Monday, September 17, 2007

Advice For Youthful Writers


Hey, you know how I've mentioned from time to time that music might be better than writing? Well, tonight Theresa and I were at Tom Franklin's house watching Robert Altman's MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (note the ampersand!) and I said, "Sometimes I think movies might be better than writing." And Tom agreed. The scene taking place showed a guy dancing on the black ice of the town's mud road. Tom had said, just prior to my comment, "That's something you could never imagine," which spurred my reply. So all I'm saying, writers, is: until we can write something as good as the scene where the guy dances on the ice, we haven't learned all we might from the movies. Don't forget! We don't get automatic "art" points because our work comes out on acid-free paper. A TV show might be better than a poem! A comic book might be better than a novel! Watch out! This is really a note to myself, despite the adjective in the title (note that I did not say, "the titular adjective"). Well, I did not mention Julie Christie in this "post," but isn't it nicer to have a picture of Julie Christie as Mrs. Miller than some guy dancing on ice in the dark?