I was about to start on other homework and was just glancing at Brain Doyle’s Being Brians article…but then I couldn’t stop reading it. I was fascinated. I even looked up my name, and with such a unique spelling (KathArine instead of KathErine—people love to misspell that too. All the time. Even on official letters) there were only 8 records, all in their 40s or above, and scattered through Texas, New York (x2), Florida, Illinois, DC, Tennessee, and Georgia.
I thought this project was so much fun. I never would have thought to contact the people who shared my name and see what their lives were like or see if we had any shared background or commonalities (like the Brain Doyle who was a year behind our author in college).
I was surprised that this piece was able to hold my attention all the way through. How can compiling other people’s information make for an enjoyable article? Because our Doyle adds his own comments and thoughts and he has such a wide variety.
My favorite Brian was the one from Baton Rouge, Louisiana because of his humor and honesty. “I, like most Brian Doyles, am extremely important and in constant demand,” I love that. Then he continues on to talk about how he is a successfully recovering alcoholic and got married; “She was an actress; I was an actor; we were both drunks; what else could we do but get married?” He has such a positive view on life now, and things are always easier to laugh about once there is some time to heal.
I really appreciated the novelty of this project. And his rules. I don’t know how many words I can type in a minute. I never learned how to type properly, so I just hustle away with my two index fingers (I’m actually pretty fast, but I’ve heard it looks funny). I think his advice to write something every day is interesting—I’m usually writing papers for class or sticky notes to myself, I wonder if that counts. Learning to listen is not one often recommended to writers, but I’ve come to realize that I love to write dialogue and I can’t do that if I never hear anyone speak. The way they phrase things or hedge their speech. And lastly, getting a job to pay the bills—funny and relevant. We’d all love to be writers, but sometimes that’s just not enough.
-Katie Huffman
I liked that quote too. I thought Baton Rouge Brian was funny and a great writer. I also appreciated his rules. I thought he had good insight that would help anyone that desired to become a writer. It's true, even if we just have a love for something, it's not enough. We have to do more. We have to seek, try, and learn. :)
ReplyDeleteAngela
I also appreciated how unique this article was. How many times does someone choose to write an article about dozens of people who have the same name as you? I thought it was successful in becoming a very entertaining piece and I also loved how personal the letters were as well. I thought it was great that the people who wrote back were so kind about it and so willing to share their life experiences.
ReplyDeleteAnd after reading it, I have to agree that listening is an important skill for a writer. The best way to write about real people is to listen to them, the way Doyle listened to what each of the other Brians had to say.
Justyne Marin