The Bus - Generating Writing Ideas

The public commuter bus is a place to think of ideas for writing. So many interesting people walk on and off the bus every day. All varieties of backgrounds and cultures can be noticed in the way people speak.

There are also other multiple benefits, that for now, during the summer and fall months before winter hits, seem to make riding the bus worth it:

• Walking (to bus stops)
• Being outside more. Plus, you get an excuse to just stand or sit there for a little while and enjoy the sound or the colors of passing cars. Normally that would seem strange if you're not under a bus sign.
• Diversity. I love different cultures and ethnicity! Each one has something beautiful a part of it, and helps to offer a way to reflect on your own.
• Reading. If my stop is long enough, I pull out a book. Which I tend not to do that often at home sometimes—so many other things to do there! But I know reading makes me happy.

I've been reading an introduction to one of Dostoevsky's books, and it talks about how he really enjoyed the same thing—meeting people that aren't really in literature or very rarely seen there, and then writing about them. Interesting characters who dare to be themselves, to show up in public, and drive a very huge rectangular vehicle and still seem so nice when a new person tries to put their ticket in upside down.

Art in Reality TV

Art has a way of making its way into all sorts of things. I used to think art was only paintings, artistic drawings, photography, and sculptures. But I'm starting to see that art is in more places than those activities.

I was watching a reality TV competition show (Master Chef) last night and started to think of the art behind video editing. Video editors look through so much video from multiple cameras, trying to find the right or exciting pieces and putting them next to certain statements or events that add to it in a beneficial way. Then they also choose music or noise to go quietly along with it to bring out certain emotion.

I remember a summer college roommate, when we were discussing who had TV rights that night and I really wanted to watch a reality TV show, tell me that reality TV shows are fake and therefore worthless to watch. It made me think. It seemed like a good argument at the time.

However, if reality TV shows—especially competition shows—are part art, then why should they be 100% real? Art is not "real." It is a reflection of or a statement about reality. So if the shows make me think about the reality of emotions and human psychology and just the beauty of certain things, then I think it's worth it. Plus, sometimes it's fun to guess who the producers would want to win, and it can be entertaining when you see what they are doing (trying to make something very ordinary seem scary).

Part of why I've been thinking about this is the new show Siberia and if it's worth watching.

Also, a long time ago, during my English capstone course in college, the professor asked what is the point of reading fiction stories when they aren't real. He didn't give us an answer, possibly waiting for us to find it ourselves.

A friend in college was also asking a similar question. I had a little trouble answering then, even though I always enjoyed it myself. Now I feel like part of the answer is: "It's art!" People love to look at and appreciate art.

Awesome Word Spotting: Sizzle

Crazy, amusing, and fascinating words are on display in Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea. It's actually a fun read for people like me who love words.

Reading that book reminds me to be on the look-out for underused words, the ones that seem to sparkle but aren't as famous or used as much these days.

Here are types of words to watch for:

• A word with meaning that can carry the weight of three or more words;
• Words with enjoyable or interesting connotations;
• Words with aesthetic value in a linguistic sense. To learn more, Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little by Christopher Johnson has a chapter or two on this.

I don't have the patience or interest to hunt for words in dictionaries, but I often end up grabbing a book to read. When I do that, I'll try to be attentive to any words that stand out. Then I'll share them here.

So, the one that I found today is "sizzle"! I haven't read or heard that word in a long time, yet I hear the sound of what it describes a few times a week. This word caught my eye in Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian, "... the sizzle of this world ..." (page 19).

A Book About Identity

After reading and writing what feels like hundreds of e-mails at work, I often feel like reading is the least fun. But somehow I still go back to reading! It's inescapable. I guess this is one indication I do like editorial work, since my love for reading comes back every so often.

This week I'm reading my first Os Guinness book. I never heard of Os before I read a biography on Francis Schaeffer that mentioned Os. First of all, I think the name Os is awesome. Secondly, his writing is full of quotes and stories from all sorts of people and times in history. And he really thinks deeply.

As I read his book, The Call, I feel like I'm listening to a friend tell me all his deep thoughts. Maybe it feels like listening to a friend also because he doesn't say, "Do these five steps." Instead he takes time to show how what he is writing about is complex, that our life on earth can't be perfect, and that's okay.

I think good friends normally don't tell you a number of rules to follow to solve your problem; rather, they acknowledge that life is complex, and that it's okay that you haven't reached perfection, and that life is more than that (it's more about fun and friendships).

The book is about how to view identity and calling in life. Identity has always been a topic I've been interested in. I guess my interest is due to living in our culture: it seems like the culture says you can buy and chose your identity--like being goth or a cheerleader type or a sports person. But I've always wanted to know what more defines us, what more tells us it's okay to just be absolutely unique (but if we're unique, something different than anyone else, how can you define each person?).

Calling is something I'm not as interested in, but this book combines the two. Your calling identifies you in some way. This is interesting.

Anyway, I wanted to list what books I've read so far in 2011. But only because I'm too lazy to remember to write it anywhere else! A friend told me he writes down each book he reads, and I find merit in that. So here it is:

1. Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life by Colin Duriez (biography)
2. Home by Marilynne Robinson (fiction)
3. God's Plans for Your Life by J. I. Packer ("Christian Living." Okay, the title sounds very boring, but it was good! I read most chapters, and from them I learned valuable things.)
4. The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung

And now I'm reading the book I mentioned above. I think I'll actually finish it. I have a history of starting lots of books and not finishing them.

A Couple Books

I thought I'd update you on what I've been reading and how it relates to my thoughts on writing.

Right now I'm reading Wayfaring by Alan Jacobs. When I read the introduction, it felt like I was in a college English class again. For me, that's a good thing—as long as there's no homework, of course. Good English classes explore important, deep questions through story. I'm also looking forward to this book because I've heard that Jacobs is a deep thinker and has a good understanding and interest in faith.

Last week I read Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson. I thought it would help me to feel more open to writing in an informal style or in the way I would normally speak. It did indirectly help with that. The book was not about writing but was mostly about Anne's life and her wanting people to know about God's acceptance and how we should accept and love others. She had a wonderful point: that no one is without a secret—that everyone is the same when it comes to currently having or having had experienced something painful in one's life. It's a good message to a culture that seems to want to run from pain. Pain is real and a part of life, and it's Christ and love for him and others that helps us through it, no matter who we are. That can relate to writing informally too, because people just want to be known and know they're not alone. Writing too formally often reminds me of someone wanting to appear above others or not wanting anyone to know the person behind the writing. I know that’s not the intent, but I don’t want to write in that way—at least not when I’m writing for fun.