LAST TUESDAY, I saw Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and Andrew Sean Greer live in San Francisco for their “Paragraphs on Ice” show, where they discuss some of their paragraphs in literature. They live-annotated using an overhead projector.
The two authors are real life best friends who have a practice of reading great book passages to each other over the phone. They dissected paragraphs from True Grit, The Sea, The Sea, Dream State, and additional books, sharing what they love about the writing.
Handler and Greer concluded that there are no rules. They talked about being in the process of writing a story and thinking I wish I could write this thing next or I wish I could just take the story that way, and then realizing that they can just do that, and that is the solution.
I love being reminded that there are no rules. Traditions, yes. Rules, no. It’s so easy to get caught up an idea of the way things are supposed to be done. It’s easy to get trapped and stuck there. In writing, in art, in doing a job, in getting a job, in most things. Realizing when the rules aren’t real and aren’t helpful is at the heart of creative work.
Excited to read this and attend more of this.
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:o I really did need the reminder that I can just DO things