Proust Questionnaire

Can you answer the Proust Questionnaire with all one-word answers?

Your most marked characteristic? flexibility
The quality you most like in a man? intelligence
The quality you most like in a woman? snarkiness
What do you most value in your friends? understanding
What is your principle defect? capriciousness
What is your favorite occupation? writing
What is your dream of happiness? simplicity
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes? senility
What would you like to be? fast
In what country would you like to live? all
What is your favorite color? periwinkle
What is your favorite flower? calla
What is your favorite bird? bufflehead
Who are your favorite prose writers? contemporaries
Who are your favorite poets? Canadians
Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Prior
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction? teenagers
Who are your favorite composers? singer-songwriters
Who are your favorite painters? expressionists
Who are your heroes in real life? journalists
Who are your favorite heroines of history? feminists
What are your favorite names? Celtic
What is it you most dislike? ignorance
What historical figures do you most despise? exterminators
What event in military history do you most admire? armistice
What reform do you most admire? suffrage
What natural gift would you most like to possess? voice
How would you like to die? unregretful
What is your present state of mind? content
To what faults do you feel most indulgent? pride
What is your motto? next!

Catching up

Finally got around to posting what I’ve written this month. It’s been erratic, what with it getting close to exams and all. But I’m still going!

I’ve been reading Stephen King’s “On Writing.” When he was in high school, he had a job as a reporter for the local newspaper, and he relates a few things the editor (John Gould) taught him. One thing stuck out, particularly as I try to keep this story going to its conclusion.

“When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story,” he said. “When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”

And I realized it’s true. That’s what I’m doing. I’m telling myself the story. As I actually get it out of my head and into words, I’m figuring out what the story is. You think you know, but as you write, you realize you really don’t. Not until you write it down. Stuff comes up that you did not expect at all. Characters appear. Situations connect.

So. I’m on the right track, even if it looks like crap atm. Once I get it finished, then I can take out what it is not.

CSS con't

310 words (28680 total)

First line: He dropped me off first, for the simple reason that it would have meant backtracking to do otherwise.