Two weeks ago, I went to a book signing. My friend and I were standing in line with our books waiting to be signed. Three delightful ladies were in line in front of us, with their books in hand, and we got into small talk conversation with them.
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While the Author was signing one of their books, I heard her say, "You don't look like a Writer!" The Author was a middle age, attractive man who looked up and asked, "What does a Writer look like?"
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"Oh, I don't know," She said, "But you don't look like one."
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That really set me to thinking. Should Writers look different? Since that time I have pondered some human physical characteristics a Writer needs to possess, and placed them on one body for a mental image.
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Picture this!
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A Writer will need to be cranially endowed with infrared sensory and extra sensory receptors to record all they take in with their five senses, and creative intangibles to take an idea and make it real, and an imagination that soars to places and people more fascinating than reality, then documenting it for posterity.
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A Writer will need extra large Mickey Mouse type ears to listen, to hear all the sounds of nature, humans and animals. Ears that make stute observations while listening, then writing the verbal melody.
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A Writer will need large insect or saucer type eyes to see facial expressions, body language and observe actions that bring awareness of true meaning beyond surface dialogue and behavior. Eyes that behold all the wonders of nature and transfer them to paper.
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A Writer will need a nose with large nostrils to take in all the fragrances and odors of the universe, the sweet smell of the ocean, or the air just before the rain, and aromas of the past that catapult the memories and emotions to another time, and pen it for the archives.
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A Writer will need lips and a mouth that are smaller than a human's since a Writer would never "tell" their story to others before recording it in some manner The tiny mouth helps the Writer to shut up, and listen, and write.
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A Writer will need a main body that is heart or valentine shaped. It will be composed of empathy and compassion cells. This body will relate to all the natural world, as well as to the supernatural dimension, and every living thing.
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A Writer will need a very thick skin; one that is impenetrable; one that can withstand multiple blows, piericings and rejections.
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A Writer will need extra large hands with the usual ten fingers to write or type the story, to touch, to feel, to hold, and to love.
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A Writer will need huge feet as sturdy support for the bulky, heart-shaped body. They are required so the Writer can move around freely, and tirelessly among the earth's inhabitants while exploring and recording the wonders of the planet, and sharing it with the world.
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Any other physical characteristics you can think of?
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This ideal appearance of a Writer might be frightening to the ordinary person. It is not unlike the sketches we have seen of aliens from outer space who slip in and out of our dimension during so-called "sightings
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So maybe if someone says, "You don't look like a Writer!" We should just say, "Thank you."
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Comments: 79
I was thinking we need resistance to carpal tunnel. I know I type more than any administrate assistant who has ever existed. :)
Jamie, that's one I forgot.
Pat, Finally !!!
(Thats a Kirsten joke from the other thread :-)
Really fun article! Enjoyed it. How did you do the color and font? For your "first time" you seem pretty experienced to me! :-)
"Writing the verbal melody" is a perfect description.
Barb, well-presented take on what a writer is. Hope to see more of your musings and see them often. And congrats on posting your first Gather article. It's a keeper!
One more thing...
"WOMBATS...IN...SPAAAAACE!!!!!!"
What a great "Article Warming" First Post it has been. I'm remembering how frightened I was !!! I'll soon have enough nerve to try a second one...thanks to you. :) :)
Ty and Ben, too, but I must admit, my antennae's went up when they went in to self-describing mode!!
Is it really you, ET ?
When I meet readers at signings and conferences and we get to talking, they often say, I'm so shocked. You're normal (well at least I appear normal to them, but most know better than to think that).
Anyway, thanks for a great article.
Just a theory. :)
Dame Ruth, Your spicy comments refute any "Very old" connotations.
Bongo, don't know why that color, font and spacing came out that way !!
pj
LL - Now there's an idea for an article, "What does a Reader look like?"
PJ - Like it or not ~~ You ARE a Writer.
David - I had never thought of it until that day, either.
It was a good one, Jared !! Wanna' write the next one?
I wonder if I should start shaping my image now??
Terri
Dark Obsession
Nora's Soul
I guess I was just surprised by the notion that we have to look like what we do !!!
I have heard that owners start looking like their pets, too .....aarrrggghhhh !!!
I will be eternally grateful, now, that I don't "look like a writer". LOL!
Safe Sex and Home Repair (thanks for your lovely, supportive comments!)
But a group of writers; that looks like an AA meeting, except they say "I write" when they stand up, and everybody sadly nods.
This needs to be reposted until everyone at Gather has read and commented.
I can't think of a single thing to add!
You've got us down to a T, Miss Barbara!
Bon
Thanks a whole bunch for droppin' over !!! None of you fit that physical description but you surely do "write" that way.
Caren
Carin: Justification for the chocolates, huh? YES !
Dena: And Yes! Thank God none of us do.
C.A., Thanks for the LOL.
I didn't like the texture of it so off it went.
ha ha
Everything goes better with chocolate, Carin, including sharp knives protruding from your body after a critique. LOL!
This was a good warning. I guess I'd better start coming up with some snappy come-backs for dumb remarks if I'm going to be a writer.
Love and hugs - S.
Peter: Awwww, you would be "striking" with the "Hemingway" beard to match your writing talents.
Sylvia: You just caused me to have a quick mental image.......
Starr: You are "Already" a writer.
Svet: So typical of you to think of "heart." L & H back to you.
If I were ever in a position to sit behind that table I'm sure someone would say, "He doesn't look like a writer, I bet someone wrote it for him!" LOL
I like your style and your sense of humor! Thanks!
Thanks for dropping in, Susan and Jackie.
My stories have been read by millions of people, all around the world. Many are now being used for the testing of school children in seven countries. Who would have ever thought that all a writer really needs is a big heart and a lot of compassion for innocent little children.
All this time I thought it was because I was ugly, now I know it's because I'm a writer!!!
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, Mike, it's because of the "Mickey Mouse" ears with the above impairment.
Con, that would go along with the "Writing Made Me Fat," thing.
Thanks mucho', Deb.
And an excellent ending.
You must be a writer (despite the reality of your lovely--and human--appearance) because you know exactly what they go through, all they try to accomplish and what what personal transformations they attempt. Of all the wonderful descriptive passages, though, this is the one I appreciated most:
"A Writer will need a very thick skin; one that is impenetrable; one that can withstand multiple blows, piericings and rejections."
It's sort of an oxymoron, isn't it: to have the sort of skin that can withstand both the on-target and the off-the-wall criticisms we receive? I was talking to a writer friend of mine this week about the emotional impact of writing: you take your most personal, intimate observations, express them as poetically as the setting will allow and stand back to have them scraped raw--or caressed.
So, since you obviously know that, much as you may protest, you are a writer.
John, thanks! That was about my tenth try for an ending.
Laz, What an introspective talk with your friend. Wish I would have thought of that to include in the article some way.
Thanks for the "rambling" comment. I love 'em.
I'm thinking I need to revise this article and add all the additional Commentor's characteristics. Would that be plagiarism?
How could I have left out "Writers stoop? Maybe we can get matching eye patches. :).
Odd that you mentioned Hunter Thompson. I enjoyed the "Gonzo Papers," and was saddened by his death.
Thank you
You said that beautifully.
Don't know about the alien part :), but I know you are a writer !! I also know the readjustment after a stroke is not easy, since it is both mental and physical.
You discover much about yourself, others and the world. It seems to have given you a greater sensitivity to all things. Like words as colors on a page!!!! Brilliant.