The Ultimate YA Reading Group

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HOW TO BECOME A WRITER by Lorrie Moore

First, try to be something, anything, else.  A movie star/astronaut.  A movie star missionary.  A movie star/kindergarten teacher.  President of the World.  Fail miserably.  It is best if you fail at an early age — say, fourteen.  Early, critical disillusionment is necessary so that at fifteen you can write long haiku sequences about thwarted desire.  It is a pond, a cherry blossom, a wind brushing against sparrow wing leaving for mountain.  Count the syllables.  Show it to your mom.  She is touch and practical.  She has a son in Vietnam and a husband who may be having an affair.  She believes in wearing brown because it hides spots.  She’ll look briefly at your writing, then back up at you with a face blank as a donut.  She’ll say: “How about emptying the dishwasher?”  Look away.  Shove the forks in the fork drawer.  Accidentally break one of the freebie gas station glasses.  This is the required pain and suffering.  This is only for starters…”

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