Comments on: Reflections On Endless Self-Promotion

By: Cyril Huyser

Cyril Huyser — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:07:08 +0000

thanks for that dude! awesome idea and thoroughly interesting read. i been trying to convince my mates that we should have a proper curry night in instead of going out every week, and actually did it last week. awesome success, i tell you! i found a tasty chicken and vegetable and a few others from this curry recipe site, and even made the naan myself too. who said guys cant cook!

By: Stephanie Nikolopoulos

Stephanie Nikolopoulos — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:41:22 +0000

Confession: I write because I’m afraid to speak.

Confession: I write to prove to the mean boys in middle school and the teachers who suggested I was too shy to get ahead in the world that I don’t buy into the lies they fed me and their system.

Confession: I seesaw between being the same insecure little girl I used to be and becoming too self-assured as a coping mechanism.

Justification: In telling my story, others may be relieved to find out they’re not alone.

Justification: Maybe someone who isn’t like me will understand people who are like me better, and learn how to treat others with more openness.

Observation: The memoir-writing trend seems to quite accurately reflect the “Me Generation” and the reign of “Trophy Kids.” By the time we’re in our 30s we already are accomplished enough and believe we have enough wisdom to write about our lives. I wonder when we have the perspective of old age, what we’ll think of our youthful memoirs.

By: Jamie Wright

Jamie Wright — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:01:03 +0000

i’m more of a blogger than a writer, the difference being that writers know how to use comma’s and stuff, but anyway:

Confession: After I post something, I embarrassingly and obsessively check my email for comments telling me how clever/cool/funny/smart/pretty/amazing/original/brave I am. (This almost never happens.)

Justification: I am desperate to hear that I am loved and that I am worthy, but mostly, that I am “normal”. And I’ve noticed a few other people are too. I write about myself because, when I really spill about my own deep-seated ridiculousness, usually somebody can relate, which fills us both up with a sense of community, or hope, or…i dunno…something good.

The truth is, your readers can relate to your bullshit…that’s why they keep reading.

By: karen

karen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:38:43 +0000

Michael: Ahh..cynicism. I remember it well. Spend some time reading the blogs of breast cancer survivors or those of the men or women who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. (or of their families who are serving on the home front) Not everything on the web is shamelessly self-promoting, though agreed, there is too much of that. But there is also much art still being created for sake of self-expression.

By: Michael John Liu

Michael John Liu — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:51:30 +0000

It seems everything on the web, in one form or another, is shamelessly self-promoting. Even comments in and of themselves. We’ve lost the art of expression for the sake of expression. Everything needs to be trumpeted.

By: Larry Shallenberger

Larry Shallenberger — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:51:28 +0000

I have the raw resources. Can’t convert it to bling, though.

By: Larry Shallenberger

Larry Shallenberger — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:36:37 +0000

I’m still working on monetizing being full of dookie. Haven’t gotten there yet.

By: karen

karen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:52:07 +0000

Touring as a memoirist is akin to living the movie Groundhog Day.You wake up and repeat the same ten lines over and over and over again. The only way to stay engaged is to realize it’s not about you — it’s about that person who is hearing the story for the first time and finds something sacred thing about themselves in your story.
But any good novelist is as equally full of dookie. That’s what enables them to do what they do, do. hehehe.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:51:23 +0000

I’ve felt so full of shit after a radio interview or speaking gig that I wanted to vomit. This is especially true if I know there’s stuff going on in my life that doesn’t line up with the image or message I present. I can be really “vulnerable” in front of a crowd, while being a self-preoccupied jerk in my personal life. And Don is right on about being just vulnerable enough. I can be self-effacing to the point where it’s funny and inspiring without making anyone too uncomfortable. I wonder what would happen if we could publish real memoirs for Christian folk, telling the truth as Anne Lamott says. Not just confessions and testimonials either, but stuff that would start an honest conversation about the human condition.

I want to talk about living in tension with all these contradictions instead of feeling like I need to suppress, confess, rationalize or justify. I don’t want to have a take home message all the time. I want to stop giving talks and begin having conversations. Maybe all of us who are sick of ourselves won’t get sick of each other. Thanks, Don, for making it a little easier for Christian folks to tell the truth, even if you are full of shit.