Einstein’s Tongue–Verse 1 of 1,000,000
This is the first of what I hope will be many blog posts by Drew Taylor—check out his bio at the top of the page under Einstein’s Tongue.
This is the first time. I can’t say it’s the last because, frankly, that’s not true. Bear with my rambling. I’ve never blogged before, and not everything comes so easily, but it will come in time. I hope so, anyway. First order of business, concerning a topic that’s gotten under my skin time and time again: writing, or more specifically: writing via teenagers, verse one to a million. As you can tell from this introduction, it’s going to be a very long blog. Lucky for you, the reader, what I just said was somewhat misleading, but not so much a lie as an exaggeration. What I mean to say is that there is tons of information to cover in so short an entry, so those 999,999 other verses might come in due time, when they feel appropriate to reveal themselves.
I am a teenager. Sad to say, I am a teenager who has read samples of teenage fiction numerous times, and I’ve only been able to read these “stories from the heart” because of a charming wit I can employ from time to time in my social surroundings, among other adolescents. It’s not often I’ve seen my fellows care to share with “mature adults” (as they are so called). I daresay, these reluctant demeanors are completely understandable from the teenage perspective, and I’ll tell you why, dear reader.
Too many times I’ve encountered individuals, teachers of a sort, who coax us into sharing our “stories from the heart” for whatever reason. They read it, or claim to have done so, anyway, and either hand it back over the desk, or return it through e-mail and tell us what they think. Here is a sample of the common response I’ve heard in over three years of being a teenager, and several more of being a writer:
“I loved reading this! I can definitely hear the characters as if they’re really talking. Two things I think you should work a little bit on, though. Fairly small, but still could use some work. Imagery, for one. And there were a few spelling and grammar problems, but catchable.”
Yes? Yes, those are two big problems. Every hopeful adolescent author has heard a variation of the above quote, taken from dozens of sources and forced into a single compound. Judging from what has been said, I’ve derived a question, something I feel has not been phrased bluntly enough.
“I’ve brought you a story from my life, almost a mirror. I’ve extracted all the love, misery, and experience I’ve gained [and lost], and inflated my tale with them. All you have to say about it is imagery and spelling?”
I could leave this first verse at that, but I really shouldn’t. Apparently, I need to “comment on this extremely philosophical thought detail,” according to a certain individual regarding quotations that have been set apart from the script. (I won’t name or describe him. I may frustratingly speak of him in future blogs, but not now.) Here is my comment. We teenagers don’t have a whole lot to go on. Not long ago, we were just kids living in our own fantasy world, frolicking in wide golden plains or challenging dangerous beasts to battle. Parents and other family steadily coaxed us out of those imaginations and introduced us to literature: Garth Nix, J. K. Rowling, Diana Wynne Jones, and soon enough we didn’t have to make our own worlds anymore. They were right in front of us, on the sprawling, crumb-stained pages.
Here, at this point in the writer’s life, they can go in either direction: continue enjoying our fantasies held in the beaten spines of our favorite stories, or look up from the pages and discover the Interstate stretching from our young feet and out into the sunset: the rest of the world waiting for us. Speaking for myself, I ran into that world, almost without hesitation, completely abandoning the books. I’m still a kid; I haven’t had the length of time nor the inclination to put forth an effort into sharing the novels’ worlds with the world I physically live in. Some of my fellows have. I congratulate them half-heartedly and make my own unbeaten path. They, however, follow one of two travels: writing on themselves (as many writers may do), or sketching the outline of their favorite authors and trying to fill in the outline with the exact same effects.
I would like to assume, for the purpose of this blog, that those who mimic the professionals keep their writing to themselves. Those others, the many who try to write on themselves with the fictional element, turn an adolescent anguish into a fantasy anguish not to hear that it needs more substance in description, or a second/third/fourth/etc. proofread. We don’t bring our painful narratives to our elders for this. What for, I can’t say. I don’t know. That’s as far as my binoculars could see down that path before the trees blocked my sight.
As a humble teenage writer trying to make his own way, I have no jurisdiction to blame anyone, nor do I have the experience to dictate an exact account of what might happen. All I (and my fellows) have to judge by is the world we lived and played in as a child, the worlds introduced to us by young adult writers, and the limited exposure we’ve had on Earth. Two of the three are not 100% accurate, and being teenagers on Earth, we are prone to see it critically. After all, the new generation always blames the previous one. The world is always ending for us.
March 12, 2010
Posted in: Einstein's Tongue
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5 Responses
I love your description of worlds, and the way they run through this piece, both concretely and imagistically. (Not a word–perhaps someone will chide me for my diction.) Welcome to the world, the blogosphere, and look forward to reading more!
Interesting post. Everyone has to find their own road, and their own stories. Sounds like you’re on your way.
This was a really solid post, especially considering it’s your first blog. I thought your style was really lyrical and in places quite breathtaking.
Relevant to the content, I think we show our work to get valid, helpful feedback. It’s an unfortunate truth that teens are often easily patronised and dismissed, thus the simple criticisms with no positive feedback. In a teacher’s case it might be a bit tricky to give long-winded reviews to 30+ children and so they fall back on that which will be helpful rather than the validation side of things that our writers’ hearts so long for.
I look forward to reading more posts from you! I really enjoyed this one. It proved the impressions I’ve had of you since you were wee ;o)
Thank you all! who bothered to reflect for a brief moment on this verse. I know how time-consuming a few sentences must be, so I appreciate taking that time here instead of reading another blog elsewhere. (Hi, Katy!)
I’m glad you sent me this link today. Excellent blog. Like I have witnessed before, you are a very talented writer and I wish you luck in all of your future work. Feel free to email mail me more because I would love to read it.
Oh, I do agree with Kate Ernst’s post on the content, “I think we show our work to get valid, helpful feedback. It’s an unfortunate truth that teens are often easily patronised and dismissed, thus the simple criticisms with no positive feedback. In a teacher’s case it might be a bit tricky to give long-winded reviews to 30+ children and so they fall back on that which will be helpful rather than the validation side of things that our writers’ hearts so long for.” You will give me a high-five Drew.
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