Comments on: On Throwing Out the Rules and Making Stuff Up http://www.litdrift.com/2009/09/24/on-throwing-out-the-rules-and-making-stuff-up/ Storytelling in the 21st Century Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:02:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 By: Jen http://www.litdrift.com/2009/09/24/on-throwing-out-the-rules-and-making-stuff-up/comment-page-1/#comment-1525 Jen Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:19:30 +0000 http://litdrift.com/?p=1687#comment-1525 This is fantastic and exactly what I needed to read this evening. I recently cleaned out my house for a cross country move, and adult me was stunned and moved to tears by the boxes and boxes of started/unfinished journals, fanfics, musicals, graphic novels, scripts that young me had taken such pleasure in. The phrase "broken artists" used by the above commenter is smart and right on the money. Second year of my acting bfa program? well, wouldn't you know it, exactly the time I realised that obviously any natural talent or instinct or passion I had had were incorrect, and I must throw them all out... to be replaced with something that never actually arrived. Broken Artists' Rehab Center anyone? Thanks so much for this! I think I may go spend a little time with that fanfiction character I used to have such a crush on... This is fantastic and exactly what I needed to read this evening. I recently cleaned out my house for a cross country move, and adult me was stunned and moved to tears by the boxes and boxes of started/unfinished journals, fanfics, musicals, graphic novels, scripts that young me had taken such pleasure in.
The phrase “broken artists” used by the above commenter is smart and right on the money. Second year of my acting bfa program? well, wouldn’t you know it, exactly the time I realised that obviously any natural talent or instinct or passion I had had were incorrect, and I must throw them all out… to be replaced with something that never actually arrived.
Broken Artists’ Rehab Center anyone?
Thanks so much for this!
I think I may go spend a little time with that fanfiction character I used to have such a crush on…

]]> By: Alex Lam http://www.litdrift.com/2009/09/24/on-throwing-out-the-rules-and-making-stuff-up/comment-page-1/#comment-218 Alex Lam Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00:21 +0000 http://litdrift.com/?p=1687#comment-218 There was definitely some kind of unbridled optimism and passion for and within the genius we supposedly harbored in our young selves. This generally diminishes as we grow older and see more of the world, receive more criticism and take a few more falls. Usually, by the second year of college – the artist is sufficiently “broken,” or as many of us see it, finally practical and realistic about our abilities and life goals. Of course, there are the occasional people who slip through the “breaking process” and wander haplessly into a world of delusion even when they’re well into their thirties and forties and so forth. I’ve seen this in a former roommate – 21 years old, 5′2″, with a face looking like “Strega Nona” (I’m going to hell for saying this) who would practice her runway walk up and down our foyer in a pair of heels and lingerie so she’d be ready when Valentino hand picked her from a crowd to model his Fall line. She said it without the least bit of sarcasm which stunned me into a silence on the topic that lasted for the remainder of our lease. While there are plenty of people out there on both ends of the spectrum, I think this once again comes down to the idea of striking a balance. We obviously can’t be completely delusional like my former roommate – but a touch of optimism and hope for ourselves can sometimes go a long way. The people most critical of themselves are usually the ones who have been harboring that secret genius who’s waiting for its big break. There was definitely some kind of unbridled optimism and passion for and within the genius we supposedly harbored in our young selves. This generally diminishes as we grow older and see more of the world, receive more criticism and take a few more falls. Usually, by the second year of college – the artist is sufficiently “broken,” or as many of us see it, finally practical and realistic about our abilities and life goals.

Of course, there are the occasional people who slip through the “breaking process” and wander haplessly into a world of delusion even when they’re well into their thirties and forties and so forth. I’ve seen this in a former roommate – 21 years old, 5′2″, with a face looking like “Strega Nona” (I’m going to hell for saying this) who would practice her runway walk up and down our foyer in a pair of heels and lingerie so she’d be ready when Valentino hand picked her from a crowd to model his Fall line. She said it without the least bit of sarcasm which stunned me into a silence on the topic that lasted for the remainder of our lease.

While there are plenty of people out there on both ends of the spectrum, I think this once again comes down to the idea of striking a balance. We obviously can’t be completely delusional like my former roommate – but a touch of optimism and hope for ourselves can sometimes go a long way. The people most critical of themselves are usually the ones who have been harboring that secret genius who’s waiting for its big break.

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