Our Identities

I am not a "hype" person. I don't buy designer, instead I buy Indie or Target. I don't own an iPod, instead I own a Zune. I refuse to get an iPhone on principle. It is just too hyped.

But this Twitter thing. It's getting a lot of hype, and much of it makes sense to me. I like the idea of getting software industry links and news updates pushed to me. I don't really care to hear about the various ramblings of people (that's why I have facebook). But I like the premise of sort 140 character thoughts being shared.

I was looking through some old "tweets" by Twitter's CEO, Evan Willams, and read a response of his to a user named BrokeDad.

@brokedad I like your spirit, but I'm concerned about your name. How can you ever be not-broke if it's part of your identity?

Intriguing. And true. And I am not just talking about our online handle, but our general identities. How much of who you are is who you think you are? Williams was referencing BrokeDad's inability to become not-broke, by his name, but what about forming an identity off of who we would like to be. I am not talking about having unrealistic expectations of our abilities. But what if BrokeDad was DimeAtaTimeDad or PiggyBankInflaterDad? We need to see ourselves as the journey and the destination while recognizing where we are.

So, how does this relate to me/you/etc? As a writer I think that it's fairly ingrained that we have a path with a destination so I am not as worried about that particular aspect. I am also not talking about Image, or how we try to project ourselves out into the world, but what we identify ourselves as, deep down in our core. Images lie and I don't find anything wrong with that. Images are for our acquaintances and those we work with but aren't that close to, but an identity is our core.

I guess one's identity needs to be where they want to be, but within reason of what he or she can obtain. It's about keeping on foot in your past and the other in the future, while thinking about how the present can bridge those two. If you define yourself by your past then how can the present be a bridge. A bridge must have two ends. So, if you ignore your past or do not take full assessment of the pieces that form you, how can you keep from falling over?

This sort of brings me back to my inherent dislike for trendy items. Sometimes I feel like people use these items to help form their identities rather than struggle to figure out what their identities are. Sometimes people use what they had been in the past to form it without thinking as much towards the future. Just because you are one thing now doesn't mean that you can't be another later on after growth.

As a writer I think that we identify with certain aspects of writing. Some of us are aspiring. Others are published within a genre. Some aren't published but have a genre that they define themselves by. For example, I am an aspring fantasy writer. Also, going back to @brokedad, a writer doesn't just write. We revise. We market. We do so many things more than just the act of writing.

As a side note, I do have a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/laurenamundson). While it's trendy, I do like it :)

What is your identity?

Rusty

After not writing since late July I've discovered that my skill has gotten a bit rusty. Re-reading my older pieces really drills in the fact that I've lost a bit. It'll come back quickly, I know. But it's still annoying. And since I'm newly back to writing I don't want to get frustrated and fall back off the wagon again. So I'm doing a short little book for my nieces about the daughter of a prison guard who can talk to horses. Their dad is a detective so I think they will appreciate the main character being a child of "law enforcement" and, like most girls in the third grade, they love horses. Blondie Girl more so than my Mini Me (who will be more impressed with the fact that there is a princess in the story). I'm making the MC not the princess because I want her to really be a rough and tumble dirty kneed girl. Sure, a princess COULD be that, but I want her to be the underdog. I've not ever really written for kids (or at least not since I was one) so it's fun and hopefully it will get the gears going again. This isn't indended to be published, just something to amuse my nieces :)

What do you do when you feel a bit rusty or need a change of pace creatively?

October? Seriously?

It's been about two months since my last post. That has been on purpose, but at the same time (and I know it's cliche) I can't believe time has gone by so fast. How can it be October already?! I've been feeling very overwhelmed between work and school. I'm in classes three nights a week this semester and two of the nights are out in Schamburg, which takes about an hour and a half travel each way. I didn't really understand exactly how much time that would eat up. And then work drama has been work drama. I've mentioned very briefly about issues in the past. I don't want to go into too much detail about the situation, but the old CEO ended up getting fired (which is a good thing). The new guy is great. But, still it's a new boss and there's all this drama. Make a great novel if my genre wasn't fantasy :) Maybe in a few years it might be worth a trip to something more chick-lit-ish.

Classes are going okay. Midterms start next week, which is great. I will finally be done in December. Only took me a decade. But, hey, I'll be done and I'll be able to focus on the book. I still want my MBA, but I've decided that I am going to finish up my draft, and revise until agent-ready before I start to study for my GMAT (which is the standardized test for MBA). If I don't then I think that I will never finish the book!

I have been so stressed and because of that I dropped writing. But now I've realized that writing was my stress release. My mind doesn't go round and round about school or work. It goes round and round about Hailey and Altis and the steam-punk-esque world that I've created.

So, I'm back. And while I might not be very active, I'm not going away. :)