tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post6938986053171760026..comments2023-06-28T22:58:28.247+10:00Comments on Sixth In Line: Write about your obsessionsElisabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-52457649882224973672013-02-27T08:56:16.308+11:002013-02-27T08:56:16.308+11:00I'm glad to hear I'm not alone with some o...I'm glad to hear I'm not alone with some of my obsessions, Lynette, and pleased that you find Lynn Freed worthwhile. She's such a wonderful writer and thinker. Thanks, Lynette. Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-8727384228367923932013-02-26T10:14:13.927+11:002013-02-26T10:14:13.927+11:00I can *only* write about my obsessions. They are w...I can *only* write about my obsessions. They are what give my writing drive and me motivation. I share many of yours, and also Lynn Freed's baffled obsessions with her family. Thanks for the post; thanks for introducing me to Lynn Freed.Lynettehttp://lynettebentonwriting.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-61935021286361544822010-01-05T09:28:41.942+11:002010-01-05T09:28:41.942+11:00Holy crud! Too many obsessions! I started thinking...Holy crud! Too many obsessions! I started thinking of my own and I think I have more! I hate it when someone dominates a conversation and cuts off another person that is just plain rude, however, there are conversations where one is welcome to dominate and to lead and I gladly acquiesce by listening because I am enamored, enraptured, captivated - my children for example, I love listening to their days and what they think. I felt the same when my husband was courting me and he started talking about history and mathematics. Now I just want quiet with his cuddles. I love listening to my best friend but she loves listening to me too. I worry too much. That's my obsession. I don't like conflicts either but I never let anyone get past me with an unfair act. I am obsessed with avenging a wrongful act. I want to be mean but my friend says I really am not. That's my other obsession. If I love someone, they can do no wrong. Oh I know - I am so darn obsessed with drawing when I should be painting and I am obsessed with my appearance and my shoes, they have to be impeccable, not look worn. Oh for goodness sakes. I am a piece of work!Ces Adoriohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17338000465619901229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-33753022904364945862009-12-30T21:43:59.851+11:002009-12-30T21:43:59.851+11:00Tony, thanks. I share the blogging obsession, whi...Tony, thanks. I share the blogging obsession, which is more like addiction at the moment but once I get back to work, I'm sure some of the energy will pass. In the meantime it's wonderful to make contact with so many interesting and diverse people from so many different parts of the world.<br /><br />Angela, please don't fret about misspelling my name. It is a common occurrence. I fuss about the 's' in my name but I don't get too bothered when others inadvertently use a 'z'.<br /><br />Phoenix, it's great to find a kindred spirit in our similar fathers. It seems a concern for fairness is often the concern of writers.<br /><br />And Liosis, it's great to hear from you., too. I'm glad you enjoy Damon Young's blog. The two of you, as philosophers have a similar writing style , and it seems to me similar preoccupations. <br /><br />Finally, Reader Will, it's lovely to meet you here in my blog. <br /><br />I enjoy your combination of the Dutch and the Australian connections. Needless to say, it's a meaningful connection for me.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-67260830277579984242009-12-30T19:11:20.819+11:002009-12-30T19:11:20.819+11:00Thanks for your visit to "My pub with no beer...Thanks for your visit to "My pub with no beer"... I don't drink beer. I sometimes drink wine. <br />I wish you a great and happy New Year.Reader Wilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06384603525251159272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-65211123258336213812009-12-30T17:28:46.118+11:002009-12-30T17:28:46.118+11:00My obsessions? I tried to get rid of those once, f...My obsessions? I tried to get rid of those once, for the misguided reason that it would prevent procrastination. I know what I used to be obsessed with but I'm not sure what I'm obsessed with now.<br /><br />I think I have something close to the obsession with connection, that being an obsession with community. I never manage to take steps to creating community around me but it is always something I want. Just having people to cook and eat breakfast with, or to study with seems wonderful. Of course this probably has to do with being recently uprooted.<br /><br />I agree with the one who said it is more preoccupation then obsessions for us. I also have a preoccupation with being human, as you might have noticed from the entry on my blog you kindly commented on (it is unfortunate that we live in different Victorias, I had a sudden hope that I could track you down for a nice in depth discussion about our views on the subject.) I guess that the community thing is part of this.<br /><br />I have an obsession with clarity. I often am unable to communicate my ideas to people simply because I cannot manage to get them into the right words or the right format. I believe that our ability to understand each other must be quite amazing if anyone ever manages to understand what I am talking about.<br /><br />By the way, thank you for your recommendation to 'the Young Philosopher.' I have only read a little but I already adore it.jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17691419332751944215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-37610399564180484952009-12-30T12:06:24.116+11:002009-12-30T12:06:24.116+11:00Oh, Elisabeth, I am so glad you found my blog! Fir...Oh, Elisabeth, I am so glad you found my blog! First, I love that you jumped right in and commented on mine. How awesome of you!<br /><br />Secondly, reading your obsessions...god, it's like looking into a mirror. You and I must be a lot alike...our fathers certainly were. I too have a yearning to know why my father did the things he did, a yearning to belong, to look under the surface of EVERYTHING, an innate sense of justice and fairness that sometimes causes me to stand aghast at the world and say nothing more than, "It's not FAIR."<br /><br />So glad you stopped by - I can't wait to read more of your wonderful posts! <br /><br />::hugs from the U.S.::Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477498671080132176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-5238090034093427992009-12-30T08:27:20.749+11:002009-12-30T08:27:20.749+11:00this is a fascinating entry. obsessions are defini...this is a fascinating entry. obsessions are definitely the stuff of good literature- look at Lolita, Forever...Joyce Carol Oates writes of practically nothing but sex and violence!Maggie Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14699674732274478502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-72455417540291883252009-12-30T04:18:11.705+11:002009-12-30T04:18:11.705+11:00Elisabeth - thanks for you comment on my comment -...Elisabeth - thanks for you comment on my comment - So helpful! Yes, I've done morning pages, but I guess I'm still carrying baggage. You've made me realize it's worth working out. I'd kind of given up, but I like your suggestions. Thanks.Kasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233330248952156754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-83409173797293558172009-12-29T17:47:15.184+11:002009-12-29T17:47:15.184+11:00p.s. yikes! please excuse my misplaced z! i am ...p.s. yikes! please excuse my misplaced z! i am so sorry! sloppy manners on my part.angela simionehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657554247759367168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-23000445822839236652009-12-29T17:31:13.358+11:002009-12-29T17:31:13.358+11:00my obsession is blogging. not that's its an ob...my obsession is blogging. not that's its an obsession!!! oh Yes it is I had withdrawal symptoms when my line went off a few weeks ago.<br /> And got pissed with everyone.Tony nile lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17124433331811947363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-57420040608577390922009-12-29T16:29:37.319+11:002009-12-29T16:29:37.319+11:00I can understand your reservations. Fortunately f...I can understand your reservations. Fortunately for me I don't think any of my family members read my blog, neither from my family of origin nor my current family, especially now since I severed the connection of my blog to Face Book. <br /><br />A couple of my daughters felt that my blog comments, which once showed up directly on my Face Book page were not quite right for the chatty, social tone of Face Book. <br /><br />So I now feel freer in this more neutral environment. <br /><br />It must be hard for you given your experience. <br /><br />When I talk about revenge, I focus very much on the desire for revenge, not as an enactment but as a trigger. <br /><br />I think it takes time and much writing - maybe some therapy as well, certainly a lot of time spent sharing those feelings with empathic others, including your own empathic self - to work through that desire for revenge before you can reach a type of detached quality that allows you the writer to write from your desire for revenge without being controlled by it. <br /><br />I see it as a process of 'sublimation' in the old Freudian sense of the term. <br /><br />Recently at a workshop the creative director suggested that I write into my rage, not with any thought of publication or of anyone reading what I had written. <br /><br />It's a good exercise, 'a vomit on the page', he suggested and one for my eyes only. <br /><br />Maybe this might help you. I found it helpful after the event, though I found the actual experience of writing this way painful. But again, no one needs read it. <br /><br />It is probably not unlike what Julia Cameron refers to as 'morning pages', the cleansing writing we can all do to get rid of the emotional excess, before we begin to write in a way that communicates well enough with our readers. <br /><br />Sometimes even within these so called morning pages, I have found gems, little bits of writing worth sharing, but there's also a great deal of rubbish there that remains for my eyes only.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-9763496986747362082009-12-29T16:09:53.563+11:002009-12-29T16:09:53.563+11:00Elisabeth - I have printed out your post because i...Elisabeth - I have printed out your post because it is so rich with the kind of probing that stimulates me to deeper writing. I would like to deal with my obsessions, but I don't think I can, at least not on my blog, because so many of my extended family members read it and I don't think I could deal with the fallout. Some of my ex-husband's family read my blog (including my children) so my obsession with fairness and relationship is only lightly covered. <br /><br />There is always an elephant in the room with my children because I would become the hysterical raving madwoman if I said what was on my mind and it is always on my mind because their father (who is constantly brought up as some kind of hero) did unspeakable things to me so I NEVER spoke about it. <br /><br />In writing workshops when I use the character of this man, I'm told it is not good writing. It comes off like a prosecutors argument and teachers say no one wants to read about such an unlikable character. Obviously, I still have an axe to grind. Your theme of revenge writing has really struck me because for me, it doesn't work. It's not comely to confess others' sins. It comes off whiney. I don't know if the detachment will ever come. I think I would rather just leave it alone...or buy Freed's book.Kasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233330248952156754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-50877975561906835052009-12-29T12:57:28.198+11:002009-12-29T12:57:28.198+11:00Okay TFJ, What are your obsessions? I've noti...Okay TFJ, What are your obsessions? I've noticed in your blog a love for getting group activities going in the virtual zone. Would that be linked to an obsession? I'm just speculating of course.<br /><br />So Jane, maybe writing about obsessive characters is one way of dealing with a certain level of preoccupation in you. Do you consider perhaps that your characters, however different from you, might represent something of you? Perhaps not. But I'm all for the notion of a multiplicity of selves. We are not unified wholes, as much as some might like to think we are. <br /><br />Arija, thank you. I value what you say about the importance of our own personal truths and the degree to which others might benefit from hearing about these even as they clash with other beliefs they might hold dear. <br />I suspect we all benefit from getting broader perspectives through other people's views, as long as they and we can hold to them lightly. <br /><br />Thanks, AnnoDyne, for introducing me to Rusty and thanks, Angela. Your emphasis on justice is inspiring. I think a search for fairness and justice and rage against injustice is often at the heart of powerful writing.<br /><br />Thanks, John, for your wonderful measured thoughts and words. We do need to write about what we know and I agree, its our obsessions we know best of all. After all they claw at our minds continually. <br /><br />Thanks, too, Stephen. I like the notion of 'quirks as obsessions'. Indeed our obsessions are quirky. They help to distinguish us one from the other. Passions, quirks, preoccupations, call them what you will, they often lie at the heart of meaningful writing. Otherwise why bother to write.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-36869049032064692312009-12-29T11:53:04.850+11:002009-12-29T11:53:04.850+11:00Great post,Elisabeth,really well written and a fas...Great post,Elisabeth,really well written and a fascinating insight via your list.Plenty of food for thought, now what are my obsessions? Mmmm.Totalfeckineejithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05352708391465031655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-86560588702130793592009-12-29T11:21:54.595+11:002009-12-29T11:21:54.595+11:00I don’t feel like I’m an obsessive type person- ma...I don’t feel like I’m an obsessive type person- maybe obsession is something that dissipates with age or maybe I’m just boring! But, I do tend to write about obsessive characters. I have no idea what that says about me!Jane Kennedy Suttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12519340747761460017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-86043670303303729732009-12-29T10:23:39.237+11:002009-12-29T10:23:39.237+11:00Hi Elisabeth, nice (lovely word isn't it?) to ...Hi Elisabeth, nice (lovely word isn't it?) to make your aquaintance.<br />I could write reams to this post of yours, but just one point, autobiographically we cen ever only go by our own truth, it may not match anyone elses of the same occasion but is truth none the less, no mtter how distorted it may seem, for it is what we ourselves have experienced.<br /><br />When we say something, as you did, that we think is cruel, so often it is the precise thing the other person needed to hear at the time.<br />We take on the karma to further their growth.Arijahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03720793296992474762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-17356913414928436342009-12-29T07:51:58.843+11:002009-12-29T07:51:58.843+11:00If you go to Twitter.com and put @rustyrockets int...If you go to Twitter.com and put <b>@rustyrockets</b> into the 'looking for' box, you get to read his brilliant Tweets. Funny and touching. His girlfriend @katyperry is in there too.Ann ODynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01159263330547329077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-90468660643106134812009-12-29T05:55:14.584+11:002009-12-29T05:55:14.584+11:00wow. your bolg is amazing, elizabeth! i am one l...wow. your bolg is amazing, elizabeth! i am one lucky girl to have landed here.<br /><br />i, too, am obsessed with ideals of justice. black and white. the RIGHT we often lack. and so maybe then i am obsessed with heart-break. that sorrow since justice is so often failed. the need for a voice inside those events. inside the tragedies. a way to repressent those unrepresentable things. metaphor. i'm obsessed with finding the right metaphors that will break the thing wide open so that we'll all see it in it's true form. or at least i will. and then we will all have compassion. or i will. my child-like hope, still, that the truth will set everything in it's right place. <br /><br />thank you for this post. it's got my wheels turning. :)angela simionehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657554247759367168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-434072682315980922009-12-29T05:36:24.357+11:002009-12-29T05:36:24.357+11:00I think this is right on. The old idea that we sho...I think this is right on. The old idea that we should write what we know doesn't really go far enough. When you write about subjects that obsess you, you tend to know it in all its many layers, and in ways that will bring it to life for a reader. After all, if we have any hope of making a reader care about our subjects, we REALLY have to care about them.John Ettorrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18229971392235689875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-91595384233091016212009-12-29T04:12:36.195+11:002009-12-29T04:12:36.195+11:00I also use quirks as obesssions, such as character...I also use quirks as obesssions, such as characters talking too much, little rituals they do, a trace of Turrets, stuttering, and such. Although these quirks do not define a character, I do incorporate such elements to keep things interesting and help distinguish characters from each other.<br /><br />Stephen TrempAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-90115002591189707592009-12-28T23:33:39.064+11:002009-12-28T23:33:39.064+11:00Forgive my ignorance: who's Rusty?Forgive my ignorance: who's Rusty?Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-26739303405758648452009-12-28T20:59:15.582+11:002009-12-28T20:59:15.582+11:00oh Coppy - there are no bad bits about Rusty. The ...oh Coppy - there are no bad bits about Rusty. The DailyMail tries, but the commentors knock them down.Ann ODynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01159263330547329077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-74996768823326717392009-12-28T19:27:03.130+11:002009-12-28T19:27:03.130+11:00My obsession is quite peculiar for a blogger, my p...My obsession is quite peculiar for a blogger, my private self is locked away, down the stairs, through the dark hallway and behind the heavy oak door with the iron studs.<br />I admire people who write about themselves with incredible honesty but it's not for me.<br />On the other hand I will read every salacious bit of gossip and love the Daily Mail including the bad bits about Rusty.JahTehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02007730071564639411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-8717736940320082852009-12-28T15:19:24.965+11:002009-12-28T15:19:24.965+11:00Thanks for these responses, my fellow bloggers.
D...Thanks for these responses, my fellow bloggers.<br /><br />Davide, your interest in your father is not so unusual, I think. Often our parents are the jumping off point for our obsessions.<br /><br />Rikkij, people pleasing is tough. I should know, I get into it a bit too, though less so these days. You wind up tying yourself in knots because of the cliche: you can't please all of the people all of the time; and what else is left over for you? <br /><br />Mim, thanks for the wonderful definition. I was thinking of the term obsession in a more literary sense. I suppose therefore the term 'preoccupation' might be better here, in order to avoid the heaviness of the more clinical, psychological meaning.<br /><br />Thanks, Brownie for helping shift the focus onto crushes. Crushes have more of the positive about them, more of the passionate, but like all extremes they too can be dangerous.<br /><br />Yes, Reader Wil, I write to help me to get a hold on my obsessions, maybe as Rachel suggests to feel a little more in control. <br /><br />Finally, Dan, I too have become a bit of a blog fanatic of late. Fanaticism and obsessionality are close cousins and again need to be tempered with thought, caution and a touch of humour.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.com