. Can you?
Well, since I try not to read Great Literature, I can't really say. Although wouldn't some of Oscar Wilde's writing be considered Great? He is generally thought of as funny, in a dry, British sort of way.
I almost mentioned "Pearls" in class tonight as an example of pain being humorous. Also, one of my fellow students is a lawyer who was complaining about how dull and unfunny lawyers are. He needs to read Pearls.
Shakespeare was very funny and he wasn't a smut writer.
Yay I'm number 500!!! do I get a prize. I hope you don't mind but I had to press the refresh button a few times to get it :-) counters are fun
I've never read anything of Oscar Wilde's. However, I had to read a LOT of Moliere in college, and a lot of his works were humorous. Ionesco's works could be considered funny too--if you find humor in the absurd.
Funny great lit, eh? If this guy is excluding the drama world, then that counts out Neil Simon. If he's discounting the 20th Century, then there goes Saul Bellow and Joseph Heller. My guess is he might have something against Mark Twain, but I feel his work certainly qualifies. I'm picturing this guy as a sort of English Lit John Houseman now. :)
As regards your own life: How about taking a serious situation that ended favorably and writing about it as though it didn't? How is he to know that's not the way it turned out? You get to exercise your creative muscles with an event already familiar to you. That's my 2¢.
Keep us posted on the writing!
I think you are hilarious. I stumbled accross your blog by accident. How can anyone forget Shakespeare's great comedies> Othello was hilarious! Well, except for the part where he murdered his wife, but it can't all be roses and soft music.
I don't have a blog, but I have thought about starting one. I am a 35 year old Capricorn from SC (female).
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