Writing Alone
We all have these dreamy periods of relentless joyfulness in our lives, and if we're old enough, we can recognize them while they're happening (then again, when we're old enough, we also know they won't last). Such was my life in the first half of 2007. I was living in a city I was learning to love. The distance between my brother and me had evaporated thanks to a weird video project. And almost every day, I wrote a lot.
I have all that now, too: I am hard at work on the Paper Towns screenplay and revising the book I'm cowriting with David Levithan. (Spring 2010.) Hank and I are still making videos--and still laughing at each other. And ... okay, I would say I'm learning to LOVE Indianapolis. But a place is people, and I like our friends.
And yet.
And yet I miss writing with Maureen Johnson and Printz Honor winning E. Lockhart.
It was so great! It couldn't last! And it didn't!
(Would not be a bad epitaph, actually.)
posted by John Green @ Friday, January 30, 2009
35 Comments
35 Comments:
A bad epitaph but a good sentiment.
And your wife...?
;)
Could this be solved by Skype video chats? I don't use Skype so I don't know how it works, but can you get 3 people in one video chat?
I also know how much it sucks when friends are hundreds of miles away. :(
Sometimes we end up where we expect to be unhappy and are shocked and stunned to find out it's not so bad. People make it happen, so you find a way to connect with the people.
PS. How much does Willy weigh, secret clothing project.
Awww John's gone borderline emo again... Holden-style.
p.s. It's my 19th birthday today! *awesome-dances*
Tell Maureen Johnson to get her butt to Indianapolis!
Actually I think that's a wonderful epitaph.
Yeah, I'm a fan of that epitaph.
Torki - the torque of a cartoon pig from the time it realizes the duck is going to do something stupid *again* to the time it takes said cartoon pig to sigh when said duck does that something stupid again.
Captcha Dictionary
ummm.... can take your place even though I am a freshmen in college? Really I don't know how you could give up all that fun. I mean E. Lockhart and Maureen Johnson! With you it's like a book tour I would skip school for.
-brittany
Maybe you could convince MJ and E.L to move to Indy?
=;
If that doesn't work, perhaps you can set a date to return to NY? I did four years in NY and after that it was Return to CA.
Life's too short to live forever away from true happiness.
I think this is a sign that you should come to Westport in February with Maureen Johnson and Libba Bray. Will you come if we pay for your plane ticket? Hmmmm? Maybe?
this is a few years too late, but i've been reading through your blogs, so get over it.
make stephenie meyer your mortal enemy,please.
not that i don't like her, because i do. i really like her books actually. she's cool.
but that would just be a fun battle. DO IT.
Do you ever respond to friend requests on Facebook? Or were there too many that you won't anymore? :(
-Regina D.
I've a suspicion you wrote this post solely so you could include "Printz Honour winning" before E's name :)
& I disagree with Rebekah, I like it as an epitaph!
Hopefully 2009 brings more intense periods of joyfulness, however fickle those periods are. And you know what, it probably will. I'd bet my Harry Potter action figures on it.
- Rosi
Captcha = "Whoneses" - tweenybopper Doctor Who fans with a vengeance.
i'm glad other people feel what i feel sometimes.
I'm sure no one would be against the idea of you and Hank continuing the "weird video project" every day for the rest of this year. :)
Hi, I'm new to your site and I haven't read any of your books YET (I plan on reading them as soon as I get the time), but I've read through a bunch of your blog entries and I just wanted to say that I really admire what you're doing. I admire Christians who are real, extremely witty and sometimes highly irreverent, but care deeply about important things and are able to express their views on such things in a profound way.
I think you and your brother are hilarious and are doing good things. Just thought I'd let you know.
And I will try not to forget to be awesome.
Indianapolis grows on you!
I was driving through Indiana the other week, and was thinking that it wasn't such a bad place. I could kinda see myself settling there.
Then I realized that if I had children in Indiana, they'd be expected to call themselves Hoosiers. Not to be snobby, but... I don't think I could handle that. :)
@ Regina D. I can't friend John either, don't worry it's not you he just can't have any more friends. He is THAT popular.
Poor John....
MAYBE! You could make cardboard cut-outs of Maureen and E. with picture of their faces on it. Set them down with a jellyfish aquarium and a bookshelf and a computer and they will be ready to go.
I'm so excited when Paper Towns become a movie! All of your books should become movies. I love this post and I love your writing-it's beautiful. John and Hank are my favorite! :)
One day when you're searching for something to blog about, will you please write about the process of working with other writers to create a novel? I'm interestd in how you and the other authors put together "Let it Snow." Who comes up with the initial idea? Do you set any rules for yourselves? Do you write simultaneously, or do you wait to see what one author has said before you begin yours? I really liked how the book was put together, and I'm just curious as to how it came to be.
Thanks,
Anne
That prospective epitaph you wrote reminds me of something Kurt Vonnegut would write, perhaps in his book Hocus Pocus.
I very nearly squealed when I saw words "revising the book I'm cowriting with David Levithan."
I'm such a fangirl.
I love E's books. Her books are always placed in the chiclit section and I always put them under young adult when I see them. (I think I anger book store people for this) because although she does write books that girls would be interested in, her books are wittier and better written. I love all her movie and music references. Plus her books are deeper than chiclit. It would be interestin to have a JohnE collab. haha.
I used to work at a wonderful graphic design firm with wonderful folks and lots of fun chatter throughout the day that truly enriched my life and made work all that more enjoyable. Now I freelance at the house ... by myself ... I understand how you feel. It seems that good things rarely last ... even dogs. It is quite sad, though not sad enough to not enjoy the nice moments we do get. Isn't that what life is really about? Realizing what a good moment really is?
I, personally, plan on leaving Indiana as soon as I can. I'm not a fan of being not near anything exciting.
But John! You forgot that sentence you were going to include about how sad you were that you were THOUSANDS of miles away from Sydney where you could be drinking too much coffee with the Printz-honor-winning Margo Lanagan!
I know - the pain is just to deep to speak of, hey. I understand.
I have a more-than-sneaking suspicion that this stretch of months after Christmas and before spring is serious Dementor season. I always find myself in the pattern of "grass is greener" a little more often when I'm staring at the same walls inside my house.... if I'm with it enough to remember there is grass somewhere in the world, because life feels dreary. I hope you find a satisfying way to fill the void left by your writing buddies soon!
I just found out you're visiting my high school in March. Or something along those lines. I pretty much imploded from excitement when I read that, and then I noticed the class was filled up.
Story of my life.
Please come back soon so I can actually enroll ;_;
I had no idea you lived in Indianapolis! Seriously, Indianapolis is cool. But then again, I don't travel much. My dad works in Indy so I just meander around the mall. At least the sushi at the food court is pretty good.
Hey John!
I am one part overjoyed you commented on my blog and one part mortified.
Thanks for making me feel better about casting you as the grammar picking, moustache twirling arch nemisis in my dream. Although in my defence the casting was completely subconscious.
Thanks
:) Adele
PS See you in Melbourne...in person (hopefully) and not in my dreams lol
I often can recognize when my life is going well (on an emotional level where I am actually joyful, or at least on a cognitive level), but it is rare that I am not missing something else at the same time.
Do you think that it is human nature to be looking to our past/future to some extent at all times, or do you think it is possible to just be truly happy ("relentlessly joyful") in the present?
That being said, perhaps you can convince Maureen and E to take a road trip to Indianapolis at some point ...?
I just got Let It Snow in the mail today... cannot wAiT to get the chance to start reading it!
ps. 'rundin'- the act of running with your dinner through snowy streets and creating a ruddy mess. captcha(?)codes FTW
I just saw this. You are a big mushpot! I miss you too.
E
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