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Anne Dalke's picture

"The voice of reason might just be an asshole."

For me, too, one of the strongest of Lynda Barry's (many quotable) lines was "The voice of reason in your head might just be an asshole."

And yet, and yet....

as I (use that voice of reason to?) think back over our workshop, and as I discuss and process my experience with colleagues who were also there, I'm increasingly aware of the absence of the crucial editor, that part of writing that must--if we are to communicate with others?--come after the untrammeled brainstorming that results when we let down the drawbridge to the unconscious. Yes, we are, as Barry says, "all natural writers" (though see holsn39's intriguing challenge to that claim, on the limits of current writing structures for humans who do not identify in "clear, precise, accessible ways"). Certainly Barry's repeated "good! good! goodgoodgoodgoodgood!" is a voice we all need to hear, and hear again. But @ some point the editorial voice needs to kick in again, and it's increasingly striking to me that Barry didn't let that voice into the workshop (and so, for me, left the process incomplete).

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