Damn Bandit: An Intro

I love writers. LOVE. And I’ve been thinking about ways to help other writers outside of teaching, with only the tools I have now.

Namely, a little energy and space.

I’ve always admired how David Gutowski over at Largehearted Boy has found one interesting thing for writers to write about (playlists that are related to their books) and used his own energy and space to keep them writing. This seems like a useful and, maybe more importantly right now, fun (!!) thing to do. So I think I’m going to do it.

In my work and in my life, I’ve been thinking about how the things that are said to us (and aren’t said to us) can stick with us for years. A kid in eighth grade once said I had “dead squirrel eyes,” and I spent years being pissed and then more time than I’ll ever admit trying to decipher what exactly he meant.

Of course this translates to our writing.

What have others said about your writing that has buoyed you, even if only for a split second of time?

What have others said about your writing that has crushed you with the full weight of that word?

I’ll focus on five questions:

1. What is the best thing that has been said/written about your writing?

2. What is the worst thing that has been said/written about your writing?

3. What is the best writing advice you’ve been given?

4. What is the worst writing advice you’ve been given?

5. Who writes like a Damn Bandit?

I’ll explain that last one later.

Dead squirrel eyes, man.