Writing and Me

Now if you don’t all mind, I will go off on a little tangent about myself.  I want to become a writer. Technically I am one now, but I would like to be able to make a modest living doing it. I have whole worlds trapped in my head and I want more than anything to share them with readers. I know that publishing a book is a long way away, but I write when and what I can. I like writing about pop culture too.  I currently write reviews of bad movies for our school newspaper, The Chronicle. It’s great fun and it is good practice for finding work as a writer for a newspaper or a magazine.

The reason why I’m writing this little rant is because a “Friend” made me feel as though what I do for the Chronicle is worthless.  She said that I should not be writing about bad movies that have been out for a while, and that I should write about recent films. She said what is the point of writing criticism of these movies? I am not encouraging my readers to see them, and I am only telling them negative things.  The Coup de gras of this conversation is that she said I am not teaching my readers anything.

  I am not a journalist, I am a Columnist.  I don’t write to inform people facts. I write about opinions and my goal is to entertain my readers and hopefully make them think of something they have not before. I write my column for The Chronicle because I want to. I live to write and write to live. I have no preconceived notions about my writing. I highly doubt I will write the next Great American Novel.  But to have a person tell me that they liked my review or story is the greatest validation I can feel as writer. My “Friend” may think that she was being Clever by challenging my style, but it’s damn irritating to pick on a person's passion.

Why on Earth do I write about bad movies you may ask? I write about them because I believe that I can poke fun at them to make readers laugh. Through these reviews, I am learning to find my voice as a writer. I don’t want to write about dull things, and shoddy attempts at good films are certainly not dull.

 Now this experience has not made me want to give my chosen craft. Not in the slightest! It has filled me with a new passion for my career. I will prove my critic “Friend” wrong with my writing. She may have snipped at me today, but I am doing what I love and I wonder if she will be as lucky as I am.  This incident makes me understand why Dorothy Parker felt like what she did was not good enough. Cheer, up Dorothy! We don’t all have to become Doctors and Lawyers and teachers. We can still contribute to the world in our little ways by helping people escape their troubles and make them laugh, even if it is only temporary.