#3: Five things I found
On love triangles, them dang hippity hops, and being a good creative citizen.
Hi friends, hey strangers,
First, a note on motivation: To help me with world-building in my own writing, I decided to listen to N.K. Jemison’s Masterclass on Fantasy and Science Fiction writing. But then, right in the introduction, Nora said:
“I turned 30 and had a baby mid-life crisis.”
My ears perked. I’m not (quite) 30, but I indulge embarrassingly regularly in baby mid-life crises.
“I was reading books that weren’t as good as the stuff that I was doing…Here’s this published book that someone got paid actual, real money for…and I can do that. I can be at least that good. So, I just decided at that point that I wanted to try.”
This intro halted me in my tracks, as it is almost exactly the same answer I give when friends ask me why/when I started writing fiction. It was during the early stages of the pandemic lockdown, when I had more free brain space than the rest of my life combined (perhaps you relate?). I was reading a lot of fantasy and romance, because who didn’t want some escapism during that time? I remember a specific moment when I didn’t like the direction an author had taken with a main character. I closed the book in frustration and thought, “I could do better than that.”
I’ve come to love moments where I don’t feel at all unique, when I notice the human condition has recreated versions of my life story over and over. I find it motivating and comforting. (It’s especially nice when you find yourself relating to a Hugo Award-winning author, heheh).
Anyway, here’s five things I found:
[On good books & writing] Because I’ve buckled down on novel-writing, I made a reading list for myself that centers on creativity, writing, and process. So, instead of writing a specific find this week, I’m putting my Winter/Spring reading list here for anyone interested:
*Re-reading, so I can officially recommend these.
[On music history] The term “hip-hop” has a long and fascinating history, as documented by Jeff Chang in this article for Cuepoint. While the main musical movement occurred in the Bronx in the 70’s and 80’s, the actual phrase “hip-hop” possibly originates from LA in the 1950’s, when teen parties were called “them dang hippity-hops”. I know, how great is that?
[On music again, plus the uses of magic] Music is apparently one of those human endeavors that falls under cultural universals - meaning it’s found in every documented culture that we’ve found so far. In 1991, anthropologist Donald Brown wrote a book called Human Universals, in which he compiled a list of several hundred phenomena that he considered part of the human condition. (When I tell you I had a ball reading this list). Some made me proud of us humans, like ‘use of magic to increase life and win love’. It’s plain cute that every culture is out here trying to make love potions.
Another item on the list, ‘Triangular awareness’, led me to my next find…
[On love triangles] Triangular awareness was further defined on the list of universals as ‘assessing relationships among the self and two other people’. My first reaction was - as I’m sure yours is also - is that man-professor-speak for love triangles? Are love triangles a universal human condition???
Well…in a 1998 book called ‘Splitting Up’, psychologist Alvin Pam and psychiatrist Judith Pearson did a deep dive on divorce. They devote two whole chapters to love triangles and state that, “willingly or not, most adults have been involved in a love triangle.” That’s all I’m saying.
[On being an art citizen] “If you want to have fans, you have to be a fan first.” This is a quote from Austin Kleon’s book Show Your Work. (I liked Steal Like An Artist a lot, so here I am on the sequel). This is from the chapter on not being so invested in sharing your own work that you forget how to be a good citizen of whatever creative community it is that you’re aiming to be in. As an accomplished mega-fan of many things, I have a hard time imagining myself having this problem, but I still think the occasional reminder to shut up and listen is a good one.
I found all this useful,
for secret reasons.
With love,
Kayla.