Quote: Not Dave Gorman @ October 8 2010, 4:15 PM BSTI think that might also have been the tag line to the program.
BBC's New Writing Initiatives Page 27
The more I read through some of these threads, the more something becomes apparent. It does seem that you writer guys (and of course girls) are something of a strange bunch. You are friendly and welcoming and are willing to give out great, much appreciated advice to anyone who asks. But you are also a little bit paranoid and suspicious. Do you think that is just part of the makeup of someone who is foolish enough to want to dedicate their life to the soul destroying pursuit of being a successful writer?
No, I think that's just all humans.
Quote: Not Dave Gorman @ October 9 2010, 2:43 PM BSTDo you think that is just part of the makeup of someone who is foolish enough to want to dedicate their life to the soul destroying pursuit of being a successful writer?
Not necessarily. I suspect I'd be a twat regardless of whether or not I wanted to write.
and as a warrior, I'd have been more use in WW2
Quote: Not Dave Gorman @ October 9 2010, 2:43 PM BSTDo you think that is just part of the makeup of someone who is foolish enough to want to dedicate their life to the soul destroying pursuit of being a successful writer?
Compared to someone who works for the post office, you mean?
Quote: Tim Azure @ October 10 2010, 8:14 AM BSTCompared to someone who works for the post office, you mean?
I guess all I meant was that someone who wants to be a writer will, by its very nature, spend a lot of time thinking about things. This is obviously a very broad brush I am painting with but people who write for a living will have a better than average education or will be of a certain intellect. And I do agree that this is also a common human trait.
It is funny that you should bring up the subject of people who work for the post office, though. A few years ago, just after the 7/7 bombings in London, me and a few of my neighbours decided have a bit of a joke with our postman. We decided to order lots of things from Amazon and EBay, and when the postman would come to the door to deliver them we would shout through the letter box "It's a bomb... it's a bomb... get away." The joke did slightly backfire somewhat when our postman, who was called Mr Bhatnagar, reported us to the police for racial abuse.
So your point about people who work for the post office not having any sense of humour does seem to be completely accurate.
For that 'joke' against the postman you deserve never to suceed. At anything. 
Quote: chipolata @ October 10 2010, 9:52 PM BSTFor that 'joke' against the postman you deserve never to suceed. At anything.
I'm sure he was joking as he would have been arrested immediately
Quote: Not Dave Gorman @ October 10 2010, 2:51 PM BSTSo your point about people who work for the post office not having any sense of humour does seem to be completely accurate.
I never said people at the post office didn't have a sense of humour, I just said the job was soul destroying. And quite a lot of jobs are soul-destroying.
This is the BCG. There's no place for 'jokes'. 
Quote: Tim Azure @ October 11 2010, 8:28 AM BSTI never said people at the post office didn't have a sense of humour, I just said the job was soul destroying. And quite a lot of jobs are soul-destroying.
Tim, just because people work in soul destroying jobs doesn't mean that they have no sense of humour.
When I was working my way through university, to makes ends meet I worked part time in a chicken processing plant. It was my job to entice the chickens close with a chocolate biscuit while the person to my immediate left would lop their heads off with a meat clever. It was an extremely boring and repetitive process, however we did manage to keep our spirits up by singing songs and telling jokes. This one time we decided to put on an impromptu fashion show using some of the birds as hats. I have to say that this was the first time that I really felt like I 'belonged'. I got the prize for best strut and Big Tommy got best pout. Happy days.
Whatever happened to Big Tommy?
He's been reduced to phone box work...
Dan
Quote: Not Dave Gorman @ October 11 2010, 9:59 AM BSTTim, just because people work in soul destroying jobs doesn't mean that they have no sense of humour.
I thought we were discussing the fact that being a writer is a soul destroying job? My point is that many jobs could be described likewise.