Dear Mr. Blue,
Is it possible to fall in love with someone because of their writing or, more realistically, fall out of love with someone when you realize that you really, really dislike their work? How does one separate the creator/creation thing? Or is it worth it to even try? Or should I save my Internet fees and look into low-cost therapy?
Manic in Midtown
Dear Manic,
People fall in love with writers all the time: Isn't all writing a form of courtship? And this love affair is a precarious one. Writers tend to be restless, wanting to move on artistically, leave their comfortable niches and make gorgeous mistakes, and surely the beloved reader is going to take offense.
But this is all merely a game, yes? You're not talking about falling in love with a writer's work and then falling in love with the actual person who wrote that work, are you? If you are, don't. Any low-cost therapist would tell you the same thing.
unpacking my life
Their Father is a Transsexual Woman
The plight of the single, middle-aged newcomer in Smalltown
The blank page and me. (more writer's block horror)
October 25, 2002