I promise this will be quick guys, but I just wanted to share something I've basically just learned...or at least a concept that has finally broken through the walls around my brain and said HEY LOOK HERE.
I've made two Google+ posts about Matt Haig today already so sorry for the spam. But I just discovered this author through means of the internet and a good friend of mine. As majors in the humanities, I think a lot of what Matt has to say on his blog really just puts everything into perspective. At least for me.
Right now I'm going through all of his posts. Some I agree with completely, some have strong language. This one though is what I'd like to take a moment to focus on and quote profusely.
Haig says "a writer these days is not a solo player (if we ever were)" and that's funny, because I think plenty of writers like to think of themselves as a recluse who can't publish anything until it's ready and perfect for the audience to read. He goes on to say that in a digital world, he gets to be closer to his readers more than ever before. He asks for advice from his readers, talks and interacts with them because "a reader’s involvement in a book no longer starts and ends with them buying it and reading it." They put up YouTube videos (which he links in his blog post), make tweets and review it, and so on. Maybe this too is about curating content: preserving what we read by making digital responses to it and not just a personal, silent-judgment of "why yes I like this book" or "no never read the heathen cretin!"
In class we've kind of talked about how our identities on the internet is a controversial topic, from wanting to be all revealing about our personal lives to leaving the smallest digital footprint possible. I know personally I don't like having myself all out there. That's just my personality type. But with our professors' enthusiasm, and what Haig says about being positive with "the author's mystique [fading] thanks to the internet," I think I'm learning to not be so quiet anymore. We are creating communities online, curating and discussing and involving each other in ways no one has ever been able to before. Why not take advantage of that?
One more thought, I'd just like to point out Haig's concluding thoughts. He says "the internet is taking stories back to where they first started. Back to humans, telling tales to each other, and getting each other involved as we sit around the fire, or in our caves, [or our Pequods heheh] tapping into the most universal experience we have – imagination."
Hopefully this keeps you guys excited about what we're actually doing in this class, especially with midterms and everything going on in the busy middle-of-the-semester rush. If not, I'm just glad I had somewhere to post this because to me, this takes our class goals and makes it more personal for me. And hopefully Dr Burton and Dr Wickman don't mind this post here. Kudos to them for teaching me about using the digital world to my advantage!
I like what he says about writers being closer to readers in the digital age, and about the author's mystique fading. That mystique wasn't always what it was cracked up to be. Good find!
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