Comments on: Rejection by Guest Author Susan Rebecca White

By: susanrebeccawhite@gmai.com

susanrebeccawhite@gmai.com — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:12:32 +0000

Katharine!!!
I am *so* glad you read this. I remember spending hours with you puzzling over how people could develop British accents so quickly…

By: Katharine Powell

Katharine Powell — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:16:36 +0000

I was Susan’s roommate and fellow transfer ally during those Brown years, and I, too, made the mistake of taking that history seminar! Susan’s account perfectly captures the tragic-comedy aspect of “Professor Tweed.” I am so proud of her accomplishments as a writer! I think Prof Tweed retired after that semester — we did him in!

By: Rebbie Macintyre

Rebbie Macintyre — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:49:16 +0000

Susan, good for you that despite being labeled a “very poor writer” you persevered and proved that “teacher” wrong. As a former teacher, I cannot understand why someone would dispense that kind of mindless cruelty to a student. I hope you send him a copy of your book, autographed with a very special note to a special guy.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:53:08 +0000

Thanks so much, Debs, for a delightful guest blogging experience. (Delightful and cathartic!) And thanks all for the great comments. Stephanie–great to meet you in person today. Now I know why Alan has always been such a big fan.

I think I should probably thank “Professor Tweed,” because, you know, he helped me learn to be skeptical of pronouncements coming from up high. And when I graduated from college, and started teaching English, I never assumed that one bad paper (or two or three) made a student a bad writer. We’ve all got to start from somewhere, and I think the key is to keep plugging away. Take the helpful advice, discard the useless, and render the really awful advice into entertaining/horrifying stories!

By: Katie Alender

Katie Alender — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:43:22 +0000

It’s amazing how swiftly people can dispense cruelty, especially when you consider how long it takes to work through something like that. Thanks for being our guest today!

By: christa

christa — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:52:25 +0000

Hey Sooz, that guy/professor was a total dick. You are so Not a “very very poor writer.” Proof, “all flew over my head like perfect little paper airplanes. I didn’t even know how to fold the airplanes they were launching, let alone fly one.” Nice metaphor. Oh Yeah, loved the book!
love,
Christa

By: Stephanie Losee

Stephanie Losee — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:30:18 +0000

I have come to think that every published author has a story like this. Maybe it’s part of the process of becoming a writer; proving that your spark can survive anything and everything. At a Dartmouth creative writing seminar, the teacher steered me away from fiction, saying with devastating cheer, “Maybe you’re a poet!” (The only poems I have ever written in my adult life were assignments from that teacher.) I never wrote fiction again. The teacher’s name was Suzanne Brown, and once in a while I wonder if she knows the effect she had on my career. But her name is so simple that I haven’t been able to find out what became of her on Google. As for me, I became a journalist and a nonfiction author. I attended your reading today at the Corte Madera Book Passage, Susan, and I have to say, you made me wonder if I should try writing fiction again. Thank you.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:26:23 +0000

Thanks, Melba! (aka Melanie Love?)
xo

By: Melba

Melba — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:10:10 +0000

Susan,

I suppose there will always be those out there who think extreme criticism is the way go…I never will truly understand that though. In any case, I for one am very glad you didn’t give up on your dreams of writing! Your book is lovely! I am oh so proud, and I’m eagerly awaiting your books yet to come!

Melba

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:22:08 +0000

Hey Deb,
Lucky you to live in Northern California. I’m living in Atlanta now, where I grew up, and it suits me, but man, I flew into SF yesterday and immediately started wanting to look up craigslist listings for apartments…

About the sheep-like nature of students. Yep and yep. I’ve been one. You figure out what the teacher is after, and then you deliver. It’s like learning a formula. I know it’s not *always* that way, but I’ve definitely been guilty of going “bah.” Guess it’s something about group think, too, huh? I’ve finally gotten to a point in my writing group where I can say, about someone else’s critique, “Oh wow, you and I read this story in completely different ways…and here’s what I think.” I’m probably able to do that because I trust the people in my group, and our goal is bigger than getting an A in class.