Like my father, I'm somewhat of an insomniac. We both listen to podcasts at odd hours in the middle of the night to help pacify our racing minds. Anxiety is passed down, I think. Genetic or learned, passed down all the same.
Having caught up on all my favs -This American Life, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff Mom Never Told You, The Story, and Freakanomics - (yeah, I know, that's a lot of time in the middle of the night) - I've turned to yet another suggestion from Dad: The Moth.
The Moth has been a huge source of inspiration to me because it's performed by WRITERS! There is a theme of the night and the performers/writers have to come up with a story that fits that theme. They have to stick to a 15 minute story or they get cut off (don't you wish that happened in real life?) and they tell their story to a live audience.
Here is what I love:
- You can hear the author's voice. Literally. Other than David Sedaris, I have rarely heard a story told from the author's own voice. It is done so beautifully that I have cried after listening to several episodes
- The stories are true. I am all about fiction. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who reads as much fiction as I do, but when it comes to writing, I love autobiographical stories with a theme. There is something so painfully wonderful about someone laying out the truth for everyone to see. This sort of bravery I hope to achieve one day.
- Author's Purpose: So I went to have wine and cheese with two of my besties last week and we all happen to have graduated with the ever-so-useful English degree and we spent a large part of the night discussing author's purpose in writing, specifically blogs. Okay, so maybe we'll never be Carrie Bradshaw and friends but we are definitely putting our critical thinking skills to good use. Take that, Avenue Q! Anyway, my point is, I was inspired to write with more purpose (which might be why I haven't written since).
can't wait to get on this! thanks lovie.
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