Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Away From TV

Writers! Don't watch TV! This is the one solid lesson I can dispense at this point.

Here's the only TV I intend to watch for a while: The Daily Show / The Colbert Report (because it's faster than watching the news) & Parks and Recreation (because if my career continues, I intend to become Ron Swanson). That's at most five hours of TV a week, which is probably fine.

I like half-hour shows. I'm not even going to bother with movies, since I usually end up watching them in half-hour chunks anyways and it's quite a time investment for something that usually ends up sucking.

Here's my philosophy: I'm writing short fiction, I should be reading short fiction. So when I want to have some calm relaxation, I'll pop over to one of the magazines on my list and read some short fiction, or I'll bust open one of my anthologies of great short fiction, such as from Harlan Ellison or Ray Bradbury.

I'm not writing a book. Books take a long time to read, and I usually hate reading The Middle anyways. After I get bored of writing short stories, then I can obsess over writing books and do it right.

So...do whatever you want, but don't watch TV.

(...that fizzled.)

#

Don't moralize at me, ugly station wagon. I'll sit in my house and I'll like it.

Don't make me pull this car over...

...over a cliff, ooh! BURNED.

----
Story: Yes(2)
Story "An Aesop Amidst the Fairy Dust"
Story "The Littlest Barnacle"
- - - -
Reading - ?

*193

3 comments:

  1. Ah yes, it's been many years since anything on television has held my interest for more than two minutes. Programs these days all seem rather loud and sarcastic, don't you think? I think TV is making people a bit more spiteful and cynical.
    And I don't need to be any crueler than I am already, so best spend my time working on my books or reading something.

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  2. I usually don't watch TV or movies not because I think there's anything inherently wrong with them, but because there's usually not much to interest me. That said, I love really getting into a show or movie; a good one of either can teach you storytelling just as well as a good book or short story. At the moment I'm watching the series "Sons of Anarchy," which, though both loud and sarcastic, has its irresistible moments. It is a great case study for "root factor" - you know, that feeling you get when you really, really want someone to "win."

    Also: Jersey Shore is my favourite show ever. This may seem odd, but I've got to go now because CABSA-AIYA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I watch more dramas when I live in America, but when I'm abroad it's all comedy. I have to keep my language skills up in the near total absence of native English speakers, and drama doesn't really work for that.

    ReplyDelete

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