If you want to be a great writer read the Great Gatsby.
I once read that somewhere over the internet. That's why I
bought the book and forced myself to read it even though many times I wanted to
throw it out of the window and go far away from it.
It is the hardest
book I've ever read or come across.
If I had not read that quote above I wouldn't have bothered
to pick it up over and over again. I cannot tell you how badly I want to throw
it, but when I see it lying there(which happens to be just everywhere in the
house) I could not resist toying with the idea that it might somehow in the end
make an impression on me and indeed make me a great writer. I'm that desperate
when it comes to writing.
It took me almost 3 months to finish the first chapter
because I kept re-reading it. God, I won’t move not unless i understood every
word. It's written in an old style and every sentence is really long. It's
painful for a lazy reader like me. The setting is from a long time ago. Talk
about parties and balls and dresses like the ones you read from Jane Austen books,
but this one is set in America, New York in particular. At the back of my mind
I keep watching for sentences that are nicely put to satisfy my suspicion of
why Fitzgerald is esteemed as a great writer. I’ve written notes down its
pages, like I'm some Editor or Critique; scrutinizing the book and its every
word and sentences.
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that Ive been turning over in my mind ever since.
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this word haven't had the advantages that you've had"
This is how the book starts and I’ve been reading that part
over and over again. haha. Just so I could wrap my mind around it and find that
magic- of how great writers become great. But to tell you the truth I am not
that sold with his style of writing. WHO IN THE WORLD AM I TO SAY THAT? English
is not even my first language. And the problem lies there. Or maybe it's just
me. I'm not making excuses for my bad writing here, nor would I want to
apologize for my wrong grammar.
Actually I want to apologize for every wrong grammar but I won’t,
I just won’t, because I'm too proud for that.
So is this post really about my insecurities in writing?
Maybe Yes. I'm not that kind of reader who would force myself to read a book I
have no interest about. If I don't like it I won’t read it, period. This is
about the rave reviews of the book and of the writer himself.
This is my little
investigation of why a writer becomes great and famous and how to write such a
book. But maybe I'm too immature to understand all of this, and that maybe
although it's embarrassing to say, my command of English is weak. But I won’t
stop, I will read this again next month, or maybe next year, or when I get to
50. haha. But yeah I have read 3 chapters already in the span of 6 months (that
is half a year!!!) and I am deliberately taking my time.
Someday, when I’m done reading this, I'll write a book
review. I hope soon.
