The stories in Self-Help are unlike many of the other stories we have read in this class. They are generally wittier and are written in a different style than the other stories. As we read Self-Help, I wondered what kind of person Lorrie Moore is. From her stories, she comes across as clever and creative. I read some interviews to learn more about her.
Many of the characters in Self-Help are artists of some type, so it is not surprising that Moore has had a life-long love of the arts, especially theater. In fact, when she was young, she liked the arts more than writing.
In "How to Become a Writer" Francie is constantly told that her plots aren't very exciting. Moore said in an interview that her life isn't very interesting (as in, not interesting enough to write a memoire).
In the same story, Francie also says that writers must be willing to spend large amounts of time alone, which Moore says she is able to do. Moore says that she was shy in her childhood and could express herself better by writing than by speaking. I found this kind of surprising, since none of the characters in Self-Help seem particularly shy.
Francie mentions that writers shouldn't expect to have glamorous lives, full of fame and fortune. Moore says that she has not wanted any fame, and that even the recognition she has gotten has made her a bit uncomfortable.
Francie's mom does not want to believe that Francie wants to become a writer. She would prefer her daughter to pursue a "more respectable" career such as law or child psychology. Francie is not discouraged by her mother's opinions and just wants to please herself. Unsurprisingly, Moore says that she also doesn't let others' opinions sway her easily.
Wow, I really like that you chose to focus on the writer and did research on her. I was looking at photos of Lorrie Moore and was trying to picture what her life has been like based on those and on her stories. I think it was a good idea to use Francie as a basis for comparison--it felt like in “How to Become a Writer” Lorrie Moore created a character who reflected much of her own personal life. I imagine her as someone who, like Francie, cherishes her late nights when she types up new stories, gets carried away by the plots, and notes quotes, jokes, and everyday moments in her daily life to use them in her writing.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you researched ideas that we briefly touched on in class! In my opinion, "How to Become a Writer" was extremely personal, honest, and compelling, leading me to think that Lorrie Moore had a connection to some of the experiences. However, I think it's impossible to say that Francie is a depiction of a younger Lorrie Morre. Nevertheless, "How to Become a Writer" is still an amazing story!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I'd call Francie's plots "not exciting"--how many variations on old people killing one another simultaneously in bizarre ways can there be? Whatever the virtues of these stories she writes, they don't sound boring to me!
ReplyDeleteBut I can easily imagine Moore's own experimental student fiction--much of which became the basis of _Self-Help_, her first book--meeting with blank stares and confusion (and critical comments about "ludicrous" plotting) in her creative-writing workshops.