about my obsessions
One of my favorite writing exercises relates to obsessions. (Faithful readers may remember I mentioned this in The Fiction Class. Just saying.) The exercise is to make a list of your five obsessions.
Recently, I was discussing this with my Intro to Fiction class, and I made a list of my own.
1. Dogs. I am obsessed with dogs and will read anything relating to dogs, unless I know for a fact the dog dies at the end. My first novel had a Golden Retriever in it; the one I’m working on now involves a cockapoo. There’s something about the very name cockapoo that sets me off.
2. Illness. I am obsessed with illness and will read anything related to illness, unless I know for a fact that the person dies at the end. (That last part isn’t true. What is true is that I will develop symptoms of any illness I read about.)
3. Family. I love stories about the way family members interact with each other, whether it be mothers and daughters, mothers and sons, and so forth.
4. Writing. I’m fascinated by writers and how they work. For that reason, and others, I love reading memoirs.
5. That’s personal. There’s got to be one thing I won’t write about.
How about you? What are your obsessions?
August 29th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Hi Susan,
I hope you had a good summer. My obsessions:
1. Cats. I will read about them, socialize them, play with them, sleep with them, etc. I even have cat shoes.
2. Reading. It’s like air for my brain (yes, some would say I’m an air head).
3. Writing.
4. Criminology. I’m fascinated by criminals, police work, forensics, trials, lawyers, etc.
5. Outcasts and oppressed groups. People who live or have lived on the fringe of society at one point in time or another interest me because often the cause is an ‘ism crafted by people to assuage their fears of the unknown and their own insecurities, or to make possible terrible acts against others. The crafting of these ‘isms have to be watched.
August 30th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Thanks, KT. That’s a great list. Do you write mysteries?
August 31st, 2011 at 2:16 pm
I don’t write mysteries, but I do tend to write about the darker sides of life and human nature. I have stories about a sculptor who has ALS, a gangster-turned preacher, a man with Alzheimer’s and angels, a homeless woman who lives under ground, a lesbian teenager who is estranged from her mother. So, a wide range of subjects, but definitely people who have significant obstacles to overcome, and whether they do or not and how hopefully tells the reader something about them.
September 4th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
I have afew things to add to the list:
1. Baby’s chubby thighs. And their big round eyes and plump cheeks. And that little extra circle of flesh at the wrist. I have one granddaughter and I want more!
2. Clean cars. I hate stepping into someone’s car and feeling live I’ve stepped into their dorm room. And they’re thirty five.
3. Women drivers who drive like women drivers. Lately I’ve taken to doing the driving if I’m to the movies with my friends or going into the city to catch a Broadway show. You are allowed to go eight miles over the speed ladies!!
September 5th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Thank you Sandi! That’s a great list, though I think I violate two of the things.