New Writer-- Rachel

Hello internet, NSA, and readers of blogs.

My name is Rachel Ewing and I have been blessed with an invitation to share my thoughts on this very blog. I am a long time reader of the Westovar(ian) and have found much joy from it.

Some things about me, the new writer:

1.) I should have been born British.
2.) Leonard Oakland changed my life. He was the first person to be like "Ah. You don't give a f*ck about grammar or punctuation, but you are a writer."
3.) I don't give a f*ck about grammar or punctuation.
4.) I believe that it is just as stupid to refuse to do something because it’s a fad as it is to do something because it is a fad. Popular opinion shouldn’t play such a large role in our decision making process.
5.) If I get a beverage with a label, I always peel the label off of it before I can drink more then a sip. If I get an unlabeled beverage, I do not trust it. 
6.) I have broken a rib and did not know about it until after it healed.
7.) I pretend to be a penguin every time I'm in the shower.
8.) My favorite word is trachea.
9.) I'm a Second Year Dramatic Writing Grad Student at NYU Tisch with a focus on Television.
10.) I like to order red wine in public places in the hopes of one day throwing it on someone.

So. Yes. Look forward to my writings, dear reader. They will probably center on TV shows, nerd fodder, rants, wines, and why America should never have separated from England.

As you were. 

How to Have a Life Story

Stories are important to me. I think God created us all, in the first place, and gave us the ability to screw up because he is interested in story.

And yet real life, looked at from any degree of emotional distance, seems to make no story at all. (See here) It seems to be one thing leading to another without any real shape or intention. How disappointing.

I think people lie to themselves about it. That's why romantic engagement photos exist - this isn't a just a marriage, it's a love story. It is grand and inevitable - and why folks insist "everything happens for a reason."

A string of events is not a story, even if they are your events. That's not to say that real-life stories don't exist. I'm just saying that just because Stories = Important and One's Life = Important does not mean that One's Life = Grand Story. A life story, an actual narrative, is not something we're guaranteed. In fact, it's probably rare. It's probably why we as humans write fiction in the first place. (Hooray, fiction!)

I think, though, that there are some things that one can do to increase the odds of having a real-life story.

The first building block of story structure is to have a character with a want. The more a character is committed to this want, the more he drives a story. Stories need conflict, and regular people avoid conflict. But if you have a character who is committed to satisfying his want, he won't avoid conflict. Character + Want + Conflict = Story, or at least something well on its way.

So maybe want something in life. One working definition of coolness is to be totally free of wants. No Wants = No Vulnerability. To be cool is to have no skin in the game. I was under the impression for a long time that people would like me if I was cool.

But the thing is that people will watch a character who wants something. People will relate to that character. They'll follow him.

And besides, having a want or a goal might provide you with a narrative arc. Give you that talky voice making sense of things. I think it's worth a try.

Harmontown was Good This Week

http://harmontown.com/podcast/74

That there above this is the link to the episode I'm talking about. It's kind of a draining listen because in their discussion about morality they end up talking about pedophiles a lot. The existence of pedophiles is emotionally draining.

But! There's good stuff in it. Like Dan saying that we, in modern society, don't have adequate outlets for our rage. I was listening while answering monotonous email after frustratingly monotonous email thinking, "I DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT OUTLETS FOR MY RAGE."

It also gets into the crossover between morality and society to the point where it's argued that morality = society. When run into one another, one person says, "Good morning." And it's safe for the other person to say "Good morning" back. With any deviation from this response, or addition to it, we run the risk of the other person going, "You freak! You monster!" The problem, though, with strictly adhering to the standard response is that it allows for no individuality. We can't express who we are without individuality. And when we can't communicate who we are, individually, to people, we can't connect with them.

And therefore we're up late writing blog posts. Us, generally.

I'll be shopping around for rage outlets.