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Sometimes I take my writing and even my social media posts too seriously… The following, from “Midnight in Paris” reminds me not to… (does this also apply to social media – we secretly hate anyone writing better posts than us!!)
Enjoy! (H=HEMINGWAY, G=GIL)
H: What are you writing?
G: A novel
H: About what?
G: A man who works in a nostalgia shop
H: What the hell’s that?
G: Where they sell old things. Does that sound terrible to you?
H: No subject is terrible if the story is true. If the prose is clean & honest and if it affirms courage & grace under pressure
G: Would you do me the biggest favour in the world – I can’t even ask
H: What?
G: Would you read it? It’s only 400 pages – if you could just give me your opinion
H: My opinion is I hate it
G: You do?
H: If it’s bad I’ll hate it because I hate bad writing and if it’s good I’ll be envious and hate it all the more. You don’t want the opinion of another writer… Writers are competitive.
G: I could never compete with you
H: You’re too self-effacing – it’s not manly. If you’re a writer, declare yourself the best writer – but you’re not the best as long as I’m around. Unless you want to put the gloves on & settle it
G: No – that’s ok