1. ruskaya

    ruskaya Contributor Contributor

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    not a pro, yet very curious

    do famous writers like people?

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by ruskaya, Sep 14, 2022.

    Do relatively well-known writers like people and interacting with them in their everyday life?
    I am asking beyond the question of writers interacting with people in search for inspiration or understanding of relationship dynamics for their writing. I am wondering if writers like people, simple as that. Are they extroverts or introverts? Any other thought you think is relevant?

    For instance, Alice Munroe likes (or liked--it was an old interview) to go to the same cafe every week to write, she had her spot, which meant the owners and other regular customers knew her and interacted with her. She sounds like someone who loves people and interacts well with them. At least that was my impression. What about other authors?
     
  2. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    I imagine it would depend on the writer.
     
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  3. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    i've met a few well-known writers. They were really nice! Although one of them was kind of awkward in the beginning because i didnt know what to say and she wasnt volunteering much either, but thankfully another coworker was there who is SUPER extroverted and got us all talking and laughing.
    i will say that this big name, super well known, mega author whos more a brand name now but has had multiple books turned into movies and tv series.... he was kind of rude.....
    that was not a fun experience at all.

    mostly, these authors a just super excited to speak to people about their work. one of them was a virtual meeting, and i she called in from her car! (had to reschedule for a number of reasons, but when i finally spoke to her again, it was like chatting with an old friend).

    2 of them have day jobs as university professors. One of them works closely with Indian and Native Affairs (though, because of her book deal, she was able to leave that job and become a full time writer). another one writes historical fiction and like traveling to the locations to write. I'd imagine they interact with everyday people often. another one tends to write at night, so she writes at home. however, she is very active on social media and answers messages and emails!
    so it does depend.
    I cant remember what the others do full time, but the big name author... i dont think he interacts with everyday people often, otherwise he wouldn't have been so.....uninviting. or who knows? maybe he was having a bad day that day. idk.
     
  4. RMBROWN

    RMBROWN Senior Member

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Parnall
    I was good friends and a neighbor of Peter for more than forty five years before his passing. A few years ago I spent the weekend at his place in Maine and interviewed him on tape and video. The purpose of the interview was to spend time with my buddy and record his life. The interest angle was, what did it take for him to make an excellent living as a writer and survive as a person. I knew his kids, his ex-wife and those who he surrounded himself with. Over the years he dealt with all the bad stuff in life alone with the good. I wanted those who did not know him like I did, to know his personal story.

    Pete was a salesman. He loved to have visitors, he was a great public speaker and knew that the key to selling his work was for people want a piece of who and what he was. There was a certain layer of pure bullshit about Pete. He sold a package, and an image. To say he was a great story teller was an understatement.

    I have two days worth of conversation recorded. All the story he told about coming up through the game of writing and promoting himself along with all the personal things that happened along the way in life. What made him tick, what made him successful. No real plans to put it all down on paper, I am not sure how big an audience there would be for a book on him. Right now I have a great weekend to remember my buddy and the story of his life. I know what it means to me, know idea of what it would mean to the average 'want to be writer'. Check out the link on Wikipedia, see some of his artwork and books. They number about 84
     
  5. JLT

    JLT Contributor Contributor

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    A friend of mine had a conversation with John Steinbeck's son Thom on the topic of Travels With Charley. Thom said that he didn't believe that his father actually had the conversations he'd reported there. John, as his son remembered him, was a very shy man who never approached strangers and struck up conversations.

    Writers like Studs Terkel and Herb Caen, on the other hand, thrived on social life and meeting strangers and mining them for material. And Jimmy Breslin couldn't help interviewing the nurse who was wheeling him into the operating room for brain surgery and asking questions about the nurse's personal and professional life.

    Writers can be gregarious up to a point, like anybody else. When fame happens and their private, personal sphere contracts, they are likely to defend what privacy they have left. I think that's where people get the idea that writers (or famous ones, anyway) can seem unfriendly when they're approached by strangers. I believe that's true of many actors and singers as well; they love their fans in the abstract, but find that fame can be overwhelming when they're looking for some private space and can't find it.
     
  6. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I'm not sure there's much of a correlation either way. There's always been the belief that artistry and introversion (or misanthropy) go hand and hand, but it's probably a weak intersection if anything. People are just people in my experience. And if it were true, then we could debate whether artistry makes you more introverted or introversion makes you more artistic.
     

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