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| Imagine the strains of "Inagoddadavida" blasting from the bell of The Angel Moroni's horn. It gives a whole new perspective to the supposed end of times. |
While it's the very last thing in the world I have time for, I'm making a brief forage into the word of writing fiction. Midterms are almost upon me, and I really shouldn't be staying awake at night typing silly works of pseudo-literature, but it's often what I want to do. My dad says that's the way things are. The busier a person is with the things he or she absolutely must do, like studying medical school texts, memorizing flashcards with medical acronyms, and other such essentials of my life as a medical school student, the more a person's mind's creative juices flow. If a person ever wants to do anything creative, as in perhaps paint, write, compose, or whatever, the desire or inspiration will come when he or she is most likely swamped with non-negotiable things in his or her life. My dad says either you carve out a bit of time for the creative outlet or you don't, but you keep in mind what is really important and what are your priorities, and you don't risk your grades in medical school fr a mere hobby unless you're more seriously considering becoming a full-time writer than a doctor.
For the record, I have no intention whatsoever of giving up my future medical career to write The Great American Novel, or even to write The Mediocre American Novel. Writing for me will never be much more than a diversion or a creative outlet. All medicine and no creativity whatsoever, be it music or writing, would make Alexis a very dull person and probably a lousy physician or surgeon as well. Good doctors need more than a single dimension to their lives.
I usually consider my dad full of shit, but in this particular regard, he's been there before me, so he has at least a bit of credibility. Studying comes first. After I've studied until I can study no more, if I still feel the urge to write before I sleep, I will do so.
I'll share with my readers when there is something worth sharing. I can say that what I have written so far is somewhat centered around Mormonism but that it doesn't treat the topic all that sympathetically. I'm really not sure where I'm going with this venture. I may be truly going on a bender and may end up out in left field somewhere. The end could be a short story, a collection of short stories with related characters appearing result in each others' stories, a novel, or a collection of drivel so pathetic that I'm too embarrassed to show anyone, although I will really try to share if there's any way I can do so while maintaining even a shred of dignity. I'm not sure where it's going. All I'm really sure about is that if I release it in any form, at least half of my relatives will hate me even more than they already do. That's life as I've always known it, though.
I'm open to any words of wisdom (except for THE Word of Wisdom that Mormons refer to as such; I'm not all that open to hearing any more about THAT) from anyone who chooses to share them, Whether it's about plot lines, technique, best times for writing, how much to share or to give of oneself in one's writing, and other various and sundry topics, please give me advice. I need it.
And please help me to remember that I'm a medical student, not an author. This writing thing is a mere diversion. Someday I may merge the two vocations/avocations of my life, and I may come up with a work of literature related to the study of medicine or featuring a med school student or doctor as a main character, but at this point I'm too much of an neophyte in the field of medicine to even consider such a prospect.
I have some advice! Shakespeare says, "This above all else, to thine own self be true." Your father's advice is practical. The worst doctor can make a lot of money while great writers can be broke.
ReplyDeleteHere is where Ben Franklin agrees with your father, "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." He also says, "God heals, and the doctor takes the fees." Also he says, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
Do whatever you feel will make you the happiest. If you make a mistake, you will learn from it. Yesterday I was talking to an eleven year old girl that is a neighbor. She wants to be a singer and wants to get a scholarship to go to Joulliard's School of Performing Arts. They get over 2,000 applications a year and accept less than 200 people.
I was wondering what your father did to make him unpopular with Mormons. In my articles I have quotes from Christiane Northrup M.D. She has best-selling books on women's health like The Proctologist's Way to Better sex! That title is just a joke
As far as my advice on being happy, here is more on that. Sigmund Freud said, "The question of the purpose of human life has been raised countless times; it has never yet received a satisfactory answer and perhaps does not admit of one.... We will therefore turn to the less ambitious question of what men themselves show by their behavior to be the purpose and intention of their lives. What do they demand of life and wish to achieve in it? The answer to this can hardly be in doubt. They strive after happiness; they want to become happy and to remain so."
Aristotle says, "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
"It appeared to me obvious that the happiness of mankind should be the aim of all action, and I discovered to my surprise that there were those who thought otherwise."
Bertrand Russell (Wikipedia says "Russell was an influential philosopher and mathematician." His books "have had a considerable influence on logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics and analytic philosophy.")
"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."
Blaise Pascal (He was a brilliant French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher.)
Writing fiction helped keep me sane in grad school. It also led me to Bill. He used to read my stories. ;)
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