Editor’s Note: The following piece was first published on November 12, 2016. That was when these blog posts were only coming twice a week. And they were categorized under the title Muses and Musings on Google’s blogger.
Things have changed a bit since then, as well they should have. For one thing, I’m writing six blog posts a week now and they’re all under the Innovative Editing name on the Innovative Editing website. Plus, I take a little bit more editorial time on each piece before I publish it.
Which is a really good thing considering how many editorial mistakes may or may not have been published last year.
But that aside, the main message below still stands true. Not to mention how fitting this blog post is in a week we’ll be discussing the writing ramifications of “attitude.”
Enjoy!
For years, I swore I would never get on Pinterest: that it was a ginormous waste of any sane intellectual’s time.
Then I got on it to promote my novels and Innovative Editing, leading me to change my opinion. A bit.
I now view it as a really fun ginormous waste of any sane intellectual’s time.
In all fairness, “ginormous” might be something of an exaggeration. But I do know I’ve wasted far too many collective hours scrolling through pinned images and quotes instead of working on worthwhile endeavors.
Plus, while there are an absolute ton of stunning faerie pictures, fascinating historical facts, inspiring Bible quotes, and wise or humorous political commentary to investigate on Pinterest, it also features a lot of ridiculousness, such as the following thought:
The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence. – Don DeLillo
I know I wrote a very positive blog last month [to be republished on Wednesday] about being an author and what a prestigious role it’s supposed to be. But prestigious doesn’t mean perfect. And it certainly doesn’t mean intellectually untouchable.
Authors are just as human as the next person, which makes that Don DeLillo quote one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard… even during a presidential election year.
Yes, authors are supposed to strive for an impartial analysis of the facts (actually, shouldn’t we all?). But there’s not a single one of us who hasn’t failed once or twice. And some of us fail consistently.
Like everyone else on planet Earth, our judgments are colored by our life experiences, educations and individualities. We can’t stand “outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence” because we interact with society on some level. And society is comprised entirely of affiliations and influences.
For that matter, even if you somehow managed to remove yourself from society, you’re still going to have biases and bigotries, either adopted during your non-hermitage years or influenced by the very lack of people you have to deal with going forward.
Look, I get it: Everyone wants to think themselves an unbiased, untouchable paragon of virtue. But actually claiming that out loud?
Way to sound like a delusional snob!