Brandy's Creative Writing Blog

Writers And Writings

“Should I be concerned about the character or should I be concerned about the writer?”

That is a question that I often ask myself when I read some stories with characters that are really, how should I say it, a problem to themselves and/or others. It dawns on me a lot, as it is kinda concerning how a person may use their personal sufferings or issues as their own art for others to see or read. Though I do take into account, that is how the person can identify their own personal issues, sometimes. It’s also a way to draw people into a piece of work, intentionally or unintentionally.

This thought of mine, came into mind once again when the speaker in class, Dale Bailey, had talked about his works. Though it was brief, he had explained, in a jokingly manner is how I saw it, how he had found that his beginning works always had a character who had a bad relationship with his dad. He quickly brushed it off saying how it lead to therapy, most likely taking into account that the class was there and he didn’t want to make his past issue seem like it was a problem, because he didn’t come to explain to the class about his past but about his works.

To sum it up, should I be concerned about the character or should I be concerned about the writer? Well, it all depends on the person, but the writer must have put effort into his work for a reason. As there are many ways people get there ideas for their writing, I wouldn’t call it inspirations, because some writings don’t come with inspirations. Writing or art can be created with positive or negative meaning and the same if the person was inspired or just really liked a word.

Yellow

Memories about the color yellow started reappearing in my mind as I saw again the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” in the textbook for Creative Writing. Though it was not the whole story but just the beginning, I can still partially remember the importance of the story. It was a story that I had read with the class in middle school and once again in high school, though I should also add that it was in a college class.

It was a story about a woman and how her mental health was dealt with. The story made me think of how people deal with mental health, whether in a positive way or a negative way and how mental health may be judged. It allowed me a way to come up with how a person, fictional or not, may develop with a mindset that can be seen as abnormal.

Procrastinating

Dator,Joe. Cartoon. The New Yorker. 6. Jan. 2020

It was but a brief discussion in class that was about a cartoon that was handed out in class. In the brief discussion, I had compared it to myself. Which at first, I simply laughed in my head about it, but with further thought, I could say that I do this too. I simply say to myself that I am a Master of Procrastination, but it is simply a way to make myself feel better.

In the cartoon, it was simple but direct and to the point as to why the man could not write. The cartoon gives a simple explanation as to why the man could not write.