Writers Dreaming

Angelou says she doesn’t even like to talk about her bad dreams because talking about them “gives them too much power.” Do you think talking about bad dreams or bad news or other bad things (or feeding into the “drama” at school or in life) gives those bad things more power? When have you known this to happen?

I’m a firm believer of a concept I call “self-deception.” In the end, the greatest enemy to ourselves, is our self. We give everything in our life power, be it good or bad. We are the ones who let a compliment—or an insult—affect our mood and how we feel about ourselves. We are the ones who let a triumph—or a mistake—affect our confidence and how we approach problems. Talking about bad things admits that those bad things affected you, and instantly gives them power. The moment you lash out at an insult, the insult is far more personal. The moment you complain about a mistake, the mistake is magnified tenfold. You acknowledge its effect on you, and you allow that effect harm you personally. Without that nod of approval, that whisper of reaction, an insult cannot touch you. A mistake can only be learned from. A bad dream is only a nightmare, and never more.

Angelou says, “There’s a world of difference between truth and fact.” What do you think she means by that? Do you think the same?

We constantly confused truth and fact. The truth of the matter is, they’re very much different concepts altogether. The fact of the matter is, most people have different ideas on what those differences are. In my opinion, the truth is simple. Truth is what you believe in, even if no one else believes in it. A Christian believes that God is truth, yet an atheist would disagree. Who is right? They both are, even if you don’t think so personally. A truth doesn’t have to be proven, it doesn’t have to be disputed, and you’ll never find a truth in math or science unless it’s a conjecture or a hypothesis. A truth may be based on facts, and on other truths, but in the end a truth is just a truth. It’s like a virtue, in that it’s based on what you believe in, except you act on virtues and use those to guide your life, while truths may hang more in the background and are more subtle. A fact, on the other hand, is indisputable. A fact is numbers. It’s data. It’s evidence. Facts might be used to back up truths, or they may just be facts. It’s not what we believe in, it simply what is. Although, when you think about it, it might all be truths. Who’s to say we didn’t get the facts wrong?

Angelou quotes Nathaniel West as saying, “Easy reading is damned hard writing” and says writing is “just hard work, you know?” Do you agree with this? What is easiest and hardest to you about writing? Is writing hard work?

Writing is a constant challenge, attempting to find the perfect words to convey a meaning only you fully know (and you may not be certain). You have to monitor yourself, making sure that what you write is something any reader could understand and interpret the way you want them to interpret. Night time must be night time, and a metaphor about snow cannot suddenly make it snow. The easiest part about writing is knowing what you want to write about, and envisioning how marvelous the final piece will be. The hardest part is getting there. More specifically, the hardest part might be how to start. Writing is a joy, and an art to be respected and loved, but it’s not exactly easy.

Angelou mentions being told that “one can’t really learn after one is twenty-five.” Do you think the older you get the harder it is to try to learn new things? Or do you think being older means you’re more focused on what’s important and not distracted by things that keep you from learning?

Becoming older does not make it harder to learn. If anything, it only increases your ability to constantly add to what you already know, learning and building on past knowledge and experiences. What does become more difficult is your ability to strip back what you learned wrong and rebuild that knowledge. The farther along in life you get, the harder it is to admit you’re wrong and relearn what you’ve already learned in a different light, but the easier it becomes to learn more things.