Author crush

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miseh

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I have one. And I had one on a different author before. It was awful. I couldn't stand myself but I couldn't help it. I actually had contact to my former crush and got to know him a little... and he turned out to be an ass. So I kept wondering how these wonderful words came out of this horrible, shallow person.

How much of the author is actually in the story? I mean there has to be something. After all the author's brain somehow made the story up (if it's fictional).

How much of you is in your stories?
 

MetalDog

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I think a lot of us put our better, nobler selves into the stories quite a lot of the time. Most of my characters - while far from perfect - are braver, more honest and less selfish than me.

Although on the plus side, I have found that getting heavily involved with a character with strong morals does tend to improve my own behaviour a bit, so maybe its a process of self improvement by osmosis =D

It's dangerous to meet your heroes. I ended up working for one of mine in my industry and he turned out to be mostly just a skilled liar taking credit for other peoples hard work.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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If you think about it (I'm a visual artist), most painters paint people who are better-looking than themselves, doing things that look more interesting than what they do.

Most people have very human foibles, even those who can make beautiful and moving art.

It is very presumptuous of me to say, I know, but may I suggest that these intense feelings you are having (which, after all, are in your own head and not connected to people you actually know) may be part of some striving towards goodness in your own thoughts and mind, some aspect of the perfect you may be subconsciously trying to work out for your own art?
 

Archerbird

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If you think about, whatever it is that you read and like, be it characters or prose or whatever, it's all pretty polished when it's published.
 

Flicka

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I once saw a guitarist in some major old school band (don't remember who) in an interview saying something about groupies along the lines of; of course it'll be disappointing. I'm not my music. I can't make you feel like my music does. I'm just an ordinary dweeb. Sorry, but I can't take you where music does.

I think that's true for almost any kind of art. Unfair as it may be, the worst kind of idiots can create the most wonderful, sublime art. You may like pork, but do you really enjoy the company of pigs? And yet, isn't pork what a pig is made of? And while you might think that a pretty little kitten would taste better, I assume that's not really so.

I would say that in the same way my stories are 100% me. But like in my pork analogy, it's a small part of me that freed from the more mundane part of me and cooked and prepared can be quite, quite delicious. But meeting the real-life, hoggy me, of course a gourmet would be disappointed!

And just for the record, I'm a vegetarian. It was still the best analogy I could come up with! :)
 

quicklime

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I have one. And I had one on a different author before. It was awful. I couldn't stand myself but I couldn't help it. I actually had contact to my former crush and got to know him a little... and he turned out to be an ass. So I kept wondering how these wonderful words came out of this horrible, shallow person.

How much of the author is actually in the story? I mean there has to be something. After all the author's brain somehow made the story up (if it's fictional).

How much of you is in your stories?


why would you assume that an ability to make shit up or proper sentence construction ruled out negative personality traits?


as for how much of the author is in the story, I would say probably fairly little in many cases...but in any case an ability to write doesn't negate being a shallow ass, a pompous windbag, etc.
 

lorna_w

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I find us (writers) pretty much egotistical, insecure, gossipy, irritating folks, ETA, who are hypersensitive and take themselves far too seriously. I do not exclude myself (I'm not gossipy, but I am misanthropic, which makes up for it, I hope). On the other hand, we tend to be good in bed, so it evens out.
 
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CaroGirl

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Some of my characters are morally worse than I am, some are far better. But I agree with the musician mentioned above. I am not my stories any more than he is his music.

I've met lots of writers. Most of them are wonderful, supportive, giving people. Some are total dicks.
 

miseh

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why would you assume that an ability to make shit up or proper sentence construction ruled out negative personality traits?

No idea. I'm obviously beyond naive :p And I can't even blame it on my age.

I figured if you can write a genuinely good natured character something in you must have some way to relate to that. Why would I not assume that the person writing them must have these traits inside of them somewhere?

I might have to spend more time with people though.
 

MetalDog

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I figured if you can write a genuinely good natured character something in you must have some way to relate to that. Why would I not assume that the person writing them must have these traits inside of them somewhere?

I might have to spend more time with people though.

The thing is, for every laudable hero, there is usually a complete monster of an antagonist working against them. They have all that inside them too ;)
 

jaksen

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I had a reader have a crush on me and we corresponded. (By written letter only.) It wasn't an amorous thing, just a omg you're writing back to me!

Unfortunately I happened to mention my religious philosophy (haven't got one) and not in an entirely negative way either. I even felt bad doing it. (It came up when I mentioned my grandparents lived across from a small church and enjoyed sitting on the porch and listening to the church music. My grandfather then mentioned that at least the church was 'good for something,' ie., in providing entertainment.)

Anyhow the 'fan' or whatever got very mad at me for mocking religion - any religion as I never even said what denomination the church was - and stopped writing to me.

(He was an elderly widower, retired, lived in Mexico so I knew he wasn't going to stalk me.)

Anyhow, he stopped writing, and I would never engage a 'fan' or reader in that way again. When I get a nice email about my stories, I reply with a courteous thank you. (Or nothing at all.)
 
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NeuroFizz

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To the original post--there is a major reason it's called fiction.


And writers come from the same cross section of personality types and backgrounds as most literacy-required occupations, so we aren't all egotistical, insecure, and mentally tipped. That's just puffing the mystical writer syndrome. I like to think we are all good in bed, though.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Most, maybe all, writers put themselves into the fiction they write, but they put themselves in as they see themselves, not necessarily as they really are. But one person's shallow, horrible person is often another person's wonderful human being. Such judgments are usually highly subjective. I'd be willing to bet the writer you think is an ass and shallow has many friends and family who love him to death.

Having said all of this, why in God's name would anyone think book and writer have anything to do with each other? An actor is in every movie he makes, but this does not, in any way, mean the movie is about him, or reflects, in any way, shape, or form, who he actually is.

But people get crushes on movie stars all the time, which strikes me as the very definition of shallow, or in the best possible light, hopelessly naive.

And writer or movie star, too many fans think being a fan means friendship is automatic. It doesn't. It means I'm glad you like my writing, I really, really appreciate it, but I already have friends and family. Family usually comes without choice, and friendship comes because of happenstance and like-minded people you get thrown together with.

Fandom does not mean long conversations, or sharing intimate secrets, or meeting for coffee, or campaigning together to save the whales, or, of course, reading manuscripts. Expecting anything other than Thank you for the nice comments is too much.

Really, I got to know him a little? It makes me wonder what he thinks abut you?
 

ChaosTitan

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Having said all of this, why in God's name would anyone think book and writer have anything to do with each other? An actor is in every movie he makes, but this does not, in any way, mean the movie is about him, or reflects, in any way, shape, or form, who he actually is.

Exactly.

There are writers out there whose books are semi-autobiographical and extremely connected to their own experience.

Then there are the rest of us. ;)
 

Susan Coffin

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I have one. And I had one on a different author before. It was awful. I couldn't stand myself but I couldn't help it. I actually had contact to my former crush and got to know him a little... and he turned out to be an ass. So I kept wondering how these wonderful words came out of this horrible, shallow person.

How much of the author is actually in the story? I mean there has to be something. After all the author's brain somehow made the story up (if it's fictional).

How much of you is in your stories?

As blunt as James' response is, I must say I agree with him.

There is nothing wrong with having a crush on anyone, but I think contacting an author because you want to get to know him is setting up a bunch of expectations. I'll bet he was no more an an ass, or shallow or horrible, than you, I, and anyone can be at times. Maybe he saw you the same way? Just saying. :)

You say you can't help yourself, that you actually had to contact him. Well, you had a choice of whether to contact him or not and you did. :)

If you want to mingle with other writers, join your local writer's club. Go to places where writers hang out and have some of your own writing experience to share. You will meet plenty of writers and be in a venue where it's appropriate to get to know people who are writers.

Writers are human too. They have their good and bad days just like everyone.
 

gothicangel

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I find us (writers) pretty much egotistical, insecure, gossipy, irritating folks, ETA, who are hypersensitive and take themselves far too seriously. I do not exclude myself (I'm not gossipy, but I am misanthropic, which makes up for it, I hope). On the other hand, we tend to be good in bed, so it evens out.

I would also add arrogant. I think the amount of times we see authors falling into the trap of Author's Big Mistake attests to that.
 

gothicangel

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But people get crushes on movie stars all the time, which strikes me as the very definition of shallow, or in the best possible light, hopelessly naive.

There are complex psychological reasons to why people develop crushes on actors/muscians/etc. To call it shallow is a deep over simplification. It can stem from it being viewed as 'safe' rather than develop real relationships, it's a teenager's first experience of incredibly powerful emotions, or it might be an infirm person's only connection to the outside world.

Now when it's people who can't tell the difference between an actor and a character in film/book . . .
Of course, the world is now filled with celebrities who can't tell the difference between their 'on-stage' personae and 'off-stage.' Who have no sense of themselves, unless they are gracing the covers of magazines and newspapers daily/weekly/monthly. Now that is shallow.
 

Flicka

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But people get crushes on movie stars all the time, which strikes me as the very definition of shallow, or in the best possible light, hopelessly naive.

Eh, what do you put into the word 'crush'? To me that means by definition 'shallow feelings of attraction'. So to me, saying that having a crush on a moviestar is shallow is a tautology.

And geez, aren't all forms of instant attraction/love naive, or at worst, shallow? Quite often it falls flat on its face when you actually talk to the guy. The cases people remember are the ones that worked out. They don't remember the 50 others where the first flare of attraction bombed on further contact.

Said the cynic, and went back to writing about dead bodies. ;)
 

Phaeal

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My characters are who I would be if I were them. Since I'm not them, you would be wrong to think you knew me by my creations. Although I think you could figure out my broad political and philosophical bents.

I have a major writer crush on Jane Austen. I just know we could hang out together at all the balls and assemblies, always dance in the same set, simultaneously point out the same quizzes through the thickness of a crowd and smile knowingly at each others' in-jokes. We could take long country walks, we could read each others' drafts, we could marry each others' brothers.

Me and Jane, BFFs.
 
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flapperphilosopher

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Well, I have a crush on 23 year old Hemingway because he looked like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5842522502/ :p

As far as my actual personality being in my stories (as opposed to my emotions, which basically make up the story)... hmm. I think someone reading my current novel could be surprised by the person I am-- it's a pretty depressing novel and I'm a pretty cheerful person, for one. But at the same time, my main characters reflect some parts of me-- they're nice, intelligent, silly sometimes, stupid sometimes, often emotional. I feel like all of them are me and none of them are.

I've only shared my work with a few good friends/family and only recently-- I wonder if they'd be surprised or not by what I write and how I write it? Interesting....
 

quicklime

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No idea. I'm obviously beyond naive :p And I can't even blame it on my age.

I figured if you can write a genuinely good natured character something in you must have some way to relate to that. Why would I not assume that the person writing them must have these traits inside of them somewhere?

I might have to spend more time with people though.


certainly no harm, no foul, but given that writing is make-believe, and that an entire host of negative, needy through plain sociopathic personality disorders like narcicissm include a great ability to make things up and build a facade....I think it is one of those things that sounds good on the surface. But in practice, you're just surprised a group of professional liars might be, you know, liars :tongue
 

willietheshakes

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...I had one on a different author before. It was awful. I couldn't stand myself but I couldn't help it. I actually had contact to my former crush and got to know him a little... and he turned out to be an ass. So I kept wondering how these wonderful words came out of this horrible, shallow person.

I've met lots of writers. Most of them are wonderful, supportive, giving people. Some are total dicks.

Sorry 'bout that. I'm working on it.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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There is a reason I never read author biographies or try to learn more of their personal lives. I love their writing and don't want that feeling dimmed by finding out they're assholes. So most of the time, I guess you could say, I keep my interests in a writer strictly on a professional level. ;)
Eh, what do you put into the word 'crush'? To me that means by definition 'shallow feelings of attraction'.

I've never felt any crush I had was shallow. It was as real an emotion as any other. To me, it's the beginning stage of love. Sometimes it never gets there, but that doesn't make it any less or real an emotion. Every person I've ever fallen in love with started as a crush.
 
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