See things from another perspective. Like a hula hoop.
I’ve been reading a lot over at Tribal Writer. Justine says a lot of things I wish I’d said. Now I wish I could figure out how to say what I want to say.
She has a post about having True Fans. I don’t know how to get True Fans when I have trouble asking people to read what I write. I’m afraid people won’t read what I write and that they will read what I write.
Some days I think I don’t care.
But then I do.
As if panic and insecurity are mixed in with hormonal changes. Hmmm.
When I was a teenager I refused to wear makeup. Not because I thought wearing makeup was bad. I wanted to wear makeup and fuss with my hair and wear cool clothes. But I was convinced everyone would say, “Who do you think you are? You can’t do that!”
Anyway. The hula video is fun (I love Robert Krulwich) and Tribal Writer is worth reading.
And to those of you who keep reading what I write, thank you from every corner of my heart and soul.
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 
Don’t mention it.
Well, I want to. Because that’s what I do. Mention things.
Other than making me dizzy, the hula hoop video was cool. I worry that sometimes what I do isn’t right for me, especially when it comes to fashion, but part of being comfortable in my own skin is not worry about that stuff. I figure as long as I don’t look ridiculous, I’m good to go.
I have moments of being comfortable in my own skin. And moments of wanting to pull it all off.
But hey, if you’re comfortable in your own skin, you don’t look ridiculous.
I read that Tribal Writer “true fans” article; thanks for the link.
One of the difficulties with acquiring True Fans vs. readers, for me, is all that business about being charismatic. In one of the blogs which her post links to, the author was talking about the importance of passion, setting the world on fire with one’s writing, and so on. It all sounds pretty dramatic. And I’m just not a dramatic person, nor a dramatic writer or storyteller.
Later, TW describes Steven Pressfield’s categories of hierarchical vs. territorial writers. I like to think of myself as the latter: “They work solely because it fulfills them. It doesn’t matter if their audience appreciates or desires their work. They perform their task out of love for the game.”
Nothing in that requires me (or you :)) to light fireworks for the audience. I do think you’ve got a neat way of twisting the point-of-view around unexpectedly; you just don’t do it in a way that calls attention to itself. If it DID call attention to itself, I think I’d like it a lot less.
So, more fodder for confusion I guess. Ha.
I think you can have True Fans without being charismatic…but I don’t think you’re uncharismatic. Guess it depends on how you see that word. Hmm.
Doesn’t your story have drama? It has conflict, doesn’t it? How are you thinking of the word drama? I don’t want to set the world on fire, but I think of a book I read when I was a teen, that I fell in love with. I’ve read the book at least 10 times. I still love the book, and the author is dear to my heart. I got her 2nd book without hesitation. Then she didn’t write another book for 30 years. And every time I go to a used bookstore, I look for those 1st books of hers (I want to give them to a friend, but I NEVER find them). Anyway, that’s the writer I want to be. Someone keeps looking for the book years later. That’s a True Fan to me. But this writer is about as undramatic as she can be. She and I have even now exchanged emails, and she strikes me as so normal, the quiet person at a party.
Anyway. I don’t think you need DRAMA!!!
Um, I don’t actually know what I’m doing with point-of-view. Honestly, I wish I could figure point-of-view out.
Embrace the confusion before it embraces you!
Ah, sorry, I wasn’t clear — by “drama,” I was referring to, well, flamboyance. Something like that. Making a lot of noise. “Notice me! Notice me!” Like that.
And by “charisma,” I mean something like, well, an aura. Some people seem to have people’s attention not just when they walk into a room, but no matter where in the room they wander off to afterwards. On the other hand, it — sadly — seems to involve looks as well as authority/power/etc. Another friend posted about charisma back in June, and as I mentioned there, it’s hard to imagine someone like Eleanor Roosevelt being described as charismatic.
Love that story about the book(s) from your teen years! And I bet it tickled the bejeezus out of the author, too.