"I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV"
So, first, I have to apologize again. I just looked at my email, & discovered there were a couple/few/several comments I never acknowledged because, um, I forgot to look to see if there were any. So thanks for stopping by, everyone!
(No, really. I will get the hang of this blogging thing eventually.)
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I'm not a writer. I can't craft elegant jewels of analogies or pitch-perfect responses to idiotic states of the world, or even just a quick, coherent note to the internet (I am so not telling you how long I spend on these entries).
But.
I was reading a biography of a figure who is tangentially related to my area. My mother gave it to me; I don't read biographies, but she thought I might find it interesting. And I would have, except for the Oh My God What Kind Of Crap Is This Writing. Two examples:
- "[Person of note] had brilliant arguments against [something {ceresina's} not very happy about either] [but we authors are going to completely not mention a single one]" I mean, come on: even I know you're supposed to show, not tell.
- "[Brilliant theories] flourished in the nutrient-poor soil of [Big Repressed Country]" I... I... I... What?
How is it that these people get published?
On the other hand:
Yesterday, I received an e-mail response from a professor who's in charge of a particular area of funding. The complete e-mail, from saluation to sign-off read:
"That is an accurate description of the position."
And you know what? That makes me so happy. I usually find him very intimidating, but this e-mail somehow just humanizes him for me. I know that is just about a complete reversal of what should be, but -- there it is.
*Sigh* I guess I can't avoid my unhappy students anymore. I wish I could've made them all happy...
(No, really. I will get the hang of this blogging thing eventually.)
-------------
I'm not a writer. I can't craft elegant jewels of analogies or pitch-perfect responses to idiotic states of the world, or even just a quick, coherent note to the internet (I am so not telling you how long I spend on these entries).
But.
I was reading a biography of a figure who is tangentially related to my area. My mother gave it to me; I don't read biographies, but she thought I might find it interesting. And I would have, except for the Oh My God What Kind Of Crap Is This Writing. Two examples:
- "[Person of note] had brilliant arguments against [something {ceresina's} not very happy about either] [but we authors are going to completely not mention a single one]" I mean, come on: even I know you're supposed to show, not tell.
- "[Brilliant theories] flourished in the nutrient-poor soil of [Big Repressed Country]" I... I... I... What?
How is it that these people get published?
On the other hand:
Yesterday, I received an e-mail response from a professor who's in charge of a particular area of funding. The complete e-mail, from saluation to sign-off read:
"That is an accurate description of the position."
And you know what? That makes me so happy. I usually find him very intimidating, but this e-mail somehow just humanizes him for me. I know that is just about a complete reversal of what should be, but -- there it is.
*Sigh* I guess I can't avoid my unhappy students anymore. I wish I could've made them all happy...
posted by ceresina at 9:33 AM
2 Comments:
I don't like writing, either. I never quite know if I'm using prepositions correctly. I was a math major as an undergrad. (Does that explain anything?) And I was an English minor focusing in composition and grammar, but I don't think I took much away from that minor. :( That's what copy editors are for, though! Unfortunately, sometimes the weird language is due to weird copy edits, though.
I guess that's what shocked me about the book. It had faults that even I could see; a copy-editor should be better than I am, seeing as I wouldn't qualify as one.
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